BiotechMashup

One of the biggest questions facing scientists today is how life began. Scientists have discovered that small molecules could have acted as "molecular midwives" in helping the building blocks of life's genetic material form long chains and may have assisted in selecting the base pairs of the DNA double helix.

(Georgia Institute of Technology Research News) Researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University have developed a novel approach for delivering small bits of genetic material into the body to improve the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. The researchers encapsulated short pieces of RNA into engineered particles called thioketal nanoparticles and orally delivered the genetic material directly to the inflamed intestines of animals.

Water molecules surround the genetic material DNA in a very specific way. Scientists have discovered that, on the one hand, the texture of this hydration shell depends on the water content and, on the other hand, actually influences the structure of the genetic substance itself. These findings are not only important in understanding the biological function of DNA; they could also be used for the construction of new DNA-based materials.

In the human body genetic information is encoded in double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid building blocks, the so-called DNA. Using artificial DNA molecules, an international team of scientists have produced nanostructured materials that can be used to modify visible light by specification.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Water molecules surround the genetic material DNA in a very specific way. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have discovered that, on the one hand, the texture of this hydration shell depends on the water content and, on the other hand, actually influences the structure of the genetic substance itself. These findings are not only important in understanding the biological function of DNA; they could also be used for the construction of new DNA-based materials.

(Georgia Institute of Technology) The year ahead will feature new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data, as well as escalating battles over the control of online information that threatens to compromise content and erode public trust and privacy. Those were the findings announced by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center and the Georgia Tech Research Institute in today's release of the Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2012.

(Georgia Institute of Technology Research News) Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute are developing a solid composite material to help cool small, powerful microelectronics used in defense systems. The material, composed of silver and diamond, promises an exceptional degree of thermal conductivity compared to materials currently used for this application.

(University of Missouri-Columbia) A star does not die without getting noticed and may even leave the universe with "fireworks." At the end of its life cycle, a star begins to collapse in the middle, and throws new material into space. The new material eventually becomes incorporated into new planets and life. Now, a University of Missouri professor identified new features in the material that is being ejected from the dying star Helix Nebula.

(University of Georgia) A University of Georgia physicist and a collaborator in Germany have shown that one of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, adenine, has an unexpectedly variable range of ionization energies along its reaction pathways.