Researchers at the University of Iowa have created an implantable bio patch that regrows bone in a living body, using existing cells. The team created a scaffold seeded with plasmids containing the genetic information for producing bone. The plasmids are absorbed by bone cells already in the body, spurring new growth. Potential applications extend to dentistry. Results appear in the journal Biomaterials.
A new technique successfully takes on a longstanding challenge in DNA sequencing – determining whether a particular genetic sequence comes from an individual's mother or father. The method, described in a Ludwig Cancer Research study in Nature Biotechnology, promises to accelerate studies of how genes contribute to disease, improve the process of matching donors with organs and help scientists better understand human migration patterns.
New discoveries, presented at the AVS Meeting in Long Beach, Calif., could impact applications ranging from artificial snowmaking to global climate models.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have devised a hair restoration method that can generate new human hair growth, rather than simply redistribute hair from one part of the scalp to another. The approach could significantly expand the use of hair transplantation to women with hair loss, who tend to have insufficient donor hair, as well as to men in early stages of baldness. The study was published today in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Jellyfish are one of the most energetically efficient natural propulsors on the planet, according to Shashank Priya, professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech. He led a study highlighting the motion of the jellyfish. The work appeared in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers have developed a new technology to sort human cells according to their stiffness, which might one day help doctors identify certain diseases in patients, according to a new study.
Researchers have successfully tested treatments for people with allergies to grasses and to dust mites. The treatments are from a new class of therapy, known as ‘synthetic peptide immuno-regulatory epitopes’, or SPIREs. Positive results, first with a cat allergy therapy and now with house dust mite and grass allergy treatments, suggest that this approach may be used for many common allergies.
Spit conjures a variety of sayings and images for most people, but for Granger and colleagues spit is also serious business. In a recent study, scientists with Arizona State University and the University of Oregon tracked the release of nerve growth factor in saliva (sNGF), finding for the first time that this protein typically linked to the survival, development or function of neurons may be an important player in understanding the body’s response to stress.
Pinning down an effective way to combat the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, the viral precursor to AIDS, has long been challenge task for scientists and physicians, because the virus is an elusive one that mutates frequently and, as a result, quickly becomes immune to medication. A team of Drexel University researchers is trying to get one step ahead of the virus with a microbicide they’ve created that can trick HIV into “popping” itself into oblivion.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to apply a powerful new DNA-editing technology more broadly than ever before. “This is one of the hottest tools in biology, and we’ve now found a way to target it to any DNA sequence,” said Carlos F. Barbas III, the Janet and Keith Kellogg II Chair in Molecular Biology and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at TSRI.
A new technology is showing promise as the basis for a home test to diagnose influenza quickly, before the window for taking antiviral drugs slams shut and sick people spread the virus to others, scientists reported here today. In a presentation at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, they described how it also would determine the specific strain of flu virus, helping in selection of the most effective drug.
The citrus flavor and aroma of grapefruit — already used in fruit juices, citrus-flavored beverages, and prestige perfumes and colognes — may be heading for a new use in battling mosquitoes, ticks, head lice and bedbugs thanks to a less expensive way of making large amounts of the once rare and pricey ingredient, a scientist said here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Disease-causing bacteria stink — literally — and the odor released by some of the nastiest microbes has become the basis for a faster and simpler new way to diagnose serious blood infections and finger the specific microbe, scientists reported today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
The vision for a new branch of medicine, inspired by the ancient field that began with peg legs and hand hooks, commanded the spotlight in a major address by its pioneer here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. He focused on the field he has named “molecular prosthetics.”
In an advance in determining the role of environmental agents in causing cancer, scientists described discovery of a long-sought way to use biopsy samples from cancer patients to check on human exposure to substances that damage the genetic material DNA in ways that can cause cancer. Their report on the method, which taps into a treasure trove of information left by biopsy patients, was part of the 246th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Many researchers believe when the microbiome is unbalanced, it predisposes us to numerous autoimmune diseases. Chief Medical Officer of Coronado Biosciences, Karin Hehenberger, believes the theory about microbiota is related to the “hygiene hypothesis”—the notion that there is a direct link between elevated rates of autoimmune diseases and Western society’s obsession to establish germ-free environments. One approach comes in the form of a treatment involving Trichuris suis ova (TSO)—pig whipworm eggs.
Biotechnology has held out the promise of genetically engineered seeds that provide bountiful crops while keeping the weeds at bay. However, using these seeds raises many ecological, ethical, political, issues.
A collaboration of scientists at Sanford-Burnham and the University of California, Santa Barbara, finds that rod-shaped particles, rather than spherical particles, appear more effective at adhering to cells where they’re needed.
New technology under development at The Ohio State University is paving the way for low-cost electronic devices that work in direct contact with living tissue inside the body. The first planned use of the technology is a sensor that will detect the very early stages of organ transplant rejection.
In the gonads of animals, genome parasites such as transposons pose a serious threat to evolutionary fitness. With their ability to bounce around in the genome, they often cause dangerous mutations. To protect genomic integrity, animals evolved a sophisticated mechanism – the so called piRNA pathway – to silence the deleterious transposons. Not much is known about the molecular processes and the involved factors that constitute the piRNA pathway. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) in Vienna have now identified ~50 genes, that play important roles in the piRNA pathway of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster.
A simpler and faster way of producing designer bacteria used in biotechnology processes has been developed by University of Adelaide researchers.
Researchers at Columbia University and Stanford University have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret “high-dimensional” data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry. The method, published today in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology, has particular relevance to cancer research and therapeutics.
