http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. An estimated 25,000 Americans develop severe fungal infections each year, leading to 10,000 deaths despite the use of anti-fungal drugs. The associated cost to the U.S. health care system has been estimated at $1 billion a year. http://www.physorg.com/news180711441.html Biology Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:50:06 EST news180711441 Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat some blood disorders, said University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in the online version of the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news180267244.html Biology Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:30:01 EST news180267244 (PhysOrg.com) -- The genetically modified cyanobacterium consumes carbon dioxide and produces the liquid fuel isobutanol by using energy from sunlight. http://www.physorg.com/news179683624.html Biology Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:07:55 EST news179683624 Mammals have evolved a complex system for controlling bone remodeling. Babies require calcium for healthy bones and they obtain it from their mother's milk. Nursing mothers release calcium from their bones. Surprisingly, however, the same system also plays a key part in the control of fever and of female body temperature. This finding is reported in a paper in this week's issue of Nature from Josef Penninger's group at the IMBA in Vienna, Austria. http://www.physorg.com/news178377435.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:18:13 EST news178377435 Over the last 20 years, the sequencing of the human genome, along with related organisms, has represented one of the largest scientific endeavors in the history of mankind. The information collected from genome sequencing will provide the raw data for the field of bioinformatics, where computer science and biology meet. http://www.physorg.com/news177009481.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:18:51 EST news177009481 Communication between the public and government is a necessary component of public trust. For many modern issues, constituents trust that their legislators understand the science behind these topics and pass legislation for the betterment of society. While science has its uncertainties, much of that public trust is subsequently transferred to the scientists who inform legislators. Past studies show that scientists were seen as trustworthy sources of information; however, the public would like scientists to be more open, sharing their scientific knowledge through information sources such as mass media. For an issue as debated as agricultural biotechnology, communicating factual scientific information is a necessary ingredient in public acceptance. http://www.physorg.com/news175262006.html Other Sciences Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:50:01 EST news175262006 Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have uncovered what happens to biomimetic nanoparticles when they enter human cells. They found that the important proteins that make up the outer layer of these nanoparticles are degraded by an enzyme called cathepsin L. Scientists now have to take this phenomenon into account and overcome this process to ensure the exciting field of nanomedicine can progress. The research is published today in ACS Nano. http://www.physorg.com/news172838722.html Nanotechnology Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:20:02 EST news172838722 (PhysOrg.com) -- Pandemic swine flu can infect cells deeper in the lungs than seasonal flu can, according to a new study published today in Nature Biotechnology. The researchers, from Imperial College London, say this may explain why people infected with the pandemic strain of swine-origin H1N1 influenza are more likely to suffer more severe symptoms than those infected with the seasonal strain of H1N1. They also suggest that scientists should monitor the current pandemic H1N1 influenza virus for changes in the way it infects cells that could make infections more serious. http://www.physorg.com/news171781315.html Biology Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:02:35 EST news171781315 Small interfering RNA (siRNA), a type of genetic material, can block potentially harmful activity in cells, such as tumor cell growth. But delivering siRNA successfully to specific cells without adversely affecting other cells has been challenging. http://www.physorg.com/news170600432.html Biology Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:10:01 EST news170600432 A team of South Korean scientists have succeeded in engineering the bacterium E. coli to produce the industrial chemical putrescine. The research, published in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, provides a renewable alternative to the production of this important chemical which is traditionally created using fossil fuels. http://www.physorg.com/news170536415.html Biology Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:50:01 EST news170536415 The first dry powder inhalable vaccine for measles is moving toward clinical trials next year in India, where the disease still sickens millions of infants and children and kills almost 200,000 annually, according to a report presented here today at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). http://www.physorg.com/news169656057.html Medicine & Health Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:41:30 EST news169656057 A study published in this week's online issue of Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates a unique and highly sensitive method for detecting methylation-associated cancers. http://www.physorg.com/news169650435.html Biology Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:07:55 EST news169650435 A South Korean biotechnology firm will early next year open a centre capable eventually of producing up to 1,000 cloned dogs annually, a company executive said Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news169456897.html Biology Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:22:04 EST news169456897 A novel technique allows researchers to efficiently and precisely modify or introduce genes into the genomes of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, according to Whitehead scientists. The method uses proteins called zinc finger nucleases and is described in the August 13 issue of Nature Biotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news169385219.html Biology Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:27:56 EST news169385219 Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and their colleagues in 30 labs worldwide have released a new set of standards for graphically representing biological information - the biology equivalent of the circuit diagram in electronics. This visual language should make it easier to