Press monitoring
Quantum dots combined with antibodies as a method for studying cells
2.2.2015 | Press monitoring
To understand cell function, we need to be able to study them in their native environment, in vivo. While there are many techniques for studying cells in vitro, or in the laboratory setting, in vivo studies are much more difficult. A new study by a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School used a...
Researchers produce two bio-fuels from a single algae
30.1.2015 | Press monitoring
A common algae commercially grown to make fish food holds promise as a source for both biodiesel and jet fuel, according to a new study published in the journal Energy & Fuels. The researchers, led by Greg O'Neil of Western Washington University and Chris Reddy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, exploited an unusual and untapped class of...
Using stem cells to grow new hair
28.1.2015 | Press monitoring
In a new study from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), researchers have used human pluripotent stem cells to generate new hair. The study represents the first step toward the development of a cell-based treatment for people with hair loss. In the United States alone, more than 40 million men and 21 million women are...
Reducing Myc gene activity extends healthy lifespan in mice
26.1.2015 | Press monitoring
Mice with one rather than the normal two copies of the gene Myc (also found in humans) lived 15 percent longer and had considerably healthier lives than normal mice, according to a new Brown University-led study in Cell. A team of scientists based at Brown University has found that reducing expression of a fundamentally important gene called Myc...
GM microbes created that can’t escape the lab
23.1.2015 | Press monitoring
Critics of genetic engineering have long worried about the risk of modified organisms escaping into the environment. A biological-containment strategy described this week in Nature has the potential to put some of those fears to rest and to pave the way for greater use of engineered organisms in areas such as agriculture, medicine and...
Technology quickly traces source of tainted food
21.1.2015 | Press monitoring
Foodborne illnesses kill roughly 3,000 Americans each year and about 1 in 6 are sickened, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet most contaminated foods are never traced back to their source. That’s because existing methods to track tainted food following its supply chain from table to farm are highly inefficient,...
Prolonging lifespan: Researchers create Methuselah fly by selecting best cells
19.1.2015 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers at the University of Bern has managed to considerably prolong the lifespan of flies by activating a gene which destroys unhealthy cells. The results could also open new possibilities in human anti aging research. Immortality has long been a dream for humans. For example, in many ancient mythologies, immortality is one of the...
DNA smart glue could someday be used to build tissues, organs
16.1.2015 | Press monitoring
DNA molecules provide the "source code" for life in humans, plants, animals and some microbes. But now researchers report an initial study showing that the strands can also act as a glue to hold together 3-D-printed materials that could someday be used to grow tissues and organs in the lab. This first-of-its-kind demonstration of the...
GMOs with health benefits have a large market potential
14.1.2015 | Press monitoring
Genetically modified crops with an increased vitamin and/or mineral content have large potential to improve public health, but their availability for consumers is still hampered, as a result of the negative public opinion. Research from Ghent University, recently published in Nature Biotechnology, has demonstrated that these crops have a...
Functional tissue-engineered intestine grown from human cells
12.1.2015 | Press monitoring
A new study by researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles has shown that tissue-engineered small intestine grown from human cells replicates key aspects of a functioning human intestine. The tissue-engineered small intestine they developed contains important elements of the mucosal lining and support structures, including the ability to...
