Press monitoring
Scientists engineer tunable DNA for electronics applications
27.6.2016 | Press monitoring
DNA may be the blueprint of life, but it's also a molecule made from just a few simple chemical building blocks. Among its properties is the ability to conduct an electrical charge, making one of the hottest areas in engineering a race to develop novel, low-cost nanoelectronic devices. Now, a team led by ASU Biodesign Institute researcher...
3D printing heart parts at 30,000 feet
24.6.2016 | Press monitoring
If you live anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico, earlier this month, while you were sipping your coffee or surfing the web, a plane was zooming 30,000 ft (about 9,100 m) overhead, simulating weightlessness while a 3D bioprinter spit out heart and vascular structures created with human stem cells. The project was a joint effort between several...
First monkey genetically engineered to have Parkinson’s created
22.6.2016 | Press monitoring
The world’s first monkey genetically engineered to have Parkinson’s disease has been created by researchers in Japan. Other monkeys created as part of the same project mimic Alzheimer’s disease and motor neurone disease. While many scientists were encouraged by the possibility of gaining unique insight into hard-to-treat brain disorders, the news...
Using CRISPR as a recording device
20.6.2016 | Press monitoring
A small team of researchers at Harvard University has taken another look at CRISPR and has found that it can be used as a recording device of sorts, keeping track of when and where a given bacterium has been exposed to different viruses. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their study, their findings and the ways...
New plant engineering method could help fill demand for crucial malaria drug
17.6.2016 | Press monitoring
A new and inexpensive technique for mass-producing the main ingredient in the most effective treatment for malaria, artemisinin, could help meet global demands for the drug, according to a study to be published in the journal eLife. Artemisinin is produced in low yields by a herb called Artemisia annua, otherwise known as sweet wormwood....
Engineers develop a new biosensor chip for detecting DNA mutations
15.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed an electrical graphene chip capable of detecting mutations in DNA. Researchers say the technology could one day be used in various medical applications such as blood-based tests for early cancer screening, monitoring disease biomarkers and real-time detection of viral and...
Scientists identify protein which boosts rice yield by fifty percent
13.6.2016 | Press monitoring
A research team has developed rice crops with an improved ability to manage their own pH levels, enabling them to take up significantly more nitrogen, iron and phosphorous from soil and increase yield by up to 54 percent. Rice is a major crop, feeding almost 50 percent of the world's population and has retained the ability to survive in changing...
Second layer of information in DNA confirmed
10.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Leiden theoretical physicists have proven that DNA mechanics, in addition to genetic information in DNA, determines who we are. Helmut Schiessel and his group simulated many DNA sequences and found a correlation between mechanical cues and the way DNA is folded. Since the mid 1980s, it has been hypothesized that there is a second layer of...
Latest bionic leaf now 10 times more efficient than natural photosynthesis
8.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Over the last few years, great strides have been made in creating artificial leaves that mimic the ability of their natural counterparts to produce energy from water and sunlight. Now, scientists at Harvard have developed the "bionic leaf 2.0," which increases the efficiency of the system well beyond nature's own capabilities, and used it to...
New material kills E. coli bacteria in 30 seconds
6.6.2016 | Press monitoring
Every day, we are exposed to millions of harmful bacteria that can cause infectious diseases, such as the E. coli bacteria. Now, researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, have developed a new material that can kill the E. coli bacteria within 30...
