Press monitoring
Protein Data Bank: 100,000 structures
15.5.2014 | Press monitoring
Spanning the globe from the US, UK, and Japan, the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) organization announces that the Protein Data Bank archive now contains more than 100,000 entries. Established in 1971, this central, public archive of experimentally-determined protein and nucleic acid structures has reached a critical milestone thanks to the...
MEMS nanoinjector for genetic modification of cells
14.5.2014 | Press monitoring
The ability to transfer a gene or DNA sequence from one animal into the genome of another plays a critical role in a wide range of medical research—including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes. But the traditional method of transferring genetic material into a new cell, called "microinjection," has a serious downside. It involves using...
Glowing space mice show where quantum dots lodge
13.5.2014 | Press monitoring
They may look like something captured by the Hubble telescope, but these mice are revealing more about their inner space than what's in outer space. The fluorescent speckles, spots and clouds marking their bodies are nanoparticles lodged within their skin and rendered visible with ultraviolet light. Nanoparticles are increasingly being used in...
Hijacking bacteria\'s natural defences to trap and reveal pathogens
12.5.2014 | Press monitoring
Bad bacteria could soon have no place left to hide, thanks to new materials that turn the cell's own defenses against them. Scientists at The University of Nottingham and GSK Consumer Healthcare have developed a technique that could locate the potential source of an infection by hijacking the normal processes of pathogens, thus revealing their...
France definitively bans GM corn
9.5.2014 | Press monitoring
France definitively banned the growing of genetically modified corn on Monday after its highest court and Senate both confirmed an existing ban. A grouping of leftist senators including members of the ruling Socialists, Greens and Communists approved a law banning MON810, a type of GM corn produced by US firm Monsanto, that had already been...
How DNA forensics could identify lost Nigerian girls
8.5.2014 | Press monitoring
Forensic DNA technology could help identify and reunite with their families the more than 200 Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Islamist militants, scientists told AFP Tuesday. Software already exists to match missing people with their relatives, and it has been used worldwide to identify and return more than 740 children who were trafficked,...
Monitoring RNA levels in blood yields dynamic picture of fetal development
7.5.2014 | Press monitoring
Recent research has shown that tiny fragments of DNA circulating in a person's blood can allow scientists to monitor cancer growth and even get a sneak peek into a developing fetus' gene sequences. But isolating and sequencing these bits of genetic material renders little insight into how that DNA is used to generate the dizzying array of...
Bone marrow-on-a-chip unveiled
6.5.2014 | Press monitoring
The latest organ-on-a-chip from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering reproduces the structure, functions and cellular make-up of bone marrow, a complex tissue that until now could only be studied intact in living animals. The device, dubbed "bone marrow-on-a-chip," gives scientists a much-needed new tool to test the...
Terminator-style liquid metal connects severed nerves
5.5.2014 | Press monitoring
Hasta la vista, nerve damage. Experiments with bullfrog nerves show that a Terminator-style liquid metal alloy could one day be placed in the body to help severed nerves reconnect. The alloy would stay in place until the nerve has healed, before being slurped back out with a syringe. The peripheral nervous system consists of nerves that carry...
Baboons with pig hearts pave way for human transplants
2.5.2014 | Press monitoring
The unprecedented survival of pig hearts in four baboons for almost 600 days has revived hopes that animal organs could help alleviate the global shortage of organs for transplant. Huge strides have been made in recent years creating and successfully transplanting human organs using stem cell technology. Despite this, the potential for using...
