Category Biology/Biotechnology

Scientists at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf conducted electricity through DNA-based nanowires by placing gold-plated nanoparticles on them. In this way it could become possible to develop circuits based on genetic material. Credit: Image courtesy of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Tinier than the AIDS virus—that is currently the circumference of the smallest transistors. The industry has shrunk the central elements of their computer chips to 14nm in the last 60 years. Conventional methods, however, are hitting physical boundaries. Researchers around the world are looking for alternatives. One method could be the self-organization of complex components from molecules and atoms...

A fluorescence microscope image shows the skin of a healthy mouse (left) and skin from a mouse with a poison ivy rash (right). Interleukin-33, shown in green stain, is a protein that acts directly on the nerves, telling the brain the skin is extremely itchy. Credit: Sven-Eric Jordt/Duke Health

Scientists have developed a strategy to stop the uncontrollable itch caused by urushiol, the oily sap common to poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak and even mango trees. By blocking an immune system protein in the skin with an antibody, they could halt the processes that tell the brain the skin is itchy. They hope their model could lead to potential treatments for people who are allergic to poison ivy – an estimated 80% of the population.

For most people, contact with poisonous plants is painful but...

E. coli bacteria. Credit: NIAID

For invading bacteria that have figured out how to scavenge iron from their hosts, it’s a fine place to grow and reproduce. And for millions of women a year, that means painful, burning, potentially dangerous urinary tract infections. Now, in an ironic twist, scientists prevented UTIs in mice by vaccinating them with the same molecules that the bacteria usually use to grab iron and fuel their growth. They caution that a human UTI vaccine based on the approach is still years away. But the success of vaccination with the small iron-grabbing molecules, ie siderophores, paves the way for further research.

The same team previously reported success in preventing UTIs using a vaccine made of proteins from the bacteria, called uropathogenic Escherichia coli or UPEC...

agitating host-microbiota interactions to cause low-grade gut inflammation can promote colon carcinogenesis

Emulsifiers, added to most processed foods to aid texture and extend shelf life, can alter intestinal bacteria in a manner that promotes intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer, according to a new study. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Research, show regular consumption of dietary emulsifiers in mice exacerbated tumor development. Colorectal cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, was responsible for about 700,000 deaths in 2012. There is increasing awareness that intestinal microbiota play a role in driving colorectal cancer.

The microbiota is also a key factor in driving Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two most common for...