ScienceDaily: Biotechnology News

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• DNA building blocks can be made in space, NASA evidence suggests
• Scientist develops virus that targets HIV: Using a virus to kill a virus
• Protein unmasks pathogenic fungi to activate immune response
• Biology, materials science get a boost from robust imaging tool: Collaborators give a new view of macromolecular systems
• Key molecule that keeps immune cell development on track described
• Live from the scene -- biochemistry in action: New microscope follows single molecules by the millisecond

DNA building blocks can be made in space, NASA evidence suggests Posted: 08 Aug 2011 07:06 PM PDT NASA-funded researchers have evidence that some building blocks of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life, found in meteorites were likely created in space. The research gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorite and comet impacts assisted the origin of life.

Scientist develops virus that targets HIV: Using a virus to kill a virus Posted: 08 Aug 2011 12:41 PM PDT In what represents an important step toward curing HIV, a scientist has created a virus that hunts down HIV-infected cells.

Protein unmasks pathogenic fungi to activate immune response Posted: 08 Aug 2011 12:22 PM PDT Researchers have uncovered a novel association between two fungal recognition receptors on the surface of certain immune cells, called macrophages. The interaction of these receptors (dectin-1 and galectin-3) sheds new light on how the innate immune system discriminates between non-pathogenic and pathogenic fungi. Invasive fungal infections are a rising source of morbidity and mortality in healthy individuals, as well as in patients suffering from chronic diseases, such as cancer or AIDS.

Biology, materials science get a boost from robust imaging tool: Collaborators give a new view of macromolecular systems Posted: 08 Aug 2011 12:22 PM PDT Shape and alignment are everything. How nanometer-sized pieces fit together into a whole structure determines how well a living cell or an artificially fabricated device performs. A new method to help understand and predict such structure has arrived with the successful use a new imaging tool.

Key molecule that keeps immune cell development on track described Posted: 08 Aug 2011 08:54 AM PDT Researchers have clarified the role of two proteins key to T-cell development. They found that one well-known protein called Notch passes off much of its role during T-cell maturation to another protein called TCF-1.

Live from the scene -- biochemistry in action: New microscope follows single molecules by the millisecond Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:36 AM PDT Researchers can now watch molecules move in living cells, literally millisecond by millisecond, thanks to a new microscope developed by scientists in Germany. The new technique provides insights into processes that were so far invisible.

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