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FacebookHigh-definition polarization vision discovered in cuttlefishNew
Cuttlefish have the most acute polarization vision yet found in any animal, researchers at the University of Bristol have discovered by showing them movies on a modified LCD computer screen to test their eyesight.
Cuttlefish, and their colour-blind cousins squid and octopus, see aspects of light - including polarized light - that are invisible to humans, giving them a covert communication channel. The Bristol study, published in Current Biology found that cuttlefish were much more sensitive to polarization than previously thought…
Synthetic protein amplifies genes needed for stem cells
Scientists, partly funded by BBSRC have found a way to generate and maintain stem cells much more efficiently by amplifying the effect of an essential protein. Researchers from Denmark, Scotland and the USA have created synthetic versions of a protein, which manipulates adult cells - such as skin cells - so that they can subsequently revert to an earlier, embryonic like state. These reverted cells have the potential to become any cell in the body…
Diagnostics for viruses step closer to reality
Scientists funded by BBSRC have developed a technique which could form the basis of a non-invasive diagnostic for Adenovirus - the virus responsible for a large number of common illnesses. The biosensor technology developed by researchers at the University of Leeds can not only detect the presence of the virus, it can also identify the individual strain and the number of virus particles present. The study underpinning this research is published today (15 February) in the journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics…
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