According to Hashemi and his adviser, Guillermo Sapiro, professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Duke
associate professor of cell biology and physiology at UNC School of medicine. o we looked for commonalitieshe things that each of these receptors need
they teamed up with Stephen Frye, director of the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
But when they encounter biological tissue, they either reflect off the body harmlessly or get absorbed by the skin as heat.
or biological tissue. For instance, when you put your ear on a railroad track, you can hear the vibration of the wheels long before the train itself
because they hope it will yield a biological marker to prioritize bipolar disorder care to those who need it most urgently to stabilize their moodsspecially in regions of the world with scarce mental health services.
That makes the system relevant to commercialization. here another technique paper we need to do as a follow-up before we get to actual biological applications,
when new bone grows Bioengineers have created a hydrogel to help people regrow lost bone and tissue.
The new material is described in a paper published in the journal Biomacromolecules. emi-smartmaterial came up with the idea a few years ago,
and may be suited better for a biotech company, he says. e focus more on the performance of the hydrogels and the underlying molecular mechanisms The National institutes of health,
People in a given geographical area are more likely to have similar genetics. When they also have genetic traits typically found in other, distant regions,
The discovery of a certain genotype might indicate the potential for a genetic disease and suggest that diagnostic testing be done.
there is evidence that specific genotypes respond differently to medicationsaking this information potentially useful when selecting the most effective therapy and appropriate dosage.
The investigators are currently designing a study to correlate pharmacokineticshe time course of drug metabolismith genotype.
says Robert Krug, professor of molecular biosciences at University of Texas at Austin. In addition to countering the body defense mechanisms,
associate professor of microbiology and immunology. ut what wee now shown is that RSV has increased an ability to cause airway obstruction because, during an RSV infection,
Pickles is now on the trail of a human biomarker that would tell doctors if an RSV-infected infant is at greater risk of developing severe lung disease.
A biomarker would be key in the development of a needed diagnostic tool and would aid clinical trials that aim to develop anti-RSV therapeutics.
Pickles has already found candidate molecular biomarkers that indicate if the epithelial cells in the tiniest airways are expressing the RSV NS2 protein.
He is now initiating studies to look for the same biomarkers in human infants infected with RSV f we can find biomarkers informing us that the most vulnerable parts of the lung have already been infected by RSV,
#Dog genes may offer clues to cleft palate in humans Researchers have identified the genetic mutation responsible for a form of cleft palate in a breed of dog,
The findings appear online this week in the journal PLOS Genetics. his discovery provides novel insight into the genetic cause of a form of cleft palate through the use of a less conventional animal model says study leader Professor Danika Bannasch,
a veterinary geneticist at the UC Davis School of veterinary medicine. t also demonstrates that dogs have multiple genetic causes of cleft palate that we anticipate will aid in the identification of additional candidate genes relevant to human cleft palate.
By conducting a genome-wide study of these particular retrievers with a naturally occurring cleft palate,
researchers identified a mutation responsible for the development of cleft palate in the breed. Dogs with this mutation also have shortened a lower jaw
similar to humans who have Pierre Robin Sequence. The disorder, a subset of cleft palate, affects one in 8,
The compound, called FRAX486, appears to halt an out-of-control biological runingprocess in the schizophrenic brain that unnecessarily destroys important connections among brain cells,
The scientists were able to see this by peering into the brains of the mice with DISC1 mutations on the 35th and 60th day of their lives, the equivalent of adolescence and young adulthood.
each one resulting from mutations in a different gene important in eye development and vision.
Inglehearn adds. his still doesn lead us straight to the mutations that cause the condition,
the greater understanding of the biology of vision gained from such studies also informs the search for new forms of therapy,
#Melanoma in families linked to mutations in one gene The discovery that mutations in a specific gene are responsible for a hereditary form of melanoma could make it easier to detect and treat,
People with specific mutations in the POT1 gene, which protects the ends of our chromosomes from damage,
are extremely likely to develop melanoma, new research shows. These mutations deactivate the POT1 gene. his finding significantly increases our understanding of why some families have a high incidence of melanoma,
says Tim Bishop of the School of medicine at the University of Leeds and a senior co-author of the study published in Nature Genetics. ince this gene has previously been identified as a target for the development of new drugs, in the future,
it may be possible that early detection will facilitate better management of this disease. ith this discovery we should be able to determine who in a family is at risk,
Known genetic mutations account for approximately 40 percent of all occurrences of inherited forms of melanoma. The team set out to identify the hereditary mutations that account for the other 60 percent by sequencing part of the genome of 184 patients with hereditary melanoma caused by unknown mutations.
