Feature Channels: Biotech

• share
• favorite_border

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Catherine Royer, Constellation Chair Professor of Bioinformatics and Biocomputation at the Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) and professor of biological sciences, has received a grant of over $400,000 from the National Science Foundation to investigate enzymes from organisms living in deep sea environments.

• share
• favorite_border

PNNL’s wide-ranging report maps the current nanobiotechnology landscape, flags potential concerns, and details the need for an organizing body to coordinate currently disparate disciplines.

• share
• favorite_border

The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator is welcoming 10 health-tech companies from around the world to its ninth accelerator class. The businesses are building a variety of healthcare solutions—from monitoring devices for sepsis, heart failure and stroke, to virtual reality video games aimed at helping children manage pain and anxiety during medical procedures.

• share
• favorite_border

Through joint research with the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials(KIMM), the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) developed a 3D bioprinting technology using natural killer cells (NK cells) as a new method of immunotherapy for treating cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

Columbia Engineering researchers announced today that they have developed the first stand-alone, conformable, fully organic bioelectronic device that can not only acquire and transmit neurophysiologic brain signals, but can also provide power for device operation.

• share
• favorite_border

EMSL user Marcus Foston is using synthetic biology to create an underwater hydrogel that mimics the strength of mussel foot proteins. Foston explains how this hydrogel’s powerful adhesive could replace surgical sutures and fix cracked boats.

• share
• favorite_border

The peptide-guided treatment builds new mineral microlayers that penetrate deep into the tooth to create effective, long-lasting natural protection. The ultimate goal is to provide easily accessible relief for the millions of adults worldwide who suffer from tooth sensitivity.

• share
• favorite_border

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has developed new bioplastics that degrade on the same timescale as a banana peel in a backyard compost bin.

• share
• favorite_border

Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.

• share
• favorite_border

Many at-risk forest tree species will probably need biotechnology along with traditional tree-breeding approaches to survive, according to insights published in the July issue of the journal New Forests.

• share
• favorite_border

This fully wireless ultrasound patch, which can capture detailed medical information and wirelessly transmit the data to a smart device, could represent a major step forward in at-home health care technology.

• share
• favorite_border

The remarkable level of miniaturization possible in modern electronics has paved the way for realizing healthcare devices previously confined to the realm of science fiction.

• share
• favorite_border

Nearly 700,000 people in the United States die from heart disease every year, and one-third of those deaths result from complications in the first weeks or months following a traumatic heart-related event. To help prevent those deaths, researchers at Northwestern and George Washington (GW) universities have developed a new device to monitor and treat heart disease and dysfunction in the days, weeks or months following such events.

• share
• favorite_border

Conventional ways of administering medication – by swallowing tablets, consuming bitter syrups, injections or rectal insertions – could be distressing and unpleasant for some patients, especially young children or the elderly. A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Chan Sui Yung, Honorary Fellow at the Department of Pharmacy under the Faculty of Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS), has recently developed easy-to-use oral films that enable painless, efficient, and discreet drug administration.

• share
• favorite_border

The study by researchers at New York University, Columbia Engineering, and the New York Genome Center, combines a deep learning model with CRISPR screens to control the expression of human genes in different ways—such as flicking a light switch to shut them off completely or by using a dimmer knob to partially turn down their activity. These precise gene controls could be used to develop new CRISPR-based therapies.

• share
• favorite_border

Physicists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed an innovative method of converting human hair waste into a functional material that can be used to encrypt sensitive information or detect environmental pollutants.

• share
• favorite_border

A roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai for June 2023.

• share
• favorite_border

To help people with visual impairments gain more independence, Cal State Fullerton computer engineering students developed assistive glasses, a hands-free wearable technology device. The glasses can help people with visual impairments detect and identify often-used objects — something a guide dog cannot always do.

• share
• favorite_border

The June special issue of SLAS Technology showcases the latest developments in the field of biotechnology with its collection of seven research articles.

• share
• favorite_border

A multi-faceted device for effectively treating deep, non-compressible, and irregularly-shaped wounds has been engineered by the scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI).

• share
• favorite_border

As we move into a world where human-machine interactions are becoming more prominent, pressure sensors that are able to analyze and simulate human touch are likely to grow in demand. One challenge facing engineers is the difficulty in making the kind of cost-effective, highly sensitive sensor necessary for applications such as detecting subtle pulses, operating robotic limbs, and creating ultrahigh-resolution scales. However, a team of researchers has developed a sensor capable of performing all of those tasks.

• share
• favorite_border

Using nanomagnets composites and conductive yarn, scientists have invented a smart textile that can sense and measure body movements—from muscles flexing to veins pulsing.

• share
• favorite_border

Pulse oximeters were a critical part of life-saving care during the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping treatment by measuring oxygen levels in the blood. The devices, which became common in the 1980s, have long shaped protocols for detecting hypoxemia, low blood oxygenation that can lead to organ failure and death.

• share
• favorite_border

Just as space holds infinite mysteries, when we zoom in at the level of biomolecules (one trillion times smaller than a meter), there is still so much to learn.Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Catherine Royer, Constellation Chair Professor of Bioinformatics and Biocomputation at the Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) and professor of biological sciences, is dedicated to understanding the conformational landscapes of biomolecules and how they modulate cell function.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the Ludwig Center at Harvard have developed a platform technology for imaging that enables integration of the methods of microscopic analysis long employed in pathology laboratories with the visualization of multiple molecular markers in individual cells that is now rapidly advancing in research labs.

• share
• favorite_border

Loyola Medicine's advanced robotic surgery program makes it one of the few hospitals in the country to offer kidney transplantation to patients with obesity.

• share
• favorite_border

Sandia National Laboratories and research partner Know Biological have developed a miniaturized sensor system that can detect the specific gases released from the skin of people with epilepsy before a seizure.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have demonstrated that silver retains antimicrobial activity for longer when it is impregnated into ‘bioactive glass’, and shown for the first time how this promising combination delivers more long-lasting antimicrobial wound protection than conventional alternatives.

• share
• favorite_border

To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have developed a patch with a sensor function. The polymer patch warns before the occurence of dangerous leaks on sutures in the gastrointestinal tract take hold, while closes the areas on its own. A new material now enables a fast, easy and non-invasive leak diagnosis. The team recently published their findings in the journal Advanced Science.

• share
• favorite_border

Wistar is pleased to welcome Sozi Tulante to its Board of Trustees. He is currently General Counsel of Form Energy, a Massachusetts-based energy storage technology and manufacturing company.

• share
• favorite_border

Moffitt Cancer Center has launched the Department of Bioengineering. The new academic research department will be housed within the Division of Basic Science and led by W. Gregory Sawyer, Ph.D. Bioengineering integrates the disciplines of engineering and cancer biology.

• share
• favorite_border

In situ bioprinting, which involves 3D printing biocompatible structures and tissues directly within the body, has seen steady progress over the past few years.

• share
• favorite_border

Miscanthus thrives on marginal lands with limited fertilization and tolerates drought and cool temperatures, making it an ideal bioenergy candidate. Previous efforts to genetically improve miscanthus focused on introducing external genes at random places in the plant’s genomes. This research developed gene-editing procedures using CRISPR/Cas9 that will allow scientists to selectively target existing genes to knock out their function and introduce new genes into precise locations.

• share
• favorite_border

Today, the Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX), a public private partnership between the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the eight winners of the Artificial Kidney Prize Phase 2 at the KidneyX Summit in Washington, DC. The competition recognized participants’ innovative approaches to developing a bioartificial kidney and was divided into two tracks with two Track 1 participants each receiving $1,600,000, and six Track 2 participants each receiving $1,000,000.