While today’s advancements in biotechnology suggest that there’s nothing we can’t artificially produce, sometimes there’s just no substitute for nature’s own recipes. At least, that’s the philosophy behind the University of Minnesota’s Schmidt-Dannert Lab, whose aim is to harness compounds created in natural organisms like plants and fungi that cannot be produced by chemical means. Many of these compounds have beneficial properties that can be used in further research and drug production.
For example, take chloroplasts, the organelles that perform photosynthesis inside plant cells. They provide energy to plant cells when exposed to light. Animal cells don’t have chloroplasts, which means they’re missing out on a valuable energy source. The Schmidt-Dannert Lab, led by University of Minnesota professor Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, is working toward is creating solar-powered animal cells that are more productive and produce different sorts of organic materials.
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If you were a bacterium attempting an invasion on a hostile immune system, would you be so bold as to consume the very cells that are trying to destroy you? At Ohio State University, researchers have just uncovered the methods of a strain of bacteria that does just that. This master spy, known as Anaplasma phagocytophilum, is only recently being understood and combatted against due to its insidious techniques.
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A technique that is becoming more and more widespread and useful in both modern medicine and biological research is that of cell manipulation. Instead of working purely on visible structures like organs and tissues, doctors and scientists have begun to focus in on how to sort, move, and alter the smallest building blocks of life: cells. While many techniques have been developed and accepted for these purposes, research at the University of Cincinnati has yielded a new method that may be both more efficient and inexpensive than anything seen thus far.
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Dependence on fossil fuels has been a hot topic for decades now. Several United States presidents have urged that we step away from oil and utilize other natural resources. Now, a partnership between Michigan State University at East Lansing and Luleå University of Technology in Sweden is working on just that. Their plan for alternative energy comes from a biomaterial produced from agricultural residue called butyric acid.
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At the University of Illinois at Chicago, biochemists have developed an intuitive solution to the age-old problem of macular degeneration, the leading cause of loss of vision for people over the age of fifty. Their new product is a light-sensitive molecule that can restore vision lost from degenerative eye diseases.
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Earlier this week, we discussed the commercialization of neural interface chips at the University of Utah. Meanwhile, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, researchers are innovating in neuroscience on an even smaller scale. A new, slimmer electrode allows for the more precise studying of individual neurons and promises insight on the workings of the mind based on the interactions between neurons and the brain.
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In the realm of biomedical imaging, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis are taking cues from an amazing set of eyes found in nature. Far from the instinctual candidates for impressive eyesight, like cats or birds of prey, this pair belongs to a creature under the sea: the mantis shrimp.
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If you’ve ever been in need of a blood thinner, or you’re an avid reader of the Science Market Update, you’re probably familiar with the drug warfarin. Warfarin is an anticoagulant, which means it decreases the clotting ability of the blood in order to fight blood clots. However, it’s known to cause adverse effects if taken in the wrong amounts. In one of our September articles, we talked about research underway at the University of Illinois at Chicago that focused on prescribing the proper dosage of the drug. Meanwhile, just a few cities over, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are working on an alternate drug to warfarin.
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It’s no secret that eating fruits and vegetables is vital to a healthy diet. After all, everyone knows an apple a day keeps the doctor away. A new study on apples from Ohio State University takes that paradigm even father. Besides serving as a delicious snack, juice, and pie ingredient, apples appear to have cholesterol-reducing effects as well.
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An ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine is making a modern appearance in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. It’s called the Thunder God Vine, and it has been used in teas and traditional medicine for a long time. In recent years, it’s been making a name for itself in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered Thunder God Vine’s surprising potency against pancreatic cancer.
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