Press monitoring
New genetically modified variety of cotton disables sapsucking whiteflies
21.9.2016 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers from a multitude of institutions in India has developed a genetically modified cotton variety that stunts the growth of sapsucking whiteflies, reducing their negative impact on crop yields. Scientists have made great strides in controlling insects that feed on plant leaves, helping to greatly improve crop yields across the...
Nanotechnologies and bioplastic to diagnose and combat tumours. Bio-on researchers on the job
19.9.2016 | Press monitoring
Bologna, 19 th September 2016 - For the very first time, bioplastic can be used to diagnose and treat tumours thanks to the first patent registered by Bio-on in the nanomedical field , particularly in nanodiagnostics (nano-imaging). Bio-on researchers use nanotechnologies to create minerv BIOMEDS: these are revolutionary and innovative...
World’s first ciliary microrobots could change the way we take medicine
19.9.2016 | Press monitoring
Science fiction is fast becoming reality, with scientists in South Korea developing an astonishingly fast-moving remote-controlled microrobot designed to travel through the human bloodstream to deliver treatment directly to the organs that need it. Developed by the Department of Robotics Engineering at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and...
Scientists make mice from non-egg cells
16.9.2016 | Press monitoring
Scientists have shown for the first time that offspring can be made from non-egg cells, a discovery that challenges two centuries of received wisdom. Eggs can be 'tricked' into developing into an embryo without fertilisation, but the resulting embryos, called parthenogenotes, die after a few days because key developmental processes requiring...
Measuring forces in the DNA molecule
14.9.2016 | Press monitoring
DNA, our genetic material, normally has the structure of a twisted rope ladder. Experts call this structure a double helix. Among other things, it is stabilized by stacking forces between base pairs. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded at measuring these forces for the very first time on the level of single base...
Human sperm grown in a lab for the first time, claims study
12.9.2016 | Press monitoring
Is this the first lab-grown human sperm? A French team claiming the achievement has moved a stage closer to convincing sceptics by having the work published in a peer-reviewed journal. But some researchers say the evidence offered still falls short of what’s required to make such a large and historic claim. Through a 20-year project, the French...
Fear of vaccine safety is higher in Europe than in the US
9.9.2016 | Press monitoring
Europe is the world’s most vaccine-sceptic region. That’s according to a study that has surveyed 66,000 people living in 67 countries about their views on the importance and safety of vaccines. People in France showed the least confidence – 41 per cent of those surveyed said they disagreed that vaccines are safe. The global average was 12 per...
First gene-edited meal served up from CRISPR cabbage
7.9.2016 | Press monitoring
It's not often that two people sitting down to dinner marks a huge step forward for science, but that was the case when two men in Sweden tucked into a meal of pasta and fried vegetables recently. The historic ingredient? Cabbage that had had its genome edited with CRISPR-Cas9, making it the first time such a plant had been grown, harvested,...
Sabotaging bacteria propellers to stop infections
5.9.2016 | Press monitoring
"When you have a bacterial infection, the first action is to take antibiotics," said Prof Fadel Samatey, leader of the Trans-Membrane Trafficking Unit and one of the authors of the study. "The goal of antibiotics is to kill any bacterium. But this goal has side effects, because not all the bacteria that live in our body are harmful. So, what...
Legions of nanorobots target cancerous tumours with precision
2.9.2016 | Press monitoring
Researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal and McGill University have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug with precision by specifically targeting the active cancerous cells of tumours. This...
