What is new in Biotech
Bacteria being genetically engineered to locate buried explosives
13.11.2019 | Press monitoring
Raytheon is recruiting glowing microbes to help search for buried explosives. Being developed under a DARPA contract, the company is working with Worcester Polytechnic Institute to use synthetic biology techniques to produce two new strains of bacteria – one to seek out hidden explosives below ground and a second on the surface that glows when...
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Drones used to release sterile insects to disrupt orchard pests
11.11.2019 | Press monitoring
Chris Adams and Larry Gut, entomologists in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University, are using large drones to release sterile insects as a more sustainable and cost-effective way to disrupt reproduction of codling moths, or CM, in apple orchards. CM is the principle apple pest that apple growers must control...
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Tiny transporters could deliver treatment to stroke patients
8.11.2019 | Press monitoring
Swarms of nanoparticles which are 15,000 times smaller than a pinhead may be able to deliver vital drugs to the brain, offering new hope to patients in the early stages of a stroke. The research, carried out at The University of Manchester, shows that tiny vesicles called liposomes, just 100 nanometres in diameter can translocate through the...
Peering into a more human petri dish
6.11.2019 | Press monitoring
Cell culture media, the cocktail of chemicals and nutrients that keep cells alive and thriving in a dish, have been an essential tool of biology for more than 70 years. Remarkably, the composition of these potions hasn't fundamentally changed much over that time, primarily because they deliver what scientists need: Cells that stay viable and...
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Blood vessels incorporated into 3D-printed living skin
4.11.2019 | Press monitoring
It certainly would be great if instead of having to be harvested from a patient's own body, permanent skin grafts could be 3D-printed as needed. Well, we may be getting a little closer to that point, as scientists have now bioprinted living skin complete with blood vessels. First of all, there already are commercially-available 3D-bioprinted...
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The world’s best drink cooler may come from pineapple scraps
1.11.2019 | Press monitoring
When life gives you pineapples – and hundreds of millions of tons of pineapple waste – what do you do? Engineers in Singapore and Vietnam decided to turn all those scraps into something useful – insulation for their pi?a coladas. Not only does their new material keep drinks chilled better than many commercial coolers, but it could also offer a...
Gold-DNA nanosunflowers for efficient gene silencing and controlled transformation
30.10.2019 | Press monitoring
Developing an efficient delivery system for enhanced and controlled gene interference-based therapeutics is an existing challenge in molecular biology. The advancing field of nanotechnology can provide an effective, cross-disciplinary strategy to facilitate nucleic acid delivery. In a new report, Shuaidong Huo and colleagues in the...
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Implantable cancer traps could replace biopsies for tumor detection
28.10.2019 | Press monitoring
One of the main things that makes cancer so deadly is its ability to spread throughout the body, so it’s important for doctors to detect it before it does. Rather than the invasive process of taking biopsies of organs, researchers from the University of Michigan have developed “cancer traps” that can be implanted just below the skin. In tests on...
Nanoparticle tech reverses celiac disease in promising human trials
25.10.2019 | Press monitoring
The first results have been revealed from Phase 2 human trials investigating a promising new treatment for celiac disease. The novel nanoparticle technology was found to significantly induce an immune tolerance to gluten in celiac subjects after just two intravenous treatments. The treatment involves encapsulating a specific allergen inside a...
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Chemical vaccine helps plants repel pathogens
23.10.2019 | Press monitoring
When plants come under attack from invading bacteria, viruses or fungi, they mount a two-pronged response, producing both offensive chemicals to kill invaders and defensive chemicals to prevent infestations from spreading. Now, scientists at Stanford have used a type of chemical vaccine to switch on this plant defense system to prevent localized...
