Press monitoring
Functional synthetic enzyme could be catalyst for artificial life
24.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Not content with editing the genes of living organisms or creating ever-smarter AI, scientists may eventually be able to biologically engineer unique artificial lifeforms from scratch. A new study from Princeton has brought that future a step closer, by confirming that an artificial protein the team developed functions as an enzyme in living...
Clean and green - a moss that removes lead from water
22.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan have demonstrated that that moss can be a green alternative for decontaminating polluted water and soil. Published in PLOS ONE, the study shows that in particular, the moss Funaria hygrometrica tolerates and absorbs an impressive amount of lead (Pb) from...
Team modifies nanoscale virus to deliver peptide drugs to cells, tissues
19.1.2018 | Press monitoring
By chipping away at a viral protein, Rice University scientists have discovered a path toward virus-like, nanoscale devices that may be able to deliver drugs to cells. The protein is one of three that make up the protective shell, called the capsid, of natural adeno-associated viruses (AAV). By making progressively smaller versions of the...
Engineered T-cell treatment helps keep cancer at bay
17.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Cancer has been winning the arms race agains the immune system for too long, but scientists are developing plenty of new weapons to try to turn the tide. One key technique is to supercharge T-cells – the foot-soldiers of the immune system – to better detect and kill tumors, and a new trial at the Children's Research Institute has delivered...
Engineers grow functioning human muscle from skin cells
15.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Biomedical engineers have grown the first functioning human skeletal muscle from induced pluripotent stem cells. The advance builds on work published in 2015 when researchers at Duke University grew the first functioning human muscle tissue from cells obtained from muscle biopsies. The ability to start from cellular scratch using non-muscle...
Macrophage nanosponges could keep sepsis in check
12.1.2018 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego has developed macrophage "nanosponges" that can safely absorb and remove molecules from the bloodstream that are known to trigger sepsis. These macrophage nanosponges, which are nanoparticles cloaked in the cell membranes of macrophages, have so far improved survival rates in mice...
The virus that can attack brain tumors and stimulate the immune system to do the same
10.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Remarkable new research from scientists in the UK has shown how a naturally occurring, and mostly harmless, virus is being recruited into attacking brain cancer and enhancing the tumor-targeting abilities of the body's own immune system. Harnessing a virus to help instead of harm is a technique that has shown great promise over recent years....
A biological solution to carbon capture and recycling?
8.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Scientists at the University of Dundee have discovered that E. coli bacteria could hold the key to an efficient method of capturing and storing or recycling carbon dioxide. Cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to slow down and even reverse global warming has been posited as humankind's greatest challenge. It is a goal that is subject to...
Scientists design bacteria to reflect sonar signals for ultrasound imaging
5.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Researchers at Caltech for the first time, created bacterial cells with the ability to reflect sound waves, reminiscent of how submarines reflect sonar to reveal their locations. The ultimate goal is to be able to inject therapeutic bacteria into a patient's body-for example, as probiotics to help treat diseases of the gut or as targeted tumor...
Spider web inspired implantable \"string\" could control diabetes
3.1.2018 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers has developed a revolutionary new method for treating type 1 diabetes. Inspired by a spider's web, the team created an easily implantable nanoporous thread that can hold hundreds of thousands of insulin-producing islet cells and be easily removed when they need to come out. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the way the...
