What is new in Biotech
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Who\'s patenting whose genome?
11.12.2013 | Press monitoring
An international project has developed a free and open public resource that will bring much-needed transparency to the murky and contentious world of gene patenting. In a paper from Cambia and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) published in this week's Nature Biotechnology journal, researchers revealed that overworked patent offices are...
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Recycled Plastic Proves Effective in Killing Drug-Resistant Fungi
10.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Researchers at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and California's IBM Research -- Almaden (IBM) have discovered a new, potentially life-saving application for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used to make plastic bottles. They have successfully converted PET into a non-toxic biocompatible material...
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Coffee or Beer? The Choice Could Affect Your Genome
9.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Coffee and beer are polar opposites in the beverage world. Coffee picks you up, and beer winds you down. Now Prof. Martin Kupiec and his team at Tel Aviv University's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology have discovered that the beverages may also have opposite effects on your genome.
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New Method of DNA Editing Allows Synthetic Biologists to Unlock Secrets of a Bacterial Genome
6.12.2013 | Press monitoring
A group of Illinois researchers, led by Centennial Chair Professor of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Huimin Zhao, has demonstrated the use of an innovative DNA engineering technique to discover potentially valuable functions hidden within bacterial genomes.
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Scientists discover wonder rice gene
5.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Scientists have discovered a wonder rice gene that could dramatically increase yields of one of the world's most important food crops, the International Rice Research Institute said Tuesday. Preliminary tests show that yields of modern long-grain "indica" rice varieties, the world's most widely grown types of rice, can rise by 13-36 percent...
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Designer Sperm Inserts Custom Genes Into Offspring
4.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Get ready: The "new genetics" promises to change faulty genes of future generations by introducing new, functioning genes using "designer sperm." A new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal shows that introducing new genetic material via a viral vector into the sperm of mice leads to the presence and activity of those genes in...
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23andMe ordered to stop selling $99 genetic test
3.12.2013 | Press monitoring
It's a serious telling off. The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered personal genetics company 23andMe to stop marketing its popular DNA screening kit. In a letter to the Californian company, sent on 22 November, the FDA stated concerns about the public health consequences of inaccurate results. 23andMe sells a DNA testing kit for $99,...
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Pills of the Future: Nanoparticles; Researchers Design Drug-Carrying Nanoparticles That Can Be Taken Orally
2.12.2013 | Press monitoring
Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including cancer. However, the particles have to be injected into patients, which has limited their usefulness so far. Now, researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed a new type of nanoparticle that can be delivered orally and...
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Sorting good germs from bad, in the bacterial world
29.11.2013 | Press monitoring
Arizona State University scientists have developed a microfluidic chip, which can sort good germs from bad. Your intestines are home to about 100 trillion bacteria. That's more than the number of cells that comprise the entire human body. Armies of bacteria sneak into our bodies the moment we are born ...
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Researchers cultivate new medicinal chamomile
28.11.2013 | Press monitoring
Scientists at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna have been working on developing new varieties of chamomile that can be cultivated as a medicinal plant. The researchers have been trying to identify varieties that will bloom longer and make its cultivation easier. Their methods and results have recently been published in the scientific...
