artificial

Chemists create 'Superbowl' molecule; May lead to better health

...ety. The superbowl molecule belongs to a class of artificial bowl-shaped molecules that were first developed in the 1980s to mimic naturally occurring enzymes, which facilitate molecular synthesis and transport within the body. Over the years, these bowl-shaped molecules have been extensively studied and refin...

University of Manchester makes made-to-measure skin and bones a reality using inkjet printers

...a few millimetres thick, which is fine for growing artificial skin,but if you wanted to grow cartilage, for instance, it would beimpossible," Professor Derby says.The key to the advance which Professor Derby and his team have made isthe innovative way in which they are able to pre-determine the size andshape of...

Priming embryonic stem cells to fulfill their promise

...ng liver cells fromembryonic stem cells to make an artificial liver. She plans to seekfunding to further her artificial liver research from the newCalifornia Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The institute wascreated ...

Termites feed through good vibrations

...s that trigger attention ?that may prove useful in artificial intelligence. CSIRO entomologist Theo Evans says ...reference to the large blocks. Prof Lai created an artificial signal similar to that made by the termites chewing the large block, which Dr Evans broadcast into s...

Inexpensive, mass-produced genes core of synthetic biology advances at UH

...oduce energy, neutralize toxins and make drugs and artificial genesthat could eventually be used in gene therapy procedures. Gene therapyis a promising approach to the treatment of genetic disorders,debilitating neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and endocrinedisorders such as diabetes. This technology m...

U-M scientist to talk about tissue engineering at AAAS

...engineering refers to growing human tissue through artificial means. Typically it involves harvesting a small sample of cells, treating them in the lab, then reintroducing the cells into a damaged area, like a jaw bone damaged too badly to simply heal on its own. A tiny scaffold helps direct the engineered cel...

Study finds more than one-third of human genome regulated by RNA

...ers are shutting off genes by deliveringinto cells artificial microRNA-like molecules called siRNAs. RNAi hasalready transformed how many labs are investigating gene functions, andsiRNAs are being developed for clinical applications. Learning moreabout how microRNAs operate in human cells should help scientists...

NYU researchers simulate molecular biological clock

...ers are shutting off genes by deliveringinto cells artificial microRNA-like molecules called siRNAs. RNAi hasalready transformed how many labs are investigating gene functions, andsiRNAs are being developed for clinical applications. Learning moreabout how microRNAs operate in human cells should help scientists...

Critical role in programmed cell death identified

...entation in cell death have been done under rather artificial conditions, in tissue culture, not using natural cell death stimuli, " Conradt explains. "Our work was done in vivo; in the worm. We looked at cells that normally die, so it's more solid." ...

Genetically modified natural killer immune cells attack, kill leukemia cells

...owing NK cells so they carried on their surface an artificial receptor that made them particularly aggressive an...tein that binds to a specific target molecule. The artificial receptor on the NK molecule was designed to recognize a protein called CD19, which is found on the s...

The Bacteria's guide to survival

...he pili were responsible. They then showed that an artificial mechanical pull on the host cell membrane could trigger a signaling cascade in the host cells to affect the host's gene expression. Many of the genes that increased in activity due to the tugs were already known to regulate apoptosis and cellular re...

UCSD team discovers specialized, rare heart stem cells in newborns

...al devices, human and synthetic tissue grafts, and artificial and animal derived valves to surgically repair heart defects. While progenitor cells won't grow a whole new heart, our research has shown that they can spontaneously become cells from specific parts of the heart by simple co-exposure to other heart c...

Artifical cornea lets woman blind 20 years see

...oring her closely following the implantation of an artificial cornea, or keratoprosthesis, into one of her eyes ...hundred patients nationwide who have received such artificial corneas, which have revolutionized the treatment and care of patients like her. "I was blind for tw...

Substance protects resilient staph bacteria

...le who receive medical implants such as catheters, artificial joints and heart valves. A substance found on the surface of Staphylococcus epidermidis has, for the first time, been shown to protect the harmful pathogen from natural human defense mechanisms that would otherwise kill the bacteria, according to sc...

To control germs, scientists deploy tiny agents provocateurs

...of certain microorganisms, scientists are creating artificial chemicals that infiltrate and sabotage bacterial "mobs." Reporting the work here today (March 13) at the 229th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Helen Blackwell described the ongoi...

