University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists say that mice injected with stem cell-like progenitor cells seemed to have “sipped from the fountain of youth.” The genetically modified mice used in the experiment were bred to exhibit aging characteristics similar to those observed in sufferers of progeria, a premature aging disorder. Reporting their work in […]
By genetically modifying normally “unexcitable” cells, Duke University bioengineers have turned them into cells capable of generating and passing electrical current; a breakthrough which could have broad implications in treating diseases of the nervous system or the heart. The transformation was achieved by introducing genes that result in the formation of ion channels on the […]
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way to make significant improvements to the power-conversion efficiency of solar cells by utilizing viruses to perform assembly work on the solar cell at the microscopic level. The new construction technique, reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, is based on previous research that showed […]
One of the problems with common photovoltaic cells is that the sun’s rays can be highly destructive to the materials used in the cell, leading to a gradual degradation of its performance. But plants have adopted an interesting strategy to address this issue: They constantly break down their light-capturing molecules and reassemble them from scratch, […]
Researchers from the newly-established Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI), Florida and the University of Montreal have uncovered a possible method for completely eradicating HIV from the human body. The researchers made use of new information about how HIV persists in the body – even in patients receiving drug treatments – and how the virus […]
In important new work, Florida State University (FSU) molecular biologists have begun to unscramble the enormously complex process by which DNA is repackaged during differentiation – when embryonic stem cells, jacks of all cellular trades, lose their anything-goes attitude and become masters of specialized functions. As a result, scientists now are one significant step closer […]
An expert in exercise and the human metabolic system has criticized recent media stories about the invention of an “exercise pill” as unrealistic and largely ignorant of the benefits that physical activity has on human physiology. The reports in question were based on the discovery, by researchers at The Salk Institute, of a substance that […]
University of Delaware (UD) researchers have managed to crank up the efficiency of silicon solar cells to a record-breaking 42.8 percent under standard terrestrial sunlight conditions. The new record is an important milestone on the path to the 50 percent efficiency goal set by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under its Very High […]
Proteins like to keep themselves busy, and one of the tasks they perform is the discharging of excess energy generated during metabolism. Usually, this is done by ferrying electrons to chemicals outside the cell, thus maintaining energy flow in the cell and keeping the cell alive. Now, scientists from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest […]
Embryonic stem cells have astonished scientists with their facility to develop into any kind of cell in the human body, but our understanding of howstem cells make this transformation has been sketchy at best. Now, researchers at University of Florida’s (UF) McKnight Brain Institute have shown that embryonic stem cells develop according to their environment, […]
