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Gizmo
(New Scientist Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The human genome is coming to Wikipedia - one gene at a time. The Gene Wiki project is using a computer program to retrieve and collate information on gene sequences, location and function from scientific databases. Over 8000 entries, from the myoglobin gene to sonic hedgehog
, have been updated or created so far.
Look out, MRSA. Virginia Davis and colleagues at Auburn University in Alabama have created long-lasting antibacterial coatings for hospitals, food packaging and medical implants by combining carbon nanotubes with lysozyme molecules, which kill bacteria by destroying their cell walls. The lysozyme also helps the nanotubes spread out into hard, thin films. A stack of these films just 200 nanometres thick cut the number of Staphylococcus aureus
bacteria by 94 per cent (Nano Letters
, DOI: 10.1021/nl080522t).
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