Genetically Modified Natural Killer Immune Cells Attack, Kill Leukemia Cells

...owing NK cells so they carried on their surface an artificial receptor that made them particularly aggressive an...tein that binds to a specific target molecule. The artificial receptor on the NK molecule was designed to recognize a protein called CD19, which is found on the s...

Nano-bumps could help repair clogged blood vessels

...n are found on conventional materials used to make artificial joints. The smaller features also stimulate the gr...ue, which is critical for the proper attachment of artificial joints once they are implanted. Now the biomedical engineers have seen the same kind of increased a...

Scientists journey to southern Africa to unravel the secret world of elephant communication

...recorded by scientist Joyce Poole in Kenya; and an artificial warble tone. A shaker was once again buried near the waterhole and wired to a tape deck in the tower. All three sounds were randomly played through the shaker at different times to see if the elephants could recognize them as distinct vibrations. "We...

Taking the piste out of Alpine vegetation

...'s Journal of Applied Ecology, machine grading and artificial snow production is causing significant changes in ...udes," they say. They also measured the impact of artificial snow on vegetation and found that this causes changes in species composition, with snowbed and late-...

UCLA scientists store materials in cells natural vaults

...tion. Previous efforts have relied upon viruses or artificial chemicals to house and deliver drugs or other substances to targeted cells. RESEARCH: Scientists at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have exploited thousands of tiny capsules in cells to store vast amounts of biomaterial. Dubbed vaults ?f...

UCSD medical/bioengineering reseachers show titanium debris satobtage artificial joints

...il and suggest that improvements should be made in artificial joint design," said the study's senior author K.L. Paul Sung, Ph.D., UCSD professor of orthopedic surgery and adjunct professor of cellular bioengineering. The team measured how titanium particles affected the bonding strength of pins implanted in r...

What the eye doesn't see

...ects. Professor Innes Cuthill and his team pinned artificial 'moths' to trees in a field with a dead mealworm attached. The 'moths' were triangular pieces of waterproof card with specific patterns printed on them. By varying the colours, size and location of patterns on the moths the team were able to mimic re...

Tsunami-damaged coral reefs should be left to recover naturally, say scientists

...rby to provide a source of new coral larvae, would artificial methods such as coral transplantation be clearly beneficial. Dr Alasdair Edwards, a researcher and senior lecturer with the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, chairs the World Bank's Coral Restoration and Remediation Working Group. He said: "Obv...

Mice brains shrink during winter, impairing some learning and memory

...rchers used 20 adult male white-footed mice. Using artificial light, some mice were kept in short days ?such as they would face in winter ?with eight hours of light per day for 13 weeks before the beginning of the study. Other mice were kept in long days, simulating summer, with 16 hours of daylight for 13 week...

Study shows humans have ability to track odors, much like bloodhounds

...he odors through a specially designed mask with an artificial septum that provided separate air flow to each nostril. In addition, they conducted similar experiments on five volunteers who had no olfactory nerves and therefore couldn't smell at all, a condition known as anosmia. Normal subjects, 16 in all, we...

Scientists succeed in cloning human embryos from eggs matured in the lab

...utic cloning for infertility treatment by creating artificial eggs and sperm for patients who are infertile because of absence or premature loss of eggs or sperm. We would do this by isolating embryonic stem cell lines from cloned early embryos and driving these embryonic stem cells to develop into eggs and spe...

Invitrogen Launches i-Path -- A Unique Systems Biology Platform at BIO 2005

...utic cloning for infertility treatment by creating artificial eggs and sperm for patients who are infertile because of absence or premature loss of eggs or sperm. We would do this by isolating embryonic stem cell lines from cloned early embryos and driving these embryonic stem cells to develop into eggs and spe...

Self-assembled DNA buckyballs for drug delivery

...bled from "dendrimerlike DNA." If three strands of artificial DNA are created such that portions of each strand are complementary to portions of another, the three strands will bind to each other over the complementary portions, creating a Y-shaped molecule. By joining several Y's in the same way, Luo's researc...

Six previously blind patients detect light, motion, identify objects with retinal prostheses

...etinal prosthesis-more popularly referred to as an artificial retina-developed and manufactured in partnership with Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., of Sylmar, Calif. According to Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine and the lead investigator on the project, all six of th...

