Press monitoring
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...
Fluorescent nanomedicine can guide tumor removal, kill remaining cancer cells
1.1.2018 | Press monitoring
Oregon State University scientists have developed a nanomedicine platform for cancer that can help doctors know which tissue to cut out as well as kill any malignant cells that can't be surgically removed. The platform allows for greater precision and thoroughness in cancer treatment. Here's how it works: Nanoparticles tightly loaded with a...
Study finds new way to clean up radioactive sites, protect radiotherapy patients, astronauts
29.12.2017 | Press monitoring
A new discovery by scientists could aid efforts to clean up radioactive waste sites, and could also help protect military personnel, cancer patients, and astronauts. According to a collaborative study, led by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, published Dec. 20 in PLOS One, "Microbial cells can cooperate to...
