News by Subject Biology

Biochemists from the University of Freiburg have elucidated the structure of an enzyme that supplies carotenoid.

Microfluidics technology enables silk protein capsules to self-assemble

New research by Columbia scientists offers fresh insight into how the brain tells the body to move, from simple behaviors like walking, to trained movements that may take years to master. The discovery in mice advances knowledge of how cells in the motor cortex -- the brain's movement center -- communicate with muscles, and may help researchers better understand what happens in injury or disease, when the mechanisms that underlie movement go awry.

Research at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University (The Neuro) has shown just how adaptive the brain can be, knowledge that could one day be applied to recovery from conditions such as stroke.

Materials that assemble themselves and then simply disappear at the end of their lifetime are quite common in nature. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now successfully developed supramolecular materials that disintegrate at a predetermined time -- a feature that could be used in numerous applications.

A research group at KAIST has developed diagnostic sensors using protein-encapsulated nanocatalysts, which can diagnose certain diseases by analyzing human exhaled breath. This technology enables early monitoring of various diseases through pattern recognition of biomarker gases related to diseases in human exhalation.

Microscopic versions of the cocoons spun by silkworms have been manufactured by a team of researchers. The tiny capsules, which are invisible to the naked eye, can protect sensitive molecular materials, and could prove a significant technology in areas including food science, biotechnology and medicine.

Does each cell in the embryo have a genetically predetermined fate, or are cell interactions important? UC Berkeley researchers have for the first time linked the two, showing how the tug of war between cells in the developing skin mobilizes a protein that triggers a genetic program to differentiate into a specific cell type, a feather follicle. This could provide tips on how to make more realistic artificial skin, with hairs and sweat glands.