'Nature's medicine cabinet' helps bees reduce disease load (Update)
Researchers studying the interaction between plants, pollinators and parasites report that in recent experiments, bees infected with a common intestinal parasite had reduced parasite levels in their...
View ArticleUsing bacterial 'fight clubs' to find new drugs
Creating bacterial "fight clubs" is an effective way to find new drugs from natural sources.
View ArticleNew study reveals improved way to interpret high-throughput biological data
This study has developed a unique bioinformatics approach for identifying associations between molecules from a range of vast data sources. Applied to studies with the aim to measure metabolism in...
View ArticleFirst public resource for secondary metabolites searches
The wealth of genomic and metagenomic datasets for microbes, particularly from previously unstudied environments, within the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) system is being applied in a new public...
View ArticleGetting picture of molecules in cell in just minutes
Understanding exactly what is taking place inside a single cell is no easy task. For DNA, amplification techniques are available to make the task possible, but for other substances such as proteins and...
View ArticleDirty, crusty meals fit for (long-dormant) microbes
In deserts and other arid lands, microbes often form very thin top layers on soil known as biocrusts, which behave a bit like Rip Van Winkle. He removed himself from a stressful environment by sleeping...
View ArticleBioinformaticians make the most efficient search engine for molecular...
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" is a well-known American TV series in which murder cases are solved with the help of precise forensic science. Although Prof. Sebastian Böcker and his team at the...
View ArticleReal-time analysis of metabolic products
Biologists at ETH Zurich have developed a method that, for the first time, makes it possible to measure concentration changes of several hundred metabolic products simultaneously and almost in real...
View ArticleSecrets of a rice-killing fungal toxin
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Sciences (CSRS) have discovered the enzyme needed for synthesis of tenuazonic acid (TeA), a well-known toxin that is produced by multiple types...
View ArticleMetabolite maps provide more information and can help reduce harvest losses
It is possible to make metabolite maps of living plant tissues both quickly and accurately by using laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging. Researchers at Wageningen UR...
View ArticleHow wood chemistry relates to structural stability
Wood has many uses, which require to know its shrinking and swelling capacity in relation to humidity (known as dimensional stability). Researchers from the CNRS and Cirad have shown that in Bagassa...
View ArticleUSC, JPL to launch fungi in journey to develop space meds
Researchers at USC and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory say they will be the first team in the world to launch fungi into space for the purpose of potentially developing new medicine for use both in...
View ArticleScientists to send fungi into orbit in quest to develop space meds
Researchers at USC and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory say they will be the first team in the world to launch fungi into space for the purpose of potentially developing new medicine for use both in...
View ArticleNASA releases 'Metabolomics: You Are What You Eat' video
NASA's Human Research Program is releasing "Metabolomics: You Are What You Eat" video to highlight its Twins Study which uses omics to study Mark and Scott Kelly's metabolites. Omics is an evolving...
View ArticleTuned gels reveal molecules that drive stem cell differentiation
By monitoring stem cell differentiation on gels that mimic the stiffness and nanofibrous structure of biological tissue, researchers have identified the specific molecules that stem cells use when...
View ArticleWise plant analysis
Here's a reason not to peel tomatoes: A new method of plant analysis, developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science, has identified healthful antioxidants in tomato skins. In fact, as reported...
View ArticleMapping the molecules made by a lichen's resident microbes
An international team of researchers has spatially mapped molecules produced by an intact, complex microbial community for the first time. Using a tiny slice of lichen, the team used imaging mass...
View ArticleA new methodology quickly reveals metabolic fluxes in cells
Although photographs of the underground stations in Barcelona would reveal the number of people waiting, when rush hour takes place, and offer clues about why some stations are busier than others, they...
View ArticleTeam decoded molecular mechanism that inhibits swarming motility of bacterial...
In nature, bacteria occur mostly in multi-cellular collectives, rather than as individuals. They are capable of coordinating their behaviour, with some species even being able to move together in...
View ArticleHow social rank can trigger vulnerability to stress
Stress is a major risk factor for a range of psychopathologies. However, stress does not affect everyone equally: in the face of sustained adversity, some people develop depression symptoms while...
View ArticleIn longitudinal studies, dried blood spot samples have a role to play
Longitudinal studies of disease require collecting biofluids, preferentially blood. But getting serum blood samples takes the work of a professional, and storing thousands of such samples at -80...
View ArticleNASA's twin study investigates metabolites
You may think you're just an average Joe, but according to your metabolomics data your body is percolating some expressive information about your daily life.
View ArticleTomatoes' crystal ball reveals evolutionary secrets
Michigan State University's Robert Last studies tomatoes. Specifically, he researches their hair, or trichomes.
View ArticleScientists find way to remove 'noise' from big data in metabolomics study
Not long ago, scientists placed wagers on the number of genes in the human genome. Some bets ranged upward of 100,000 genes being present. Once the human genome sequence was completed, a project led in...
View ArticleToxic genetic material's origins discovered
Colibactin, a toxic agent produced by gut bacteria, including certain strains of E. Coli, and thought to contribute to colon cancer, is assembled via a chemical transformation never seen before,...
View ArticleNanofractionation platform with parallel mass spec to ID cytochrome CYP1A2...
A new (and freely available) original research article by Barbara M. Zietek et al., now available ahead-of-print at SLAS Discovery Online, presents a fast, robust and accurate methodology for...
View ArticleA visual database of human plasma compounds
Researchers in Japan have created a database of metabolites from blood samples collected from over 5,000 Japanese volunteers, making it freely available online as a valuable resource for researchers...
View ArticleReal world native biocrusts: Microbial metabolism
Arid lands, which cover some 40 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface, are too dry to sustain much in the way of vegetation. But far from being barren, they are home to diverse communities of...
View ArticleAll in the family: Focused genomic comparisons
Found in microbial communities around the world, Aspergillus fungi are pathogens, decomposers, and important sources of biotechnologically-important enzymes. Each Aspergillus species is known to...
View ArticleMeasuring molecular interactions
ETH Zurich researchers have used a new approach to discover previously unknown interactions between proteins and small metabolic molecules in bacterial cells. The technique can also be used to test the...
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