Research & development

International guidelines for genome databases

14 May, 2008

The Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC), an international organisation including representatives from a range of major sequencing and bioinformatics centres, has created a new guideline for describing genomes and metagenomes.


Platypus genome sequenced

09 May, 2008

UK-based researchers have revealed the genetic make-up of one of the world’s strangest mammals: the Australian platypus.


Online survey tracks the sneeze

08 May, 2008

A national online flu survey was launched recently, designed to track critical data on influenza infection and alert medical officials to large outbreaks of the virus.


Researchers grow heart and blood cells from reprogrammed skin cells

06 May, 2008

Stem cell researchers at UCLA were able to grow functioning cardiac cells using mouse skin cells that had been reprogrammed into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells.


First human DNA large-scale variation map is produced

05 May, 2008

Researchers in the US have produced the first sequence-based map of large-scale structural variation across the human genome.


Warm days and cold fish

05 May, 2008

Climate change doesn't come from the atmosphere alone. Ocean currents and temperatures have significant effects and some marine animals thrive when its cold.


Liquids alter viscosity when confined, shaken

02 May, 2008

New research shows that when water is confined to a small space, it behaves like a gel. Then, when shaken, it becomes fluidic and exhibits the same structural and mechanical properties as water in a bottle. The study — the first to use an atomic force microscope to measure the viscosity of confined fluids — revealed that these liquids can respond and modify their viscosity based on environmental changes.


Aircraft bacteria levels and traveller health

02 May, 2008

A study measuring bacterial concentrations in cabin air on 12 commercial passenger aircraft has shown that flying may be safer than we think. Elevated levels of bacteria were detected at several intervals during the flight, but they were common residents of human skin, dust and outdoor air.


The source of lethal heparin contamination

29 April, 2008

Contaminated heparin recently caused a spate of deaths all around the world. Researchers used NMR to identify the contaminant.


Instrument for tissue damage assessment developed at QUT

29 April, 2008

A tool with the potential to determine the level of tissue damage in patients with osteo-arthritis, sports injuries and other conditions affecting bone and cartilage is being developed by QUT researchers.


Scientists discover the double life of proteins

29 April, 2008

Scientists have discovered a link between blood pressure regulation and nutrition that could also help to shed light on intestinal and kidney function.


The impact of IT on next-generation DNA sequencing

22 April, 2008

Will the IT industry be able to keep up in the race for the $1000 genome?


The role of food in human exposure to antimicrobial resistant bacteria

18 April, 2008

The European Food Safety Authority BIOHAZ Panel has launched a public consultation and a call for additional scientific data on the extent of how food serves as a vehicle for antimicrobial resistance.


Bikini corals recover from atomic blast

15 April, 2008

Although the corals are flourishing around the atomic blasted Bikini Atoll, some species have not recovered.


Turning off rice genes

11 April, 2008

Researchers have found a new type of molecule - kind of 'micro-switch' - that can turn off genes in rice, which is the primary source of food for more than half the world's population.


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