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    Category Biology/Biotechnology

    Biodegradable, Edible Film Kills Pathogens on Seafood

    December 18, 2018, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    seafood

    “If you put the antimicrobial into an edible film, and then dip the shrimp into the film and pull it out, that film is going to form around the shrimp. The film then releases the antimicrobials over time,” said Catherine Cutter, professor of food science.
     IMAGE: © GETTY IMAGES / ALEX RATHS

    A biodegradable, edible film made with plant starch and antimicrobial compounds may control the growth of foodborne pathogens on seafood, according to a group of international researchers. “We have the ability to develop a film with antimicrobial activity that can kill foodborne pathogens on food surfaces,” said Catherine Cutter, professor of food science, Penn State...

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    Biologists turn Eavesdropping Viruses into Bacterial Assassins

    December 16, 2018, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology


    These E. coli bacteria harbor proteins from the eavesdropping virus. One of the viral proteins has been tagged with a red marker. When the virus is in the ‘stay’ mode (left), the bacteria grow and the red protein is spread throughout each cell. When the virus overhears that its hosts have achieved a quorum (right), the kill-stay decision protein is flipped to ‘kill’ mode. A second viral protein binds the red protein and sends it to the cell poles (yellow dots). All the cells in the right panel will soon die.
    Credit: Images courtesy of Bonnie Bassler and Justin Silpe, Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University

    How cross-kingdom communication led to a breakthrough phage therapy...

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    Origins of Pain

    December 16, 2018, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    painful shoulder

    Researchers have identified the nerve-signaling pathway behind the deep, sustained pain that sets in following injury.

    Researchers identify pathway that drives sustained pain following injury. Withdrawing one’s hand to avoid injury and soothing the pain of that injury are two distinct evolutionary responses, but their molecular origins and signaling pathways have eluded scientists thus far.

    Now research led by investigators at Harvard Medical School, published Dec. 10 in Nature, identifies the nerve-signaling pathway behind the deep, sustained pain that sets in immediately following injury. The findings also shed light on the different pathways that drive reflexive withdrawal to avoid injury and the subsequent pain-coping responses.

    Clinical observations of patients with neurolog...

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    Peeling off Slimy Biofilms like Old Stickers

    December 16, 2018, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Researchers at Princeton have found a new method to remove biofilms, bacterial mats that can cause infections and foul industrial equipment. The method, using peeling, contrasts with scraping or mechanically dislodging biofilms, which can leave patches that regrow and recontaminate.
    Credit: Yan et al./Princeton University

    Slimy, hard-to-clean bacterial mats called biofilms cause problems ranging from medical infections to clogged drains and fouled industrial equipment. Now, researchers at Princeton have found a way to cleanly and completely peel off these notorious sludges.

    By looking at the films from a mechanical engineering perspective, as well as a biological one, the researchers showed that water penetrating the junction between biofilms and surfaces, coupled with gentle peeling...

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