Press monitoring
Second layer of information in DNA confirmed
10.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Leiden theoretical physicists have proven that DNA mechanics, in addition to genetic information in DNA, determines who we are. Helmut Schiessel and his group simulated many DNA sequences and found a correlation between mechanical cues and the way DNA is folded. Since the mid 1980s, it has been hypothesized that there is a second layer of...
Latest bionic leaf now 10 times more efficient than natural photosynthesis
8.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Over the last few years, great strides have been made in creating artificial leaves that mimic the ability of their natural counterparts to produce energy from water and sunlight. Now, scientists at Harvard have developed the "bionic leaf 2.0," which increases the efficiency of the system well beyond nature's own capabilities, and used it to...
New material kills E. coli bacteria in 30 seconds
6.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Every day, we are exposed to millions of harmful bacteria that can cause infectious diseases, such as the E. coli bacteria. Now, researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, have developed a new material that can kill the E. coli bacteria within 30...
3D hydrogel biochips offer better diagnosis of early-stage bowel cancer
3.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Early detection is paramount to survival from bowel cancer, but doing so is difficult because most symptoms don't present until the cancer matures. Worse, existing diagnostic tests tend to be invasive and traumatic. Russian scientists hope to change this with a new biochip technology that can gather better, more precise data for diagnostic...
Weed stems ripe for biofuel
1.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls at the University of Adelaide have discovered that a variety of sorghum growing wild in Australia, Arun, has the potential to yield over 10,000 litres of bioethanol per hectare per year. In a study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers assessed the stems of 12 varieties...
Expert Committee Finds Genetically Engineered Crops Are As Safe To Eat As Conventionally Bred Plants
30.5.2016 | Press monitoring
An expert committee of scientists has released its conclusion of a comprehensive analysis looking into the safety of genetically engineered (GE) foods. It found that there doesn’t seem to be any difference between them and conventionally bred crops, and that genetically modified organisms pose no greater threat to the environment, either. The...
New cancer treatment targets sick cells only
27.5.2016 | Press monitoring
The scientists at Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM) and Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) have developed a technique that uses silica nanoparticles to carry curcumin, a candidate drug against prostate cancer, the type of cancer the study has looked into. The particles were coated with folate, a vitamin that is...
Cheap, simple test detects a single virus in urine straight from the source
25.5.2016 | Press monitoring
As Zika has reminded the world, viruses are still a major threat to a healthy populace. One of the key components to battling them is detection, but methods to do so can often be costly and complicated, which means they're not always available to the populations that most need them. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have...
Scientists discover Antarctic sponge extract can help kill MRSA
23.5.2016 | Press monitoring
A serious and sometimes fatal bacterial infection, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), may soon be beatable thanks to the efforts of University of South Florida scientists who have isolated and tested an extract from a sponge found in Antarctica. The sponge extract, known as Dendrilla membranosa, yields a new, natural...
Modified microalgae converts sunlight into valuable medicine
20.5.2016 | Press monitoring
A special type of microalgae will soon produce valuable chemicals such as cancer treatment drugs and much more just by harnessing energy from the sun, suggest researchers. Researchers from Copenhagen Plant Science Centre at University of Copenhagen have succeeded in manipulating a strain of microalgae to form complex molecules to an unprecedented...
