Press monitoring
Gene editing shows promise for improving the chocolate tree
16.5.2018 | Press monitoring
Use of the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 could help to breed cacao trees that exhibit desirable traits such as enhanced resistance to diseases, according to Penn State plant scientists. The cacao tree, which grows in tropical regions, produces the cocoa beans that are the raw material of chocolate. Reliable productivity from cacao plants...
Solar powered sea slugs shed light on search for perpetual green energy
14.5.2018 | Press monitoring
In an amazing achievement akin to adding solar panels to your body, a Northeast sea slug sucks raw materials from algae to provide its lifetime supply of solar-powered energy, according to a study by Rutgers University-New Brunswick and other scientists. "It's a remarkable feat because it's highly unusual for an animal to behave like a plant...
Tissue-engineered human pancreatic cells successfully treat diabetic mice
11.5.2018 | Press monitoring
Researchers tissue-engineered human pancreatic islets in a laboratory that develop a circulatory system, secrete hormones like insulin and successfully treat sudden-onset type 1 diabetes in transplanted mice. In a study published by Cell Reports, the scientists use a new bioengineering process they developed called a self-condensation cell...
Milestone research on Madagascar periwinkle uncovers pathway to cancer-fighting drugs
9.5.2018 | Press monitoring
Plant scientists have taken the crucial last steps in a 60-year quest to unravel the complex chemistry of Madagascar periwinkle in a breakthrough that opens up the potential for rapid synthesis of cancer-fighting compounds. The team in the laboratory of Professor Sarah O'Connor at the John Innes Centre have, after 15 years of research, located...
How a virus cocktail can help wash away food poisoning
7.5.2018 | Press monitoring
Food poisoning is far from a fun experience, and usually all you can do is just ride out the storm. But soon you might be able to chase a bad burger with a "virus cocktail" loaded with bacteria-hunting viruses (bacteriophages) that will kill off the invading E. coli without harming the helpful bugs that call your gut home. Of course, not...
Handheld skin printer may work where skin grafts dont
4.5.2018 | Press monitoring
Four years ago, we heard how researchers had created a microwave-oven-sized 3D printer that could produce sheets of skin for treating burns. Now, some of the same scientists have developed a handheld device that prints skin directly onto deep wounds. The shoebox-sized gadget was built by a team from the University of Toronto, led by PhD student...
Diagnosing breast cancer with a pill that makes tumors glow
2.5.2018 | Press monitoring
Mammograms are useful tools for diagnosing breast cancer, but they don't always get it right. It's not always easy to tell how dangerous a particular tumor is, meaning harmful but treatable cancers can be missed, while other patients with benign tumors undergo unnecessary invasive procedures. Now, scientists at the University of Michigan have...
E. coli rewired to control growth as experts let them make proteins for medicine
30.4.2018 | Press monitoring
Experts have equipped biotech workhorse bacteria with feedback control mechanism to balance growth with making protein products. Medicines like insulin and interferon are manufactured using genetically engineered bacteria, such as E. coli. E. coli grow quickly and can be given DNA that instructs them to make proteins used in medicines and other...
Engineered Chinese shrub produces high levels of antimalarial compound
27.4.2018 | Press monitoring
Artemisinin is a potent antimalarial compound produced naturally by the Chinese shrub Artemisia annua, commonly known as sweet wormwood. Currently,however, the low amount of artemisinin produced in the leaves of this plant does not meet the global demand. The best available treatment for malaria, particularly for cases caused by P. falciparum,...
Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence DNA from all complex life on Earth
25.4.2018 | Press monitoring
An international consortium of scientists is proposing what is arguably the most ambitious project in the history of biology: sequencing the DNA of all known eukaryotic species on Earth. The benefits of the monumental initiative promise to be a complete transformation of the scientific understanding of life on Earth and a vital new resource for...
