/ en-us Â鶹ŇůÔş internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ŇůÔşics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. One of the most fundamental processes in all of biology is the spontaneous organization of cells into clusters that divide and eventually turn into shapes—be they organs, wings or limbs. /news/2025-08-optimizing-cells-framework-genetic.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:36:23 EDT news674991377 The complex 3D shapes of brains, lungs, eyes, hands, and other vital bodily structures emerge from the way in which flat 2D sheets of cells fold during embryonic development. Now, researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a novel way to use light to influence an animal's own proteins in order to control folding in live embryos. /news/2025-08-tissue-origami.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 21 Aug 2025 09:02:08 EDT news674985716 At first glance, biology and quantum technology seem incompatible. Living systems operate in warm, noisy environments full of constant motion, while quantum technology typically requires extreme isolation and temperatures near absolute zero to function. /news/2025-08-scientists-cells-biological-qubit-multidisciplinary.html Quantum Â鶹ŇůÔşics Wed, 20 Aug 2025 16:10:07 EDT news674925002 While nothing says "summer" quite like the taste of a perfectly ripe tomato, excessive heat during the growing season can prevent tomato plants from bearing fruit. /news/2025-08-tomatoes.html Agriculture Wed, 20 Aug 2025 11:00:21 EDT news674906417 A new study introduces a machine learning tool that combines satellite imagery and weather data to monitor chickpea crop health. The system accurately estimates Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Leaf Water Potential (LWP) across commercial fields, helping farmers make smarter irrigation decisions and improve yields. This research marks the first large-scale application of such technology in chickpea farming. /news/2025-08-satellite-imagery-driven-chickpea-farmers.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:39:03 EDT news674825941 A new study, led by researchers at the University of Missouri, has uncovered how poplar trees can naturally adjust a key part of their wood chemistry based on changes in their environment. This discovery—the result of a collaboration with scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Georgia—could help create better biofuels and other sustainable products. /news/2025-08-poplar-tree-discovery-future-energy.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:19:17 EDT news674817548 Plants and microbes often have a symbiotic relationship, relying on each other for nutrients or shelter. Understanding and engineering such symbioses is an essential step in the journey toward tackling global challenges such as food security, carbon capture and ecosystem restoration. /news/2025-08-fern-leaf-pockets-secrets-microbe.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Mon, 18 Aug 2025 15:35:13 EDT news674750108 A new discovery from researchers at Northeastern University has uncovered previously unknown aspects of plant evolution, with major implications for creating new lifesaving drugs. /news/2025-08-decoding-impossible-chemistry-moonseed-rewrite.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:34:04 EDT news674746441 More than one-sixth of adults around the world experience infertility in their lifetime. There is a high unmet need not only for increased access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need but, importantly, also for new biomedical solutions that can address the root causes of infertility. /news/2025-08-lab-grown-stem-cells-key.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Sun, 17 Aug 2025 06:24:48 EDT news674630549 Researchers at San Diego State University and Michigan State University are shedding new light on how viruses meticulously pack their genetic material — a breakthrough that could help researchers engineer antivirals and gene therapies. /news/2025-08-viruses-diverse-rna-traits-genomes.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 15 Aug 2025 14:16:21 EDT news674486171 For millennia, developing resilient crops relied on pollination by nature or humans—making the process long and often costly. Now, scientists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have reimagined the pollination process by developing a new system that uses gene editing to create flowers that can be easily pollinated by AI-controlled robots working round the clock. /news/2025-08-redesigned-robots-gene-ai-faster.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:34:28 EDT news674472860 Deep learning models have shown great potential in predicting and engineering functional enzymes and proteins. Does this prowess extend to other fields of biology as well? /news/2025-08-complex-deep-genetic-perturbation-simple.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 15 Aug 2025 07:50:01 EDT news674387427 Similar to the way the caps on the ends of a shoelace prevent it from fraying, telomeres—regions of repetitive DNA sequences and a protein structure—protect the tips of chromosomes from damage. /news/2025-08-telomerase-rna-polygenic-scores-reveal.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 14 Aug 2025 17:27:04 EDT news674411221 Researchers have captured the first clear view of the hidden architecture that helps shape a simple multicellular organism, showing how cells work together to build complex life forms. /news/2025-08-algae-reveal-geometry-life.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 14 Aug 2025 12:09:03 EDT news674392141 A new study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with international institutions, has uncovered a key mechanism in how DNA behaves as it passes through nanoscale pores—a process central to many biological functions and emerging DNA sensing technologies. The study sheds new light on a structural "hidden player," plectonemes, long missed by researchers, with the potential to reshape biosensing and genomic technologies. /news/2025-08-uncovering-hidden-dna-nanopore-plectonemes.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:51:23 EDT news674387479 Researchers have developed a high-speed 3D imaging microscope that can capture detailed cell dynamics of an entire small whole organism at once. The ability to image 3D changes in real time over a large field of view could lead to new insights in developmental biology and neuroscience. /news/2025-08-multifocus-microscope-limits-fast-3d.