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. A nanotech material containing an extract from liquorice can be used to sterilize and protect medical devices and implants which include biological components, and protects these functional bio-components during the sterilization process. http://phys.org/news268933048.html Nanotechnology Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:38:32 EST news268933048 In sharp contrast to previous studies suggesting that errors account for the majority of retracted scientific papers, a new analysis—the most comprehensive of its kind—has found that misconduct is responsible for two-thirds of all retractions. In the paper, misconduct included fraud or suspected fraud, duplicate publication and plagiarism. The paper's findings show as a percentage of all scientific articles published, retractions for fraud or suspected fraud have increased 10-fold since 1975. The study, from a collaboration between three scientists including one at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://phys.org/news268309303.html Other Sciences Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:00:51 EST news268309303 (Phys.org)—An interdisciplinary effort at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) addressed the question of how mRNA content, which is translated into proteins, is regulated in the cell. Supported by the Swiss initiative for systems biology (SystemsX.ch), experimental biologists and computer scientists teamed up to contrast epigenomic data of histone modifications with post-transcriptional read-outs. Their study, published as a featured article in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, gives answer to a quantitative question in gene regulation. http://phys.org/news266224021.html Biology Fri, 07 Sep 2012 08:07:24 EST news266224021 University of Miami scientists have developed a way to switch fluorescent molecules on and off within aqueous environments, by strategically trapping the molecules inside water-soluble particles and controlling them with ultraviolet light. The new system can be used to develop better fluorescent probes for biomedical research. http://phys.org/news264259145.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:19:23 EST news264259145 (Phys.org) -- Genetic material has many inactive sections that are of major importance for cell identity and genome stability. The HP1 protein takes on key functions in shutting down such genomic sequences. In the latest issue of Molecular Cell, in a collaborative effort from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) and the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, researchers show how HP1 functions in repressing the genome at the molecular level. http://phys.org/news258620207.html Biology Mon, 11 Jun 2012 08:50:01 EST news258620207 A common point in all human tumors is that they produce an activation of oncogenes, genes that cause cancer and they also cause a loss of function of the protective genes, called anti-oncogenes or tumour suppressor genes. Normally both categories of anticancer and procancer genes are in different regions of our chromosomes. http://phys.org/news258112196.html Biology Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:50:10 EST news258112196 (Phys.org) -- The vascular system of a leaf provides its structure and delivers its nutrients. When you light up that vascular structure with some fluorescent dye and view it using time-lapse photography, details begin to emerge that reveal nature's mathematical formula for survival. http://phys.org/news256235287.html Other Sciences Mon, 14 May 2012 17:28:37 EST news256235287 Scientists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have elucidated mechanisms that control DNA movement in the nucleus. They found that DNA with double-strand breaks moves more than undamaged DNA, thereby ensuring that breaks are properly repaired. Error-free double-strand break repair requires that the severed DNA finds a homologous sequence, which can serve as its repair template. Enhanced movement in the nucleus appears to facilitate the search for a proper template. Given that improperly repaired double-strand breaks can cause deleterious translocations that lead to cancer, this mechanism is important for maintaining cell integrity. http://phys.org/news253871622.html Biology Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:54:01 EST news253871622 The recent explosion in the number of retractions in scientific journals is just the tip of the iceberg and a symptom of a greater dysfunction that has been evolving the world of biomedical research say the editors-in-chief of two prominent journals in a presentation before a committee of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) today. http://phys.org/news252066291.html Other Sciences Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:25:01 EST news252066291 A new study by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy illustrates a disconnect between government funding of biomedical research by young investigators and a novel standard by which to judge it: the Nobel Prize. http://phys.org/news245413991.html Other Sciences Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:33:30 EST news245413991 The knowledge that bacteria possess adaptable immune systems that protect them from individual viruses and other foreign invaders is relatively new to science, and researchers across the globe are working to learn how these systems function and to apply that knowledge in industry and medicine. http://phys.org/news244991906.html Biology Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:30:02 EST news244991906 (AP) -- Days in the laboratory are numbered for chimpanzees, humans' closest relative. http://phys.org/news243184437.html Biology Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:14:16 EST news243184437 Chimpanzees