- Motor proteins may be vehicles for drug delivery
Specialised motor proteins that transport cargo within cells could be turned into nanoscale machines for drug delivery, according to bioengineers. Chemical alteration of the proteins' function could also help inhibit the growth...
(Issue date: 22 March 2009)
- New Technique Used to Profile Anthrax Genome
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have used a new approach, known as RNA-Seq, to profile the gene expression of the bacterium that causes anthrax, Bacillus anthracis. Their study marks the first time any bacterial...
(Issue date: 22 March 2009)
- Gene decides whether coral relative will fuse or fight
When coral colonies meet one another on the reef, they have two options: merge into a single colony or reject each other and aggressively compete for space. Now, a study has found a gene that may help to decide that fate.
"We...
(Issue date: 22 March 2009)
- A sticky business – how cancer cells become more 'gloopy' as they die
The viscosity, or 'gloopiness', of different parts of cancer cells increases dramatically when they are blasted with light-activated cancer drugs, according to new images that provide fundamental insights into how cancer cells...
(Issue date: 18 March 2009)
- Important new model shows how proteins find the right DNA sequences
Researchers at Uppsala University and Harvard University have collaboratively developed a new theoretical model to explain how proteins can rapidly find specific DNA sequences, even though there are many obstacles in the way on...
(Issue date: 18 March 2009)
- Search reveals molecules that block Stat 3
Finding molecules that block the activity of the oncogene Stat3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription) required screening literally millions of compounds, using computers that compared the structure of the...
(Issue date: 18 March 2009)
- First Treatment for Muscular Dystrophy in Sight: Scientists Harness Exon-Skipping in Large Animal to Successfully Treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Genetic researchers at Children’s National Medical Center and the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in Tokyo published the results of the first successful application of "multiple exon-skipping" to curb the devastating...
(Issue date: 18 March 2009)
- Researchers clone key sperm-binding proteins
New treatments for infertility could be closer to reality, thanks to a discovery from scientists at the Université de Montréal and Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre. According to a study, the researchers have become...
(Issue date: 18 March 2009)
- Breakthrough makes lab-produced stem cells safer for humans
Scientists have paved the way for stem cells made from skin cells to be safely transplanted into humans - by overcoming one of the main health risks associated with previous techniques.
The team of researchers from the UK and...
(Issue date: 08 March 2009)
- Obama 'to reverse stem cell ban'
Stem cells have the capacity to develop into any type of cell. US President Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines, according to reports. Officials say Mr Obama will...
(Issue date: 08 March 2009)
- Compound may block HIV infection
Researchers have identified a cheap, commonly-used compound that, applied vaginally, can stop monkeys being infected with a primate version of HIV. The discovery, by the University of Minnesota, raises hopes of a similar...
(Issue date: 08 March 2009)
- Penn Veterinary Researchers Identify a Critical Growth Factor That Stimulates Sperm Stem Cells to Thrive
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Pennsylvania State University have identified for the first time a specific "niche factor" in the mouse testes called colony stimulating factor 1,...
(Issue date: 08 March 2009)
- Single molecule tracking helps reveal mechanism of chromosome separation in dividing cells
University of Washington researchers are helping to write the operating manual for the nano-scale machine that separates chromosomes before cell division. The apparatus is called a spindle because it looks like a tiny...
(Issue date: 08 March 2009)
- Tiny tool controls blood vessel growth
Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a new tool that makes it possible to study the signals in the body that control the generation of blood vessels. The researchers' findings, published in the new issue of Lab on a...
(Issue date: 23 February 2009)
- Gene to reduce wheat yield losses
A new gene that provides resistance to a fungal disease responsible for millions of hectares of lost wheat yield has been discovered by scientists from the US and Israel.
"This is the first step to achieving more durable...
(Issue date: 23 February 2009)
- Decoding short-term memory with fMRI
People voluntarily pick what information they store in short-term memory. Now, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers can see just what information people are holding in memory based only on patterns of...
(Issue date: 23 February 2009)
- Novel technology for bargain biofuels
A novel technology for synthesising chemicals from plant material could produce liquid fuel for just over €0.50 a litre, say German scientists. But only if the infrastructure is set up in the right way, states the research...
(Issue date: 31 January 2009)
- Genome sequence shows sorghum's immense potential
Sorghum is best-known as a sweet, biscuit-topping syrup. However, the small grain's uses range from a dependable, drought-tolerant food crop to biofuel source, according to researchers at the University of...
(Issue date: 31 January 2009)
- Novel method for accelerated bone growth
Engineers at the University of California, USA, have come up with a way to help accelerate bone growth through the use of nanotubes and stem cells. This new finding could lead to quicker and better recovery, for example, for...
(Issue date: 31 January 2009)
- "Sunshine Vitamin" Link to Cognitive Problems in Older People
Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan, have for the first time identified a relationship between Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin", and cognitive impairment in a...
(Issue date: 25 January 2009)