They found that the inactivation of POT1 caused by these mutations leads to longer and potentially unprotected telomeres
regions that protect chromosomes from damage. The team found that there were also cases of other cancer types in families with these hereditary mutations such as leukemia
and brain tumors. ur research is making a real difference to understanding what causes melanoma and ultimately therefore how to prevent
and treat melanoma and is a prime example of how genomics can transform public health, says Julia Newton Bishop,
Ohea, a professor in the department of cell and developmental biology and director of the University of Michigan Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Lab,
When the team measured gene expression first in the stem cells, and then reevaluated the cells once they had become neurons,
associate researcher in genetics at Yale university and co-lead author of the study. Researchers were interested in using mice without the FAT10 gene to study its role in sepsis
and could only image a limited number of biological targets. The researchers wanted to find another way of making gas-filled structures that could be nanoscale.
The researchers showed that they were able to easily attach biomolecules to the gas vesicle surface to enable targeting.
which vary in genetic sequence, exhibit different properties that can be used to, for example, distinguish them from each other in an ultrasound image.
For example if we want to understand the genetics of how silk is produced we must first understand how silk worms evolved over time
This new knowledge will significantly build the capability of evolutionary research as well as comparative biology since accurate measures of organismal relationships are fundamental to our interpretation of morphology genetics
and physiology to name a few. ust as the diversity of insects has always been a problem for scientists the project s goal of analyzing a large number of insect transcriptomes posed a major challenge
but belongs to a different class of biochemical substances. Copsin is a protein whereas traditional antibiotics are often non-protein organic compounds.
It was the biochemical properties of the substance that led the scientist to do so. opsin is an exceptionally stable proteinsays Essig.
which was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry l
#Laser probe knows if you ate your veggies Yale university rightoriginal Studyposted by Michael Greenwood-Yale on November 6 2014a diet full of fruits
and painlessly scan the skin of a subject s palm accurately measures changes in a biomarker known as skin carotenoids in response to an intervention involving a diet enriched in fruits and vegetables.
and adults alike. here is great interest in the development of objective biomarkers of dietary intake especially biomarkers that can be measured noninvasivelysays coauthor Susan T. Mayne professor of epidemiology at Yale university
and fruit and vegetable intake#this new paper demonstrates that the biomarker was sensitive to changes in fruit
and biological engineering at University of Florida. As reported in the journal Water Research Gao ground wood chips that were heated then in nitrogen gas but not burned.
And when you don t you don t get fibers. nderstanding the fine details of collagen assembly presents the possibility of synthetic collagens for specific functions Hartgerink says. number of biomaterials use natural collagen
#Upgraded circuits built to run biocomputers ETH Zurich rightoriginal Studyposted by Fabio Bergamin-ETH Zurich on October 27 2014.
Scientists have taken a key step toward realizing the goal of building programmable biocomputers that could detect
Biocomputers differ significantly from their counterparts made of silicon and bioengineers still face several major obstacles.
A silicon chip for example computes with ones and zeros current is either flowing or not and it can switch between these states in the blink of an eye.
In contrast biological signals are less clear in addition to ignaland o signalthere is a plethora of intermediate states with little bit of signal.
This is a particular disadvantage for biocomputer components that serve as sensors for specific biomolecules and transmit the relevant signal.
A team led by ETH Zurich Professor Yaakov Benenson has developed several new components for biological circuits.
These components are key building blocks for constructing precisely functioning and programmable biocomputers. The circuit controls the activity of individual sensor components using an internal imer.
