Feature Channels: Biotech

Filters close
Released: 27-Feb-2017 10:05 AM EST
Hedgehog, Cancer, and Zinc
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

A team of researchers led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will examine the link between zinc deficiency, Hedgehog, and prostate cancer in a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

   
Released: 27-Feb-2017 12:00 AM EST
Super Resolution Imaging Helps Determine a Stem Cell’s Future
Rutgers University

Scientists at Rutgers and other universities have created a new way to identify the state and fate of stem cells earlier than previously possible. Understanding a stem cell’s fate – the type of cell it will eventually become – and how far along it is in the process of development can help scientists better manipulate cells for stem cell therapy.

Released: 23-Feb-2017 5:05 PM EST
The Brown Rot Two-Step
Department of Energy, Office of Science

Understanding how brown rot fungi degrade wood could lead to new tools for more efficient biofuel production.

Released: 23-Feb-2017 2:05 PM EST
American Society for Cell Biology Officially Partners with March for Science Organizers
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) recently signed an agreement officially lending its support to the national March for Science rally and teach-in in Washington, DC, scheduled for Earth Day, Saturday, April 22. ASCB was among the first to uphold the event’s mission to “unite the diverse universe of scientists and other community members in a non-partisan manner.”

   
Released: 23-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Media Advisory: GW and FDA to Hold Workshop on Computational Standards for High-Throughput Sequencing for Regulatory Sciences
George Washington University

The George Washington University and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold a workshop, “High-Throughput Sequencing Computational Standards for Regulatory Sciences,” March 16-17, 2017 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Released: 23-Feb-2017 11:05 AM EST
UVA Targets Deadly Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Why Do Promising Treatments Fail?
University of Virginia Health System

If we know what causes Duchenne, why do promising treatments consistently fail? UVA launches innovative new effort to find out.

Released: 23-Feb-2017 10:30 AM EST
Prototypes of Real-Life Star Trek Tricorders to Be Presented at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting
Association for Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM (formerly AACC))

Since 2012, research teams in the Qualcomm Tricorder Xprize competition have vied to create a mobile diagnostic device modeled after the fictional medical tricorder from Star Trek. For the first time, competition finalist Chung-Kang Peng, PhD, will present data on his team’s tricorder prototype in a special session at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego.

Released: 23-Feb-2017 10:05 AM EST
Science Exchange Online Marketplace Now Offers Eurofins Services for Drug Development
Science Exchange

/PRNewswire/ -- Science Exchange and Eurofins are excited to announce that Eurofins Central Laboratory is now a service provider listed on the Science Exchange marketplace for outsourced research services. This means that pharmaceutical and biotech companies around the world now have faster access to Eurofins's Clinical Testing portfolio, as well as its end-to-end analytical testing solutions from Drug Discovery to Product Testing.

   
Released: 22-Feb-2017 5:00 PM EST
Organ-on-a-Chip Mimics Heart’s Biomechanical Properties
Vanderbilt University

Scientists at Vanderbilt University have created a three-dimensional organ-on-a-chip that can mimic the heart’s amazing biomechanical properties in order to study cardiac disease, determine the effects that different drugs have on the heart and screen for new drugs to treat heart ailments.

   
Released: 22-Feb-2017 3:05 PM EST
Chemist Nathan Gianneschi to Join Northwestern
Northwestern University

Chemist Nathan C. Gianneschi, whose interdisciplinary research has the potential to make a significant impact in human health, will join the Northwestern University faculty, effective July 1, the University announced today. Gianneschi, a Northwestern alumnus, has developed new methods for creating nanomaterials that can sense and respond to biological signals.

Released: 22-Feb-2017 12:05 PM EST
Georgia State Offers New Interdisciplinary Graduate Degree Programs in Biomedical Sciences
Georgia State University

The Institute for Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) at Georgia State University is offering two new graduate degree programs designed to prepare students for careers in the biomedical sciences that will enhance human health and bring scientific discoveries to market.

Released: 22-Feb-2017 11:05 AM EST
University of Notre Dame Partners with the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute
University of Notre Dame

Researchers in bioengineering will join a consortium of academia, industry and government organizations and the nonprofit sector to develop next-generation manufacturing processes and technologies for cells, tissues and organs.

Released: 22-Feb-2017 10:05 AM EST
The Right Chemistry: Collaborating Across Multiple Disciplines
University of Kansas Cancer Center

Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center are collaborating on the “lab-on-a-chip,” a testing platform that captures and performs analysis of various biomarkers, which are actively released by tumor cells into blood. Rather than the usual invasive and costly biopsy, the credit-card size devices will screen for circulating markers that are released from cancer cells within patients’ blood.

