Living Cells News and Research

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Shift workers' body clocks studied to prevent certain cancers

Does shift work predispose you to cancer by altering the body's response to hormones?

2 Feb 2009

Rare amino acid helps establish how proteins evolve

Three billion years ago, a "new" amino acid was added to the alphabet of 20 that commonly make up proteins in organisms today.

29 Jan 2009

New tools that spotlight individual cellular molecules are transforming biomedical research

Remarkable new tools that spotlight individual cellular molecules are transforming biomedical research.

27 Jan 2009

Scientists discover new class of small RNAs

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) announced today the discovery of a new class of small RNAs. At the same time, they reported that their discovery suggests the presence of a strikingly novel biochemical pathway for RNA processing in which these and possibly other small RNAs are produced.

27 Jan 2009

Nanotubes sniff out cancer agents in living cells

A multidisciplinary team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed carbon nanotubes that can be used as sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells. The sensors, made of carbon nanotubes wrapped in DNA, can detect chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin as well as environmental toxins and free radicals that damage DNA.

18 Jan 2009

Studies offer guide as protein interaction mapping comes of age

During the past 20 years, researchers have identified thousands of cell protein interactions, with the ultimate goal of inventorying all that occur within cells of various organisms - a comprehensive catalogue known as the interactome.

6 Jan 2009

SRS microscopy helps track molecules and drugs in live cells

A new type of highly sensitive microscopy developed by researchers at Harvard University could greatly expand the limits of modern biomedical imaging, allowing scientists to track the location of minuscule metabolites and drugs in living cells and tissues without the use of any kind of fluorescent labeling.

18 Dec 2008

Researchers create new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines to detect reactive oxygen species in vivo

Researchers have created a new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines that can be used to detect and measure the presence of reactive oxygen species.

15 Dec 2008

Carbon nanotube sensors for cancer drugs

MIT engineers have developed carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells.

14 Dec 2008

Biologist provides new theory on mechanisms that control molecular motors

Biologists have known for decades that cells use tiny molecular motors to move chromosomes, mitochondria, and many other organelles within the cell, but no one has been able to understand what "steers" these engines to their destinations.

12 Dec 2008

Computation and genomics data drive bacterial research into new golden age

A potent combination of powerful new analysis methods and abundant data from genomics projects is carrying microbiology forward into a new era.

10 Dec 2008

Glowing imaging compound allows detection of viable cancer cells in mice

Researchers have developed a new type of imaging compound that allows them to visualize viable breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs in mice.

8 Dec 2008

Tobacco plants grown in novel mist bioreactor system provide new soure of interleukin-12

Interleukin-12 is a naturally occurring protein essential for the proper functioning of the human immune system.

3 Dec 2008

How microscopy can unlock the key to disease

A leading international scientist will reveal how the latest techniques in microscopy - including time-lapse imaging of living cells - are leading to breakthroughs in understanding genetic and acquired diseases.

26 Nov 2008

Biomedical research could benefit from deep sea

A study published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE highlights how the exploration of the ocean depths can benefit humankind.

19 Nov 2008

Gut check reveals vast multicultural community of bugs in bowels

Mention the phrase "diverse ecosystem," and it conjures images of tropical rainforests and endangered coral reefs.

18 Nov 2008

How household bleach kills bacteria

Despite the fact that household bleach is commonly used as a disinfectant, exactly how it works to fight bacteria remained an open question.

16 Nov 2008

New development of optical probes in chemistry

A chance discovery by a team of scientists using optical probes means that changes in cells in the human body could now be seen in a completely different light.

11 Nov 2008

New method provides panoramic view of protein-RNA interactions in living cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not - could not - by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not -- could not -- by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008