Press monitoring
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Researchers derive naturally occurring melanin at a massive scale from mushrooms
10.3.2021 | Press monitoring
The pigment melanin protects human skin from harmful UV light (and gives us a summer tan), and is a veritable treasure trove for new materials and technologies. Although melanin occurs naturally, the complex biopolymer can only be produced artificially at an industrial scale through expensive and complex processes, during which some of the...
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Invasive weed may help treat some human diseases, researchers find
8.3.2021 | Press monitoring
Native to the southeastern United States, a weedy grass has spread northward to Canada and also made its way to Australia and Japan. Andropogon virginicus grows densely packed and up to seven feet tall, disrupting growth patterns of other plants and competing for resources. When burned, it grows back stronger. There is no way to effectively remove...
Gene drives may help control invasive grey squirrel in the UK
5.3.2021 | Press monitoring
Existing gene drive technologies could be combined to help control the invasive grey squirrel population in the UK with little risk to other populations, according to a modelling study published in Scientific Reports. Gene drives introduce genes into a population that have been changed to induce infertility in females, allowing for the control of...
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Bladder vaccines treat UTIs and keep them from coming back
3.3.2021 | Press monitoring
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common and painful infection that can be surprisingly persistent. Now, researchers at Duke University have developed a vaccine that can be delivered via catheter to clear out the bacteria and prevent infections from recurring. UTIs are caused by bacteria getting into the urinary tract, sometimes making it up...
Cre-Controlled CRISPR: Conditional gene inactivation just got easier
1.3.2021 | Press monitoring
The ability to turn a gene off only in a specific cell type is essential to modern life science. Thanks to the Cre-Controlled CRISPR it has just became simpler. The new method developed by researchers from the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) at TU Dresden with support from the DRESDEN-concept Genome Center (DCGC) offers a fast and...
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Changing the silkworms diet to spin stronger silk
26.2.2021 | Press monitoring
Tohoku University researchers have produced cellulose nanofiber (CNF) synthesized silk naturally through a simple tweak to silkworms' diet. Mixing CNF with commercially available food and feeding the silkworms resulted in a stronger and more tensile silk. Silk is usually associated with clothes. But its usage is incredibly diverse thanks to its...
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An mRNA vaccine for cancer immunotherapy
24.2.2021 | Press monitoring
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to prevent COVID-19 have made headlines around the world recently, but scientists have also been working on mRNA vaccines to treat or prevent other diseases, including some forms of cancer. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Nano Letters have developed a hydrogel that, when injected into mice with melanoma, slowly...
Treating rheumatoid arthritis with micromotors
22.2.2021 | Press monitoring
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder marked by joint pain, swelling and damage. Although medications, such as steroids, anti-inflammatory drugs and immunosuppressants, can help slow joint destruction and relieve pain, they have side effects and aren't completely successful. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Nano Letters have...
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Researchers unveil detailed genome of invasive malaria mosquito
19.2.2021 | Press monitoring
Despite the broad notoriety of sharks, snakes, scorpions and other formidable creatures, mosquitoes remain the deadliest animal on the planet… by far. Mosquito-transmitted malaria remains the number one worldwide killer among vector-borne diseases, claiming more than 400,000 human lives in 2019. In order to engineer advanced forms of defense...
Photosynthetic bacteria-based cancer optotheranostics
17.2.2021 | Press monitoring
Cancer is one of the most thought-provoking healthcare problems throughout the world. The development of therapeutic agents with highly selective anti-cancer activities is increasingly attractive due to the lack of tumor selectivity of conventional treatments. Scientists at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) have created a...
