Latest Biology Stories
Animals, insects, and plants use a variety of sensing mechanisms to detect invading pathogens such as viruses. One complex and effective antiviral defense system they share is based on recognition of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), often produced when a virus invades a host cell. New information leading to a clearer understanding of the mechanisms underlying viral dsRNA sensing is presented in a comprehensive Review article published in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a...
Better understanding of cells' development has implications in study of inflammatory diseases Labs around the world, and a core group at Penn, have been studying recently described populations of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Some researchers liken them to foot soldiers that protect boundary tissues such as the skin, the lining of the lung, and the lining of the gut from microbial onslaught. They also have shown they play a role in inflammatory disease, when the body's...
Researchers use synthetic silicate to stimulate stem cells into bone cells In new research published online May 13, 2013 in Advanced Materials, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to report that synthetic silicate nanoplatelets (also known as layered clay) can induce stem cells to become bone cells without the need of additional bone-inducing factors. Synthetic silicates are made up of simple or complex salts of silicic acids, and have been used extensively...
A novel drug may help increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for the most deadly form of brain cancer, report scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. In mouse models of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the new drug helped significantly extend survival when used in combination with radiation therapy. Recently published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the study provides the first preclinical evidence demonstrating that an ATM kinase...
Vanderbilt University These days, phylogeneticists – experts who painstakingly map the complex branches of the tree of life – suffer from an embarrassment of riches. The genomics revolution has given them mountains of DNA data that they can sift through to reconstruct the evolutionary history that connects all living beings. But the unprecedented quantity has also caused a serious problem: The trees produced by a number of well-supported studies have come to contradictory conclusions....
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has been used ritualistically for thousands of years and, for centuries, has been used as a way to relieve pain, improve mood and increase appetite. While several studies have given the wacky tobacky, as it is referred to by some, a bad rap, others have shown some positives. One such positive is the role marijuana may play in preventing PTSD symptoms from occurring. In another newly published paper,...
MONTREAL, May 15, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Imaflex Inc. ("Imaflex" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce the development of a new agriculture mulch film to prevent citrus greening, a bacterial disease that has been damaging and destroying citrus crops throughout the United States and other citrus growing nations. The film was developed in consultation with the University of Florida (UFL-IFAS), who sought out Imaflex for developing a non-chemical solution for citrus greening. The...
Organ Regeneration Noted As Top Priority in 2013 US Presidential State of the Union Address LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 8, 2013, Dr. Rongxiang Xu, the founder of "human body regenerative restoration science" and a renowned life and medical scientist who is believed to be the only person who has patented the technology for direct regeneration of damaged organs has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, one of the winners of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology...
LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Kite Pharma Inc. (Kite), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative targeted immunotherapies for cancer, today announced that it has closed a $20 million private placement of shares of its Series A Preferred Stock. In addition to the $20 million in new funds, Kite converted $15 million in outstanding promissory notes into shares of Series A Preferred Stock. Joined by a new investor, Alta Partners, all existing...
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Synthetic Biologics, Inc. (NYSE MKT: SYN), a developer of biologics focused on the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and summarized operational highlights. Operational Highlights Emphasis on C. difficile (C. diff) Infection Prevention (SYN-004) In the U.S. each year, 24 million patients are administered IV antibiotics([1]) which may be...
Latest Biology Reference Libraries
The activity of any living cell, and by extension life itself, depends on protein synthesis and the transcription of DNA. If proteins are the machinery of cellular function, then DNA are the machine assembly lines – responsible for accurately and efficiently ‘transcribing’ protein messengers, structures and enzymes. DNA transcription begins in the nucleus of a cell when an enzyme called RNA polymerase binds to the DNA strand. Sequences within the DNA direct the polymerase to...
Seed saving is the preserving of seeds from mature vegetables, herbs, and flowers used in subsequent years along with bulbs and tubers. Home gardeners have saved seeds for generations and the practice is now becoming common with organic farmers as well as permaculturists. Growers will clone plants so as not to produce seeds keeping the plant “true to type” to the parent plant. True to type refers to the characteristics of the parent plant such as large fruit/blooms. Plants...
The Variable bushy feather star is commonly found concealed on shallow water reefs in the western Pacific Ocean. The parts that will be most often seen are the fern-like arms. The arms start at the base with five rays then begin to divide from there. The arms are flexible due to the multiple calcium filled joints, also called ossicle; therefore if needed these arms could coil up and provide protection to the main body. Interestingly, if one arm should fall off, or perhaps pulled off, then two...
The noble feather star (also known as the yellow feather star) reaches up to 15.75 inches in diameter with a cup-shaped body. There can be 35-40 arms extending out of the central part of the body. The arms are primarily yellow with the underside having a variation to include black, green, or white. The noble feather star feeds on food debris, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Phytoplankton and zooplankton are microscopic organisms that are present mainly in the layer of the oceans that is...
The Mediterranean feather star is a filter feeder that obtains food by straining suspended matter and food particles from water. The star has a stalk that has up to forty tendrils, (threadlike organs) which help the star cling to hard surfaces. The “body” of the star is called a calyx and is shaped like a small cup. This calyx is surrounded by feathery pinnules bearing arms. These arms are quite unique in the fact that they can regenerate if one should get broken off; these arms extend to...
