Artificial tissues with embedded nanoscale sensors
28 August, 2012A multi-institutional research team has developed a method for embedding networks of biocompatible nanoscale wires within engineered tissues. These networks - which mark the first time that electronics and tissue have been truly merged in 3D - allow direct tissue sensing and potentially stimulation, a potential boon for development of engineered tissues that incorporate capabilities for monitoring and stimulation, and of devices for screening new drugs.
Scientists can now block heroin, morphine addiction
15 August, 2012In a major breakthrough, an international team of scientists has proved that addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief.
New research could increase blood supplies for transfusions
06 August, 2012A team of scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, has developed methods to increase the production of red blood cells from stem cells - a discovery that could dramatically boost the blood supply available for transfusions.
Technology partnership to tackle society’s big challenges
27 July, 2012The University of Western Australia has teamed up with measurement technology company Agilent Technologies, committing to a five-year collaboration that will enable the development of groundbreaking applications in life sciences.
Tracing the ‘great, great grandmothers’ of the chicken world
26 July, 2012Dr Alice Storey, an archaeologist at the University of New England, is tracing the global migration routes of domestic chickens back through thousands of years towards their origins in the jungles of South-East Asia.
No reason to feel sheepish about paternity
19 July, 2012Figuring out which lambs are the offspring of which sheep can be guesswork for sheep producers. A new, low-cost DNA test to verify sheep parentage could soon help breeders worldwide to record accurate pedigrees and maximise the genetic potential of their flock.
Vaccine for obesity
17 July, 2012A recent study assesses the effectiveness of two somatostatin vaccinations, JH17 and JH18, in reducing weight gain and increasing weight loss in mice.
DNA fingerprinting shows marine protected areas benefit fisheries
13 July, 2012The first conclusive evidence that no-take protected areas can help restock exploited fish populations on neighbouring reefs was presented at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) yesterday.
Genetic Code is completed with the ‘Proteomic Code’ and ‘Nucleic Acid Assisted Protein Folding’
13 June, 2012A major development has begun in the molecular biology and biotechnology industry, with the discovery of the ‘Proteomic Code’ and ‘Nucleic Acid Chaperons’. A US patent has recently been granted for biotechnological application of the Proteomic Code for design and ‘to Obtain Oligo-peptides Oligo-peptides with High Affinity to Query Proteins’.
The smell of age
31 May, 2012Apparently humans can identify the age of other humans based on differences in body odour. Much of this ability is based on the capacity to identify odours of elderly individuals and, contrary to popular supposition, the so-called ‘old-person smell’ is rated as less intense and less unpleasant than body odours of middle-aged and young individuals.
Cancer treatment discovery opens tumours to immune cells
28 May, 2012Scientists at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) have made exciting progress in their quest to help patients fight cancer using the body’s own immune system.
An antidote to ageing
26 May, 2012Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a series of biological events that implicate the stem cells’ surroundings, known as their ‘niche’, as the culprit in loss of stem cells due to ageing. Their findings have implications for treatment of age-related diseases and for the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.
Genetic safety in numbers, platypus study finds
22 May, 2012Platypuses on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania are fighting fit but those on small islands are at high risk of being wiped out from disease, according to a University of Sydney study.
Killing two birds with one stone: one fusion protein takes out multiple autoimmune targets
17 May, 2012 by Dina Rufo, GlobalDataRecently, Compugen, an Israel-based biopharmaceutical company with over 17 years of research experience, released animal model data from the company’s proprietary Protein Family Members Discovery Platform. This in-house, in silico bioinformatics system provides a predictive view of protein characteristics leading to gene and protein discovery.
Bee research breakthrough might lead to artificial vision
14 May, 2012An international research breakthrough with bees means machines might soon be able to see almost as well as humans.
