Science Daily December 17, 2018 In a cell, proteins evolve that can respond to a single prompt in a sea of information. Natural proteins that move electrons more or less act as wires that are always there. To leverage this ability of the proteins, a team of researchers in the US (Rice University, Boston University) made a proof-of-concept metal-containing proteins. They embedded it in E. coli and introduced 4-hydroxytamoxifen, an estrogen receptor modulator to express the protein and thus were able to turn on the switch in the presence of the chemical or off in its absence. The proteins could […]
Category Archives: Biotechnology
Physicists design new antenna for next-generation super-sensitive magnetometers
Phys.org November 6, 2018 Ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond hold promise for ultra-precise magnetometery, competing with superconducting quantum interference device detectors. By utilizing the advantages of dielectric materials, such as very low losses for electromagnetic field, with the potential for creating high-quality factor resonators with strong concentration of the field within it, researchers in Russia implemented a dielectric resonator antenna for coherent manipulation of a large ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Research enables use of large volume low nitrogen-vacancy concentration diamond plates in modern nitrogen-vacancy magnetometers thus improving sensitivity via larger coherence time and higher optical detected […]
Researchers design ‘smart’ surfaces to repel everything but targeted beneficial exceptions
Science Daily October 24, 2018 Researchers in Canada have developed a new class of lubricant-infused surfaces that offer tunable bioactivity together with omniphobic properties by integrating biofunctional domains into the lubricant-infused layer. They created surfaces highly tunable that bind to particular antibodies while repelling nonspecific adhesion of undesirable proteins and cells not only in buffer but also in human plasma or human whole blood to demonstrate how it is beneficial in biomedical implants. The method creates biofunctional, nonstick surfaces that can be used to optimize the performance of devices such as biomedical implants, extracorporeal circuits, and biosensors… read more. TECHNICAL […]
Glow-in-the-dark paper as a rapid test for infectious diseases
Science Daily October 3, 2018 An international team of researchers (Japan, the Netherlands) has developed microfluidic paper‐based analytical devices (μPADs) based on bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) switches for analyte recognition and colorimetric signal generation. They use BRET‐based antibody sensing proteins integrated into vertically assembled layers of functionalized paper, fully reagent‐free operation, including on‐device blood plasma separation. It takes about 20 minutes and a drop of blood to test the sample for anti-bodies. The device is ideally suited for user‐friendly point‐of‐care testing in low‐resource environments…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Breakthrough could see bacteria used as cell factories to produce biofuels
Science Daily August 29, 2018 Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) have huge potential in biotechnology. However, a key obstacle to their utilisation is the difficulty of targeting new pathways and processes into the BMC in a controllable fashion. Researchers in the UK redesigned a key surface component of the BMC that enables them to not only internalise proteins within the BMC but also display them on the surface of the organelle. This breakthrough could open the possibility of utilising these organelles for a wide variety of applications, including the generation of biofuels, as well as for drug delivery and vaccine development and […]
Enzyme can convert any blood into universally donated type O
Next Big Future August 22, 2018 Researchers in Canada have identified a new, more powerful group of enzymes found in the human gut that can turn any type of blood into the universally usable type O—expanding the pool of potential blood donors and making blood matching safer and easier. Removing antigens from blood effectively transforms it into type O. Scientists hope that one day we can eventually render any type of donated blood, tissues or organs, safe for use by anyone regardless of their native blood type…read more.
Researchers invent tiny, resealable packets to deliver materials on cue
Phys.org May 10, 2018 Tiny capsules deliver signaling molecules from place to place in the body. Using this concept, a team of researchers in the US (UMass Amherst, University of Chicago) designed a hollow synthetic packet made of a double layer of two polymers: The outer rind is water-soluble, while the inner layer is a glassy material that forms a rigid wall. The two polymers are linked by a single molecule that responds to light by changing its shape. When you shine light on the packet, the linking molecules change shape, softening the glassy material that sits below and allowing […]
UChicago researchers lay out how to control biology with light — without genetics
Eurekalert April 30, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (University of Chicago, Northwestern University) laid out a system of design principles for working with silicon to control biology at three levels–from individual organelles inside cells to tissues to entire limbs. They demonstrated each in cells or mice models, including the first time anyone has used light to control behavior without genetic modification. They tested the concept in mice and found they could stimulate limb movements by shining light on brain implants. They developed a map that lays out best methods to craft silicon devices depending on both the […]
Far-red fluorescent silk can kill harmful bacteria as biomedical and environmental remedy
Nanowerk April 19, 2018 To combine the benefits of silk and green light, an international team of researchers (USA – Purdue University, South Korea) inserted the gene for “mKate2,” a far-red fluorescent protein, into a silk host. Shining a green light on the resulting hybrid generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are effective radicals for breaking down organic contaminants and attacking the membrane and DNA of pathogens. When E. coli on the fluorescent silk were illuminated by a weak green light for 60 minutes, the bacteria’s survival rate dropped to 45 percent. The hybrid could be processed into a solution, film, […]
Genetically engineered E. coli can make industrial chemicals from feedstock
RIKEN Research April 6, 2018 Researchers in Japan genetically modified Escherichia coli and used the bacterium and glucose harvested from feedstock to produce maleate, a salt or ester of maleic acid. The process requires much less energy, and process works under ordinary temperatures and pressures. The research opens the door to more environmentally friendly industrial-scale production of maleate which is a key adhesion promoter for materials like galvanized steel and nylon, as well a drug stabilizer…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE