For the authors of the research, finding a nanothermometer sensitive enough at this scale is a great step forward in the field of nanotechnology, with applications in biology, chemistry, physics and even in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases s
"This opens up a completely new frontier where we can explore the interface between electronic structures and biology.
but no one has addressed this issue-the electronics/cellular interface-at the level at which biology works."
"The idea of merging the biological with the electronic is not a new one for Lieber.
a process common to delivery of many species in biology and medicine-you could go to the doctor
Photo by Liliana DALBA) UA associate professor of biology, Dr. Matthew Shawkey; his colleague Dr. Ali Dhinojwala, Morton Professor of Polymer Science;
Milestone in biomimicry research These tiny packets of synthetic melanin produce structural color, like in a birds feather,
The discoveries published in the journal ACS Nano("Bio-Inspired Structural Colors Produced via Self-Assembly of Synthetic Melanin Nanoparticles")reflect a milestone in biomimicry research.
Dmitry Fedyanin and Yury Stebunov, have developed an ultracompact highly sensitive nanomechanical sensor for analyzing the chemical composition of substances and detecting biological objects,
researchers make it react with specific substances or even biological objects. If you place antibodies to certain viruses on the cantilever,
The work was published online June 3 in Biomaterials("Ex vivo Engineered Immune Organoids for Controlled Germinal Center Reactions)
It is made from gelatin-based biomaterials reinforced with nanoparticles and seeded with cells, and it mimics the anatomical microenvironment of lymphoid tissue.
and other substances that are important in understanding biological mechanisms without crystallization by simply throwing an ultra intense burst of x-rays onto the sample
compliant smart material, can effectively copy the action of biological chromatophores. Chromatophores are pigmented small cells embedded on cephalopods skin
a Ph d. student in chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of the paper.
#Complex, large-scale genome analysis made easier Researchers at EMBL-EBI have developed a new approach to studying the effect of multiple genetic variations on different traits.
The new algorithm, published in Nature Methods("Efficient set tests for the genetic analysis of correlated traits),
"makes it possible to perform genetic analysis of up to 500,000 individuals-and many traits-at the same time. The relationship between genes and specific traits is complicated more than simple one-to-one relationships between genes and diseases.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) show that many genetic factors are at play for any given trait
but scientists are just beginning to explore how, specifically, genetic variations affect health and disease. Two major statistical challenges to finding these connections involve analysing associations between many different genetic variants and multiple traits,
and can explain a larger proportion of these traits in terms of the genetics that drive them."
These methods will help researchers determine which specific aspects of our biology are inherited, and uncover new insights into the genetics behind our countless biological processes
#Hooked on phonons: Researchers measure graphene vibrations (Nanowerk News) An international research group led by scientists at the National Institute of Standards
The new design is inspired by the way that plants generate energy through photosynthesis. Biology does a very good job of creating energy from sunlight,
with a possible focus on filtering biological contaminants from groundwater to make it safe to drink. There are already a number of filters on the market that can do this,
The system is equipped also to treat the biological contaminants that Wright initially thought shed be treating,
In nature, nacre is made a nanocomposite of layers of inorganic microtablets laminated by different biopolymers that stabilize the architecture.
So, upon stress the material with 13%Upy motif displayed toughening and failure phenomena"very reminiscent of the behavior of highly reinforced biological materials."
biocompatible materials, said co-senior author Zhen Gu, Phd, a professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical engineering at NC State and UNC-Chapel hill.
#Biomanufacturing of Cds quantum dots A team of Lehigh University engineers have demonstrated a bacterial method for the low-cost, environmentally friendly synthesis of aqueous soluble quantum dot (QD) nanocrystals at room temperature.
along with a team of chemical engineering, bioengineering, and material science students present this novel approach for the reproducible biosynthesis of extracellular,
water-soluble QDS in the July 1 issue of the journal Green Chemistry. This is the first example of engineers harnessing nature's unique ability to achieve cost effective and scalable manufacturing of QDS using a bacterial process.
This biosynthetic approach provides a viable pathway to realize the promise of green biomanufacturing of these materials.
the biomanufacturing technique cuts that cost to about $1-$10 per gram. The substantial reduction in cost potentially enables large-scale production of QDS viable for use in commercial applications."
"While biosynthesis of structural materials is established relatively well, harnessing nature to create functional inorganic materials will provide a pathway to a future environmentally friendly biomanufacturing based economy.