The researchers recently published their work in the scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology. To understand the underlying technology it is important to know that these biological sensors consist of synthetic genes that are read by enzymes
and converted into RNA and proteins. In the controllable biosensor developed by doctoral candidate Nicolas Lapique the gene responsible for the output signal is not active in its basic state as it is installed in the wrong orientation in the circuit DNA.
and reinstalls it in the correct orientation making it active. he input signals can be transmitted much more accurately than before thanks to the precise control over timing in the circuitsays Benenson professor of synthetic biology who supervised Lapique s work.
In biology there are a variety of different signals a host of different proteins or microrna molecules.
In order to combine biologic components in any desired sequence signal converters must be connected between them. Laura Prochazka also a doctoral candidate student under Benenson has developed a versatile signal converter.
This new biological platform will significantly increase the number of applications for biological circuits. he ability to combine biological components at will in a modular plug-and-play fashion means that we now approach the stage
when the concept of programming as we know it from software engineering can be applied to biological computers.
Bioengineers will literally be able to program in futuresays Benenson. Source: ETH Zurichyou are free to share this article under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noderivs 3. 0 Unported license N
This is the first time researchers have been able to visually observe these electrical signaling proteins turn on without genetic modification.
and membrane biology at University of California Davis. o understand how neural systems or the heart works we need to know which switches are activated.
The researchers who conducted this study come from UC Davis Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole and the Molecular Foundry Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The dream of the researchers is to one day apply the technology to shed light on the spatial structure of biomolecules such as proteins.
This would help biologists tackle issues relating to protein functions more effectively o
#Tiniest particles melt and then turn into Jell-o New york University rightoriginal Studyposted by James Devitt-NYU on October 20 2014the fact that microscopic particles known as polymers
Christoph Benning professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State university and his colleagues unearthed the protein's potential
and department of plant biology. hey go into quiescence to conserve energy and nutrients. That's when they produce the equivalent of vegetable oil.
In the new study biogeochemists at Rice conducted side-by-side tests of the water-holding ability of three soil types#sand clay and topsoil#both with and without added biochar.
Transcription factors known as genetic switches drive gene expression in plants based on external stresses such as light rain soil quality
and the fact that now all of its genome has been sequenced. The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award and the National institutes of health National Institute of General Medical supported the work e
This discovery which is like a eesaw circuitwas led by postdoctoral scholar Weizhe Hong in the laboratory of David J. Anderson biology professor at Caltech and an investigator with the Howard hughes medical institute.
and their associated behaviors the researchers used a technique called optogenetics. In optogenetics neurons are altered genetically
so that they express light-sensitive proteins from microbial organisms. Then by shining a light on these modified neurons via a tiny fiber optic cable inserted into the brain researchers can control the activity of the cells as well as their associated behaviors.
Using this optogenetic approach Anderson s team was able to selectively switch on the neurons associated with social behaviors
For example if a lone mouse began spontaneously self-grooming the researchers could halt this behavior through the optogenetic activation of the social neurons.
and social behaviors nd if you don t understand the circuitry you are never going to understand how the gene mutation affects the behavior. oing forward he says such a complete understanding will be necessary for the development of future therapies.
and tightly binds the nanotubes together says Martã an assistant professor of chemistry and bioengineering and of materials science and nanoengineering.
In earlier research microbiologist Gemma Reguera of Michigan State university identified that Geobacter bacteria s tiny conductive hairlike appendages
and Environmental microbiology Reguera has added an additional layer of armor to her enhanced microbes. The microbes also use the pili to stick to each other
The Geobacter biofilm encased by a network of nanowires and slime gives the bacteria a shield
As the biofilm concentrates many nanowires around the Geobacter cells more uranium can be mineralized bound
which surrounds the biofilm cells and boosts the Geobacter s pili armor so the biofilm now can pull double duty by helping mineralize uranium.
The shield keeps the uranium from penetrating deep into the Geobacter biofilm. By keeping this process on the surface of the film the bacteria are exposed not to uranium
and as a community they are able to clean up more toxic waste. he results surpassed our most optimistic predictionsreguera says. ven thin biofilms immobilized uranium like sponges.
They reduced it to a mineral all while not suffering any damage to themselves for prolonged periods of time. ven
when exposed to extremely high and toxic concentrations of uranium levels that would destroy individual Geobacter cells the biofilms didn t just survive they thrived she adds.
