Researchers from Louisiana Tech University will showcase their work in 3D bio-printing and regenerative medicine at the Experimental Biology Annual Meeting. The university's BioMorPH Lab, led by Dr. David Mills, will present three scientific symposium sessions on topics such as stem cell differentiation and 3D printing.
The American Association of Anatomists awards Young Investigators for groundbreaking research in cell biology, neuroanatomy, and morphological sciences. The winners, including Michael Jenkins, Andrew Holland, Casey Holliday, and Hillel Adesnik, are recognized for their contributions to the field and will present lectures on their work.
Researchers at Lomonosov Moscow State University found that heat shock triggers DNA damage response, leading to cellular senescence. The study's results may help develop new methods for curing cancer.
A new study at Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences has found that peer-led team learning significantly improves grade performance and course completion among minority students in STEM fields. The researchers hope to expand the successful model to increase participation in these crucial subjects.
Enrico Di Cera's work on the Structural Biology Data Grid allows researchers to share and reproduce findings faster, advancing the field of structural biology. The grid supports archiving of raw experimental datasets, enabling rapid access for validation and improving existing models.
A study published in Genome Biology and Evolution sequenced the genome of Metaseiulus occidentalis, a predatory mite widely used to control plant pests. The research revealed completely atomized Hox genes and superdynamic intron evolution, highlighting the unique biology of this agriculturally important predator.
Oxford University Press launches Biology Methods & Protocols, a new open access journal focusing on biological sciences methods and protocols. The journal aims to provide a common forum for methodology and protocol papers, benefiting from an international editorial board led by Dr. Silvia Ayora.
Researchers found that a high-fat diet drives an increase in intestinal stem cells and stem-like cells, which can give rise to tumors. The diet also activates a nutrient-sensing pathway that promotes cell growth and mutations leading to cancer.
A high-fat diet drives a population boom of intestinal stem cells and generates a pool of other cells that behave like stem cells, leading to an increase in tumor formation. The researchers found that the high-fat diet changes the biology of both stem cells and non-stem-cell populations, ultimately resulting in more tumors.
The 2016 ASBMB meeting featured scientific symposia on various topics including bioinorganic catalysis, cell signaling, chemical biology, chromatin organization, DNA replication, education, and glycoscience. Key researchers like Aziz Sancar will present their work on DNA repair and precision medicine.
Researchers at Boston University aim to advance synthetic biology by creating a toolbox of carefully measured and catalogued biological parts. The project will use computing engineering principles to develop an open-source repository of biological pieces that can be used to engineer organisms with predictable results.
Researchers at UAlberta have developed a new microscope technology that allows them to observe particles in a living yeast cell and track the route of RNA transport from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This breakthrough finding has significant implications for medical advances and understanding of cellular biology.
Mount Sinai researchers developed a synthetic vector to rapidly eliminate total cellular miRNA populations, revealing the limited role of microRNAs in modulating cell biology over long periods. This tool enables manipulation of miRNA responses for potential treatment of diseases like cancer.
A special issue of Future Medicinal Chemistry explores the diverse field of chemical biology, highlighting its expanding scope and sub-disciplines. The issue features reviews, opinion pieces, and primary research papers on topics such as protein-protein interactions, epigenetic modulators, and tissue regeneration.
A dominant evolutionary theme emerges to predict cancer clinical outcomes, with tumors trending toward a more primitive ESC state having a worse prognosis. This study analyzed global gene expression profiles from 107 cells types and over 3,000 tumors, demonstrating the robustness of this pattern across various solid tumor cancers.
A new study reveals that spiders' knees evolved from a duplicated gene called dac, allowing for a unique leg structure. The research team discovered that the dac2 gene is specific to spider development and plays a crucial role in forming the kneecap.
A study identified significant DNA differences in the human kallikrein cluster among Eastern Asian populations, including those related to KLK4 gene activity. These findings may contribute to unique dental traits and a lower risk of skin conditions like eczema.
Early-career cell biologists Clifford Brangwynne, Ahmet Yildiz, and Meng Wang have won the ASCB-Gibco Emerging Leaders Prizes for their groundbreaking research in cell biology. Their work has launched new research fields at the interface of biology and physics.
The American Society for Cell Biology announced the winners of the 2015 Kaluza Prizes, recognizing outstanding graduate student bioscience research. Ten young scientists received cash and travel awards for their contributions to cell biology.
