— Archaeologists find new evidence of animals being introduced to prehistoric Caribbean — An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric…
— Microscopic worms could hold the key to living life on Mars — The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes that if humanity is to survive we will have up sticks and colonise space. But is the human body up to the challenge?…
— Chemical warfare of stealthy silverfish — A co-evolutionary arms race exists between social insects and their parasites. Army ants (Leptogenys distinguenda) share their nests with several parasites such as beetles, snails and…
— Stinky frogs are a treasure trove of antibiotic substances — Some of the nastiest smelling creatures on Earth have skin that produces the greatest known variety of anti-bacterial substances that hold promise for becoming new weapons in the battle…
— Genetic code of first arachnid cracked — An international team of scientists - including Ghent VIB scientists - has succeeded in deciphering the genome of the spider mite. This is also the first known genome of an arachnid.…
— How bats 'hear' objects in their path — By placing real and virtual objects in the flight paths of bats, scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Munich have shed new light on how echolocation works. Their research is…
— Counting cats: The endangered snow leopards of the Himalayas — The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives high in the mountains across Central Asia. Despite potentially living across 12 countries the actual numbers of this beautiful large…
— Surprise role of nuclear structure protein in development — Scientists have long held theories about the importance of proteins called B-type lamins in the process of embryonic stem cells replicating and differentiating into different varieties…
— Pregnancy is a drag for bottlenose dolphins — Lumbering around during the final weeks before delivery is tough for any pregnant mum. Most females adjust their movements to compensate for the extreme physical changes that accompany…
Taking the stress off yeast produces better wine
Turning grape juice into wine is a stressful business for yeasts. Dr Agustin Aranda from the University of Valencia, Spain has identified the genes in yeast that enable it to respond to stress and is investigating ways to improve yeast performance by modifying its stress response mechanism.
Speaking at the Society for General Microbiology meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, today (9 September), Dr Aranda described the stresses that wine yeasts undergo in the fermentation process. Industrial wine making involves adding dried yeast starter cultures to the juice; both the drying and reactivating processes cause stress damage to the yeast cells. As the juice is fermented into wine the rising ethanol (alcohol) levels also damage the yeast cells and oxidation causes further damage.
By manipulating the genes that control the stress response of the yeast, the researchers found that they could improve its performance in industrial fermentation processes. They found that a family of enzymes called sirtuins had an important role in controlling wine yeast lifespan.
'Our research aimed to improve winemaking techniques but our findings on oxidative stress and ageing in yeast could be potentially useful in understanding the positive roles of antioxidants present in grapes and grape juice,' said Dr Aranda.
Or subscribe for our Newsletter, a free e-mail publication. It is published practically every day.
'Great speciators' explained: It's intrinsic
Gene's past could improve the future of rice
The breakdown of barriers in old cells may hold clues to ageing process
Microscopic morphology adds to the scorpion family tree