   
Released: 22-Feb-2017 9:05 AM EST
Biology Professor Reshapes Teaching Strategy with Course on Parasites
Clarkson University

With an eye on tiny ticks and mosquitoes, a Clarkson biology professor has created an undergrad parasitology course embraced by professionals in the field as well as by students, showing a glimpse of the future of biology education.

Released: 21-Feb-2017 10:00 AM EST
ORC as Loader of the Rings
Van Andel Institute

An international collaboration of life scientists, including experts at Van Andel Research Institute, has described in exquisite detail the critical first steps of DNA replication, which allows cells to divide and most advanced life, including human, to propagate.

17-Feb-2017 3:00 PM EST
An Alternative to Opioids? Compound From Marine Snail Is Potent Pain Reliever
University of Utah Health

A tiny snail may offer an alternative to opioids for pain relief. Scientists at the University of Utah have found a compound that blocks pain by targeting a pathway not associated with opioids. Research in rodents indicates that the benefits continue long after the compound have cleared the body.

   
Released: 20-Feb-2017 1:30 PM EST
Hydraulic Fluids Hospitable for Microbes
Department of Energy, Office of Science

For the first time, scientists analyzed the genetic material of surface microbes that are colonizing the deep subsurface, where they are adapting and thriving.

Released: 20-Feb-2017 1:25 PM EST
Unlocking Peptide Potential
Department of Energy, Office of Science

Powerful new computational methods now enable scientists to design a virtually unlimited variety of hyperstable peptide structures not found in nature. This research opens a new frontier in drug discovery.

Released: 20-Feb-2017 9:00 AM EST
Three University Technologies Receive $600,000 From Science Center’s QED Program
Rowan University

Researchers developing technologies to improve therapeutic success among radiotherapy patients, prevent chest wall collapses in pre-term infants with respiratory distress, and assist surgeons with pre-operative planning for femur fracture alignments will receive a total of $600,000 in funding through the ninth round of the University City Science Center’s QED Proof-of-Concept Program.

Released: 17-Feb-2017 10:05 AM EST
From Mice, Clues to Microbiome’s Influence on Metabolic Disease
University of Wisconsin–Madison

The community of microorganisms that resides in the gut, known as the microbiome, has been shown to work in tandem with the genes of a host organism to regulate insulin secretion, a key variable in the onset of the metabolic disease diabetes. That is the primary finding of a study published this week by a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

17-Feb-2017 10:00 AM EST
How Do We Regulate Advanced Technologies Along Social or Ethical Lines?
Arizona State University (ASU)

The public’s wariness with new technologies, like CRISPR-9 and gene editing, is largely based on ethical, religious and social concerns, rather than concerns about safety or efficacy, which is what regulatory agencies are limited to consider.

Released: 17-Feb-2017 9:00 AM EST
NYITCOM’s Martinez Named AAAS Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellow
NYIT

Luis Martinez, Ph.D., is an infectious disease researcher selected as a Fellow in the second cohort of the AAAS Alan I. Leshner Leadership Institute for Public Engagement with Science.

16-Feb-2017 4:00 PM EST
Can Facial Recognition Systems Help Save Lemurs?
Michigan State University

Michigan State University’s Anil Jain adapted his human facial recognition system to create LemurFaceID, the first computer facial recognition system for lemurs. Once optimized, LemurFaceID can assist with long-term research of the endangered species.

Released: 16-Feb-2017 3:05 PM EST
Food Additive Found in Candy, Chewing Gum Could Alter Digestive Cell Structure and Function
Binghamton University, State University of New York

The ability of small intestine cells to absorb nutrients and act as a barrier to pathogens is “significantly decreased” after chronic exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, a common food additive found in everything from chewing gum to bread, according to research from Binghamton University

Released: 16-Feb-2017 3:05 PM EST
Researchers Engineer Intestinal Tissue with Functioning Nervous System
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

For the first time, NIH-funded researchers have used stem cells to grow intestinal tissues with a functioning nervous system. The advance creates new opportunities for studying intestinal diseases, nutritional health, and diabetes. It also brings researchers one step closer to growing patient-specific human intestines for transplant.

