In a new study, Velia Fowler, PhD, and her lab at The Scripps Research Institute report that a protein called myosin IIA contracts to give red blood cells their distinctive shape. The findings, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could shed light on sickle cell diseases and other disorders where red blood cells are deformed.

Scientists at the University of Portsmouth have engineered an enzyme which can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics. The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tonnes of plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which currently persists for hundreds of years in the environment.

Today's laboratory infrastructures are made up of many highly specialised devices from a wide range of manufacturers. To simplify the workflow in laboratories, OPC Foundation and the industry associations Spectaris and VDMA announced the new “Laboratory Agnostic Device Standard (LADS) based on OPC UA” as a “Joint Working Group” (JWG).

With this acquisition, Sanofi aims to further strengthen its core R&D areas of autoimmune and allergic diseases. The move will also provide full control of the brain-penetrant BTK inhibitor SAR442168 in multiple sclerosis which is expected to make commercialisation more efficient and eliminate royalty payments in the future.

Agilent Technologies and Biotek Instruments announced a new, integrated solution that combines cellular metabolic analysis and imaging technologies.

A unique nanocluster of copper atoms created by Kaust researchers could serve as a roadmap to guide the design of new catalysts and imaging agents.

Under the newly proposed regulations, a single-window system will be created to accelerate the approval of new drugs. A Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation will also be established to reduce the approval time.

Supporting the development of a circular economy, scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore have developed an innovative method in which new batteries are created by making use of fruit peel waste to extract and reuse precious metals from old batteries.

Large numbers of three-spined stickleback have gradually taken over larger parts of the Baltic Sea’s coastal ecosystem, shows a new scientific study. Stickleback is a small prey fish common in aquatic food webs across temperate Europe. The stickleback contributes to local ecosystem ‘regime shifts’, where young-of-the-year pike and perch decline in individual bays, and these shifts gradually spread like a wave from the outer archipelago into the mainland coast.

Non-edible plants are a promising alternative to crude oil, but their heterogenous composition can be a challenge to producing high yields of useful products. Scientists from EPFL, the University of Cambridge, and the Bern University of Applied Sciences have developed a platform that combines different microorganisms that can make a dramatic difference.