Gene Bridges And Covalys To Develop Restriction-Enzyme-Free SNAP-tag Gene Fusion Kits

...g of large DNA sequences, such as BACs, (bacterial artificial chromosomes) with single-nucleotide precision. SNA...rticularly useful for cloning with BACs (bacterial artificial chromosomes) and other large vectors for use in transgenic expression studies. Covalys already offer...

Mass production of human papillomavirus could lead to gains against cervical cancer

...by laboriously differentiating cultured cells into artificial skin. This process takes weeks, and produces small amounts of virions, which permitted only limited study of the virus, said Ahlquist. "The available culture techniques limited the ability to study critical early stages of infection," said Ahlquist....

Shark skin saves naval industry money

Covering ship hulls with artificial shark skin could help ships sailing smoothly. The ...many, is presenting his work on the application of artificial shark skin in a new anti-fouling strategy at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meetin...

Experts discuss use of human stem cells in ape and monkey brains

Covering ship hulls with artificial shark skin could help ships sailing smoothly. The ...many, is presenting his work on the application of artificial shark skin in a new anti-fouling strategy at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meetin...

Ethical guidelines suggested for research that would put human stem cells in primates

Covering ship hulls with artificial shark skin could help ships sailing smoothly. The ...many, is presenting his work on the application of artificial shark skin in a new anti-fouling strategy at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meetin...

Three deadly parasite genomes sequenced

Covering ship hulls with artificial shark skin could help ships sailing smoothly. The ...many, is presenting his work on the application of artificial shark skin in a new anti-fouling strategy at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meetin...

Researchers at UGA provide first look at protein expression in Chagas disease-causing parasites

Covering ship hulls with artificial shark skin could help ships sailing smoothly. The ...many, is presenting his work on the application of artificial shark skin in a new anti-fouling strategy at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meetin...

Monkeying around to improve organ transplantation

...ot respond to antigen stimulation) generated in an artificial environment outside the living organism have immunosuppressive activity in vitro. Now in a study appearing online on June 9 in advance of the print publication of the July 1 print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Hisashi Bashuda and co...

Hormones and growth: The control of body size and developmental growth rate in fruit flies

...and the body size of adult flies. They showed that artificial enlargement of the prothoracic gland appeared to cause an overestimation of the larval flies' overall body size, prompting the initiation of metamorphosis before the flies surpassed the minimal viable weight necessary to survive pupation. On the basi...

Ants, not evil spirits, create devil's gardens in the Amazon rainforest, study finds

...with cotton. Two cedar saplings, with and without artificial tubes, were planted in devil's gardens near two D. hirsuta saplings, one with and one without domatia. After 24 hours, there was significant leaf death on all of the cedar plants, but none on any D. hirsuta saplings. "We conclude that M. schumanni a...

Researchers create functioning artificial proteins using nature's rules

..., rules the scientists have now employed to create artificial proteins that look and function just like their na...nd his colleagues detail a new method for creating artificial proteins based only on information they derived from analyzing certain characteristics that individu...

Nanoscale method for investigating living systems

...h in turn acted as portals in the membranes. These artificial portals or pores could enable a method of investig...at we've found is that these quantum dots can form artificial pores that enhance the flow of ions and which we can control from the outside via voltage." Quantum...

Results of world's first gene therapy trial for arthritis show approach safe, feasible

... knuckles were removed for study and replaced with artificial joints. In their animal studies that preceded the clinical trial, the researchers had noted that a small percentage of injected cells could escape to other tissues within one week. But with five years follow-up, the authors have seen no evidence tha...

Nanotubes inspire new technique for healing broken bones

...tubes will improve the strength and flexibility of artificial bone materials, leading to a new type of bone graf...e human body," Haddon says. "Interactions of these artificial materials with the systems of the human body are very important factors in determining clinical use....

Environmental lessons from tsunami as world's coastal population doubles

...ster than man-made structures such as sea walls or artificial reefs. Globally 23 per cent of the world's population (1.2 billion people) live within 100 km of the coast and this figure is likely to increase to 50 per cent in the next twenty five years as people flock to coastal cities ?many these being Asian c...

Female butterflies go for sparkle -- not size -- when choosing to mate

...lor composition and shape of these patterns, using artificial selection," said Monteiro. "The question then becomes, 'Why do these populations remain unchanged?' What are the selective forces that maintain these patterns constant through time in any one species in nature?" In this butterfly species, females ma...

