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A collaboration between the DOE JGI, Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) and the University of Washington has resulted in an improved workflow for genome assembly that the team describes as a fully automated process from DNA sample preparation to the determination of the finished genome.
May 5th, 2013
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A UW-Madison research group has converted skin cells from people and monkeys into a cell that can form a wide variety of nervous-system cells - without passing through the do-it-all stage called the induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPSC.
May 2nd, 2013
Read moreNew discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population.
May 1st, 2013
Read moreA mechanism that permits essential substances to enter our cells while at the same time removing from them harmful components also has a 'down side'. This negative aspect prevents vital drugs, such as anti-cancer drugs, from achieving their designed functions, while also enabling bacterial cells to develop resistance to penetration of antibiotics.
May 1st, 2013
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Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers.
May 1st, 2013
Read moreThe number of private and public entities conducting research in synthetic biology worldwide grew significantly between 2009 and 2013, according to the latest version of an interactive map produced by the Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Apr 30th, 2013
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Bioengineers create rubber-like material bearing micropatterns for stronger, more elastic hearts.
Apr 29th, 2013
Read moreFor the first time, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have managed to obtain detailed images of the way in which the transport protein GLUT transports sugars into cells. Since tumours are highly dependent on the transportation of nutrients in order to be able to grow rapidly, the researchers are hoping that the study will form the basis for new strategies to fight cancer cells.
Apr 29th, 2013
Read moreEnzymes could break down cell walls faster - leading to less expensive biofuels for transportation - if two enzyme systems are brought together in an industrial setting, new research by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory suggests.
Apr 26th, 2013
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The protein C4BP is similar to a spider in its spatial form with eight 'arms'. The structure of the 'spider body' leads scientists to unconventional ideas - the protein is possibly suitable as a scaffold for the transport of active pharmaceutical substances, particularly biomolecules.
Apr 26th, 2013
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A team of scientists has conducted a study on plants (Arabidopsis) that shows that the site of action of the repression of target gene expression occurs on the endoplasmic reticulum, a cellular organelle that is an interconnected network of membranes - essentially, flattened sacs and branching tubules - that extends like a flat balloon throughout the cytoplasm in plant and animal cells.
Apr 26th, 2013
Read moreA study led by Oscar Fernandez-Capetillo has deciphered the components of the machinery that duplicates DNA, the replisome, on which most chemotherapeutic agents currently act.
Apr 26th, 2013
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Immune cells in newborn humans appear to be more ready to do battle than previously thought. New Cornell research shows that small populations of preprogrammed immune cells can fight specific pathogens that they have never encountered. The findings, say the researchers, have the potential to revolutionize how and when people are immunized.
Apr 25th, 2013
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Nine students who are involved in a multi-institutional effort to produce better blueberries only see the fruit as codes, symbols, numbers and letters on computer screens, rather than the nutritional, sweet treat they love.
Apr 24th, 2013
Read moreA research team led by Cornell University's Creative Machines Lab has created a computer algorithm that can be used to witness virtual creatures evolving their squishy, muscle-like features in order to teach themselves to walk.
Apr 23rd, 2013
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In a serendipitous discovery, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to turn bone marrow stem cells directly into brain cells.
Apr 22nd, 2013
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Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and their collaborators have tailor-made a new chemical compound that blocks a protein that has been linked to poor responses to treatment in cancer patients. The development of the compound, called WEHI-539, is an important step towards the design of a potential new anti-cancer agent.
Apr 22nd, 2013
Read moreResearchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have developed a novel and powerful technique to identify the targets for a group of enzymes called RNA cytosine methyltransferases in human RNA.
Apr 22nd, 2013
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