Applied Sciences Articles | Technology Networks

Latest Articles

Insects – THE New Animal Feed in the EU

Article

The world population increases and so does the need for food. In order to breed more livestock, naturally, more animal feed is necessary but production of protein rich feed, such as soy and fishmeal are damaging the environment. Several alternatives have been proposed but one in particular seems very promising: insects!

Using Supercomputers to Predict Dispersal of Chemicals and Pollutants

Article

Motivated by a deadly chemical attack in Syria, researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio are pursuing research that may help save lives during an airborne chemical attack. The team used the Stampede2 supercomputer and innovative computer simulation models to replicate the dispersion of the chemical gas released in the Syrian event, which may help improve evacuation speed during future attacks.

Care in the Community – How Biofilms Improve Bacterial Survival

Article

A single bacterial cell on its own is vulnerable to attack and like many living things they can benefit from safety in numbers. But bacteria take communal living to a whole new level, forming veritable civilizations - the bacterial biofilm.

High-Throughput LC-MS for Early Drug Screening and Biomarker Detection

Article

In this article, we explore two novel high-throughput analytical methods based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis that can augment early drug screening and biomarker detection in the clinic.

Exploring the Public’s Perception of Food Fraud

Article

When you go to the shops to buy the weekly groceries, it’s quite likely you’ll find yourself thinking about where your food has come from. Is this organic? Is that free-range? You are perhaps less likely to find yourself wondering, “Is this food fake?”

Understanding the Lytic Cycle – What Are the Steps?

Article

Bacteriophage (phage) are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. They have a two-phase lifecycle, residing in a dormant state within the host genome (lysogenic cycle) or hijacking the host cellular machinery for their own replication (lytic cycle). Here we will explore the important steps of the lytic cycle.

Cold Plasma for Seed, Fruit and Vegetable Decontamination and Plant Disease Control

Article

An effective way to increase crop yield is to minimize losses to pathogenic microorganisms by improving the disease resistance of crop plants. A recently emerging alternative to conventional methods for improving plant disease resistance is cold plasma.

Untargeted Profiling of Metabolites: In Search of Cancer Biomarkers and Antibiotics

Article

When you are examining a predetermined set of metabolites (in other words, when you know what you are looking for), targeted approaches can be adopted. But when a comprehensive profile of all the metabolites in a sample, known and unknown, is required, untargeted technologies are the way to go. Here, we look at how how untargeted metabolomics is helping science discover new biomarkers for cancer and natural antibiotic sources.

Chemical Snapshots and Molecular Maps with Mass Spec Imaging

Article

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful tool increasingly being used in many fields including cancer research, biomarker discovery and drug development. This article explains why MSI is the technique of choice in many labs, discusses its use in research, and covers how some inherent challenges are being addressed.