Microbiology

Futures In Biotech Explores Multiple Sclerosis And The Myelin Repair Foundation

Futures in Biotech On the latest episode (#14, posted on 3/23/07) of Futures in Biotech, host Marc Pelletier talks with the founder and scientists from the Myelin Repair Foundation. The MRF is pioneering a new collaborative form of research aimed at devel ...

Article - Ginger Campbell - Mar 26 2007 - 9:53am

Study Shows Metabolic Strategy Of Stressed Cell

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have mapped out many of the dynamic genetic and biochemical changes that make up a cell's response to a shortage of a molecule called Coenzyme A (CoA), a key player in metabolism. The result ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 24 2007 - 11:35am

Organic Kiwis Are Healthier, Say UC Davis Researchers

In one of the most comprehensive and definitive studies of its kind to date, a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis have proven that organically grown kiwifruit contain more health-promoting factors than those grown under conventiona ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2007 - 12:03am

Transplanting Organs From Animals To Humans-- What Are The Barriers?

Given the huge shortage of donor organs, researchers have been trying to find ways to transplant animal organs across different species (known as "xenotransplantation"), with the eventual aim of transplanting animal organs into humans. The major ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2007 - 10:56am

LED Array Signals Successful Binding Of Drug-delivery Molecules To DNA

Biology and chemistry researchers from Virginia Tech are creating molecular complexes to bind to and disrupt the DNA of diseased tissues, such as tumors or viruses. Testing the activity of each of the therapeutic molecule designs has been a time-consuming ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2007 - 10:45am

Metagenomics 'will Transform Modern Microbiology'

The emerging field of metagenomics, where the DNA of entire communities of microbes is studied simultaneously, presents the greatest opportunity-- perhaps since the invention of the microscope-- to revolutionize understanding of the microbial world, says ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2007 - 10:54pm

Engineering Peptides To Probe Proteins Deep Inside Cell Membranes

Proteins, which form much of the molecular machinery required for life, are the targets of most drug molecules. One third of all proteins are membrane proteins – embedded within the cell’s fatty outer layer. While scientists can easily study the other two ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 30 2007 - 6:18pm

Efficiency Sensing- How Bacteria Talk To Each Other

Bacteria must talk to each other, in a sense. They use signals to inform neighbors whether to switch certain genes on or off and this allows them to adapt to changing circumstances. What exactly do bacteria learn from the signal substances between them? Th ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 9 2009 - 5:36pm

Evolution Of Symbiosis

The aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum depends on a bacterial symbiont, Buchnera aphidicola, for amino acids it can't get from plants. The aphid, in turn, provides the bacterium with energy and carbon as well as shelter inside specialized cells. Such interdep ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 9 2007 - 9:45pm

'Fusion' Protein Found By Johns Hopkins Researchers

Working with fruit flies, scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered a protein required for two neighboring cells to fuse and become one "super cell." Most cells enjoy their singular existence, but the strength and flexibility of muscles relies ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 11 2007 - 12:57am