Polysaccharide molecules such as cellulose, seen here, are long chains of sugars that are very hard to break apart. Enzymes – proteins that can degrade polysaccharides – have many industrial uses.
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Bio-prospecting is the search for useful materials from natural sources. A biologist explains what we can learn from bacteria about breaking down plant material, and how we can use that knowledge.
Academic researchers need funding – especially as the federal government devotes less to basic research.
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With federal support for on-campus R&D dwindling as a percentage of GDP, keeping basic research afloat is a challenge. Schools and researchers are left to try to fill in the funding gaps.
Embarking on the path to a PhD is a scary business.
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Peter Ngure, African Population and Health Research Center
Many people are left floundering when they try to get working on their PhDs. In Africa, this is often because the skills they need haven't been developed earlier in their academic careers.
The red Cas9 nuclease protein uses a blue guide RNA sequence to cut yellow DNA at a complementary site.
CRISPR-Cas9 via www.shutterstock.com
Until more is understood, it's sensible to limit experimentation that would make changes to germ line cells that would be passed on to future generations.
Decreasing funding for fruit-fly research will hurt people, not flies.
John Tann
These insects are so much more than just the scourge of fruit bowls everywhere. They're a key model system for all kinds of research that teaches us about our own brain and body systems.
