Biology News Net - Biotechnology

Small nanoparticles bring big improvement to medical imaging

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:30:58 -0500

If you're watching the complex processes in a living cell, it is easy to miss something important—especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require high-spatial-resolution imaging. But new research* makes it possible to scrutinize activities that occur over hours or even days inside cells, potentially solving many of the mysteries associated with molecular-scale events occurring in these tiny living things.

Scientists guide immune cells with light and microparticles

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:19:50 -0500

A team led by Yale University scientists has developed a new approach to studying how immune cells chase down bacteria in our bodies. Their findings are described in the November 15 issue of Nature Methods Advanced Online Publication.

First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:25:38 -0500

For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.

Next-generation microcapsules deliver 'chemicals on demand'

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:09:12 -0500

Scientists in California are reporting development of a new generation of the microcapsules used in carbon-free copy paper, in which capsules burst and release ink with pressure from a pen. The new microcapsules burst when exposed to light, releasing their contents in ways that could have wide-ranging commercial uses from home and personal care to medicine. Their study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.

Modified crops reveal hidden cost of resistance

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:13:16 -0500

Genetically modified squash plants that are resistant to a debilitating viral disease become more vulnerable to a fatal bacterial infection, according to biologists.

Seeing previously invisible molecules for the first time

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:28:27 -0500

A team of Harvard chemists led by X. Sunney Xie has developed a new microscopic technique for seeing, in color, molecules with undetectable fluorescence. The room-temperature technique allows researchers to identify previously unseen molecules in living organisms and offers broad applications in biomedical imaging and research.

Biochemical 'on-switch' could solve protein purification challenge

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:49:04 -0500

Drugs based on engineered proteins represent a new frontier for pharmaceutical makers. Even after they discover a protein that may form the basis of the next wonder drug, however, they have to confront a long-standing problem: how to produce large quantities of the protein in a highly pure state. Now, a multi-institutional research team including a biochemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may have found* a new solution in an enzymatic "food processor" they can activate at will.

Magnetic nanotags spot cancer in mice earlier than methods now in clinical use

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:53:50 -0500

Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University researchers.

Forensics firm builds on genomic discovery to advance DNA-based identification

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:53:49 -0500

High-tech forensics firm, Casework Genetics is applying new technology to forensic evidence enabling law enforcement labs to solve crimes with greater molecular precision and efficiency than ever before.

New discovery reveals fate of nanoparticles in human cells

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:58:54 -0500

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have uncovered what happens to biomimetic nanoparticles when they enter human cells. They found that the important proteins that make up the outer layer of these nanoparticles are degraded by an enzyme called cathepsin L. Scientists now have to take this phenomenon into account and overcome this process to ensure the exciting field of nanomedicine can progress. The research is published today (22 September) in ACS Nano.