The Ecological Society of America will create a new network for 21st century STEM professionals in environmental biology with an innovative mindset. The project aims to prepare students for rapidly evolving career tracks and addresses NSF's goal of building the professional STEM workforce for tomorrow.
Synthetic biology holds promise for revolutionizing science and medicine, but its safe and stable application is crucial before being applied in real-world settings. Engineers are working on developing safety infrastructure, including kill switches and microbial sensors, to ensure the reliability and predictability of engineered microbes.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered a way to potentially reprogram cancer cells back to normalcy by restoring the expression of specific microRNAs. This finding represents an unexpected new biology that provides the code for turning off cancer, offering a potential strategy for cancer therapy.
A longitudinal study of high school biology instructors reveals that biology dominates STEM education and the workforce increased 50% between 1987 and 2007. However, the same trend also shows that teachers outside their discipline are often assigned to teach outside their capabilities.
The Harvard Medical School Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Training Program will provide specialized education and training in cancer research and treatment. The one-year, nonclinical blended-learning certificate program is designed to promote a deeper understanding of cancer biology, diagnosis, and personalized treatments.
The grant will support research in perinatal biology, including studies of fetal and newborn development, placental biology, and reproductive diseases. The center aims to understand the effects of environmental disturbances during critical developmental periods on health and disease throughout life.
The study provides insights into the genetic basis and evolution of bumblebee biology, including their social living, coping with chemicals, and diseases. The findings suggest that the immune system of bees has remained largely the same since before the origin of bee sociality.
The UK Government has invested £25.7 million in the University of Edinburgh to create a new biology complex with state-of-the-art laboratory space, focusing on biological research and tissue repair. The complex will integrate three research areas, including infection and global health, synthetic biology, and epigenetics.
The American Association of Anatomists has awarded Young Investigators to R.R. Bensley Award winner Bungo Akiyoshi for his discovery of unconventional kinetochores in Kinetoplastids, and Feng Zhang for his contributions to comparative neuroanatomy through genome manipulations using CRISPR-Cas9.
A study by Penn State researchers found that students from Catholic colleges were more reflective when discussing issues of faith and science, suggesting they may be better prepared to address evolution questions. The study suggests that incorporating faith into discussions about evolution can help build confidence in biology teachers,...
The UK government has announced a £40 million investment in synthetic biology, aiming to create biological 'factories' that produce essential products like medicines and chemicals. Three new research centres will be established in Edinburgh, Manchester, and Warwick to boost national research capacity.
Joshua Plotkin, a young professor at Penn, has won the prestigious prize for his innovative theoretical work in mathematical biology. His research on the evolution of influenza virus has significant implications for public health and vaccine design.
The journal presents studies on playfulness in dogs, dolphins, frogs, and octopuses, as well as its connection to humor, social bonding, and creativity. Researchers investigate how experiences in infancy shape a person's sense of humor and how playfulness affects adaptability and social success.
Six faculty members at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have been named 2014 AAAS Fellows, recognized for their contributions to various fields including virology, cell biology, and cancer research. The awardees include Aviv Bergman, Margaret Kielian, Richard Kitsis, U. Thomas Meier, Robert Singer, and Jan Vijg.
A team of international researchers has detailed the functional parts of the mouse genome and compared them with those in humans, finding that certain processes are preserved through time. The study reveals new insights into mammalian biology and human illness mechanisms.
Researchers have used synthetic biology to produce affordable alternatives to anti-malaria drugs, clean fuels, and pharmaceuticals. The technology has the potential to reduce costs by up to 85% for future long-duration space missions, including those to Mars and the Moon.
Researchers at the Wyss Institute have developed synthetic gene controls that can be used to create programmable diagnostics and biosensors, which can detect specific diseases or infections using saliva or a drop of blood. The new tools are delivered on pocket-sized slips of paper, making them portable and accessible for widespread use.
The University of Pittsburgh has received a $2.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish QUBES, a project aiming to refine quantitative biology pedagogy nationwide. The initiative plans to leverage existing technologies to provide cost-effective solutions for faculty development and undergraduate education.
A new study recreates the French-flag model of stripe formation by engineering synthetic gene networks in E. coli. Researchers successfully developed a theoretical framework and a mathematical model to understand how genetic information is translated into specific spatial patterns of cellular differentiation.
The FASEB MARC Program has announced travel award recipients for the Society of Leukocyte Biology Joint Meeting. This year, 1 student and postdoctoral researcher received a total of $1,850 to encourage participation from underrepresented groups in biomedical research.
