Fuels made from agricultural or forestry wastes known as lignocellulosic biomass have long been a champion in the quest to reduce use of fossil fuels. But plant cell walls have some innate defenses that make the process to ...
Materials Science
Aug 2, 2019
0
104
Biomedical engineers at Penn State have developed a process to build protective, synthetic plant cell walls around animal cells. The work, published in Nature Communications, could hold significant potential for a variety ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 17, 2019
0
31
A moth caterpillar has evolved to use acids, usually sprayed at predators as a deterrent, to disarm the defenses of their food plants, according to a study publishing July 10 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by David Dussourd ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 10, 2019
0
7
Determining how one species becomes distinct from another has been a subject of fascination dating back to Charles Darwin. New research led by Carnegie's Matthew Evans and published in Nature Communications elucidates the ...
Biotechnology
May 24, 2019
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48
Biologists don't call them "the hidden kingdom" for nothing. With an estimated 5 million species, only a mere 100,000 fungi are known to scientists. This kingdom, which includes molds, yeasts, rusts and mushrooms, receives ...
Plants & Animals
May 23, 2019
0
5
A high-gravity experiment has revealed how cells keep their shape under pressure.
Cell & Microbiology
May 22, 2019
0
121
An open-source RNA analysis platform has been successfully used on plant cells for the first time—a breakthrough that could herald a new era of fundamental research and bolster efforts to engineer more efficient food and ...
Biotechnology
May 16, 2019
2
415
In the ongoing arms race with humans and their antibiotics on one side, and bacteria with their ability to evolve defenses to antibiotics on the other, humans have enlisted a new ally—other bacteria.
Biochemistry
May 10, 2019
0
146
Researchers at Indiana University are reporting a previously unknown way that bacteria can develop new genes to evolve and adapt to threats, an insight that might advance efforts against "superbugs."
Cell & Microbiology
May 9, 2019
1
122
Plant cell walls, as repositories of fixed carbon, are an important source of biomass, which is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, the complex lignin structure makes it a rather inefficient ...
Biotechnology
Apr 22, 2019
0
6
