Press monitoring
Rubber from dandelions: Key components in formation of rubber identified
29.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Dandelions deliver a desirable product: rubber. This is why the robust and undemanding plant has become the focus of attention of the rubber-producing industry. But how is rubber, contained in the plant's white milky fluid, actually formed? A team of scientists has now identified proteins, which play a key role in the production of rubber in the...
The appeal of being anti-GMO
27.4.2015 | Press monitoring
A team of Belgian philosophers and plant biotechnologists have turned to cognitive science to explain why opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has become so widespread, despite positive contributions GM crops have made to sustainable agriculture. In a paper published April 10 in Trends in Plant Science, they argue that the human...
Researchers deliver large particles into cells at high speed
24.4.2015 | Press monitoring
A new device developed by UCLA engineers and doctors may eventually help scientists study the development of disease, enable them to capture improved images of the inside of cells and lead to other improvements in medical and biological research. The researchers created a highly efficient automated tool that delivers nanoparticles, enzymes,...
Modified Salmonella eats away at cancer, without a side order of food poisoning
22.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Though generally a bacteria we'd associate with a severe bout of food poisoning, previous research has suggested that Salmonella needn't always bring bad news and stomach cramps. Certain strains have been shown to kill off cancer cells, but to use them as a form of treatment for humans without inducing any nasty side effects has so far proven...
Plant oils used for novel bio-based plastics
20.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Researchers have developed a new way to use plant oils like olive and linseed oil to create polyurethane, a plastic material used in everything from foam insulation panels to tires, hoses and sealants. Polyurethane is extremely tough and corrosion- and wear-resistant, but researchers would like a more environmentally friendly alternative to the...
Researchers discover gene that controls melting point of cocoa butter
17.4.2015 | Press monitoring
The discovery of a gene involved in determining the melting point of cocoa butter—a critical attribute of the substance widely used in foods and pharmaceuticals—will likely lead to new and improved products, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The finding by plant geneticists also should lead to new...
New DNA dataset is potent, accessible tool
15.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Scientists focused on producing biofuels more efficiently have a new powerful dataset to help them study the DNA of microbes that fuel bioconversion and other processes. In a paper published in Nature Scientific Data, researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, North Carolina State University and LanzaTech describe...
Researchers develop harmless artificial virus for gene therapy
13.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Researchers of the Nanobiology Unit from the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, led by Antonio Villaverde, managed to create artificial viruses, protein complexes with the ability of self-assembling and forming nanoparticles which are capable of surrounding DNA fragments, penetrating the cells and reaching the nucleus in a very...
We must take baby steps into newborn genome sequencing
10.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Some time in the next few days a new era in healthcare will be born. Doctors in Boston will sequence the whole genome of a newborn, the first of 240 babies to be fully sequenced. Afterwards, the infants will be monitored for at least five years. The experiment anticipates a time in the near future when whole genome sequencing is a standard part...
Mobile DNA sequencer shows potential for disease surveillance
8.4.2015 | Press monitoring
A pocket-sized device that can rapidly determine the sequence of an organism's DNA has shown its potential in disease detection, according to a study published in the open access, open data journal GigaScience. In the first analysis of its kind, researchers were able to use the device to accurately identify a range of closely-related bacteria...
