What is new in Biotech
Using AI, researchers identify a new class of antibiotic candidates that can kill a drug-resistant bacterium
29.12.2023 | Press monitoring
Using a type of artificial intelligence known as deep learning, MIT researchers have discovered a class of compounds that can kill a drug-resistant bacterium that causes more than 10,000 deaths in the United States every year. In a study appearing in Nature, the researchers showed that these compounds could kill methicillin-resistant...
Researchers develop electronic soil that enhances crop growth
27.12.2023 | Press monitoring
Barley seedlings grow on average 50% more when their root system is stimulated electrically through a new cultivation substrate. In a study published in the journal PNAS, researchers from Linköping University have developed an electrically conductive "soil" for soilless cultivation, known as hydroponics. "The world population is increasing,...
Credit: Amy Jacobs - Fotolia.com
How jellyfish regenerate functional tentacles in days
25.12.2023 | Press monitoring
At about the size of a pinkie nail, the jellyfish species Cladonema can regenerate an amputated tentacle in two to three days – but how? Regenerating functional tissue across species, including salamanders and insects, relies on the ability to form a blastema, a clump of undifferentiated cells that can repair damage and grow into the missing...
Credit: Piotr Marcinski - Fotolia.com
Fresh research for fresh air: Harnessing microbes for removing indoor pollutants
22.12.2023 | Press monitoring
Researchers in Chile have designed an indoor air purification prototype which uses microorganisms to capture and degrade pollutants, with efficiencies above 90%. In the study, published in the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, the scientists demonstrated that the system could operate for eight months without any loss in...
New possibilities for the medical use of botulinun toxin A1
20.12.2023 | Press monitoring
PSI researchers have discovered a surprising trick that could expand the possibilities for medical use of botulinun toxin A1, better known under the name Botox, as an active agent. They have developed antibody-like proteins that speed up the enzyme's effect on the transmission of nerve signals. This suggests that Botox might, for example, be able...
New understanding of ancient genetic parasite may spur medical breakthroughs
18.12.2023 | Press monitoring
An international team of scientists from Rutgers and more than a dozen other institutions, including both academia and industry, have published the first high-resolution images and structural details of a virus-like element known as LINE-1. They describe it as "an ancient genetic parasite" that is one of the most common parts of human DNA. The...
Microbubble bots guided through complex brain vessels using ultrasound
15.12.2023 | Press monitoring
Researchers have developed a bubble microrobot capable of being guided around the tiny complex blood vessels of the brain using ultrasound. Successfully tested in mice, the ‘microvehicle’ holds potential as a means of precisely delivering drugs to treat diseases like brain cancer and stroke. Researchers at ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and...
Credit: goa novi - Fotolia
Researchers develop a novel dry-powder inhaled vaccine platform
13.12.2023 | Press monitoring
Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a new "nano-micro composite" delivery concept for vaccines. Based on this idea, they have developed a single-dose, dry-powder, inhalable vaccine platform using nano-micro composite multilevel structures, which has been successfully...
Credit: CONTIPRO
Nanoparticle-delivered RNA reduces neuroinflammation in lab tests
11.12.2023 | Press monitoring
Some COVID-19 vaccines safely and effectively used lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver messenger RNA to cells. A new MIT study shows that different nanoparticles could be used for a potential Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapy. In tests in multiple mouse models and with cultured human cells, a newly tailored LNP formulation effectively delivered...
Credit: DeVIce - Fotolia.com
Mussel-inspired adhesive builds a bond between implants and bones
8.12.2023 | Press monitoring
One of the problems with implants such as artificial hips is the fact that over time, the titanium implant will detach from the bone to which it was bonded. A second surgery is then required to reattach or replace the implant. Over the years, various groups have pursued a number of avenues to keep this from happening. The mussel-inspired glue is...
