Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Rice bioengineers develop method to grow 3-D bone matrix
Researchers use flowing fluids to create mechanical stress needed for bone formation
A new study by Rice University researchers indicates that bioengineers growing bone in the laboratory may be able to create the mechanical stimulation needed to grow bone outside the body.
One of the greatest challenges tissue engineers face in growing bone in the laboratory is recreating the conditions that occur inside the body. The recipe for growing healthy bones includes not only a prec
Purdue creates self-generating nanotubes with ’dial-up’ properties
Nanotubes, stringy supermolecules already used to create fuel cell batteries and tiny computer circuits, could find myriad new applications ranging from disease treatment to plastics manufacturing to information storage, reports a Purdue University research team.
Scientists led by Purdue chemist Hicham Fenniri have learned to create multiple species of nanotubes that possess unprecedented physical and chemical properties, each of which could lead to a different industrial application. Also
New insight into fragile X syndrome: Scientists identify possible link to RNAi
Two independent research groups, led by Drs. Haruhiko Siomi (Institute for Genome Research, University of Tokushima, Japan) and Gregory Hannon (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA) have discovered that the Drosophila version of the human fragile X mental retardation protein associates with components of the RNAi pathway, suggesting that the molecular mechanism underlying fragile X syndrome may involve an RNAi-related process.
“It has been our feeling since we became involved in the field sev
Scientists discover role for c-myc gene in tumor angiogenesis
The c-myc gene is commonly activated in a variety of human tumors. As a new report in the October 1 issue of Genes & Development shows, scientists are gaining a better understanding as to why.
Dr. John Cleveland and colleagues at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that c-Myc is essential for tumor development, as it regulates factors necessary for the growth of blood vessels into tumors – lending a new potential target to anti-angiogenic cancer therapies.
T
Solexa Announces Progress in its Single Molecule Array Technology at BioArrays Europe Conference
Speaking at BioArrays Europe (Cambridge, UK, 30 Sept-1 Oct), Dr Tony Smith, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Solexa, presented data on the progress of the Company`s proprietary Single Molecule Array™ technology for human genetic variation applications, highlighting significant progress in the massively parallel detection of single molecules using fluorescence.
Solexa’s Single Molecule Array technology is being applied to the measurement of individual genetic variation to develop a method f
DNA repair mechanisms are concentrated in the active parts of the genome
Less than 10% of the human genome contains coded information in the form of genes. The 30,000-40,000 genes in the genome are found grouped in discrete regions of the chromosomes. Chemical agents and radiation habitually cause a large variety of injuries to the DNA which interferes in many cell processes, like transcription and replication, and this can cause a loss of control of cell division and the appearance of tumours. In order to avoid this, the human genome contains more than 130 DNA repair gen