Research Team Develops Important Building Block for Artificial Cells

27-Mar-2024 - During cell division, a ring forms around the cell equator, which contracts to divide the cell into two daughter cells. Together with researchers from Heidelberg, Dresden, Tübingen and Harvard, Professor Jan Kierfeld and Lukas Weise from the Department of Physics at TU Dortmund University have ...

Researchers visualise activity of CRISPR genetic scissors

New method allows precise observation of gene recognition

14-Jul-2023 - Scientists at Leipzig University, in collaboration with colleagues at Vilnius University in Lithuania, have developed a new method to measure the smallest twists and torques of molecules within milliseconds. The method makes it possible to track the gene recognition of CRISPR-Cas protein ...

Revolutionary new method can manipulate the shape and packing of DNA

The method opening up exciting new avenues for exploration in molecular biology, nanotechnology, and beyond

19-Jun-2023 - A human cell harbors roughly 2 meters of DNA, encompassing the essential genetic information of an individual. If one were to unwind and stretch out all the DNA contained within a single person, it would span a staggering distance – enough to reach the sun and back 60 times over. In order to ...

Microscopy: highest resolution in three dimensions

Researchers have developed a super-resolution microscopy method for the rapid differentiation of molecular structures in 3D.

15-Mar-2023 - Super-resolution microscopy methods are essential for uncovering the structures of cells and the dynamics of molecules. Since researchers overcame the resolution limit of around 250 nanometers (and winning the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their efforts), which had long been considered ...

Wyss Institute at Harvard University launches SPEAR Bio

Spear Bio is working towards commercializing its first assay, which accurately assesses levels of SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies in dried-blood spot samples

13-Sep-2022 - The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Spear Bio, Inc. announced that the Institute’s DNA nanotechnology-driven ultrasensitive SPEAR protein-detection technology has been licensed to the newly formed Boston-based startup. Spear Bio has signed a ...

Detecting single molecules and diagnosing diseases with a smartphone

Researchers show that the light emitted by a single molecule can be detected with a low-cost optical setup. Their prototype could facilitate medical diagnostics

17-Feb-2021 - Biomarkers play a central role in the diagnosis of disease and assessment of its course. Among the markers now in use are genes, proteins, hormones, lipids and other classes of molecules. Biomarkers can be found in the blood, in cerebrospinal fluid, urine and various types of tissues, but most of ...

Controlled Nano-Assembly

Universal pH regulated assembly of DNA nanostructures

24-May-2018 - DNA, the carrier of genetic information, has become established as a highly useful building material in nanotechnology. One requirement in many applications is the controlled, switchable assembly of nanostructures. Scientists have now introduced a new strategy for control through altering pH ...

Going with the DNA flow: Molecule of life finds new uses in microelectronics

28-Feb-2018 - For sheer versatility, there's no molecule quite like DNA. The iconic double-helix carries the genetic blueprint for living forms ranging from single-celled organisms to human beings. Recently, researchers have found that DNA's remarkable properties of self-assembly and its ability to conduct ...

Spaghetti-like, DNA 'noodle origami' the new shape of things to come for nanotechnology

18-Dec-2017 - For the past few decades, scientists have been inspired by the blueprint of life, DNA, as the shape of things to come for nanotechnology. This burgeoning field is called DNA origami. Scientist borrowed its moniker from the paper artists who conjure up birds, flowers and planes from imaginatively ...

DNA origami surpasses important thresholds

11-Dec-2017 - It is the double strands of our genes that make them so strong. Using a technique known as DNA origami, biophysicist Hendrik Dietz has been building nanometer-scale objects for several years at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Now Dietz and his team have not only broken out of the ...