Experiments at Johns Hopkins have unearthed clues about which protein signaling molecules are allowed into hollow, hair-like “antennae,” called cilia, that alert cells to critical changes in their environments.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington scientists have identified a class of immune cells that reside long-term in the genital skin and mucosa and are believed to be responsible for suppressing recurring outbreaks of genital herpes. These immune cells also play a role in suppressing symptoms of genital herpes, which is why most sufferers of the disease are asymptomatic when viral reactivations occur. The discovery of this subtype of immune cells, called CD8αα+ T cells, opens a new avenue of research to develop a vaccine to prevent and treat herpes simplex virus type 2, or HSV-2. Identifying these T cells’ specific molecular targets, called epitopes, is the next step in developing a vaccine.
University of Washington engineers and NanoFacture, a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.
Researchers have uncovered mutations in the phosphatase Wip1 that enable cancer cells to foil the tumor suppressor p53, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The results could provide a new target for the treatment of certain cancers.
A mutant protein responsible for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome (HGPS) bars large proteins from entering the nucleus, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology.
University of Alabama in Huntsville assistant biology professor Dr. Leland Cseke and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology researcher Dr. Jian Han have joined forces to identify invasive plant species that are sneaking into the US.
Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have developed a novel and powerful technique to identify the targets for a group of enzymes called RNA cytosine methyltransferases (RMTs) in human RNA.
For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember.
A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer, as well as hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor’s fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building blocks. Published in Nature Biotechnology.
A bioengineering research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) team led by Associate Professor Zhang Yong has developed a novel microfluidic device for efficient, rapid separation and detection of non-spherical bioparticles.
Epidemiological studies have indicated that dietary habits and antioxidants from diet can influence the incidence of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
As part of a multicenter clinical trial, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are evaluating Pexa-Vec (JX-594) to slow the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma or liver cancer. Pexa-Vec is a genetically engineered virus that is used in the smallpox vaccine.
Treating patients with cells may one day become as common as it is now to treat the sick with drugs made from engineered proteins, antibodies or smaller chemicals, according to UC San Francisco researchers. They outlined their vision of cell-based therapeutics as a “third pillar of medicine” in an article published online April 3 in Science Translational Medicine.
Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to kill deadly pathogenic bacteria, including listeria, in food handling and packaging. This innovation represents an alternative to the use of antibiotics or chemical decontamination in food supply systems.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are developing a medical instrument that will be able to quickly detect a suite of biothreat agents, including anthrax, ricin, botulinum, shiga and SEB toxin. The device, once developed, approved by the Food and Drug Administration and commercialized, would most likely be used in emergency rooms in the event of a bioterrorism incident.
New research explains how certain traits can pass down from one generation to the next – at least in plants – without following the accepted rules of genetics.
Medical advances in biotechnology seem to be coming faster than the public can understand them all or even discuss how society should handle ethical, legal and moral considerations. To spark the national conversation Wake Forest University has partnered with Baylor University for “After the Genome: The Language of our Biotechnological Future” April 12-13 at Wake Forest’s Benson University Center. Fourteen scholars from across North America with expertise in medicine, science, religion and communication will present.
Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) in Vienna have identified a completely new mechanism in the onset of motor neuron diseases. Their findings could be the basis for future treatments for these presently incurable diseases.
For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Tufts University biologists used a frog model to shed new light – literally – on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine and sensory augmentation research.
One reporter tries out a genome sequencing machine that may revolutionize medicine.
Researchers have now found stem cells inside the parasite that cause schistosomiasis, one of the most common parasitic infections in the world. These stem cells can regenerate worn-down organs, which may help explain how they can live for years or even decades inside their host.
Cornell bioengineers and physicians have created an artificial ear – using 3-D printing and injectable molds – that looks and acts like a natural ear, giving new hope to thousands of children born with a congenital deformity called microtia.
The circadian clocks that control and influence dozens of basic biological processes have an unexpected 'snooze button' that helps cells adapt to changes in their environment.
In a study of mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a new molecular pathway involved in the growth of tiny air sacs called alveoli that are crucial for breathing. The scientists say their experiments may lead to the first successful treatments to regrow the air sacs in people who suffer from diseases such as emphysema in which the air sacs have been destroyed by years of smoking. The work may also suggest new therapy for premature infants born before their lungs are fully developed.
Canada-US-Italian research team develops a cocaine biosensor inspired from nature. Since the beginning of time, living organisms have developed ingenious mechanisms to monitor their environment. As part of an international study, a team of researchers has adapted some of these natural mechanisms to detect specific molecules such as cocaine more accurately and quickly. Their work may greatly facilitate the rapid screening—less than five minutes—of many drugs, infectious diseases, and cancers.
A new study from engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of California, Berkeley, pairs light and genetics to give researchers a powerful new tool for manipulating cells. Results of the study, published in the journal Nature Methods, show how blue light can be used as a switch to prompt targeted proteins to accumulate into large clusters.
A simple technique uses silica to coat a living cell both inside and outside. The process forms a near-perfect replica of the cell's structure, down to the tiniest organelle. The resulting model, heated, creates nature-sculpted nanotools with components far stronger than when built out of flesh.
In one of the first genome-wide studies to hunt for both genes and their regulatory “tags” in patients suffering from a common disease, researchers have found a clear role for the tags in mediating genetic risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The scientists say they were able to spot tagged DNA sequences that may be important for the development of RA.
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