13-Feb-2017 2:30 PM EST
Indiana University Research: Rainbow Dyes Add Greater Precision in Fight Against 'Superbugs'
Indiana University

A study reported Jan. 17 in the journal Science led by researchers at Indiana University and Harvard University is the first to reveal in extreme detail the operation of the biochemical clockwork that drives cellular division in bacteria. It is an important step forward in research on bacterial growth and could inform efforts to develop drugs that combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Released: 16-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Biochemical Tricks of the Hibernating Bear
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)

Winter is in full swing, and many of us have fantasized about curling up in a warm cave and slumbering until the warmth of spring arrives, just like a bear. Bears have the ability to sleep away the harsh winter months when food is scarce. They can spend five to seven months in hibernation. During this time, bears do not eat, drink, excrete or exercise. Despite the length of inactivity, bears do not experience bone loss, muscle loss, heart complications or blood clots like humans do during extended bouts of inactivity.

Released: 16-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Measuring Pain: SLU Scientist Tests Possible Biomarkers
Saint Louis University Medical Center

Saint Louis University pharmacologist Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D., will use a $363,000 grant from The Mayday Fund to advance her work to understand pain in order to develop new painkillers, partnering with physicians who treat four debilitating conditions.

Released: 16-Feb-2017 12:00 PM EST
Speakers Announced for 2017 Experimental Biology Meeting
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)

World-renowned scientists will present pioneering research and discuss key issues affecting the life sciences at the 2017 Experimental Biology meeting (EB 2017), the premier annual meeting of six scientific societies in Chicago to be held April 22–26.

Released: 16-Feb-2017 9:05 AM EST
When Treating Brain Aneurysms, Two Isn’t Always Better Than One
University at Buffalo

Is it better to treat aneurysms with two overlapping flow diverters, or one compressed diverter? A computational study published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology points to the single, compressed diverter provided that it produces a mesh denser than the two overlapped diverters, and that it covers at least half of the aneurysm opening. The ongoing research could eventually help doctors determine the best way to treat patients suffering from aneurysms.

10-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Flashes of Light Offer Potential for Biomedical Diagnostics
Biophysical Society

A group of researchers from the Czech Republic were intrigued that living organisms emit small amounts of light resulting during oxidative metabolism, when oxygen is used to create energy by breaking down carbohydrates. The researchers began to think about how detecting this light could have potential for biomedical diagnostics. At the Biophysical Society’s meeting, Feb. 11-15, 2017, Michal Cifra will present the group’s work within this realm.

Released: 15-Feb-2017 11:05 AM EST
Researchers Look for Life's Lower Limits
Santa Fe Institute

Investigating the lower bound of energy required for life helps us understand ecological constraints on other planetary bodies in our solar system as well as our own. In a new study, researchers analyze cellular processes across species and sizes of bacteria, to zoom in on life's minimal energy requirements.

Released: 15-Feb-2017 7:05 AM EST
Illuminating the Contacts
National University of Singapore (NUS)

Using super-resolution microscopy, an international research team led by Assistant Professor Pakorn (Tony) Kanchanawong from the Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore (MBI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at NUS, as well as Dr Cristina Bertocchi, Research Fellow at MBI, has revealed, for the first time, how cadherin-based cell-cell contacts are organised.

8-Feb-2017 9:05 AM EST
Life Under Pressure
Biophysical Society

Life can thrive in some of the most extreme environments on the planet. Microbes flourish inside hot geothermal vents, beneath the frigid ice covering Antarctica and under immense pressures at the bottom of the ocean. For these organisms to survive and function, so must the enzymes that enable them to live and grow. Now, researchers from Georgetown University have homed in on what allows particular enzymes to function under extreme pressures. The team will present its work during the Biophysical Society meeting held Feb. 11-15, 2017.

Released: 14-Feb-2017 12:05 PM EST
Two From UW-Madison Contribute to Human Gene Editing Report
University of Wisconsin–Madison

The National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine issued a report Tuesday focused on human genome editing. It lays out principles and recommendations for governments grappling with how to handle rapid advances in human genome-editing technology as it applies to human health and disease. Two University of Wisconsin–Madison experts served on the 22-member international committee that compiled the report.

Released: 14-Feb-2017 11:05 AM EST
Penn Orphan Disease Center Partners with Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics on Gene Therapy Research
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Penn Medicine’s Orphan Disease Center (ODC) announces a new partnership with FAST (Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics) to study gene therapy approaches to treat Angelman syndrome (AS). FAST will provide funding to establish a gene therapy research program led by ODC.

Released: 14-Feb-2017 11:05 AM EST
Researchers Develop ‘Living Diode’ Using Cardiac Muscle Cells
University of Notre Dame

Research from the University of Notre Dame brings scientists one step closer to developing new forms of biorobotics and novel treatment approaches for several muscle-related health problems such as muscular degenerative disorders, arrhythmia and limb loss.

