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Articles tagged with: ‘biochemistry‘

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Managing plants’ ‘internal clocks’ postharvest could have health benefits

By Maja Bosanac
23 June 2013

veggie-looperResearchers at the Rice University and the University of California at Davis have found that managing the circadian clocks of harvested fruits and vegetables could increase their health benefits. Namely, these produces in grocery stores are still alive and know what time it is. This research suggests that the way produce is stored and eaten… »

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Non-invasive way to study spider silk properties

By Damir Beciri
31 January 2013

nephila-clavipes-spiderAs you can see from our news and articles about bionspiration coming from spiders, spider silk keeps on intriguing researchers to analyze it and develop new materials. Researchers at the Arizona State University (ASU) have used a non-invasive way to obtain a wide variety of elastic properties of the silk of several intact spider webs… »

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Using high-resolution imaging to reveal Chang Shan secrets

By Maja Bosanac
26 December 2012

schimmel-prorsResearches from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), California, have determined a molecular structure that gives us a better insight into the mysterious inner workings of Chang Shan – a Chinese herbal medicine used for thousands of years to treat malaria related fevers. The researchers used high-resolution imaging technique to reveal atomic details of a two-headed… »

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Using modified E. coli to create succinic acid from soybean meal

By Damir Beciri
23 December 2012

rice-soybean-teamAccording to the ancient Chinese myth, in year 2853 before the common era, the legendary Emperor Shennong of China proclaimed that soybeans are one out of five sacred plants, and it is estimated that soybeans were a crucial crop in eastern Asia even before the written records. Aside its growing worldwide utilization in food industry,… »

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Using bacteria mechanism to create bonds

By Damir Beciri
One Comment26 February 2012

pnas-oxford-university-spytag-spycatcher-1Researchers from the University of Oxford managed to create a bio-inspired superglue with unmatched performance by engineering an unusual protein from Streptococcus pyogenes – a type of bacteria that can cause mild infections as well as some life-threatening diseases. The modified protein enables sticking molecules, proteins or enzymes together to build new structures on the… »

Bionics»

Increasing phytoremediation with bacteria

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments2 December 2011

champignons-petroleA multidisciplinary team of researchers from Canada is looking for ways to improve phytoremediation – a process where plant matter is used for decontamination. They use bacteria to stimulate faster growth capacity of certain plants and microscopic mushrooms which act as decontamination units. The researchers expect that these decontamination units will be used at various… »

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Moss table employs biophotovoltaic technology to generate power

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments22 September 2011

cambridge-biophotovoltaics-1Although many gardeners treat moss as a menace and tend to eradicate it from their lawns, a team of designers and scientists at the University of Cambridge are developing a way to harness energy from moss by using it as biophotovoltaics (BPVs). BPV devices may become competitive alternatives to conventional renewable technologies such as bio-fuels… »

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Researchers find organisms growing within fungi capable to degrade plastics

By Damir Beciri
One Comment6 August 2011

yale-fungus-plasticA group of Yale University undergraduates made an interesting discovery when they went on a field trip to Amazon Rainforest. They discovered organisms growing within fungi in the rainforest which are capable to degrade polyurethane – a finding that may lead to innovative ways used to reduce plastic waste in the growing landfills around the… »