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:00:01 EDT news674382481 Ancient events in plant evolution have left behind large, duplicated regions in their genomes. Salk Institute scientists found that deleting these large blocks of DNA can still lead to normal plants. The findings demonstrate that large chromosomal deletions are a viable strategy in plant genetic engineering, which could now accelerate the development of streamlined, minimal plant genomes—a major goal in industries looking to create new plant-based biotechnologies. /news/2025-08-basics-minimal-genomes-yield-viable.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Wed, 13 Aug 2025 13:27:02 EDT news674310421 Researchers have spent years taking apart one of the world's simplest microbes, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, piece by piece, and created a detailed list of what molecular parts the living cell can and cannot do without, knowledge that could accelerate the development of "living medicines" built from this very microbe. /news/2025-08-essentiality-scan-reveals-mycoplasma-pneumoniae.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:47:04 EDT news674308021 Researchers have controlled the evolution of E. coli bacteria in the lab in order to dramatically increase the amount of plasmid DNA (pDNA) these modified bacteria produce. The advance is significant because pDNA is an essential—and expensive—ingredient in many gene therapies, and the new technique could drive down the cost of these medical treatments. /news/2025-08-evolution-boosts-plasmid-dna-production.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:15:03 EDT news674306101 Wild salmon are not just rarer than their farmed cousins—they're better looking too. In a new study by my colleagues and I, we found that they are noticeably more symmetrical than those reared in captivity. In other words, they're prettier (by human standards, at least). And that's not just cosmetic. /news/2025-08-wild-salmon-stars-fish-world.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 12 Aug 2025 14:30:04 EDT news674227802 A research team headed by the University of Zurich has developed a powerful new method to precisely edit DNA by combining cutting-edge genetic engineering with artificial intelligence. The work has been published in Nature Biotechnology. /news/2025-08-ai-crispr-precise-gene.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:23:04 EDT news674216581 They've survived for billions of years in boiling acid, deep-sea vents and salt flats. Now, some of Earth's oldest life forms—microbes called Archaea—are offering a new weapon in the fight against one of today's most urgent health threats: antibiotic resistance. /news/2025-08-ai-uncovers-archaeasins-unique-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 12 Aug 2025 08:47:05 EDT news674207221 Antimicrobial resistance is a lurking threat in hospitals around the world. As more strains of bacteria and other microbes evolve defenses against available drugs, more patients run the risk of contracting infections that defy treatment. /news/2025-08-common-disinfectants-abilities-antibiotic-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 11 Aug 2025 13:08:04 EDT news674136481 A new study reveals how Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis), a common food bacterium, regulates the production of a key precursor in vitamin Kâ‚‚ (menaquinone) biosynthesis. The bacteria produce enough of this precursor to support their growth while preventing toxic buildup. /news/2025-08-common-food-bacteria-vitamins-cheaper.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 11 Aug 2025 12:52:04 EDT news674135521 The remains of an Antarctic researcher have been discovered by a Polish team among rocks exposed by a receding glacier in Antarctica. They are identified by DNA as those of Dennis "Tink" Bell, a 25-year-old meteorologist who was working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). He died in a crevasse on a glacier at Admiralty Bay on King George Island, situated off the Antarctic Peninsula, on 26 July 1959. His body was never recovered. /news/2025-08-british-lost-recovered-antarctic-glacier.html Archaeology Other Mon, 11 Aug 2025 12:25:02 EDT news674133897 Greek doctor and philosopher Hippocrates once said (loosely translated), "life is short, and art is long." History is littered with quotes from great thinkers with the same idea: art endures. But limitations remain. Classic works get lost or changed as they pass through generations. Paper decomposes. /news/2025-08-teams-renowned-poet-encode-poetry.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 08 Aug 2025 12:31:51 EDT news673875105 In an advance in legume genomics, researchers from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have produced the first gap-free, telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome assemblies for two model Medicago species. /news/2025-08-telomere-medicago-genomes-uncovers-evolutionary.html Evolution Agriculture Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:41:44 EDT news673864899 In medicine and biotechnology, the ability to evolve proteins with new or improved functions is crucial, but current methods are often slow and laborious. Now, Scripps Research scientists have developed a synthetic biology platform that accelerates evolution itself—enabling researchers to evolve proteins with useful, new properties thousands of times faster than nature. /news/2025-08-scientists-evolution-rapidly-reprogram-proteins.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 08 Aug 2025 08:27:05 EDT news673860421 Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted a meticulous analysis of the compounds released by plant roots into their surrounding environment. The analysis yielded an abundance of data that can guide research aiming to improve the way we grow energy and food crops. /news/2025-08-scientists-root-molecules-hardier-bioenergy.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:33:16 EDT news673615991 The targeted engineering of artificial proteins with unique properties is now possible with the assistance of a novel method developed by a research team led by Prof. Dr. Dominik Niopek at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB) of Heidelberg University. /news/2025-08-artificial-protein-advances-molecular.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 05 Aug 2025 10:43:03 EDT news673609381