Biological materials, as physical systems, comprise substances produced by or derived from living organisms, characterized by hierarchical organization from molecular to macroscopic scales and emergent structure–property relationships. They include tissues, extracellular matrices, biominerals, and biopolymers such as collagen, chitin, cellulose, and elastin. Their properties arise from complex architectures combining organic and often inorganic phases, enabling functions such as load bearing, protection, adhesion, and signal transduction. Biological materials exhibit viscoelasticity, anisotropy, self-healing, and adaptive remodeling under mechanical or biochemical stimuli, making them central model systems for biomechanics, biomimetics, and the design of advanced bioinspired and biomedical materials.
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, working with collaborators around the world, have demonstrated the effectiveness of a suite of low-cost, portable biotechnology tools designed to ...
Biotechnology
5 hours ago
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Approximately 75% of marine organisms are bioluminescent, with specialized light-emitting organs called photophores. They use the light they produce for various purposes, like attracting mates, luring prey, or confusing predators.
Biotechnology
May 26, 2026
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Bacteria from the Middle East have caused precipitation all the way out in California. The same bacteria, which are known to attack plants, have also been found embedded within lumps of hail in West Africa.
Biotechnology
May 19, 2026
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Gathering dust from buildings may hold promise as a more efficient way to track viral outbreaks in indoor settings, according to a new study published in Building and Environment by researchers from the Ohio State University. ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 18, 2026
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Using a powerful single-molecule imaging method they developed, a Broad Institute research team has unveiled a dynamic view of how some cancer-related proteins interact in living cells. The technique relies on highly stable ...
Bio & Medicine
May 4, 2026
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Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new imaging method, known as RF-SIRF, that quantitatively detects and maps reversed DNA replication forks with single-cell resolution. The ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 3, 2026
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Scientists at Durham University, working in partnership with Jagiellonian University in Poland, have developed a new nanoscale tool that can capture and precisely position some of the most important proteins in the human ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 30, 2026
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Each year, 20 million people are diagnosed with cancer. Various organs can be affected, and cancer types sometimes differ greatly at the cellular and molecular level. In about half of all cases, however, the protein p53 is ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 29, 2026
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9
Scorpions wield some of the natural world's most formidable built-in weapons, from crushing pincers to venomous stingers. Scientists have long known that these structures contain trace metals that strengthen them, but only ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 28, 2026
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96
Scientists have captured the most detailed structural images to date of a specific type of protein's DNA repair process, a finding that could reveal ways to inhibit the effects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that heighten the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 27, 2026
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