Reguera s future research will focus on deciphering how the biofilm matrix that encases the cells shields them so effectively
They documented for the first time the presence of genetic material for the bluetongue virus in female midges that were collected during two consecutive winter seasons.
For example it could be used to reproduce complex structures such as bone producing a scaffold out of biocompatible materials on
and the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies supported the work. Source: Caltechyou are free to share this article under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noderivs 3. 0 Unported license t
It would enable us to assemble new complex substances or materials for specific applicationssays Professor Viola Vogel head of the Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology at ETH Zurich Switzerland.
A second component a single short strand of genetic material (DNA) then binds to the Neutravidin creating a small molecular complex. he system is still in its infancy.
and then unload it again in the right place. he use of biological motors for technical applications is not easy.
Molecular engines such as kinesin have to be removed from their biological context and integrated into an artificial entity without any loss of their functionality.
Lead author Patrick T. Sadtler a Ph d. candidate in the University of Pittsburgh department of bioengineering compared the study s findings to cooking. uppose you have flour sugar baking soda eggs salt and milk.
and we wanted to find out what that limit looks like in terms of neuronssays Aaron P. Batista assistant professor of bioengineering at University of Pittsburgh.
Byron M. Yu assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Carnegie mellon believes this work demonstrates the utility of BCI for basic scientific studies that will eventually impact people s lives. hese findings could be the basis
Now bioengineers have hacked the DNA of yeast and reprogrammed these simple cells to make opioid-based medicines via a sophisticated extension of the basic brewing process that makes beer.
Led by bioengineering Associate professor Christina Smolke the Stanford team has spent already a decade genetically engineering yeast cells to reproduce the biochemistry of poppies with the ultimate goal of producing opium-based medicines from start to finish in fermentation vats. e are now very close to replicating the entire
while mitigating the potential for diversion to illegal usesays Smolke who outlines her work in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
In the new report Smolke and her collaborators Kate Thodey a postdoctoral scholar in bioengineering and Stephanie Galanie a doctoral student in chemistry detail how they added five genes from two different organisms to yeast cells.
The thrust of Smolke s work for a decade has been to pack the entire production chain from the fields of poppies through all the subsequent steps of chemical refining into yeast cells using the tools of bioengineering.
What Smolke s team has done now is to carefully reprogram the yeast genome the master instruction set that tells every organism how to live to behave like a poppy
Since she wanted to produce several different opioids her team hacked the yeast genome in slightly different ways to produce each of the slightly different opioid formulations such as oxycodone or hydrocodone.
They must perform another set of bioengineering hacks to connect the two major advances they have made over the past decade.
Once she forges this missing link in the chain of biochemical synthesis she will have produced a bioengineered yeast that can perform all 17 steps from sugar to specific opioid drugs in a single vat. e are already working on thisshe says.
Scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts and the University of Maryland Baltimore County collaborated on the project.
#Rapeseed genes could take the bite out of broccoli Scientists have unraveled the genetic code of the rapeseed plant
Published in the journal Science the findings will help scientists understand how plant genomes evolve in the context of domestication.
Broccoli cauliflower Brussels sprouts Chinese cabbage turnip collared greens mustard canola oil all these are different incarnations of the same plant genus Brassica. hole-genome sequencing efforts like this one allow us to address two fundamental
questionssays Eric Lyons assistant professor in the School of Plant Sciences at University of Arizona. ow does stored the genetic information in the genome help us understand the functions of the organism
and what does the structure of the genome tell us about the evolution of genomes in general?
(or Brassica napus) genome contains a large number of genes more than 100000 due to the fact that it arose from a merger between two parent species Brassica rapa (Chinese cabbage)
and others. he rapeseed genome has a very interesting historysays Haibao Tang a senior scientist of bioinformatics. s a result of the merger event it ended up with four copies of each gene.