We believe that this work is the first step on this path
#Nanoparticle'wrapper'delivers chemical that stops fatty buildup in rodent arteries In what may be a major leap forward in the quest for new treatments of the most common form of cardiovascular disease,
A report on the work, published online in the journal Biomaterials("Improved intervention of atherosclerosis
"builds on recent research by the same team that previously identified a fat-and-sugar molecule called GSL as the chief culprit behind a range of biological glitches that affect the body's ability to properly use, transport
or macromolecules promises intriguing potential for many areas of biology, chemistry, and nanoscience (Nature Communications,"A Scanning Cavity Microscope").
from the characterization of nanomaterials and biological nanosystems to spectroscopy of quantum emitters s
#Sensors and drones: hi-tech sentinels for crops (Nanowerk News) Sensors and drones can be among the farmers'best friends,
or have long-term environmental effects like GMOS, affirms Ursula Hudson, member of the Executive Committee of Slow food International l
"says first author Alphonsus Ng who recently graduated with a Phd from the U of T Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical engineering (IBBME) and Donnelly Centre,
Can we take some inspiration from biology and create a skin-like display? As detailed in the cover article of the June issue of the journal Nature Communications("Polarization-independent actively tunable colour generation on imprinted plasmonic surfaces),
Minjun Kim, Phd, a professor in the College of Engineering and director of the Biological Actuation, Sensing & Transport Laboratory (BASTLAB) at Drexel
Earlier this month, MIT spinout Microchips Biotech partnered with a pharmaceutical giant to commercialize its wirelessly controlled, implantable,
Invented by Microchips Biotech cofounders Michael Cima, the David H. Koch Professor of Engineering, and Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor, the microchips consist of hundreds of pinhead-sized reservoirs,
and osteoporosis. Michael Cima (left) and Robert Langer Now Microchips Biotech will begin co-developing microchips with Teva Pharmaceutical, the worlds largest producer of generic drugs,
Apart from providing convenience, Microchips Biotech says these microchips could also improve medication-prescription adherence a surprisingly costly issue in the United states. A 2012 report published in the Annals of Internal medicine estimated that Americans who dont stick to prescriptions rack up $100 billion
Microchips Biotech will continue work on its flagship product, a birth-control microchip, backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
Cima, who now serves on the Microchips Biotech board of directors with Langer sees this hormone-releasing microchip as one of the first implantable artificial organs because it acts as a gland.
A version of Microchip Biotech's implantable, wirelessly controlled microchip. When an electrical current is delivered to one of the chip's tiny reservoirs,
For years, the technology underwent rigorous research and development at Microchips Biotech. But in 2011, Langer and Cima,
MEMS innovations Microchips Biotech made several innovations in the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing process to ensure the microchips could be commercialized.
To do so, Microchips Biotech modified a cold-welding tongue and groove process. This meant depositing a soft,
a biochemical process that can alter enzymes and plays a significant role in a wide range of cellular processes.
"says principal investigator Xiaoming (Shawn) He, Phd, associate professor of Biomedical engineering and a member of the OSUCCC-James Translational Therapeutics Program."
The biochemists at IME use syngas a mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen as a carbon resource for fermentation.
To do so, IME engineered new genetic processes for the efficient integration of large gene clusters in the Clostridium genome.
a U-M developmental biologist whose lab is located at the Life sciences Institute.""There are trillions of cells in the human body,
for example as gene therapy to suppress the production of a disease-causing protein n
#Photonic crystal fibre: a multipurpose sensor Glass fibres can do more than transport data. A special type of glass fibre can also be used as a high-precision multipurpose sensor,
This increase of speed is completely necessary for all biological life, which would otherwise be limited by the slow nature of vital chemical reactions.
The technique is relevant for diverse scientific fields including investigations into biomolecules and semiconductor materials.
which is particularly suitable for measuring rough surfaces, for example those of semiconductor structures for electronic devices or folded biomolecules."
The remaining particles degrade easily after disposal because of their biocompatible lignin core, limiting the risk to the environment.
said Velev, INVISTA Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular engineering at NC State and the papers corresponding author.
Ralstonia, a genus of bacteria containing numerous soil-borne pathogen species; and Staphylococcus epidermis, a bacterium that can cause harmful biofilms on plastics like catheters in the human body.
The nanoparticles were effective against all the bacteria. The method allows researchers the flexibility to change the nanoparticle recipe in order to target specific microbes.
#New cell division mechanism discovered (Nanowerk News) Canadian and British researchers have discovered that chromosomes play an active role in animal cell division.
