Navigation Links
Nano-Probes Allow an Inside Look at Cell Nuclei

Nanotechnology may be in its infancy, but biologists may soon use it to watch the inner workings of a living cell like never before. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a way to sneak nano-sized probes inside cell nuclei where they can track life's fundamental processes, such as DNA repair, for hours on end.

"Our work represents the first time a biologist can image long-term phenomena within the nuclei of living cells," says Fanqing Chen of Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division, who developed the technique with Daniele Gerion of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Their success lies in specially prepared crystalline semiconductors composed of a few hundred or thousand atoms that emit different colors of light when illuminated by a laser. Because these fluorescent probes are stable and nontoxic, they have the ability to remain in a cell's nucleus -- without harming the cell or fading out -- much longer than conventional fluorescent labels. This could give biologists a ringside seat to nuclear processes that span several hours or days, such as DNA replication, genomic alterations, and cell cycle control. The long-lived probes may also allow researchers to track the effectiveness of disease-fighting drugs that target these processes.

"We could determine whether a drug has arrived where it is supposed to, and if it is having the desired impact," says Chen.

The first enduring look into the secret lives of cell nuclei comes by way of a strong collaboration between biologists and chemists. For the past four years, Chen and Gerion have worked closely with members of the lab of Paul Alivisatos, a Berkeley Lab chemist in the Materials Sciences Division and Associate Laboratory Director who helped pioneer the development of nano-sized crystals of semiconductor materials. Called quantum dots, these microscopic crystals have
'"/>

Source:Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. NIH Researchers Discover How Insulin Allows Entry of Glucose Into Cells
2. Inside rocks, implications for finding life on Mars
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Nano Probes Allow Inside Look Cell Nuclei

(Date:5/24/2013)... the search for medication against Alzheimer,s disease, scientists have focused ... down Amyloid beta (A-beta). After all, it is the accumulation ... of Alzheimer,s patients. Starting point for the formation of A-beta ... the first to unravel the function of APPL the ... fruit flies. , Alessia Soldano (VIB/KU Leuven): "We have ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... RICHLAND, Wash. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory honored ... and commercialization of intellectual property at PNNL,s annual ... , The Department of Energy national laboratory ... Year for his work developing battery materials that ... to the electrical grid, and reduce the time ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... genomic DNA around nucleosomes in the cell nucleus ... of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now describes a ... displaced from nucleosomes for transcription. , In higher ... cell nucleus, wrapped around disk-shaped particles called nucleosomes, ... histone proteins and accommodating two loops of DNA. ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):A new strategy required in the search for Alzheimer's drugs? 2PNNL staff recognized for scientific accomplishments, moving technologies into the marketplace 2Biochemistry: Unspooling DNA from nucleosomal disks 2
... YORK Columbia University will award the 2008 ... M.D., professor and director of the Department of ... Biochemistry in Germany, and Arthur Horwich, M.D., Eugene ... a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at ...
... Foundation (IOF) kicked off World Osteoporosis Day events today ... Out For Your Bones is a global call to ... world. Osteoporosis is a disease that can ... treatment in the long run reducing healthcare budgets ...
... mildly lame sheep, but many do not take steps to ... and treating these animals. A study in the open access ... provide evidence for the accuracy of farmers, reporting of lameness, ... minimise footrot and other infectious foot conditions in their flocks. ...
Cached Biology News:Columbia to award 2008 Horwitz Prize to Arthur Horwich & Ulrich Hartl for cellular protein folding 2Columbia to award 2008 Horwitz Prize to Arthur Horwich & Ulrich Hartl for cellular protein folding 3Columbia to award 2008 Horwitz Prize to Arthur Horwich & Ulrich Hartl for cellular protein folding 4IOF calls on European citizens to stand tall and speak out for their bones 2IOF calls on European citizens to stand tall and speak out for their bones 3Farmers can spot lame sheep, but fail to prevent footrot spread 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... CAMBRIDGE, England , May 24, 2013 ... von Mundipharma angefertigt – Bei der ... Version , 91 % der Teilnehmer einer ... obwohl nur 20 % laut GINA [*] -Definition [1] ... zeigt, dass Menschen mit Asthma generell einer von vier ...
(Date:5/23/2013)...  BioScrip, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOS ) today ... 2013 Global Healthcare Conference to be held June 3-6, ... Richard Smith , President and Chief ... Chief Financial Officer, will present on Monday, June 3, ... About BioScrip BioScrip, Inc. provides comprehensive infusion ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Patheon Inc ., a leading provider of contract ... will host a complimentary webinar on “Cleaning Validation: Science, ... 4, 2013 at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. ... regulations for cleaning validation. Many companies have incorporated ... evaluation of risk. Some companies have chosen to ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... do-it-yourselfers who encourage all types of inventions. They focus ... we’re now noticing this community gravitate toward bringing their ... community, the DIY Biology Movement, works on making projects ... sequencing the DNA of plants to make them glow ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 2Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 3Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 4Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 5Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 6Neue Forschungsergebnisse zeigen Verbindung zwischen suboptimaler Asthmaversorgung und Patienteneinstellungen in Europa auf 7Patheon to Present on “Cleaning Validation: Science, Risk and Novel Approaches to Testing” 2Glowing Plant Releases Maker Kit, Enabling Anyone to Make a Glowing Plant at Home 2
... Bermuda, Feb. 7, 2011 Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. ... the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, announced today the presentation ... Dermatology (AAD) 69th annual meeting in New Orleans (4-8 ... the topical treatment of onychomycosis (also known as a ...
... Berkeley Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have ... surface, an achievement that could lead to a new class ... biochemical sensors that use optoelectronic chips. They ... 6 in an advanced online issue of the journal ...
... an animal biotechnology company, announced its intention to sell all, ... reorganization under a sale in Chapter 11 pursuant to section ... American MedTech Advisors has been retained to assist in the ... accepting bids for any or all of its assets until ...
Cached Biology Technology:Celtic Pharma Announces Presentation of Preclinical Data at the 69th Annual Meeting of the AAD in New Orleans 2Celtic Pharma Announces Presentation of Preclinical Data at the 69th Annual Meeting of the AAD in New Orleans 3Engineers grow nanolasers on silicon, pave way for on-chip photonics 2Engineers grow nanolasers on silicon, pave way for on-chip photonics 3MetaMorphix, Inc. Announces Sale 2
... CLS number is a new ... match Cornings product number. If ... order under the old Sigma-Aldrich ... service for assistance. Material: ...
... Innovative Linear Ion Trap Time of Flight Mass Analyzer for superior ... measurement range: 100 - 25,000 m/z, * Precursor ion selection range: ... * MS accuracy: 5 ppm with internal reference, * Dynamic range: ... ...
... pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated T cells, ... the growth of some tumour and normal ... Kaposis sarcoma cell proliferation, cytokine release from ... expression on hepatoma cells. Mouse OSM was ...
... trinor Prostaglandin F2α isopropyl ester (15(R)-17-phenyl ... latanoprost-related isomer containing both a double ... (β) hydroxyl group at C-15. Similar ... ester is a potential impurity in ...
Biology Products: