http://phys.org/biology-news/biotechnology/ en-us Phys.Org provides the latest news on biotechnology Researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and City University of New York have invented a proprietary new formulation called Visikol that effectively clears organisms to be viewed under microscopes. Visikol can be used in place of chloral hydrate, which is one of the few high-quality clearing solutions currently available but which is tightly regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) due to its use as a narcotic. http://phys.org/news288020241.html Biology - Biotechnology Fri, 17 May 2013 14:40:01 EST news288020241 Archaeologists have made a discovery in southern subtropical China which could revolutionise thinking about how ancient humans lived in the region. http://phys.org/news288007298.html Biology - Biotechnology Fri, 17 May 2013 11:02:09 EST news288007298 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have developed a new cell line that rapidly and accurately detects foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), which causes a highly contagious and economically devastating disease in cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals. http://phys.org/news287992987.html Biology - Biotechnology Fri, 17 May 2013 07:45:39 EST news287992987 (Phys.org) —The production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass would benefit on several levels if carried out at temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees Celsius. Researchers with the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) have employed a promising technique for improving the ability of enzymes that break cellulose down into fermentable sugars to operate in this temperature range. Using this technique, they successfully engineered a high-temperature enzyme variant with greater activity and stability over the desired temperature range, and have shown that not all microbes are alike when it comes to making enzymes with improved properties. http://phys.org/news287907875.html Biology - Biotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 07:24:43 EST news287907875 (Phys.org) —The more crop scientists know about how plant roots take up water and nutrients, the better able they will be to develop crop plants with roots that can cope with challenging soil and environmental conditions. http://phys.org/news287905314.html Biology - Biotechnology Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:01 EST news287905314 Two University of Illinois scientists have developed an environmentally friendly and more economical way of pretreating Miscanthus in the biofuel production process. http://phys.org/news287843484.html Biology - Biotechnology Wed, 15 May 2013 13:32:59 EST news287843484 (Phys.org) —It's a familiar scenario – a patient receives a medical implant and days later, the body attacks the artificial valve or device, causing complications to an already compromised system. http://phys.org/news287754009.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 12:40:22 EST news287754009 In a study published online today in Crop Science, scientists describe a nematode-resistant wheat. But while the wheat carries the resistance to the pest, the benefits are actually seen in the crop that is grown after it. http://phys.org/news287753289.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 12:28:16 EST news287753289 (Phys.org) —Researchers in Britain have announced the development of a new strain of wheat that early reports suggest produce 30 percent greater yields than those currently in use. http://phys.org/news287746910.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 11:20:01 EST news287746910 Scientists have developed techniques for the genetic improvement of sunflowers using a non-GMO based approach. The new technology platform can harness the plant's own genes to improve characteristics of sunflower, develop genetic traits, which will improve its role as an important oilseed crop. The work was led by Dr Manash Chatterjee, an Adjunct Faculty member of Botany and Plant Science at NUI Galway, and has been published in the journal BMC Plant Biology. http://phys.org/news287743714.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:22 EST news287743714 (Phys.org) —A team of researchers from the U.S., Taiwan and China analyzing tooth regeneration in alligators reports that a similar process might possibly be instigated in humans through artificial means. In their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes how they uncovered the tooth regeneration process in alligators and why it might apply to human dentistry. http://phys.org/news287742054.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 09:21:26 EST news287742054 A multi-national research team of researchers in Bio4Energy has been able to demonstrate an important step in wood formation: that a part of plants only forms after the cells that make them up die. According to the research group leader, Edouard Pesquet of Umeå University, the finding is an important step in understanding the way in which wood is constructed and, in turn, can be taken apart in a way suitable for making bio-based products. http://phys.org/news287738685.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 08:24:55 EST news287738685 A dozen years after a customer revolt forced Monsanto to ditch its genetically engineered potato, another company aims to resurrect high-tech spuds. http://phys.org/news287734974.