Press monitoring
Virus kills triple negative breast cancer cells, tumor cells in mice
26.6.2014 | Press monitoring
A virus not known to cause disease kills triple-negative breast cancer cells and killed tumors grown from these cells in mice, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Understanding how the virus kills cancer may lead to new treatments for breast cancer. Adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) infects humans but is not known to cause...
Building synthetic plants
25.6.2014 | Press monitoring
A movement is under way that will fast-forward the design of new plant traits. It takes inspiration from engineering and the software industry, and is being underpinned in Cambridge and Norwich by an initiative called OpenPlant. Humans have been modifying plants for millennia, domesticating wild species and creating a bewildering array of crops....
Discovery of a primordial cancer in a primitive animal
24.6.2014 | Press monitoring
The research team led by the evolutionary biologist Professor Thomas Bosch from the Zoological Institute of Kiel University have now achieved an impressive understanding of the roots of cancer. Bosch has been investigating stem cells and the regulation of tissue growth in Hydra, a phylogenetic old polyp, for many years. "Now we have discovered...
Biology of infection: A bacterial ballistic system
23.6.2014 | Press monitoring
Bacteria secrete a broad range of specific proteins that can affect the behavior or survival of cells in their environment. Among the specialized transport systems responsible for the export of such factors are so-called Type VI secretion systems. In collaboration with Axel Mogk of the Center for Molecular Biology Heidelberg (ZMBH), biochemist...
Achilles heel in antibiotic-resistant bacteria discovered
20.6.2014 | Press monitoring
New research published today in the journal Nature reveals an Achilles' heel in the defensive barrier which surrounds drug-resistant bacterial cells. The findings pave the way for a new wave of drugs that kill superbugs by bringing down their defensive walls rather than attacking the bacteria itself. It means that in future, bacteria may not...
Fecal transplants restore healthy bacteria and gut functions
19.6.2014 | Press monitoring
Fecal microbiota transplantation is process of delivering stool bacteria from a healthy donor to a patient suffering from intestinal infection with the bacterium Clostridium difficile. It works by restoring healthy bacteria and functioning to the recipient's gut, according to a study published this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of...
Researchers use virus to reveal nanopore physics
18.6.2014 | Press monitoring
Nanopores could provide a new way to sequence DNA quickly, but the physics involved isn't well understood. That's partly because of the complexities involved in studying the random, squiggly form DNA takes in solution. Researchers from Brown have simplified matters by using a stiff, rod-like virus instead of DNA to experiment with nanopores....
Super banana to face first human trial
17.6.2014 | Press monitoring
A super-enriched banana genetically engineered to improve the lives of millions of people in Africa will soon have its first human trial, which will test its effect on vitamin A levels, Australian researchers said Monday. The project plans to have the special banana varieties—enriched with alpha and beta carotene which the body converts to...
Bionic pancreas frees people from shackles of diabetes
16.6.2014 | Press monitoring
Ed Damiano's son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2000. He was 11 months old. Damiano, a biomedical engineer, decided to create a device that would help his child and millions of others better manage their disease. He set a goal of having it ready by the time his son went to college. Results from the latest clinical trials of his...
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes wiped out in lab with genetic method that creates male-only offspring
13.6.2014 | Press monitoring
Scientists have modified mosquitoes to produce sperm that will only create males, pioneering a fresh approach to eradicating malaria. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from Imperial College London have tested a new genetic method that distorts the sex ratio of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the main transmitters...
