Press monitoring
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Engineering speciation events in insects may be used to control harmful pests
9.9.2020 | Press monitoring
Species typically evolve over the course of eons, but researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a way to do it in less than a year. A team of scientists led by Mike Smanski, Ph.D., in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) has generated speciation events in fruit flies so that engineered strains can reproduce normally with each...
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Scientists Clone an Endangered Przewalski\'s Horse For The First Time, And It\'s So Cute
7.9.2020 | Press monitoring
A little baby horse named Kurt is a symbol of renewed hope for the survival of his kind. Born on 6 August 2020, he is the world's first ever successfully cloned Przewalski's horse, an endangered wild horse native to the steppes of central Asia. What makes Kurt even more exciting is that he was cloned from genetic material cryopreserved 40 years...
Editing immune response could make gene therapy more effective
4.9.2020 | Press monitoring
Gene therapy generally relies on viruses, such as adeno-associated virus (AAV), to deliver genes into a cell. But the body's immune response to AAV can thwart the whole endeavor. To overcome that obstacle, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine created a system that uses CRISPR in a less common way. Their system briefly...
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Genetically engineered yeast makes medicinal plant products
2.9.2020 | Press monitoring
Tropane alkaloids, like most other plant natural products, are still typically extracted from natural sources, but this approach has many pitfalls. For instance, vulnerability to weather and market fluctuations can limit access for both patients and researchers, and extraction can be environmentally harmful. In addition, plants typically contain...
ISS experiment shows bacteria can survive in space for years, could seed planets
31.8.2020 | Press monitoring
A new experiment placing bacteria on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) has found that micro-organisms can survive in space for years, or even decades. The study lends weight to the idea that life could travel between planets. Bacteria are hardy little creatures. They thrive in practically every environment on Earth, from deep...
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750 Million GM Mosquitoes Will Be Released in the Florida Keys
28.8.2020 | Press monitoring
With the aim of reducing rates of the mosquito-borne illnesses yellow fever and dengue, a pilot program will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021, thanks to approval by the barrier islands’ Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday (August 18). The strain of GM...
Transplanted brown-fat-like cells hold promise for obesity and diabetes
26.8.2020 | Press monitoring
Obesity is the main cause of type 2 diabetes and related chronic illnesses that together will kill more people around the globe this year than the Covid-19 coronavirus. Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have delivered a proof of concept for a novel cell-based therapy against this dangerous condition. The potential therapy for obesity would...
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Natural enzyme re-engineered to tackle stroke and spinal cord damage
24.8.2020 | Press monitoring
When nerve cells become damaged through a severe injury such as spinal cord damage or a stroke, the body’s natural defences go to work to limit the damage. This forms what is known as a glial scar, which protects against further injury but can impede long-term nerve repair. Scientists have now redesigned an enzyme found in nature that selectively...
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First functioning mini human hearts grown from stem cells
21.8.2020 | Press monitoring
Scientists have created the first-ever functional miniature human hearts in the lab. Grown from stem cells, these heart “organoids” are made up of all primary heart cell types and have functioning chambers and vasculature. They could help us understand how hearts develop and build better models for treating disease. To make these human heart...
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Capsules loaded with stem cells help repair heart damage in mice
19.8.2020 | Press monitoring
Heart attacks are a leading cause of death, largely because the damage caused by one can lead to more later. Now researchers at Rice University have developed a new way to repair heart tissue and reduce scarring, by implanting capsules loaded with stem cells. When a person suffers a heart attack, the organ repairs itself as best it can, patching...
