Search Results - Molecular Biology

How Amazing Our Brain Is

The brain is a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body. Together, the brain and spinal cord that extends from it make up the central nervous system, or CNS. Credit:https: //www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ The Brain has the ability that makes us read, play...

The Function of Nutrient Might Reveal in Fight Against Microbial Infections

Helicobacter pylori medical illustration A nutrient that is prevalent in the human diet has been discovered to aid the survival of a cancer-causing microorganism, a recent Yale research discovers. The findings could disclose an essential target for new drugs to tackle numerous contagious diseases in human beings. The nutrient, called ergothioneine, or EGT, an identified antioxidant,...

Learning About Human Cancer From Fruit Flies

Loss of Parafibromin/Hyrax results in loss of neural stem cell (NSC) polarity, leading to a switch from asymmetric to symmetric division.  Credit: Duke-NUS. Researchers in Singapore and Spain have gained new insights into the task of a tumor-suppressor protein in fruit flies that help the understanding of some human cancer cells. The research, releaed in PLOS...

How Tardigrades Survive Freezing Temperatures

It is only under the microscope that the similarity of its namesake becomes apparent: the plump, round physique and the short legs are reminiscent of those of a bear. Credit: Ralph Schill Tardigrades are excellent at adjusting to severe environmental problems. Back in 2019, Ralph Schill, one professor at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular...

Vitamin K Found To Prevent Cell Death

Credit: Unsplash A group of scientists from Helmholtz Munich has identified a new use for vitamin K, typically recognized for its part in blood clotting. In its fully reduced configuration, the researchers discovered that vitamin K operates as an anti-oxidant by efficiently inhibiting ferroptotic cell death. Ferroptosis is a natural kind of cell death in...

Whales’ Eyes Offer Glimpse Into Their Development From Land to Sea

Belinda Chang (back left) leads a lab that focuses on the evolutionary transition of animals' vision. Sarah Dungan (right of Chang) researched whale vision as a former member of Chang’s lab. Credit: Diana Tyszko College of Toronto researchers have clarified the evolutionary transition of whales' early ancestors from on-shore living to deep-sea foraging, recommending that these...

Mitochondria and the Origin of Eukaryotes

The complex cells of organisms known as eukaryotes, such as the animal cell pictured here, arose more than 1.5 billion years ago. Biologists have long known that back then, one simple, bacteria-like cell engulfed another, and the new arrival settled into its host cell to eventually become what we know as the energy-generating mitochondrion. But...

New ‘Crime Scene Investigation’ Might Save Endangered Carnivorous Plants

Researchers have joined macro photography with DNA metabarcoding to create a brand-new botanical "CSI" device that might hold the key to safeguarding the future of Australia's critically endangered carnivorous plants. The brand-new technology-- developed by researchers from Curtin University, the Botanical and Zoological Natural History Collections in Munich, and the University of Munich-- enables specialists...

Nano-Sensor Detects Pesticides on Fruit in Minutes

Flame nanoparticle deposition was utilized to make robust nano-sensors that can spot pesticide residues on apple surfaces within minutes. Credit: Georgios A Sotiriou and Haipeng Li. Researchers in Sweden at Karolinska Institutet have developed a tiny sensor for spotting fruit pesticides in just a few minutes. The method, referred as a proof-of-concept in a paper...

Scientists Develop an Effective Method for Creating New-to-Nature Enzymes

Bacteria culture. Credit: John Wilkinson Engineering enzymes to execute reactions not found in nature can address longstanding challenges in synthetic chemistry, such as transforming plant-based oils into helpful biochemicals. A team of scientists has developed an easy yet effective strategy for developing new enzymes with novel reactivity that can generate beneficial chemical compounds. Consequently, improving their...