Press monitoring
Researchers develop harmless artificial virus for gene therapy
13.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Researchers of the Nanobiology Unit from the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, led by Antonio Villaverde, managed to create artificial viruses, protein complexes with the ability of self-assembling and forming nanoparticles which are capable of surrounding DNA fragments, penetrating the cells and reaching the nucleus in a very...
We must take baby steps into newborn genome sequencing
10.4.2015 | Press monitoring
Some time in the next few days a new era in healthcare will be born. Doctors in Boston will sequence the whole genome of a newborn, the first of 240 babies to be fully sequenced. Afterwards, the infants will be monitored for at least five years. The experiment anticipates a time in the near future when whole genome sequencing is a standard part...
Mobile DNA sequencer shows potential for disease surveillance
8.4.2015 | Press monitoring
A pocket-sized device that can rapidly determine the sequence of an organism's DNA has shown its potential in disease detection, according to a study published in the open access, open data journal GigaScience. In the first analysis of its kind, researchers were able to use the device to accurately identify a range of closely-related bacteria...
Study identifies highly efficient new Cas9 for in vivo genome editing
6.4.2015 | Press monitoring
A collaborative study between researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, MIT, and the NIH-NCBI has identified a highly efficient Cas9 nuclease that overcomes one of the primary challenges to in vivo genome editing. This finding, published today in Nature, is expected to help make the CRISPR toolbox accessible for in vivo...
Next-generation GMOs: Pink pineapples and purple tomatoes
3.4.2015 | Press monitoring
With recent government approval of potatoes that don't bruise and apples that don't brown, a new generation of genetically modified foods is headed to grocery shelves. What could be next? Cancer-fighting pink pineapples, heart-healthy purple tomatoes and less fatty vegetable oils, among other products, could receive government approval in the...
Atomic chicken-wire is key to faster DNA sequencing
1.4.2015 | Press monitoring
An unusual and very exciting form of carbon – that can be created by drawing on paper- looks to hold the key to real-time, high throughput DNA sequencing, a technique that would revolutionise medical research and testing. Led by Dr Jiri Cervenka and PhD candidate Nikolai Dontschuk from the University of Melbourne, the study also included...
Brain tumor cells decimated by mitochondrial smart bomb
30.3.2015 | Press monitoring
An experimental drug that attacks brain tumor tissue by crippling the cells' energy source called the mitochondria has passed early tests in animal models and human tissue cultures, say Houston Methodist scientists. Houston Methodist Kenneth R. Peak Brain & Pituitary Tumor Center Director David S. Baskin, M.D., and Peak Center Head of Research...
Carbon nanotube fibers make superior links to brain
27.3.2015 | Press monitoring
Carbon nanotube fibers invented at Rice University may provide the best way to communicate directly with the brain. The fibers have proven superior to metal electrodes for deep brain stimulation and to read signals from a neuronal network. Because they provide a two-way connection, they show promise for treating patients with neurological...
Scientists grow mini-lungs to aid the study of cystic fibrosis
25.3.2015 | Press monitoring
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully created ‘mini-lungs’ using stem cells derived from skin cells of patients with cystic fibrosis, and have shown that these can be used to test potential new drugs for this debilitating lung disease. The research is one of a number of studies that have used stem cells – the body’s master...
Opossum-based antidote to poisonous snake bites could save thousands of lives
23.3.2015 | Press monitoring
Scientists will report in a presentation today that they have turned to the opossum to develop a promising new and inexpensive antidote for poisonous snake bites. They predict it could save thousands of lives worldwide without the side effects of current treatments. Worldwide, an estimated 421,000 cases of poisonous snake bites and 20,000 deaths...
