“The integration of robotics and AI is poised to revolutionize science labs”

By automating routine tasks, scientists can focus on higher-level research questions, paving the way for faster breakthroughs

28-Oct-2024 - Science laboratories across disciplines—chemistry, biochemistry and materials science—are on the verge of a sweeping transformation as robotic automation and AI lead to faster and more precise experiments that unlock breakthroughs in fields like health, energy and electronics, according to ...

New gene expression mechanism with possible role in human disease

25-Jun-2018 - When cells grow and divide to ensure a biological function - such as a properly working organ - DNA must be unwound from its typical tightly packed form and copied into RNA to create proteins. When this process goes awry - if too little or too much RNA is produced - then the result could be ...

The science of fluoride flipping

25-Aug-2017 - So much of what happens inside cells to preserve health or cause disease is so small or time-sensitive that researchers are just now getting glimpses of the complexities unfolding in us every minute of the day. UNC School of Medicine researchers have discovered one such complexity -- a previously ...

How a cancer gene protects genome organization

15-Jun-2017 - UNC School of Medicine researchers have cracked a long-standing mystery about an important enzyme found in virtually all organisms other than bacteria. The basic science finding may have implications for understanding cancer development and how to halt it. Researchers have known that the enzyme ...

A gene's journey from covert to celebrated

25-Jan-2017 - Like a bank robber on the lam, Gpr182 had assumed a variety of identities over several decades: G10D, HrhAMR, Gamrh, 7TMR, ADMR. Unable to put a finger on what exactly the gene does, scientists largely left it alone. The protein it codes for was designated an "orphan" receptor -- a lock on the ...

Using light to control the logic networks of a cell

Role of previously inaccessible proteins involved in health and disease

09-Jan-2017 - Proteins are the workhorse molecules of life. Among their many jobs, they carry oxygen, build tissue, copy DNA for the next generation, and coordinate events within and between cells. Now scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a method to control proteins ...

It's how you splice it

Possible origin of muscle, heart defects discovered

18-Nov-2016 - Muscular dystrophies, congenital heart muscle defects, and other muscle disorders often arise for reasons that scientists don't fully understand. Now researchers from the UNC School of Medicine and Baylor College of Medicine have discovered an important process in muscle cells whose disruption ...

New optogenetic tool moves proteins within cells to study biological changes

20-Apr-2016 - Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have developed a way to embed light-responsive switches into proteins so that researchers can use lasers to manipulate protein movement and activity within living cells and animals. Using this technique, the UNC team of scientists ...

Autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may share common underlying factors, study suggests

04-Jul-2012 - New research led by a medical geneticist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine points to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among individuals whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.The findings were based on a ...

Technique enables precise control of protein activity in living cells

28-Jun-2010 - Cancer occurs when human cells move and multiply inappropriately. Within cells, a process called phosphorylation serves as an on/off switch for a number of cellular processes that can be involved in cancer, including metabolism, transcription, configuration, movement, cell death and ...