http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population. http://phys.org/news286625740.html Biology Wed, 01 May 2013 13:00:23 EST news286625740 (Phys.org) —A Purdue University-led team has revealed the proton transfer pathway responsible for a majority of energy storage in photosynthesis. Through photosynthesis, plants, algae and bacteria convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into chemical energy stored in the membrane of special cells, a process similar to charging a battery, said William A. Cramer, the Henry Koffler Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and research team leader. http://phys.org/news285877405.html Chemistry Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:23:36 EST news285877405 An international team of physicists have revealed insights into how the very first life-forms made the jump from the non-living to the living world, by mathematically modelling biological states using energy waves called solitons. http://phys.org/news282202126.html Physics Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:29:34 EST news282202126 Researchers have developed models of bacterial outer membranes that can help develop better antibiotics to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. http://phys.org/news272278281.html Chemistry Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:51:46 EST news272278281 Before taking effect, pharmaceuticals that target cell function must cross a crucial barrier: the complex assembly of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates that make up biological membranes. Recently, scientists realized that besides a membrane's internal components, thin water layers at its inner and outer surfaces may also play important roles in ion and small molecule transport. However, most characterization methods cannot distinguish between bulk and surface water, so identifying water structures around membranes is challenging. http://phys.org/news269851704.html Chemistry Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:30:02 EST news269851704 A team of scientists at the University of Freiburg led by Dr. Martin van der Laan has achieved groundbreaking new insights into the structure of mitochondria. Mitochondria are the microscopic power plants of the cell that harness the energy stored in food, thus enabling central life functions. This conversion of energy takes place in delicately formed cavities of the biological membranes inside mitochondria. Defects in these fine membrane structures can lead to severe diseases of the muscles and the central nervous system. A sophisticated molecular machine of the inner membrane that the Freiburg team already discovered in 2011 is not only responsible for forming the characteristic structures within mitochondria but evidently also plays an important role in assembling the outer membrane enclosing these organelles, as the scientists now report in the renowned journal Molecular Biology of the Cell. http://phys.org/news266855903.html Biology Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:38:43 EST news266855903 How a transport protein obtains its driving force from the energy storage molecule ATP, has been tracked dynamically by German researchers at Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum. Using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, they measured the structural changes in the bacterial membrane protein MsbA and its interaction partner ATP. The researchers led by Prof. Dr. Eckhard Hofmann and Prof. Dr. Klaus Gerwert from the Biophysics Department report on the results in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. http://phys.org/news261218943.html Chemistry Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:49:12 EST news261218943 (Phys.org) -- Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered a mechanism that controls the way that organisms breathe or photosynthesise, potentially paving the way for improved biofuel production. http://phys.org/news259856635.html Biology Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:30:03 EST news259856635 Researchers from Hull, Bristol and Frankfurt have shown that a new technique for identifying molecular structure can be used effectively on small samples of biological proteins, particularly proteins that are targeted for drug development. http://phys.org/news240487474.html Chemistry Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:04:46 EST news240487474 Cosmetics and pharmaceutical drug delivery systems could be improved thanks to a new method developed to precisely measure the capability of capsule-like biological membranes to change shape under external stress. This work is outlined in a study about to be published in European Physical Journal E by Philippe Meleard and Tanja Pott from the Rennes-based Institute of Chemical Sciences at the European University of Brittany and their colleagues from the Center for Biomembrane Physics at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense. http://phys.org/news239019644.html Physics Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:20:53 EST news239019644 Laboratory studies by chemical engineers at UC Santa Barbara may lead to new experimental methods for early detection and diagnosis -- and to possible treatments -- for pathological tissues that are precursors to multiple sclerosis and similar diseases. http://phys.org/news225385728.html Nanotechnology Mon, 23 May 2011 16:09:14 EST news225385728 Two new construction manuals are now available for the world's smallest lamps. Based on these protocols, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces have tailor-made nanoparticles that can be used as position lights on cell proteins and, possibly in the future as well, as light sources for display screens or for optical information technology. http://phys.org/news165236713.html Nanotechnology Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:50:01 EST news165236713 Revered in India as "holy powder," the marigold-colored spice known as turmeric has been used for centuries to treat wounds, infections and other health problems. In recent years, research into the healing powers of turmeric's main ingredient, curcumin, has burgeoned, as its astonishing array of antioxidant, anti-cancer, antibiotic, antiviral and other properties has been revealed. http://phys.org/news155588406.html Chemistry Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:00:41 EST news155588406