Press monitoring
First plant-based microswimmers could propel drugs to the right location
26.12.2013 | Press monitoring
In the quest to shrink motors so they can maneuver in tiny spaces like inside and between human cells, scientists have taken inspiration from millions of years of plant evolution and incorporated, for the first time, corkscrew structures from plants into a new kind of helical "microswimmer." The low-cost development, which appears in ACS'...
Neanderthal Genome Shows Early Human Interbreeding, Inbreeding
25.12.2013 | Press monitoring
The most complete sequence to date of the Neanderthal genome, using DNA extracted from a woman's toe bone that dates back 50,000 years, reveals a long history of interbreeding among at least four different types of early humans living in Europe and Asia at that time, according to University of California, Berkeley, scientists. Population...
New look inside cell nucleus could improve cancer diagnostics
24.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Researchers have successfully isolated and sequenced the entire messenger RNA – the "genetic photocopies" – contained in the nucleus of a single brain cell. This research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will help researchers better understand how organs function in health and disease and provide...
Bacteria to aid sutainable sugarcane production
23.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Scientists have discovered a bacterium that could reduce the use of fertiliser in sugarcane production and improve yield. Sugar is an important commodity around the world and sugarcane accounts for about 80% of production. The price of sugar has increased at a rate considerably above inflation over the last 30 years. This is not least due to...
3-D Tissue Printing: Cells from the Eye Inkjet-Printed for the First Time
20.12.2013 | Press monitoring
A group of researchers from the UK have used inkjet printing technology to successfully print cells taken from the eye for the very first time. The breakthrough, which has been detailed in a paper published today, 18 December, in IOP Publishing's journal Biofabrication, could lead to the production of artificial tissue grafts made from the...
Toxic substances in banana plants kill root pests
19.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Bananas are a major food staple for about 400 million people in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. However, banana yields worldwide are severely threatened by pests. Dirk Hölscher from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, and an international team of researchers have discovered that...
Significant Advance Reported With Genetically Modified Poplar Trees
18.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Forest geneticists at Oregon State University have created genetically modified poplar trees that grow faster, have resistance to insect pests and are able to retain expression of the inserted genes for at least 14 years, a report in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research. The trees are one of the best successes to date in the genetic...
Revolutionary Method for Gluing Gels and Biological Tissues
17.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Researchers have discovered an efficient and easy-to-use method for bonding together gels and biological tissues. A team headed by Ludwik Leibler, involving researchers from the Laboratoire Matiere Molle et Chimie (CNRS/ESPCI ParisTech) and the Laboratoire Physico-Chimie des Polymeres et Milieux Dispersés (CNRS/ UPMC/ESPCI ParisTech), has...
Speeding up gene discovery
16.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, which identified nearly 20,000 protein-coding genes, scientists have been trying to decipher the roles of those genes. A new approach developed at MIT, the Broad Institute, and the Whitehead Institute should speed up the process by allowing researchers to study the entire genome at once. The new...
Novel Bio-Inspired Method to Grow High-Quality Graphene for High-End Electronic Devices
13.12.2013 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), led by Professor Loh Kian Ping, who heads the Department of Chemistry at the NUS Faculty of Science, has successfully developed an innovative one-step method to grow and transfer high-quality graphene on silicon and other stiff substrates, opening up opportunities for graphene...