should hardly ever be used for medical research, a prestigious scientific group told the government Thursday - advice that means days in the laboratory may be numbered for humans' closest relatives. http://phys.org/news243171874.html Biology Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:01 EST news243171874 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine. http://phys.org/news242323865.html Nanotechnology Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:11:24 EST news242323865 BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, has developed the first exome sequencing platform for the monkey, based on next-generation sequencing technology and monkey exome capturing array (MECA). MECA is a proprietary exome capture array designed by BGI for capturing the entire monkey exome. The combination of this revolutionary array and BGI's high-throughput sequencing technology not only can simplify the workflow of exome sequencing experiments, but also improve cost-effectiveness and turnaround time. http://phys.org/news237552855.html Biology Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:54:23 EST news237552855 Boston College researchers have discovered two early-stage phases of carbon nanotube growth during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, finding a disorderly tangle of tube growth that ultimately yields to orderly rows of the nanoscopic tubes, according to a report in the latest edition of the journal Nanotechnology. http://phys.org/news236779377.html Nanotechnology Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:01 EST news236779377 The development of miniaturization strategies that integrate several laboratory functions on a single chip is benefiting many areas of biomedical research, making even complex experiments faster and cheaper to perform. These ‘lab on a chip’ systems, generally known as microfluidic devices, are typically composed of small polymer wafers patterned with precisely engineered microscopic channels, reservoirs and valves that can transport tiny volumes of fluid with remarkable precision. http://phys.org/news236504325.html Chemistry Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:50:01 EST news236504325 (PhysOrg.com) -- Last month, Dr. Michael Stadler and his Computational Biology group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research became a member laboratory of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. This is in well-deserved recognition of the widely appreciated expertise in computational biology residing in Michael Stadler and his FMI bioinformatics team. http://phys.org/news232104807.html Biology Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:40:01 EST news232104807 A professor from the University of the West of England will present her inaugural lecture on bioluminesence and give insight into how this natural phenomenon has been used to make biomarkers that are making exciting breakthroughs in several areas of health research. http://phys.org/news210250537.html Biology Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:55:48 EST news210250537 (PhysOrg.com) -- Sanjeevi Sivasankar was looking for a better tool to study how cells adhere to each other. http://phys.org/news209652331.html Chemistry Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:00:01 EST news209652331 A Faculty of Engineering professor is conducting biomedical research that could have profound effects on medical imaging and the delivery of drugs by using light and ultrasound. Roger Zemp, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, researches photo-acoustic imaging -- literally making vivid, high-resolution images of the "sound" of light. http://phys.org/news206698375.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:13:07 EST news206698375 (PhysOrg.com) -- Rohit Bhargava of the University of Illinois has come up with an intriguing new class of molecular probes for biomedical research called nanoLAMPs. Unlike most probes used in biomedicine or other types of research they don't require dyes or fluorescence but, like an ordinary house lamp, they do need a light switch in order to illuminate the molecular world. http://phys.org/news204868168.html Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:20:01 EST news204868168 Is the science of diagnosing pain causing a number of pain sufferers to defend their honor? Research out of the University of Cincinnati is examining the diagnosis of pain that evades scientific testing, and the additional emotional suffering that can result for the patient. http://phys.org/news201181323.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:00:01 EST news201181323 After a decade of remarkable growth, total annual funding for biomedical research in the U.S. has decelerated and may have even fallen when adjusted for inflation. That is the conclusion of a study today published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://phys.org/news182537407.html Medicine & Health Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:50:23 EST news182537407 Researchers have previously been able to analyse which sugar structures are to be found on certain proteins, but not exactly where on the protein they are positioned. This is now possible thanks to a new technique developed at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://phys.org/news175175212.html Chemistry Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:00:22 EST news175175212 Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in the December 26th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, show that a cocktail first demonstrated to work in mice earlier this year, which includes inhibitory chemicals, also can be used to successfully isolate embryonic stem cells from rats. http://phys.org/news149345043.html Biology Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:44:03 EST news149345043