Press monitoring
Scientists unveil map of epigenome, a second genetic code
18.2.2015 | Press monitoring
Scientists for the first time have mapped out the molecular "switches" that can turn on or silence individual genes in the DNA in more than 100 types of human cells, an accomplishment that reveals the complexity of genetic information and the challenges of interpreting it. Researchers unveiled the map of the "epigenome" in the journal Nature...
Culture shock: Are lab-grown cells a faithful model for human disease?
16.2.2015 | Press monitoring
Cell cultures used in biology and medical research may not act as a faithful mimic of real tissue, according to research published in Genome Biology. The study finds that laboratory-grown cells experience altered cell states within three days as they adapt to their new environment. Studies of human disease, including cancer, rely on the use of...
Data-storage for eternity, stored in the form of DNA
13.2.2015 | Press monitoring
How can we preserve our knowledge today for the next millennia? Researchers have found a way to store information in the form of DNA, presumably preserving it for nearly an eternity. Scrolls thousands of years old provide us with a glimpse into long-forgotten cultures and the knowledge of our ancestors. In this digital era, in contrast, a large...
Bionic leaf: Researchers use bacteria to convert solar energy into liquid fuel
11.2.2015 | Press monitoring
Harvesting sunlight is a trick plants mastered more than a billion years ago, using solar energy to feed themselves from the air and water around them in the process we know as photosynthesis. Now scientists from a team spanning Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute for Biologically...
Software analyzes human genome in as little as 90 minutes
9.2.2015 | Press monitoring
New software developed at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio can take raw sequence data on a person's genome and search it for disease-causing variations in a matter of hours, which its creators claim puts it ahead of the pack as the fastest genome analysis software around. They believe that this makes it now feasible to do large-scale...
Scientists reprogram plants for drought tolerance
6.2.2015 | Press monitoring
UC Riverside-led research in synthetic biology provides a strategy that has reprogrammed plants to consume less water after they are exposed to an agrochemical. Crops and other plants are constantly faced with adverse environmental conditions, such as rising temperatures and lessening fresh water supplies, which lower yield and cost farmers...
Worms lead way to test nanoparticle toxicity
4.2.2015 | Press monitoring
The lowly roundworm is the star of an ambitious Rice University project to measure the toxicity of nanoparticles The low-cost, high-throughput study by Rice scientists Weiwei Zhong and Qilin Li measures the effects of many types of nanoparticles not only on individual organisms but also on entire populations. The Rice researchers tested 20 types...
Quantum dots combined with antibodies as a method for studying cells
2.2.2015 | Press monitoring
To understand cell function, we need to be able to study them in their native environment, in vivo. While there are many techniques for studying cells in vitro, or in the laboratory setting, in vivo studies are much more difficult. A new study by a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School used a...
Researchers produce two bio-fuels from a single algae
30.1.2015 | Press monitoring
A common algae commercially grown to make fish food holds promise as a source for both biodiesel and jet fuel, according to a new study published in the journal Energy & Fuels. The researchers, led by Greg O'Neil of Western Washington University and Chris Reddy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, exploited an unusual and untapped class of...
Using stem cells to grow new hair
28.1.2015 | Press monitoring
In a new study from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), researchers have used human pluripotent stem cells to generate new hair. The study represents the first step toward the development of a cell-based treatment for people with hair loss. In the United States alone, more than 40 million men and 21 million women are...