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 14 May 2013 07:30:48 EST news287734974 The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Monsanto Monday over an Indiana farmer accused of having pirated the genetically-modified crops developed by the agribusiness giant. http://phys.org/news287661244.html Biology - Biotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 10:54:09 EST news287661244 Three major British grocery chains have ended their bans on providing genetically modified feed to chickens. http://phys.org/news287656845.html Biology - Biotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 09:50:01 EST news287656845 Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg have jointly developed a revolutionary method to analyse the genomes of yeast families. The team of Dr. Aimée Dudley from the ISB and Dr. Patrick May from LCSB published their paper in the renowned scientific journal Nature Methods on May 12th. It describes a new method called BEST: Barcode Enabled Sequencing of Tetrads. http://phys.org/news287649019.html Biology - Biotechnology Mon, 13 May 2013 07:30:28 EST news287649019 Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of a genetic material known as noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities. http://phys.org/news287575375.html Biology - Biotechnology Sun, 12 May 2013 13:00:06 EST news287575375 The sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is a symbol of spiritual purity and longevity. Its seeds can survive up to 1,300 years, its petals and leaves repel grime and water, and its flowers generate heat to attract pollinators. http://phys.org/news287423988.html Biology - Biotechnology Fri, 10 May 2013 17:00:06 EST news287423988 Although thousands of entire genomes have been sequenced, our understanding of their detailed workings remains far from complete. Researchers continue to find new genes, determine their function, and map how they interact to build organisms. Working on the well-studied model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, Kousuke Hanada and colleagues from the RIKEN Plant Science Center have revealed that a subset of tiny genes scattered through the genome may control the patterning of development. http://phys.org/news287394313.html Biology - Biotechnology Fri, 10 May 2013 09:20:01 EST news287394313 (Phys.org) —As the U.S. Supreme Court moves closer to a decision this summer in the landmark gene patent case against Myriad Genetics, a study, led by Colorado State University, is shedding light on what may be at stake. http://phys.org/news287386635.html Biology - Biotechnology Fri, 10 May 2013 06:37:24 EST news287386635 A novel gene associated with canine atopic dermatitis has been identified by a team of researchers led by professors Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Uppsala university and Åke Hedhammar, SLU, Sweden. The gene encodes a protein called plakophilin 2, which is crucial for the formation and proper functioning of the skin structure, suggesting an aberrant skin barrier as a potential risk factor for atopic dermatitis. http://phys.org/news287314900.html Biology - Biotechnology Thu, 09 May 2013 17:00:01 EST news287314900 The Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, has developed a new method for the early detection of the diseases mildew, powdery mildew and botrytis in vines. The new methodology based on molecular biology techniques makes it possible to detect the disease before the symptoms appear on the plant. That way it is possible to carry out the rapid treatment of the plots or areas affected and prevent the disease from spreading all over vineyard, which reduces infective pressure. The R&D centre has also studied the evolution of infection by the pathogen Plasmopara viticola –the cause of mildew– on four vine varieties: Solaris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Petit Courbu. Solaris turned out to have the greatest resistance to the fungus. http://phys.org/news287314353.html Biology - Biotechnology Thu, 09 May 2013 10:32:44 EST news287314353 (Phys.org) —In a groundbreaking move that provides new insight into avian evolution, biology and conservation, researchers at Texas A&M University have successfully sequenced the complete genome of a Scarlet macaw for the first time. http://phys.org/news287308075.html Biology - Biotechnology Thu, 09 May 2013 08:48:15 EST news287308075 (Phys.org) —Tomatoes can contain more vitamin C if they are exposed to extra light from LED lamps while growing on the plant. This has been proven by research by Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture in collaboration with Philips. The partnership will be continued in a joint facility for research into the application of LED lamps in horticulture (IDC LED), which will be opened in Bleiswijk (NL) on 16 May. http://phys.org/news287300956.html Biology - Biotechnology Thu, 09 May 2013 06:49:33 EST news287300956 (Medical Xpress)—An international consortium of researchers has created the largest computer model of human metabolism to date, an astonishingly detailed roadmap that points the way to better understanding of cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a host of other conditions. It's a powerful new tool that will speed the development of new drugs and treatments and, eventually, may allow doctors to tailor medicine to each patient's personal biology. http://phys.org/news287216008.html Biology - Biotechnology Wed, 08 May 2013 07:13:35 EST news287216008 Enzymes could break down cell walls faster – leading to less expensive biofuels for transportation – if two enzyme systems are brought together in an industrial setting, new research by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory suggests. http://phys.org/news287165621.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 07 May 2013 17:46:26 EST news287165621 From Ireland to the Balkans, Europeans are basically one big family, closely related to one another for the past thousand years, according to a new study of the DNA of people from across the continent. http://phys.org/news287141748.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 07 May 2013 17:00:12 EST news287141748 Scientists say a disease destroying entire crops of cassava has spread out of East Africa into the heart of the continent, is attacking plants as far south as Angola and now threatens to move west into Nigeria, the world's biggest producer of the potato-like root that helps feed 500 million Africans. http://phys.org/news287147906.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 07 May 2013 12:18:36 EST news287147906 (Phys.org) —A series of new discoveries in plant cell biology will help to increase the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population, according to 12 of the world's leading plant biologists. http://phys.org/news287129878.html Biology - Biotechnology Tue, 07 May 2013 07:18:13 EST news287129878 Neiker-Tecnalia, the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, and the company FARMARABA S.L. are working together on a Project designed to produce Omega 3 using marine plant micro-organisms. The ultimate aim is to develop in-house technologies to obtain this highly valued fatty acid, and then apply them at a FARMARABA production plant. http://phys.org/news287049507.html Biology - Biotechnology Mon, 06 May 2013 09:20:01 EST news287049507