It was observed by a team of researchers including Gilles Hickson, an assistant professor at the University of Montreals Department of Pathology and Cell biology and researcher at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, his assistant Silvana Jananji, in collaboration with Nelio
and Sergey Lekomtsev, a postdoc, working in the group led by Buzz Baum of the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell biology at University college London.
Their findings were published today in Nature("Kinetochore-localized PP1SDS22 couples chromosome segregation to polar relaxation").
and it was unknown until now that chromosomes could play an active role at this step in cytokinesis.
the separation of chromosomes followed by splitting of the cell into two new daughter cells by cytokinesis."
called microtubules, were involved in pulling chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell during the division process.
At this time, microtubules physically separate the chromosomes via their central kinetochores while other microtubules signal to the cortex of the cell where its equator is, i e.,
it was believed that the chromosomes only played a passive role: that they were pulled by the microtubules
Chromosomes active role Initially working with the cells of fruit flies using powerful genetic tools and sophisticated microscopy,
the research team discovered that chromosomes emit signals that influence the cortex of the cell to reinforce microtubule action.
This is what makes fruit flies such a powerful system for helping us to understand human biology.""When chromosomes are segregated,
they approach the membrane at the poles of the cell, and thanks to this enzymes actions, this contributes to the softening of the polar membrane,
who has devoted the last 15 years of his research life to cell biology. In fact, all cancers are unchecked characterised by cell division,
that uses gold nanoparticles and paper has been devised by researchers from the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology("Trapping cells in paper for white blood cell count").
Hong Wu and Jackie Y. Ying from the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have developed a compact,
but also commodities such as pharmaceuticals,"said microbiologist Alex Beliaev, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who led the study,
which was published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology("Lauric acid production in a glycogen-less strain of Synechococcus sp.
or glucose, using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering tools to redirect the path of carbon in the cell.
Such biological adjustments can mean the difference between another run-of-the-mill, ocean-dwelling bacterium and an organism useful for creating products used by people every day.
including terpenoids-precursors to a range of commercial chemicals-and bioproducts, such as rubber, detergents, and polymers."
and observe and study the biological and medical significance of RNA misregulation. Details will be published the week of July 20 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences("Quantification
"Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering.
Nanoflares have been very useful for researchers that operate in the arena of quantifying gene expression. Aurasense, Inc.,a biotechnology company that licensed the Nanoflare technology from Northwestern University,
and EMD-Millipore, another biotech company, have commercialized Nanoflares. There are now more than 1, 700 commercial forms of Nanoflares sold under the Smartflare?
name in more than 230 countries. The Sticky-flare is designed to address limitations of Smartflares? most notably their inability to track RNA location and enter the nucleus. The Northwestern team believes Sticky-flares are poised to become a valuable tool for researchers who desire to understand the function of RNA in live cells s
"said Jihyun Kim, the team leader and a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological engineering at Korea University."
Professor of Biomedical Surfaces in the School of Pharmacy and Chris Denning, Professor of Stem Cell biology in the School of medicine and funded by the Engineering and Physical sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
A research team led by Professor Kazunori Kataoka, Department of Bioengineering, School of engineering, The University of Tokyo (concurrently serving as the Director of the Innovation Center of Nanomedicine,
which opens the way for completely new biological applications of DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY. The design process is automated also highly,
says study leader Bjrn Hgberg from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet.
For biological applications, the most crucial difference is that we can now create structures that can be folded in,
physiological salt concentrations that are more suitable for biological applications of DNA NANOSTRUCTURES, explains Dr Hgberg.
The new technique makes it possible to conduct similar biological experiments in a way that resembles conditions within cells even more closely.
In particular, biomedical applications, an area where the use of biocompatible polycarbonates is established well, have been left out.
MIT is negotiating an exclusive license agreement with Lyndra, an early-stage biotechnology company developing novel oral drug-delivery systems, for this and other related technologies.
"The examination of epigenomes requires mapping DNA interactions with a certain protein in the entire genome.
At one point, the study of in vivo genome-wide protein-DNA interactions and chromatin modifications required approximately 10 million cells for an individual test.
The latest breakthrough comes from Lu's collaboration with Kai Tan at the University of Iowa, a systems biologist and associate professor of internal medicine.
The engineered ribosome may enable the production of new drugs and next-generation biomaterials and lead to a better understanding of how ribosomes function.
