Press monitoring
RNA nasal spray subdues brain infection
6.4.2018 | Press monitoring
West Nile fever is a viral infection typically spread by mosquitoes. In about 75% of infections people have few or no symptoms. In less than 1% of people, encephalitis or meningitis occurs, with associated neck stiffness, confusion, or seizures. Recovery may take weeks to months. The risk of death among those in whom the nervous system is affected...
USDA confirms it won\'t regulate CRISPR gene-edited plants like it does GMOs
4.4.2018 | Press monitoring
A statement issued by the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue last week has clarified that the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently does not, and has no plans to, regulate gene edited plants or crops. As opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that involve adding genes from other organisms such as bacteria, the USDA...
Biobot made of heart cells and gel looks like fluttering butterfly
2.4.2018 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, has developed a heart-on-a-chip platform incorporating rat heart muscle cells, hydrogel and nanocrystals. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes their structure, how it was made, and the uses to which it might be put. As researchers at...
Identification of transgenic organisms
30.3.2018 | Press monitoring
Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have developed a concept called AGameOfClones, which allows them to distinguish whether transgenic organisms carry an inserted foreign gene on one or on both chromosomes. This facilitates breeding and also benefits animal welfare. To understand biological processes, researchers often use model organisms...
First proof a synthesized antibiotic is capable of treating superbugs
28.3.2018 | Press monitoring
A "game changing" new antibiotic which is capable of killing superbugs has been successfully synthesised and used to treat an infection for the first time – and could lead to the first new class of antibiotic drug in 30 years. The breakthrough is another major step forward on the journey to develop a commercially viable drug version based on...
Virus fished from pond cures mans deadly antibiotic-resistant infection
26.3.2018 | Press monitoring
The clinical success suggests promising strategy for fighting antibiotic resistance. In 2012, a 76-year-old Connecticut doctor had surgery to repair a life-threatening bulge in his aortic arch – the hulking bend that hooks the massive artery around the heart, routing oxygenated blood both upward and downward. Surgeons successfully used a...
Machine learning spots treasure trove of elusive viruses
23.3.2018 | Press monitoring
Many viruses are difficult to study because they cannot be grown in the lab. Artificial intelligence could speed up metagenomic studies that look for species unknown to science. Although viruses influence everything from human health to the degradation of trash, they are hard to study. Scientists cannot grow most viruses in the lab, and attempts...
Body on a chip could improve drug evaluation
21.3.2018 | Press monitoring
MIT engineers have developed new technology that could be used to evaluate new drugs and detect possible side effects before the drugs are tested in humans. Using a microfluidic platform that connects engineered tissues from up to 10 organs, the researchers can accurately replicate human organ interactions for weeks at a time, allowing them to...
Nanospears deliver genetic material to cells with pinpoint accuracy
19.3.2018 | Press monitoring
UCLA scientists have developed a new method that utilizes microscopic splinter-like structures called "nanospears" for the targeted delivery of biomolecules such as genes straight to patient cells. These magnetically guided nanostructures could enable gene therapies that are safer, faster and more cost-effective. Gene therapy, the process of...
Unwanted fish scales may help heal wounds
16.3.2018 | Press monitoring
Chances are, you can't think of many uses for fish scales. Neither can the fisheries industry, which is why it disposes of great quantities of the things every year. According to scientists from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, however, such scales may be able to help heal wounds in humans. The researchers started by obtaining sea...
