Cambridge, MA (Scicasts) – When studying any kind of population ― people or cells ― averaging is a useful, if flawed, form of measurement. According to the US Census Bureau, the average American household size in 2010 was 2.59. Of course, there are no homes with exactly 2.59 people.
Heidelberg, Hinxton, Hamburg (Scicasts) – Although we know the tool’s general purpose, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if a specific pair of precision tweezers belongs to a surgeon or a master jeweller. It is now easier to solve similar conundrums about a type of protein that allows cells to react to their environment, thanks to scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
Blacksburg, VA (Scicasts) – A stomach bacterium believed to cause health problems such as gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer may play a dual role by balancing the stomach's ecosystem and controlling body weight and glucose tolerance, according to immunologists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech.
Amherst, MA (Scicasts) – Recently, large studies have identified some of the genetic basis for important common diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, but most of the genetic contribution to them remains undiscovered.
Hinxton, UK (Scicasts) – Researchers at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA.
Boston, MA (Scicasts) – In recent years, it has been thought that select sets of genes might reveal cancer patients' prognoses. However, a study published last year examining breast cancer cases found that most of these "prognostic signatures" were no more accurate than random gene sets in determining cancer prognoses.
Blacksburg, VA (Scicasts) – In biology, molecules can have multi-way interactions within cells, and until recently, computational analysis of these links has been "incomplete," according to T. M. Murali, associate professor of computer science in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Barcelona, Spain (Scicasts) – Researchers of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have developed and validated a new method to diagnose hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome based on mass sequencing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The model is based on a genetic and bioinformatic analysis which has been proved very effective.
Hinxton, UK (Scicasts) – Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's cancer genome project have developed a computer model to identify the fingerprints of DNA-damaging processes that drive cancer development. Armed with these signatures, scientists will be able to search for the chemicals, biological pathways and environmental agents responsible.
La Jolla, CA (Scicasts) – Turning vast amounts of genomic data into meaningful information about the cell is the great challenge of bioinformatics, with major implications for human biology and medicine.
Blacksburg, VA (Scicasts) – The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced nearly $15 million in new big data fundamental research projects.
Tempe, AZ (Scicasts) – In the early stages of that vast undertaking known as the Human Genome Project, enthusiasm ran high. The enterprise would be costly and laborious but the clinical rewards, unprecedented.
Houston, TX (Scicasts) – The human body is proficient at making collagen. And human laboratories are getting better at it all the time.
Rehovot, Israel (Scicasts) – Cancer chemotherapy can be a life-saver, but it is fraught with severe side effects, among them an increased risk of infection.
Aarhus, Denmark (Scicasts) – CLC bio has announced the acquisition of Molegro, a specialized software company focusing on molecular docking, including prediction and analysis of protein-ligand interactions, screening of compound databases for activities against a receptor, and determination of molecule similarity.
Ann Arbor, MI (Scicasts) – How do stem cells preserve their ability to become any type of cell in the body? And how do they “decide” to give up that magical state and start specializing?
Stanford, CA (Scicasts) – Imagine listening to a child plinking out a rudimentary tune on the piano. He uses only one octave and one hand ― notes he can’t reach are skipped. You can pick out the basic melody, but just barely. But you have an inkling of what the full piece could sound like.