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Category Archives: Microbiology
Recent discovery of a food allergy candidate gene on chromosome 5q22.1
Allergies are a broad category of disorders that all have one common trait, immune reactions to normally non-harmful substances. They are chronic diseases (ranked 5th on the list among chronic diseases in the US) that can dramatically degrade the lifestyle of those affected depending on the degree of severity. About 55% of the population has an [...]
Also posted in Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics 2184 Comments
Visualize the Unbelievably Small Scale of the Cell (and other Biological Structures)
Single cells are small. Really, REALLY small. When you read that a suspended cell is approximately 10-15 microns in diameter it all seems fine and well; you’ll write it down or take note of it, then move along. However, if you stop to think about how small 10-15 microns is, it begins to baffle your [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology, Genetics, Web Resources Tagged Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology, Web Resources 2200 Comments
First Synthetic Cellulosome In Yeast Created
ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2009) — A team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside (UCR) Professor of Chemical Engineering Wilfred Chen has constructed for the first time a synthetic cellulosome in yeast, which is much more ethanol-tolerant than the bacteria in which these structures are normally found.
New Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques Directly Image Drug Delivery
X Sunney Wei and others at Harvard University recently demonstrated a new technique for stimulated emission microscopy that allows high resolution imaging of generally non-fluorescent chromophores (such as drugs). This imaging technique relies on pumped laser sources and new techniques for obtaining the fluorescent emission streams. Use of this sort of microscopy could lead to [...]
Also posted in Biology, Cell Biology, Microscopy Tagged Harvard, Microscopy, Nature, Pharmaceuticals, STED 2135 Comments
BioImage of the Week #2
The BioImage for this week comes to us from GPMatthews’ personal website. The site contains a large collection of fascinating images and articles, particularly on the pages that contain images of diatoms. These unicellular organisms are like biology’s snowflakes and often offer some of the most interesting and complex patterns that can be visualized under [...]
Also posted in BioImage of the Week, Cell Biology, Microscopy Tagged Cell Biology, Dark Field, Diatom, Microbiology, Microscopy 2593 Comments
BioImage of the Week #1
The image above is featured from Cornell University’s Life Sciences Core Laboratories Center. It is a gorgeous image of a bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells taken with laser scanning confocal microscopy techniques. The cell is stained with a three dye system showing: Tubulin: BODIPY FL-labelled tubulin antibody Actin: Texas Red-X phalloidin Nucleus/Chromosomes: Texas Red-X phalloidin [...]
Also posted in BioImage of the Week, Cell Biology, Microscopy Tagged BioImage of the Week, confocal microscopy, fluorescence microscopy 3336 Comments
Neurons May Be Up To 50% More Efficient Than Previously Thought
A recent publication in Nature has suggested that rather than being only 30% efficient, neurons, the workhorse cells of our brains, may be acting at up to 70-80% efficiency. This has heavy implications, considering that neurons consume approximately 20% of our body’s consumed energy. The question must now be asked: what exactly are those little [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology, Health & Medicine Tagged Biology, Cell Biology, Nature, Neurons 720 Comments
36 Beautiful and Amazing Biology-themed T-Shirts
What better way to celebrate your love of biology than to wear it proudly for everyone to see? Here is a collection of 36 beautiful, clever, and hilarious biology-themed t-shirts. The rest of the shirts after the break.
Also posted in Biology, Cell Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Lists, Microscopy Tagged AntiScience, Biology, Cell Biology, Creationism, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Intelligent Design, Microbiology, Microscopy, T-Shirts 3143 Comments
Cancer Motility Mechanisms Observed
A new study out of Harvard Medical suggests that cancer cells have an intrinsic ability to mechanistically move through channels such as blood vessels as they make their way through the body and leave tumors. The study, published in Integrative Biology, uses a variety of microchannels and chemicals to treat the cells to a different [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology Tagged Cell Biology, Integrative Biology, Microbiology, Microfluidics 996 Comments
Panspermia – rocking perception or probable phenomena? Recent evidence for meteorite microfossils