All Articles Tagged As: genetics

Graphene may hold key to speeding up DNA sequencing (9/14/2010)

Researchers from Harvard University and MIT have demonstrated that graphene can act as an artificial membrane separating two liquid reservoirs. By drilling a tiny pore just a few-nanometers in diameter, called a nanopore, in the graphene membrane, they were able to measure exchange of ions through the pore and demonstrated that a long DNA molecule can be pulled through the graphene nanopore just as a thread is pulled through the eye of a needle. ...> Full Article

Kinked nanopores slow DNA passage for easier sequencing (8/5/2010)

In an innovation critical to improved DNA sequencing, a markedly slower transmission of DNA through nanopores has been achieved by a team led by Sandia National Laboratories researchers. ...> Full Article

Lollipops and ice fishing: Molecular rulers used to probe nanopores (5/3/2010)

Using a pair of exotic techniques including a molecular-scale version of ice fishing, a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed methods to measure accurately the length of "nanopores," the miniscule channels found in cell membranes. The team's "molecular rulers" could serve as a way to calibrate tailor-made nanopores -- whose diameters are nearly 10,000 times smaller than that of a human hair -- for applications such as rapid DNA analysis. ...> Full Article

Gene silencer and quantum dots reduce protein production to a whisper (6/24/2008)

Researchers have succeeded in using nanotechnology known as quantum dots to silence genes. Their technique is 10 to 20 times more effective than existing methods for injecting the gene-silencing tools, known as siRNA, into cells. ...> Full Article

Fluorescent nano-barcodes could revolutionise diagnostics (5/23/2008)

A new technology with research and clinical application including the early detection of disease ...> Full Article

DNA nanotechnology could transform gene detection (2/8/2008)

Scientists at ASU's Biodesign Institute have developed the world's first gene detection platform made up entirely from self-assembled DNA nanostructures. The results, appearing in the Jan. 11 issue of the journal Science, could have broad implications for gene chip technology - and also could revolutionize the way in which gene expression is analyzed in a single cell. ...> Full Article