Scientists characterize proteome of human cornea

...lso be very useful in the effort toward generating artificial corneas for transplantation." To follow up on their initial research, Dr. Enghild and his colleagues have begun proteomic studies of corneas affected by granular and lattice corneal dystrophies, and are also planning on looking at other cornea disea...

Grabbing addiction by the tail

...imals who received an intravenous injection of the artificial peptide displayed no sensitized behavior. "The eff...s involved in memory and learning, but because the artificial peptide specifically targets only the deleterious internalization process of addiction-affected neur...

Removing egg from nest may help save endangered whooping crane

... reasoned that one egg could be taken and used for artificial propagation programs. The idea was so successful, says Boyce, that the whooping crane's numbers have skyrocketed to over 200 birds in the original population and two new populations have been established elsewhere. But Parks Canada prefers that no f...

Researchers know what you were about to say; fMRI used to detect memory storage and retrieval

... could also guide creation of more self-sufficient artificial neural networks and robots. The study also broke new ground in how fMRI could be used to study how brain activity changes from second to second. Polyn and his Princeton colleagues gave participants 90 things to remember ?divided among celebrity fa...

Bare metal stents deliver gene therapy to heart vessels with less inflammation in animal studies

...already widely used in medicine. Some examples are artificial joints and orthopedic pins and rods, pacemaker electrodes, and titanium tooth implants. "The results of our study may have broader implications for other diseases in which implantable medical devices may be used to deliver gene therapy," said Dr. Lev...

Limiting the damage in stroke

...be achieved by blocking IKK2 activity with a small artificial molecule. That's what a drug will have to do. Human cells have a very similar NF-kB signaling network, which means that there is a good chance IKK2 will do something similar in our own brain cells. As NF-kB passes a variety of other important signals...

Discovering the first steps in transcription-coupled repair

... has already been formed. The researchers created artificial transcription bubbles of DNA in various sizes, in vitro. In this way they discovered that XPG shows a strong preference for binding to bubbles of just the size typical of transcription -- that is, the size of the bubble opened by RNAPII. Identificati...

Making medicine 'smarter'

...r engineering, with a specialization in methods of artificial intelligence that can be applied to medical imaging. Meyer-Baese recently became the first College of Engineering faculty member to receive a National Institutes of Health Career Award, which comes with $695,000 in research funding. With the money, ...

Sooner is better with cochlear implants, Stanford scientist shows

...deaf to hear. Their brains learn to understand the artificial electrical stimulation that the implants provide to the cochlea as sound. A Stanford neurobiologist teamed with child-development specialists at the University of Maryland to see if children with cochlear implants were able to meld their newly acqui...

Bees solve complex colour puzzles

...titute of Ophthalmology trained bumblebees to find artificial flowers of a particular colour using a nectar reward. They then tested the bees' ability to find the same flowers in scenes that were simultaneously illuminated by four differently coloured lights - UV-yellow, blue, yellow and green. To solve this pu...

Technique makes it easier to see mouse embryo in all its glory

... "We make certain assumptions that our toothpaste, artificial sweeteners, pain relievers and household cleaning chemicals are safe for pregnant mothers," he said. "The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) mandate that chemical and drug companies perform tests of...

Living taste cells produced outside the body

...tes. Similarly, new molecules, including potential artificial sweeteners or bitter blockers, can be evaluated to see if they interact with taste receptors to activate the cell. Another important avenue for research aims to help people who have lost their sense of taste from radiation or diseases. Identificati...

Liquid ventilation

...respirators usually employd in these cases provide artificial surfactant, but not always in sufficient amounts t... carried out at the Cruces hospital in Bilbao with artificial lungs and with animals, the results have been very good. It has even been applied successfully in mo...

UC Berkeley researchers create a biologically-inspired artificial compound eye

...y of California, Berkeley, has created a series of artificial compound eyes. These eyes can eventually be used ...ion ?or a dragonfly's 30,000 ommatidia ?the team's artificial ommatidia are each oriented at a slightly different angle. Lee's team has shown that the lenses and ...

'Uniquely human' component of language found in gregarious birds

...rling and combined them to construct a total of 16 artificial songs. These songs followed two different grammars, or patterning rules. Eight songs followed the "finite-state" rule, the simplest sort, thought to account for all non-human communication. A finite-state grammar allows for sounds to be appended ...