Biotechnology

Fewer fish may reach breeding age as climate change skews timing of reproduction, food availability
July 24, 2019
Author
Written by Joseph Albanese for the Princeton Environmental Institute

Climate change may be depriving juvenile fish of their most crucial early food source by throwing off the synchronization of when microscopic plants known as phytoplankton bloom and when fish hatch, according to Princeton University researchers. The long-term effect on fish reproductivity could mean fewer fish available for human consumption. 

New research raises possibility of better anti-obesity drugs
June 28, 2019
Author
Written by Princeton University

Effective weight-loss strategies call for eating less food, burning more calories — or ideally, both. But for the more than 90 million Americans who suffer from obesity, a disease that contributes to conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer, behavioral change is hard to accomplish or not effective enough, which is why scientists have…

How hepatitis B and delta viruses establish infection of liver cells
June 18, 2019
Author
Written by Caitlin Sedwick for the Department of Molecular Biology

Princeton University researchers have developed a new, scalable cell culture system that allows for detailed investigation of how host cells respond to infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and delta virus (HDV). The paper

For hydrogen fuel cells, mundane materials might be almost as good as pricey platinum
June 17, 2019
Author
Written by Jen A. Miller for the Office of Engineering Communications

As anyone who has purchased jewelry can attest, platinum is expensive. That's tough for consumers but also a serious hurdle for a promising source of electricity for vehicles: the hydrogen fuel cell, which relies on platinum.

Now a research team led by Bruce Koel, a…

Brangwynne receives HHMI technology award for super-high-resolution microscopes
June 12, 2019
Author
Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded Clifford Brangwynne one of 40 Transformative Technology 2019 (TT19) Awards to create a shared research facility, NanoCIE: Nanoscale Condensate Imaging and Engineering.

Brangwynne, a professor of…

Schmidt fund awarded to two transformative bioengineering projects
June 10, 2019
Author
Written by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research

Two research initiatives that aspire to engineer new biomaterials for unmet medical and research needs have been awarded funding through the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.

The awards will go to cross-disciplinary…

Hop to It: New look upends old concept of bacteria’s movement
May 21, 2019
Author
Written by Scott Lyon, Office of Engineering Communications

Bacteria get a bum rap. Long cast as deadly enemies, bacteria have emerged as allies in the fights against pollution and disease. But harnessing that potential will require a strategy to control their behavior.

Engineered bacteria can help clean up polluted aquifers, where they move through porous rocks and wet sediments to target and…

Avalos wins teacher-scholar award
May 14, 2019
Author
Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

José Avalos has been named a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar “for spatial and dynamic control of engineered metabolism for microbial chemical production."

The award is given to chemical…

Princeton scientists bioengineer a cellular speedometer
May 13, 2019
Author
Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

An all-Princeton research team has identified bacteria that can detect the speed of flowing fluids.

Many kinds of cells can sense flow, just as our skin cells can feel the difference between a gentle breeze and a strong wind. But we depend on feeling the force involved, the push-back from the air against us. Without that push, we can’t…

Research finds some bacteria travel an alternate path to antibiotic resistance
April 25, 2019
Author
Written by Adam Hadhazy, Office of Engineering Communications

In a study with implications for efforts to halt the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers at Princeton have identified a new, troubling path that some bacteria take toward resistance.

The discovery focused on bacteria called persisters, which are different from antibiotic-resistant…