COVID-19 might have paused a lot of research on campus, but one researcher from the Michigan State University College of Nursing has been given the green light to…
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Synthetic Pathways Turn Plants into Biofactories for New Molecules
Plants can produce a wide range of molecules, many of which help them fight off harmful pests and pathogens. Biologists have harnessed this ability to produce many molecules important for human health — aspirin and the antimalarial drug artemisinin, for example, are derived from plants. Now, scientists at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) are using
Transforming Waste into Bio-Based Chemicals
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have transformed lignin, a waste product of the paper industry, into a precursor for a useful chemical with a wide range of potential applications. Lignin is a complex material found in plant cell walls that is notoriously difficult to break down and turn into something useful. Typically, lignin is burned for
Providing New Technologies for Vaccine Development
Vaccines, which help the body recognize infectious microorganisms and stage a stronger and faster response, are made up of proteins that are specific to each type of microorganism. In the case of a virus, viral proteins – or antigens – can sometimes be attached to a protein scaffold to help mimic the shape of the
The Benefits Of Friendship
Teen social networks linked with levels of adult depression. Teens who have a larger number of friends may be less likely to suffer from depression later in life,…
Machine Learning Takes on Synthetic Biology: Algorithms Can Bioengineer Cells for You
If you’ve eaten vegan burgers that taste like meat or used synthetic collagen in your beauty routine – both products that are “grown” in the lab – then you’ve benefited from synthetic biology. It’s a field rife with potential, as it allows scientists to design biological systems to specification, such as engineering a microbe to produce a cancer-fighting agent. Yet conventional methods of bioengineering are slow and laborious, with trial and error being the main approach.
Strakovsky Awarded $2.1 Million Grant To Study Chemical Effects On Women’s Health Post-Pregnancy
A team of researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) led by Rita Strakovsky, an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Food Science and…
The Unintended Consequence Of Becoming An Empathetic Person
When people say that they want to change things about their personalities, they might not know about the inadvertent consequences these changes could bring. In fact, changes in…
Connecting The Hormones We’re Born With To Lifetime Risk For Immunological Diseases
Differences in biological sex can dictate lifelong disease patterns, says a new study by Michigan State University researchers that links connections between specific hormones present before and after…
NIH Grant To Support Study Of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Perinatal Depression
Jennifer E. Johnson has been awarded a five-year, $3,358,550 grant to study treatment for major depressive disorder among women who have recently experienced perinatal loss—miscarriage, stillbirth, or early neonatal death. This…
