Press monitoring
Genetically modified low-fat pigs could produce healthier bacon
25.10.2017 | Press monitoring
A team of Chinese scientists has created genetically modified piglets with around 24 percent less body fat than regular pigs. The CRISPR modification is intended to help the pigs adapt to colder weather conditions but the secondary implication is undoubtedly clear – low-fat CRISPR bacon! Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is a protein generally found in...
Artificial pancreas learns your behavior and regulates insulin through a smartphone
23.10.2017 | Press monitoring
Last year the FDA approved the first artificial pancreas for general use. The technology is designed to automatically monitor and inject insulin as needed, in patients with type 1 diabetes. Now a team at Harvard has developed an even more sophisticated system that connects to a patient's smartphone and learns their habits, enabling glucose levels...
Engineered protein treatment found to reduce obesity in mice, rats and primates
20.10.2017 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers with pharmaceutical company Amgen Inc. report that an engineered version of a protein naturally found in the body caused test mice, rats and cynomolgus monkeys to lose weight. Obesity is a growing problem around the world as people consume foods high in carbohydrates and/or sugars as part of a hectic or low-income lifestyle....
FDA panel mulls gene therapy for kids with rare eye disease
18.10.2017 | Press monitoring
U. S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel was poised on Thursday to recommend approval for a gene therapy that could grant the gift of sight to young people with a rare type of inherited vision loss. Replacing a nonworking gene with a new one is opening a new world for children and teens with the inherited retinal disease called Leber...
What makes the durian fruit stink? Cancer scientists crack the durian genome
16.10.2017 | Press monitoring
Singaporean scientists and international collaborators have achieved a world's first by deciphering the complete genetic map of durian, a prized tropical fruit delicacy known in Asia as the "king of fruits." The Singapore team's efforts were driven by both innate scientific curiosity and a love of the fruit. "Being a geneticist, I was...
Team creates functional, stem-cell-derived small bowel segments
13.10.2017 | Press monitoring
Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a Massachusetts General Hospital research team has bioengineered functional small intestine segments that, when implanted into rats, were capable of deliver nutrients into the bloodstream. "In this study we have been able to bridge the gap between differentiation of single cells - driving stem...
Anti-doping agency to ban all gene editing in sport from 2018
11.10.2017 | Press monitoring
The battle between sports cheats and testers is poised to enter a whole new arena. The World Anti-Doping Agency has extended its 2003 ban on “gene doping” to include all forms of gene editing – but it is not clear the agency has the means to enforce this ban. WADA already bans the use of genetically modified cells and gene therapy if they have...
Light-activated nanoparticles can supercharge current antibiotics
9.10.2017 | Press monitoring
Light-activated nanoparticles, also known as quantum dots, can provide a crucial boost in effectiveness for antibiotic treatments used to combat drug-resistant superbugs such as E. coli and Salmonella, new University of Colorado Boulder research shows. Multi-drug resistant pathogens, which evolve their defenses faster than new antibiotic...
We’re nearly ready to use CRISPR to target far more diseases
6.10.2017 | Press monitoring
The race is on to edit the DNA in our body to fight or prevent disease. Promising results from animal studies targeting the liver, muscles and the brain suggest that the CRISPR genome-editing method could revolutionise medicine, allowing us to treat or even cure a huge range of disorders. The CRISPR genome-editing method was only developed in...
Portable DNA sequencers help African farmers fight crop disease
4.10.2017 | Press monitoring
Scientists at The University of Western Australia are using new portable DNA sequencing technology for the first time in East Africa to help farmers fight the devastating impact of crop disease. Farmers struggling with diseased cassava crops can take immediate action to save their livelihoods based on information about the health of their plants,...