Released: 14-Feb-2017 9:05 AM EST
NBAF Program Observes Kansas Emergency Response Exercise to Inform Future Planning
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

The exercise was an early opportunity for the NBAF program to observe a simulated full-scale emergency response to allow its planners to envision how the facility might serve a crucial role in response and recovery.

   
Released: 14-Feb-2017 8:05 AM EST
Measuring Entropy
Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

A scanning-tunneling microscope (STM), used to study changes in the shape of a single molecule at the atomic scale, impacts the ability of that molecule to make these changes – the entropy of the molecule is changed and, in turn, can be measured. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Released: 14-Feb-2017 4:00 AM EST
European Commission’s Revised Proposal Limits Ability to Protect Public From Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals
Endocrine Society

The Endocrine Society expressed disappointment today in the European Commission's revised proposal on defining and identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), citing unnecessarily narrow criteria for identifying EDCs that will make it nearly impossible for regulatory agencies to meet the unrealistically high burden of proof and protect the public from dangerous chemicals.

8-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Putting the 'Squeeze' on Drug Delivery
American Institute of Physics (AIP)

One big challenge targeted drug delivery faces today is efficiently “loading” a drug into a carrier without compromising the carrier’s structural integrity. A promising method is to deform a carrier by squeezing it through a narrow, microscale constriction. This mechanical deformation creates transient pores in the carrier membrane to enhance the membrane’s permeability to macromolecules and promote the efficient uptake of drugs. During the Society of Rheology meeting, being held Feb. 12-16, Joseph Barakat will present his work to develop a model for vesicle squeezing that can be used to predict and optimize drug loading procedures.

Released: 13-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
Possible Key to Regeneration Found in Planaria’s Origins
Stowers Institute for Medical Research

A new report from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research chronicles the embryonic origins of planaria, providing new insight into the animal's remarkable regenerative abilities.

Released: 13-Feb-2017 8:05 AM EST
Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Scientists Use New ‘Blood Biopsies’ With Experimental Device to Speed Cancer Diagnosis and Predict Disease Spread
Cedars-Sinai

A team of investigators from Cedars-Sinai and UCLA is using a new blood-analysis technique and tiny experimental device to help physicians predict which cancers are likely to spread by identifying and characterizing tumor cells circulating through the blood.

Released: 10-Feb-2017 2:05 PM EST
50+ Year-Old Protein Volume Paradox Resolved
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Research published this week in Nature Communications makes it possible to predict how volume for a given protein will change between the folded and unfolded state. Computations accurately predict how a protein will react to increased pressure, shed light on the inner-workings of life in the ocean depths, and may also offer insights into alien life.

8-Feb-2017 12:25 PM EST
Chemicals Hitch a Ride Onto New Protein for Better Compounds
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab chemists have developed a powerful new method of selectively linking chemicals to proteins, a major advance in the manipulation of biomolecules that could transform the way drugs are developed, proteins are probed, and molecules are tracked and imaged. This technique, called ReACT, is akin to a chemical Swiss army knife for proteins.

Released: 9-Feb-2017 12:00 PM EST
U.S. Commerce Dept. Awards $500,000 to Cal State LA, Biocom Institute and Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator for Labiostart Boot Camp
California State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles and its partners the Biocom Institute and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) have been awarded an i6 Challenge grant of nearly $500,000 to fund LABioStart, a boot camp to train emerging bioscience entrepreneurs in the region and prepare them to launch bioscience startup companies.

Released: 9-Feb-2017 9:05 AM EST
Researchers Develop Device That Emulates Human Kidney Function and Could Replace Animal, Human Testing
Binghamton University, State University of New York

Instead of running tests on live kidneys, researchers at Binghamton, University State University of New York have developed a model kidney for working out the kinks in medicines and treatments. Developed by Assistant Professor Gretchen Mahler and Binghamton biomedical engineering alumna Courtney Sakolish PhD ’16, the reusable, multi-layered and microfluidic device incorporates a porous growth substrate, with a physiological fluid flow, and the passive filtration of the capillaries around the end of a kidney, called the glomerulus, where waste is filtered from blood.

Released: 8-Feb-2017 1:05 PM EST
New Ludwig Research Will Shift How Cancer Diversity and Resistance Are Understood and Studied
Ludwig Cancer Research

Ludwig researchers discover that circular DNA, once thought to be rare in tumor cells, is actually very common and seems to play a fundamental role in tumor evolution



close
3.37967