Press monitoring
Gene Exchange Common Among Sex-manipulating Bacteria
28.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Certain bacteria have learned to manipulate the proportion of females and males in insect populations. Now Uppsala University researchers have mapped the entire genome of a bacterium that infects a close relative of the fruit fly.
Venice seaport eyes algae to fuel energy needs
27.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Venice's seaport plans to become self-sufficient in its energy needs by building a power plant fueled by algae, in what would be the first facility of its kind in Italy, the port authority said.
Cancer Medication? Potential Tumor Suppressor Identified
26.3.2009 | Press monitoring
The gene Myc is an important factor for the growth of organisms by cell division. It causes the production of a protein which, as a transcription factor, controls the expression of up to 15 % of all human genes. When this gene mutates to an oncogene, the cell proliferates excessively and apoptosis is inhibited. Thereby the gene plays a decisive...
New Enzymes Created For Biofuel Production
25.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and world-leading gene-synthesis company DNA2.0 have taken an important step toward the development of a cost-efficient process to extract sugars from cellulose--the world's most abundant organic material and cheapest form of solar-energy storage. Plant sugars are easily converted...
Researchers build a new surface material that resists biofilm growth
23.3.2009 | Press monitoring
This is the tale of two biological substances—cells from mammals and bacteria. It's a story about the havoc these microscopic entities can wreak on all manner of surfaces, from mighty ships to teeth and medical devices, and how two Syracuse University researchers are discovering new ways prevent the damage.
Developing Fruit Fly Embryo Is Capable Of Genetic Corrections
21.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Animals have an astonishing ability to develop reliably in spite of variable conditions during embryogenesis. New research, published in parallel this week in PLoS Biology and PLoS Computational Biology, addresses how living things can develop into precise, adult forms when there is so much variation present during their development stages. A team...
No hiding place for infecting bacteria
20.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Scientists in Colorado have discovered a new approach to prevent bacterial infections from taking hold. Writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, Dr Quinn Parks and colleagues describe how they used enzymes against products of the body's own defence cells to prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria from building a protective biofilm which...
Doubling a gene in corn results in giant biomass
19.3.2009 | Press monitoring
The gene known as Glossy 15 was originally described for its role in giving corn seedlings a waxy coating that acts like a sun screen for the young plant. Without Glossy 15, seedling leaves instead appear shiny and glossy in sunlight. Further studies have shown that the main function of Glossy15 is to slow down shoot maturation. Moose wondered...
Microscope reveals how bacteria 'breathe' toxic metals
18.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Researchers are studying some common soil bacteria that "inhale" toxic metals and "exhale" them in a non-toxic form.
Novel Antibiotics That Don't Trigger Antibiotic Resistance Developed
17.3.2009 | Press monitoring
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of medicine's most vexing challenges. In a study described in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University are developing a new generation of antibiotic compounds that do not provoke bacterial resistance. The compounds work against two notorious...
