Life Sciences and Chemistry

Combination of computer science and biology could aid cancer research

In a boost to cancer research, Princeton scientists have invented a fast and reliable method for identifying alterations to chromosomes that occur when cells become malignant. The technique helps to show how cells modify their own genetic makeup and may allow cancer treatments to be tailored more precisely to a patient’s disease. Cancer cells are known among biologists for their remarkable ability to disable s

Soap bubbles delight children and the young at heart, but they also have been objects of scientific study for centuries. Operating under the laws of physics, bubbles always try to minimize their surface area, even when many bubbles are aggregated together.

Now two Northwestern University scientists have demonstrated that the tendency to minimize surface area is not limited to soap bubbles but extends to living things as well. In a paper published Oct. 7 in the journal Nature, t

A team of University of Florida researchers has created tiny hybrid particles that can speedily root out even one isolated E. coli bacterium lurking in ground beef or provide a crucial early warning alarm for bacteria used as agents of bioterrorism and for early disease diagnosis. The study will appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Our focus is the development of a bionanotechnology that combines the strengths of nanotechnology and biochemist

Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) type VII (also known as Sly syndrome) is a lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) characterized by a deficiency of the lysomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase. MPS VII leads to bone and joint abnormalities, enlargement of the visceral organs, cardiovascular disease and neurologic impairment. Using a MPS VII adult animal model, researchers in the Center for Gene Therapy at Columbus Children’s Research Institute (CCRI) on the campus of Columbus Children’s Hospital have demonstrat

Milestone in maize genomics

Rutgers researchers, with the support of the National Science Foundation, have pushed back the frontiers on the genetic nature and history one of the world’s most important crops – corn. This crop dominates agriculture in the United States, where approximately 9 billion bushels are produced annually at a value of $30 billion. Maize (or corn) is also an important dietary staple in much of the third world. Rutgers’ Joachim Messing and his colle

New technology makes visualization possible

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have found a way to see proteins in cells that have been tagged by a molecular “sticky note” called ubiquitin. “This technology allows us to see, under a microscope, proteins modified by ubiquitin inside the cell,” says Tom K. Kerppola, Ph.D., an associate professor of biological chemistry in the Medical School and an HHMI associate investigator.