Biology

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How Form Of Complex Organs Evolves By Natural Selection: 3D Simulation: Researchers at the Institute of Biotechnology at the Helsinki University and the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) have developed the first three-dimensional simulation of the evolution of morphology by integrating the mechanisms of genetic regulation that take place during embryo development...

The Up And Down Side Of 'Traffic' In Our Cells: A mechanism that permits essential substances to enter our cells while at the same time removing from them harmful components also has a "down side." This negative aspect prevents vital drugs, such as anti-cancer drugs, from achieving their designed functions, while also enabling bacterial cells to develop resistance to penetration of antibiotics...

Microchip Proves Tightness Provokes Precocious Sperm Release: Sperm cell release can be triggered by tightening the grip around the delivery organ, according to a team of nano and microsystems engineers and plant biologists at the University of Montreal and Concordia University...

Scientists Decode "Molecular Chatter" That Makes Cancer Cells Spread: For the first time, scientists in the US have decoded the "molecular chatter" that makes cancer cells more aggressive and more likely to travel and set up tumors in other parts of the body (metastasize). The discovery came about as a result of bringing together specialists in cancer development with specialists in wound healing...

Research May Lead To Self-Healing Or Biocompatible Materials That Mimic Human Tissues: Squeeze a piece of silicone and it quickly returns to its original shape, as squishy as ever. But scientists at Rice University have discovered that the liquid crystal phase of silicone becomes 90 percent stiffer when silicone is gently and repeatedly compressed. Their research could lead to new strategies for self-healing materials or biocompatible materials that mimic human tissues...

Dark Field Imaging Of Rattle-Type Silica Nanorattles Coated Gold Nanoparticles In Vitro And In Vivo: In recent years, metal nanoparticles have showed great application prospect in the field of biological imaging, cancer diagnosis and treatment due to its unique optical scattering and optical absorption properties. In many metal materials, gold nanoparticles have caused concerns in the field because of its simple preparation, easy to modify advantages...

Cancer Cells Are Nimbler Than Non-Malignant Cells: Clues about how cells become cancerous are revealed in a new catalogue of their physical and chemical features...

Nanoparticles In Action: The macroscopic effects of certain nanoparticles on human health have long been clear to the naked eye. What scientists have lacked is the ability to see the detailed movements of individual particles that give rise to those effects...

New Imaging Technology Could Reveal Cellular Secrets: Researchers have married two biological imaging technologies, creating a new way to learn how good cells go bad. "Let's say you have a large population of cells," said Corey Neu, an assistant professor in Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. "Just one of them might metastasize or proliferate, forming a cancerous tumor...

Hundreds Of Tiny Untethered Surgical Tools Deployed In First Animal Biopsies: By using swarms of untethered grippers, each as small as a speck of dust, Johns Hopkins engineers and physicians say they have devised a new way to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases...

Harvard To Close Its Primate Research Center: Harvard Medical School has just announced plans to close down its New England Primate Research Center (NEPRC) over the next two years due to "high financial costs". The research center recently underwent a thorough investigation following the death of four monkeys, upon which inspectors identified significant violations of animal welfare rules...

The Effects Of Pesticide Exposure On Reproduction Span Generations: North Carolina State University researchers studying aquatic organisms called Daphnia have found that exposure to a chemical pesticide has impacts that span multiple generations - causing the so-called "water fleas" to produce more male offspring, and causing reproductive problems in female offspring...

Scientists Create Biggest Family Tree Of Human Cells: Cells are the basic unit of a living organism. The human body consists of a vast array of highly specialized cells, such as blood cells, skin cells and neurons. In total more than 250 different cell types exist...

In-Package Plasma Process Quickly, Effectively Kills Bacteria: Exposing packaged liquids, fruits and vegetables to an electrical field for just minutes might eliminate all traces of foodborne pathogens on those foods, according to a Purdue University study. Kevin Keener, a professor of food science, looks for new ways to kill harmful bacteria, such as E.coli and Salmonella, that contaminate foods and cause serious illnesses and deaths...

"Complexity By Subtraction" A Possible Alternative Explanation For Life's Complexity: Evolution skeptics argue that some biological structures, like the brain or the eye, are simply too complex for natural selection to explain. Biologists have proposed various ways that so-called 'irreducibly complex' structures could emerge incrementally over time, bit by bit. But a new study proposes an alternative route...

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