A study from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found that women with Stage I disease who underwent breast conserving therapy (BCT) had superior five-year overall survival rates compared to those who received a mastectomy or BCS, even after adjusting for other risk factors.
Research at Arizona State University and University of Washington found evidence of gender-based gaps in biology classroom achievement and participation. Female students scored 2.8% lower on exams than males with similar GPAs, and males were more likely to respond to questions.
A new study published in Journal of Evolutionary Biology found that natural oceanic barriers significantly influence linguistic diversity by reducing contact between speech communities. As a result, spatially isolated languages gradually diverge from each other.
The Microphysiological Systems Program is developing human-on-a-chip models to study cell-cell, drug-cell, and organ-drug interactions. These models have the potential to revolutionize experimental biology and medicine by increasing efficiency and human relevance in pharmaceutical development and testing.
The University of Houston's Comprehensive Student Success Program has been recognized for its success in improving grades and retaining students in introductory biology courses. The program includes curricular enhancement, peer-led recitation sessions, and field trips, resulting in a 14% increase in successful completion rates.
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has awarded a total of $35,500 in individual grants to 43 researchers presenting at the 2014 Annual Meeting. The awards recognize top radiation oncology research from around the world and provide insight into significant advances in technology and biology.
Four doctoral students at Washington University in St. Louis will train in mechanobiology, integrating biology with engineering and other disciplines. They will conduct research on various length scales and develop teaching skills through outreach activities.
A new study found that women are greatly underrepresented in the labs of high-achieving male biology professors, despite being overrepresented overall. This discrepancy may be due to self-selection or unconscious bias, and institutions can take steps to address these issues by making their labs more welcoming to female scientists.
Researchers used experimental evolution to study E. coli populations under strong and mild antibiotic selection conditions. They found higher cross-resistance in strongly selected strains with increased pathway-specific mutations.
A UMD-led public computational biology web service, MolecularEvolution.org, has gained popularity by giving back to its users. The Lattice Project, built on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, offers a service called GARLI, designed to reconstruct and predict genetic relationships between biological samples.
A new core concept template called BioCore Guide aims to provide an updated blueprint for educators to clarify the learning outcomes for undergraduate students majoring in general biology. The guide builds on previous reform efforts and provides overarching principles for each core concept, as well as 40 statements that illustrate the ...
A new report outlines key research areas to study synthetic biology's potential ecological impacts, including species comparative research and genome stability. The report highlights the need for long-term support and interdisciplinary collaboration to address complex questions about synthetic biology's effects on the environment.
Caswell's work on matrix population models has had a significant impact on life history theory, conservation biology, climate studies, and the evolution of aging. He was recognized for his lifetime contributions to mathematical demographic analysis.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $600,000 to the University of California, Riverside to expand its data storage capacity. This grant will enable researchers to process vast amounts of high-throughput data generated in various fields, including genome biology and biomedical sciences.
A recent study assembled a large dataset using ancient moa DNA and found convincing evidence that tinamous are closely related to extinct moas, leading to independent loss of flight. Morphological characters of ratites were mostly convergent, evolving independently as adaptations to a cursorial lifestyle.
Leading scientists from the U.S., Canada, and Belgium discussed cancer stem cells, highlighting their challenges in targeted cancer treatments. The symposium aimed to spark productive dialogues among researchers attending, according to Paul Frenette, director and chair of Einstein's Stem Cell Institute.
Researchers at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories have developed a method for generating specific and inheritable mutations in the marine bristle worm Platynereis, enabling detailed in vivo functional analyses and advancing research in neurobiology, chronobiology, evolutionary developmental biology, and marine biology.
Scientists have discovered that endogenous dendritic cell-derived interleukin-27 promotes tumor growth by recruiting regulatory T-cells. This finding suggests that targeting IL-27 could lead to more effective cancer immunotherapies.
Researchers identified 24 functional categories of genes with strong positive selection in ant lineages, including those related to nervous system development and immunity. Ant-specific signals on mitochondrial activity genes may be responsible for increased queen lifespan up to 30 years.
A team of international researchers, including LSTM scientists, has sequenced the genome of the tsetse fly, a key vector for African trypanosomiasis. The study provides valuable insights into tsetse biology and may lead to more effective control strategies, ultimately reducing the human cost and economic losses due to the disease.
Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, was named the 63rd Mendel Lecturer by Saint Peter's University for her research on treating cognitive deficits following neurological illness and injury. Her work focuses on improving cognition in individuals with multiple sclerosis, TBI, stroke, and dementia.