The artificial ribosome, called Ribo-T, was created in the laboratories of Alexander Mankin, director of the UIC College of Pharmacy Center for Biomolecular Sciences,
assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering. The human-made ribosome may be able to be manipulated in the laboratory to do things natural ribosomes cannot do.
or producing designer therapeutics and perhaps one day even non-biological polymers. No one has developed ever something of this nature. e felt like there was a small very small chance Ribo-T could work,
Jewett. ur new protein-making factory holds promise to expand the genetic code in a unique and transformative way, providing exciting opportunities for synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering,
but the researchers expect expenses to drop over time (as has been the case with genome sequencing).
#Self-assembling, biomimetic membranes may aid water filtration A synthetic membrane that self assembles and is produced easily may lead to better gas separation,
This biomimetic membrane is composed of lipids--fat molecules --and protein-appended molecules that form water channels that transfer water at the rate of natural membranes,
and transport proteins are amazing machines present in biological membranes, "said Manish Kumar, assistant professor of chemical engineering, Penn State."
"The results emerged from discussions among 15 scientists working in the fields of geochemistry, physics, biology,
"How we think about the ways to crystallization impacts how we interpret natural crystallization processes in geochemical and biological environments,
but the concept is the basis for a new method that could enable biologists to image an entire brain in exquisite molecular detail using an ordinary microscope,
The technique, called expansion microscopy, involves physically inflating biological tissues using a material more commonly found in baby nappies (diapers.
Pushing boundaries Viviana Gradinaru, a neuroscientist at the California Institute of technology in Pasadena, says that Boyden technique is another example of how scientists are bypassing hardware limitations by modifying biological tissue.
says Gerard Wright, a biochemist at Mcmaster University in Hamilton, Canada, who was not involved with the study. obody knew
By comparison, most antibiotics target proteins and it can be relatively easy for a microbe to become resistant to those drugs by accumulating mutations that alter the target protein shape.
But medical microbiologist Timothy Walsh of Cardiff University, UK, urges caution because the drug has been tested against only a small number of lab strains.
and biomedical engineering at USC, and neurologist Mindy Aisen, chief medical officer at Rancho Los Amigos. Andersen and his colleagues wanted to improve the versatility of movement that a neuroprosthetic can offer to patients by recording signals from a different brain region other than the motor cortex, i e.,
Yoshiki Sasai, Mototsugu Eiraku and their colleagues from the RIKEN Center for Developmental biology had shown previously that they could coax human
which lead to blindness. he protocol developed here allows us to generate retinal tissue that closely resembles the biological retina with high efficiency and stability,
Researchers discover that risk mutations disrupt a delicate chemical balance in the brain, responsible for brain development and function.
the team found that disease-linked mutations disrupt specific sets of genes contributing to excitatory and inhibitory signalling, the balance
says lead author Dr Andrew Pocklington from Cardiff University MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. ur study marks a significant step towards understanding the biology underpinning schizophrenia,
which is an incredibly complex condition and has up until very recently kept scientists largely mystified as to its origins. e now have
The first evidence that schizophrenia mutations interfere with excitatory signalling was uncovered in 2011 by the same team,
based at Cardiff University MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. This paper not only confirms their previous findings,
They looked for types of mutation known as copy number variants (CNVS), mutations in which large stretches of DNA are deleted
the team was able to show that the mutations in individuals with the disorder tended to disrupt genes involved in specific aspects of brain function.
but the biology of these genes are understood poorly, said the study principal investigator Berislav Zlokovic, director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and holder of the Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha chair for Alzheimer Disease research at the Keck School of medicine. ur new study shows that a deficiency in PICALM in blood vessels
and using transgenic animals to model the disease, the group found that low levels of PICALM in brain endothelial cells lead to amyloid-beta accumulation in the brain.
they found that this genetic alteration disrupted amyloid-beta clearance by cerebral blood vessels. These new findings have prompted Zlokovic to address new questions about the role of PICALM in Alzheimer.
including gene therapy, and screening for new drugs to overcome PICALM deficiency e
#DNA Breakage Underlies Learning and Age Related Neurodegeneration The process that allows our brains to learn
a professor of genetics and neurology at Harvard Medical school who was involved not in the research. he work elegantly links DNA strand break formation by the enzyme topoisomerase IIß to the temporal control of transcription,
he says. anticipate that this advance will have broad implications ranging from the basic biology of transcription to pathological mechanisms involved in diseases such as Alzheimer disease
Although our genetic information the ode of lifeis written in our DNA, our genes are turned on and off by epigenetic witches For example,
small methyl molecules attach to our DNA in a process known as methylation and contribute to the regulation of gene activity,
Almost all of this epigenetic information is erased, however in germ cells prior to transmission to the next generation.