exchange complex information, so that models are accurate, efficient and readily understandable. The new standard, called the Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN), is published today in Nature Biotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news169209530.html Biology Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00:01 EST news169209530 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first few times that scientists mapped out all the DNA in a human being in 2001, each effort cost hundreds of millions of dollars and involved more than 250 people. Even last year, when the lowest reported cost was $250,000, genome sequencing still required almost 200 people. In a paper to be published online Aug. 9 by Nature Biotechnology, a Stanford University professor reports sequencing his entire genome for less than $50,000 and with a team of just two other people. http://www.physorg.com/news169137027.html Biology Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:30:52 EST news169137027 For the past eight years, scientists who wanted to use federal funds for research on human embryonic stem cells had to restrict their studies to 21 cell lines approved by the National Institutes of Health. But an analysis by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that only two of those lines have been used routinely. http://www.physorg.com/news168875469.html Biology Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:52:00 EST news168875469 (PhysOrg.com) -- Rummaging through a biotechnology company`s chemical closet, Yale University researchers found two molecules that will allow scientists to better study how cells move. http://www.physorg.com/news168533622.html Chemistry Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:10:01 EST news168533622 Researchers have invented computational tools to decode and rapidly determine whether natural compounds collected in oceans and forests are new -or if these pharmaceutically promising compounds have already been described and are therefore not patentable. http://www.physorg.com/news166712684.html Biology Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:50:02 EST news166712684 Scientists have shown that E. coli - one of the best known and extensively studied organisms in the world - remains an enigma that may hold the key to human diseases, such as cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news166704056.html Biology Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:30:05 EST news166704056 Microbes contribute to manifold human endeavors ranging from bioenergy to agriculture to medicine. Moreover, they make the Earth's biogeochemical cycles go round, a prerequisite for all life on the planet. Exceedingly numerous, they are also extremely diverse, encompassing most of Earth's total biodiversity. http://www.physorg.com/news166442353.html Biology Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:59:45 EST news166442353 A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses. http://www.physorg.com/news165764078.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:35:09 EST news165764078 The potential of forest biotechnology to help address significant social and environmental issues is being "strangled at birth" by the rigid opposition of some groups and regulations that effectively preclude even the testing of genetically modified trees, scientists argue in a new report. http://www.physorg.com/news165588974.html Biology Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:56:46 EST news165588974 A team of researchers, including several from UCSF, has demonstrated that a new method for detecting and quantifying protein biomarkers in body fluids may ultimately make it possible to screen multiple biomarkers in hundreds of patient samples, thus ensuring that only the strongest biomarker candidates will advance down the development pipeline. The researchers have developed a method to increase accuracy in detecting real cancer biomarkers that is highly reproducible across laboratories and a variety of instruments so that cancer can be detected in its earliest stages. http://www.physorg.com/news165500119.html Biology Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:15:45 EST news165500119 Australian researchers are set to begin human trials of a tiny nano-cell that acts as a "Trojan horse" against cancer cells, a breakthrough they say may curb the need for debilitating chemotherapy. http://www.physorg.com/news165478894.html Nanotechnology Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:22:03 EST news165478894 Without knowing how much of an industrial chemical is being produced, it is almost impossible for scientists to determine if it poses any threat to the environment or human health. http://www.physorg.com/news162041135.html Nanotechnology Wed, 20 May 2009 12:25:56 EST news162041135 (PhysOrg.com) -- There is an increasing demand for skin. Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, cosmetics and medical engineering products need it in order to test the compatibility of their products with human skin. At the 2009 BIO International Convention in Atlanta from May 18 to 21, Fraunhofer researchers will be demonstrating how artificial skin can be manufactured in a fully automatic process. http://www.physorg.com/news161879775.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 15:37:40 EST news161879775 The American Civil Liberties Union action in filing a lawsuit yesterday against Myriad Genetics is going to lead to one of the most important legal battles in the history of biotechnology, asserts Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). The ACLU charged that the patenting of two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer will inhibit medical research. The organization also claims that the patents are invalid and unconstitutional. http://www.physorg.com/news161542716.html Medicine & Health Thu, 14 May 2009 18:00:14 EST news161542716 Although Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Cambridge (U.K.) are always near the top of most biotechnology cluster lists, other areas around the world are starting to pop up on the life science radar screen, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). These newly emerging clusters are trying to emulate their more established regional brethren whose success was based on the ability to tap into a sound venture capital base, battle-tested management, and a culture that values entrepreneurialism, according to the May 1 issue of GEN. http://www.physorg.com/news160753707.html Biology Tue, 05 May 2009 14:48:41 EST news160753707 Molecules that selectively interfere with protein production can stop human cells from making the abnormal molecules that cause Huntington's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. http://www.physorg.com/news160591718.html Biology Sun, 03 May 2009 18:04:49 EST news160591718