Tuesday, March 20, 2012

ScienceDaily: Biotechnology News

ScienceDaily: Biotechnology News

Scientists develop tools to make more complex biological machines from yeast

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:43 PM PDT

Scientists are one step closer to making more complex microscopic biological machines, following improvements in the way that they can "re-wire" DNA in yeast, according to new research.

Discovery provides blueprint for new drugs that can inhibit hepatitis C virus

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:38 PM PDT

Chemists have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing.

Genetic variation in human gut viruses could be raw material for inner evolution

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT

A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect those bacteria also shape who we are. A new study sequenced the DNA of viruses -- the virome -- present in the gut of healthy people.

How bacteria resist a 'Trojan horse' antibiotic

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT

A new study describes how bacteria use a previously unknown means to defeat an antibiotic. The researchers found that the bacteria have modified a common "housekeeping" enzyme in a way that enables the enzyme to recognize and disarm the antibiotic.

A new tool to reveal structure of proteins

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT

A new method to reveal the structure of proteins could help researchers understand biological molecules -- both those involved in causing disease and those performing critical functions in healthy cells. For roughly a decade, a technique called solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has allowed researchers to detect the arrangements of atoms in proteins that defy study by traditional laboratory tools such as X-ray crystallography.

Genetic research develops tools for studying diseases, improving regenerative treatment

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT

Researchers may make it easier to recover after spinal cord injury or to study neurological disorders. His research can greatly improve animal and human health by developing technology to advance cellular therapy and regenerative medicine.

Reintroducing the American chestnut tree

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT

Reintroduction of the American chestnut tree after billions died due to blight could be accomplished more effectively thanks to a software tool.

First complete full genetic map of promising energy crop

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:50 AM PDT

The first high-resolution, comprehensive genetic map of a promising energy crop called miscanthus has been completed.

The Viking journey of mice and men

Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:48 AM PDT

House mice happily live wherever there are humans. When populations of humans migrate the mice often travel with them. New research has used evolutionary techniques on modern day and ancestral mouse mitochondrial DNA to show that the timeline of mouse colonization matches that of Viking invasion. During the Viking age (late 8th to mid 10th century) Vikings from Norway established colonies across Scotland, the Scottish islands, Ireland, and Isle of Man. They also explored the north Atlantic, settling in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Newfoundland and Greenland. While they intentionally took with them domestic animals such as horses, sheep, goats and chickens they also inadvertently carried pest species, including mice.
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