New Class of Crosslinker-Free Nanofiber Biomaterials from Hydra Nematocyst Proteins

The nematocyst extract of Hydra attenuata causes single channel events in lipid bilayers.

The nematocyst extract of Hydra attenuata causes single conductance events in reconstituted planar lipid membranes as well as in inside-out patches derived from liposomes. The smallest single channel conductance level of the toxins is 110 pS. The conductance levels increase stepwise with time up to 2000 pS. These large conductance jumps indicate channel cooperativity. If the membrane-voltage is...

Genetic analysis of developmental mechanisms in Hydra. IV. Characterization of a nematocyst-deficient strain.

The authors have previously found that mutant hydra strains showing various types of developmental defects can be isolated through sexual inbreeding of wild hydra. One such defective strain, called nem-4, contains virtually no stenoteles, one of the four types of nematocysts present in hydra, in its tentacles. However, stenoteles are present at a normal level in the body column of this strain, ...

Development of antimicrobial biomaterials produced from chitin-nanofiber sheet/silver nanoparticle composites

BACKGROUND Chitin nanofibers sheets (CNFSs) with nanoscale fiber-like surface structures are nontoxic and biodegradable biomaterials with large surface-to-mass ratio. CNFSs are widely applied as biomedical materials such as a functional wound dressing. This study aimed to develop antimicrobial biomaterials made up of CNFS-immobilized silver nanoparticles (CNFS/Ag NPs). MATERIALS AND METHODS C...

The Comparison of Proteins Elaborated by Streptococcus mutans Strains Isolated from Caries Free and Susceptible Subjects

Hydra A: a New Picture

We present new, low-frequency images of the powerful FRI radio galaxy Hydra A (3C218), which lies at the center of the poor Abell cluster A780. Images were made with the Very Large Array at frequencies of 1415, 330, and 74 MHz, with resolutions on the order of 20 . The morphology of the source is seen to be more complex and larger than previously known, and extends nearly 8 (530 kpc) in a North...