Rapid, single-cell analysis of microbiotas now possible

A single-cell method developed by RIKEN biophysicists, that can rapidly classify hundreds of thousands of bacteria according to species, promises to be an invaluable tool for discovering how gut, skin, ocean and soil microbes ...

Researchers engineer probiotic yeast to produce beta-carotene

Researchers have genetically engineered a probiotic yeast to produce beta-carotene in the guts of laboratory mice. The advance demonstrates the utility of work the researchers have done to detail how a suite of genetic engineering ...

New insights into vitamin A recycling and daytime vision

Many people remember been told as kids when they refused to eat their vegetables that "carrots are good for your eyes." Although parents may not have fully understood it at the time, there is some truth to this. Carrots are ...

Electron microscopy reveals how vitamin A enters the cell

Using a new, lightning-fast camera paired with an electron microscope, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have captured images of one of the smallest proteins in our cells to be "seen" with a microscope.

Now we know why carrots are orange

Scientists unveiled Monday the gene in carrots that gives rise to carotenoids, a critical source of Vitamin A and the pigment that turns some fruits and vegetables bright orange or red.

Scientists find key to vitamin A metabolism

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have uncovered the mechanism that enables the enzyme Lecithin: retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) to store vitamin A—a process that is indispensable for vision.

Orange corn holds promise for reducing blindness, child death

Decreasing or increasing the function of a newly discovered gene in corn may increase vitamin A content and have significant implications for reducing childhood blindness and mortality rates, according to a Purdue University-led ...

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