Professor Surani and colleagues showed that a process of reprogramming the epigenetic information contained in these primordial germ cells is initiated around two weeks into the embryo development
These scapeeregions of the genome contain some genes that are particularly active in neuronal cells,
ur study has given us a good resource of potential candidates of regions of the genome where epigenetic information is passed down not just to the next generation but potentially to future generations, too.
which may provide us with the opportunity to study their function in greater detail. pigenetic reprogramming also has potential consequences for the so-called ark matterwithin our genome.
As much as half of human DNA is estimated to be comprised of etroelements regions of DNA that have entered our genome from foreign invaders including bacteria and PLANT DNA.
In fact, the researchers found that a notable fraction of the retroelements in our genome are scapeesand retain their methylation patterns particularly those retroelements that have entered our genome in our more recent evolutionary history.
This suggests that our body defence mechanism may be keeping some epigenetic information intact to protect us from potentially detrimental effects.
and chromatin reorganization volutionarily young and hazardous retrotransposons remain partially methylated ome demethylation resistant loci are candidates for epigenetic inheritancesummary Resetting of the epigenome in human primordial germ cells (hpgcs) is critical
revealing potential for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance that may have phenotypic consequences. We provide comprehensive insight on early human germline transcriptional network
and epigenetic reprogramming that subsequently impacts human development and disease. Unique Gene Regulatory Network Resets the Human Germline Epigenome for Developmentby Walfred W c. Tang
This research has been collaboration between many distinct research groups combining cell biology to neuroscience. o sole research group could have achieved such a comprehensive view of the dendritic spine initiation mechanism and show its importance for the brain function
The discovery by Tufts University biologists presents the first model of regeneration discovered by a nonhuman intelligence and the first comprehensive model of planarian regeneration,
The work, published in the June 4, 2015, issue of PLOS Computational biology, demonstrates how obot sciencecan help human scientists in the future.
In order to bioengineer complex organs scientists need to understand the mechanisms by which those shapes are produced normally by the living organism.
Vannevar bush professor of biology and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental biology. ost regenerative models today derived from genetic experiments are arrow diagrams,
and developmental biology, said the paper first author, Daniel Lobo, Ph d, . postdoctoral fellow in the Levin lab. To address this challenge,
Tufts biologists devloped an algorithm that used evolutionary computation to produce regulatory networks able to volveto accurately predict the results of published research on planarian regeneration.
and bring an unusual perspective to the field of developmental biology. Levin majored in computer science and biology at Tufts before earning his Ph d. in genetics.
Lobo earned a Ph d. in the field before joining the Levin lab. The paper represents a successful application of the growing field of obot sciencewhich Levin says can help human researchers by doing much more than crunch enormous datasets quickly. hile
Lieber. his opens up a completely new frontier where we can explore the interface between electronic structures and biology.
but no one has addressed this issue the electronics/cellular interface at the level at which biology works.
If a mutation occurs in one of them the person develops the disease. Scientists introduced a mutated human gene (TDP-43 or FUS) into C. elegans,
a nematode worm widely used for genetic experiments. The worms became paralyzed within about 10 days.
Results were remarkable. orms with an immune deficit resulting from the tir-1 gene mutation were in better health
Loss of function mutations in tir-1, associated downstream kinases, and the transcription factor atf-7 all suppress motor neuron degeneration.
a professor of biomedical engineering, has been working to further develop and apply the technology to other organs beyond the relatively transparent eye.
professor of cellular microbiology. he sensing component of the artificial neuron senses a change in chemical signals in one dish,
Abstract for n organic electronic biomimetic neuron enables auto-regulated neuromodulationby Daniel T. Simon, Karin C. Larsson, David Nilsson, Gustav Burström, Dagmar
10.1016/j. bios. 2015.04. 058abstractan organic electronic biomimetic neuron enables auto-regulated neuromodulationcurrent therapies for neurological disorders are based on traditional medication and electric stimulation.
Here, we present an organic electronic biomimetic neuron, with the capacity to precisely intervene with the underlying malfunctioning signalling pathway using endogenous substances.
The results demonstrate the potential of the organic electronic biomimetic neuron in therapies involving long-range neuronal signalling by mimicking the function of projection neurons.
E. P. Taylor Professor of Pain Studies at Mcgill University and Director of the Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain. he realization that the biological basis for pain between men and women
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