The genome defines what Brassicas are.?It also defines what kids hate to eatlyons says. he bitterness in some cultivars such as broccoli
and we find that precisely those genes that code for those compounds were lost from the rapeseed genome. he sequencing effort provides scientists
or tweak the lipid biosynthesis pathway to favorably modify the oil content in rapeseed. Being able to modify the content of bitter-tasting compounds has implications beyond
isolationsays Christian Rabeling assistant professor of biology at the University of Rochester. e now have evidence that speciation can take place within a single colony. n discovering the parasitic Mycocepurus castrator researchers uncovered an example of sympatric speciation
which geographic barriers such as mountains separate members of a group causing them to evolve independently. ince Darwin s Origin of Species evolutionary biologists have debated long
and coauthor of the study that is published in the journal Current Biology ith this study we offer a compelling case for sympatric evolution that will open new conversations in the debate about speciation in these ants social insects and evolutionary biology
That led the researchers to study the genetic relationships of all fungus-growing ants in South america including all five known and six newly-discovered species of the genus Mycocepurus to determine
and nuclear genomes of these parasitic ants and their host in an effort to confirm speciation
and the underlying genetic mechanism. he parasitic ants need to exercise discretion because taking advantage of the host species is considered taboo in ant society.
The findings will be presented at the International Joint Conference on Biometrics on Oct 2. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the project.
and progress new treatments to the clinic at a much quicker rate a key goal of co-authors Martin Donnelley and David Parsons of the CF Gene therapy group at the Women s and Children s Hospital and the University
#Laser detects distant bombs with 99%accuracy Texas A&m University rightoriginal Studyposted by Ryan Garcia-Texas A&m on August 13 2014new laser technology makes it possible to identify explosives biological
The lasers travel long distances and identify dangerous materials present within powders that commonly act as carriers for explosive nitrates and lethal biological agents such as anthrax and ricin.
When laser light contacts the molecules present within the powder it experiences a scattering effect that can be analyzed to construct a sort of molecular ingerprintthat reveals its exact chemical makeup says Vladislav Yakovlev professor in the biomedical engineering department at Texas A&m University. s
NIR-IIA imaging might offer a means of better understanding the role of healthy vasculature in those diseases Hong says. e could also label different neuron types in the brain with biomarkers
and hypertension by picking up airborne biomarkers exhaled or released through the skin. ach of these diseases has its own biomarkers that the device would be able to sensesays Sherman Fan professor of biomedical engineering at University of Michigan
. or diabetes acetone is a marker for example. ther biomarkers it could detect include nitric oxide and oxygen abnormal levels
of which can point to conditions such as high blood pressure anemia or lung disease. Fan is developing the sensor with Zhaohui Zhong an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and Girish Kulkarni a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering.
These nanoelectronic graphene vapor sensors can be embedded completely in a microgas chromatography system which is the gold standard for vapor analysis the researchers say.
The entire microgas chromatography system can be integrated on a single chip with low power operation and embedded in a badge-sized device that can be worn on the body to provide noninvasive and continuous monitoring of specific health conditions. e believe this device can be extremely beneficial to societyfan says.
The technique allows them to peer through the tissue#in 3d#using standard optical methods such as confocal microscopy. arge volumes of tissue are not optically transparent#you can t see through themsays Viviana Gradinaru (BS 05) an assistant professor of biology
Gradinaru also leads Caltech s Beckman Institute BIONIC center for optogenetics and tissue clearing and plans to offer training sessions to researchers interested in learning how to use PACT
Now detailed reanalysis by an international team of researchers including Robert B. Eckhardt professor of developmental genetics
and moths and create an extensive ree of Lepidoptera. esearchers also discovered that some insects once classified as moths are actually butterflies meaning there are more butterfly species that previously thought. his project advances biodiversity research by providing an evolutionary foundation for a very diverse group of insects with nearly 160000 described
Biological sciences the study builds the evolutionary framework for future ecological and genetics research of insects Kawahara says. here is a DNA revolution taking place.
This is an important time in the history of science when we can use DNA sequencing on a very large scale. he yearlong study is one of the first to utilize a massive amount of genetic data to answer questions about the history of butterflies and moths.
Using next-generation sequencing a method used to rapidly process large amounts of DNA scientists developed an initial sample of 46 species that represent many of the most biodiverse groups of moths and butterflies.
They also combined 33 new transcriptomes a set of RNA molecules with 13 genomes both
of which hold genetic material for organisms. The researchers identified 2696 genes by breaking down the DNA down and piecing it back together Kawahara says.
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