Science & Environment
DNA programs a cell-free material to build its own motors and move
Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories · Published

Researchers have created a material that manufactures the proteins responsible for cell movement, without needing intact living cells. By embedding cell-free gene expression into a thin sheet of protein filaments, they were able to make the material wrinkle, rise into blister-lik
Researchers have created a material that manufactures the proteins responsible for cell movement, without needing intact living cells. By embedding cell-free gene expression into a thin sheet of protein filaments, they were able to make the material wrinkle, rise into blister-like shapes and break into bundles that flow around one another.
Related stories

Gold nanoparticles unexpectedly alter process that controls electrical conductivity in organic devices
Researchers at Umea university thought gold particles would make electronic components emit more light. Instead, they discovered an unexpected effect that could be important for the future of organic electronics.
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

Mapping the cell: International research team investigates the endoplasmic reticulum
Human cells contain billions of molecules. To prevent complete chaos, these molecules and the reactions between them are organized within structures known as organelles. One of the cell's most important organelles is the endoplasmic reticulum, a dynamic network that extends throu
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

When computer science meets the alpaca immune system
After earning bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees in bioengineering with a focus on molecular biology, Will White, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Computer Science at Tufts, was pretty certain his future research would involve things like DNA and proteins. What he didn't kno
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

What does voter suppression have to do with health?
Public health researchers have long examined how societal forces can shape health outcomes. Decades after redlining was outlawed, for example, researchers continue to document its lasting effects on life expectancy, chronic disease and access to health care resources in many comm
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·

A quick squeeze helps CRISPR turn skin cells into neurons more efficiently
Human cells hold about two meters (6.6 feet) of DNA, folded and compacted to fit inside a nucleus. That packing is essential for life, but it creates a problem for scientists. Some of the genes that control a cell's identity are buried so deep in tightly packed DNA that gene-targ
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·