Press monitoring
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Using CRISPR-Cas9 to knock out asparagine gene in wheat to reduce cancer risk
17.2.2023 | Press monitoring
A team of biologists from Rothamsted Research, the University of Bristol and Curtis Analytics Limited – all in the U.K. – has used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to knock out the asparagine gene in wheat grown in real-world conditions – part of an effort reduce the risk of cancer in people who consume food made from plants that produce the...
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Kangaroo fecal microbes could reduce methane from cows
15.2.2023 | Press monitoring
Baby kangaroo feces might help provide an unlikely solution to the environmental problem of cow-produced methane. A microbial culture developed from the kangaroo feces inhibited methane production in a cow stomach simulator in a Washington State University study. After researchers added the baby kangaroo culture and a known methane inhibitor to...
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Have model organisms evolved too far?
13.2.2023 | Press monitoring
A model organism used in laboratories for the past 100 years has evolved so extensively that it may no longer be fit for purpose. According to a new study, published in Microbial Genomics, the bacterial strain Escherichia coli K-12 has been repeatedly cultured and mutated, resulting in an organism that carries many genetic changes compared to the...
Polymers help protect mice from anaphylactic reaction to peanuts
10.2.2023 | Press monitoring
The gut microbiome plays a significant role in the immune system's tolerance of potential food allergens, such as milk or peanuts. Research has shown that certain bacteria can protect against food allergies by preventing antigens from entering the bloodstream. Now, a group of researchers at the University of Chicago have created a special type...
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Fluorescent nematodes can help monitor indoor air impurities
8.2.2023 | Press monitoring
Good quality indoor air is crucial to our well-being, while impurities in the air can compromise our working capacity and health. Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland have developed a new method for measuring indoor air quality, making use of fluorescent strains of nematodes. Microbial or chemical contaminants in the air can be toxic...
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Lab-grown 3D skin grafts could be applied like biological clothing
6.2.2023 | Press monitoring
While bioengineered skin holds great promise for people such as burn victims, the material has so far only been produced in flat sheets. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of growing it in 3D forms, which could be slipped onto the body like a piece of clothing. Although flat sheets of bioengineered skin may work OK for grafting onto...
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Peptide spray kills bacteria in wounds without using antibiotics
3.2.2023 | Press monitoring
It's always good if the use of antibiotics can be avoided, to kee p harmful bacteria from developing a resistance to them. A new wound-treatment spray could help, as it kills bacteria using peptides that occur naturally in our bodies – no antibiotics required. While previous studies had explored the use of such peptides for eradicating bacteria...
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Lab-grown ancient nose receptors reveal how our ancestors smelled
1.2.2023 | Press monitoring
There’s still plenty we don’t know about how these archaic species lived, but clues can lie in their genes. So for the new study, researchers at Paris Saclay University and Duke University grew odor receptors of Neanderthals and Denisovans in lab dishes, exposed them to different odors and measured their sensitivity compared to that of our...
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First human trial for experimental Marburg virus vaccine reports success
30.1.2023 | Press monitoring
Promising results have been published from the first human trial testing an experimental vaccine targeting the deadly Marburg virus. Flagged as a potential pandemic-causing virus, this is the first Marburg vaccine to move into Phase 2 human trials. Coming from the same Filoviridae family of viruses as Ebola, Marburg is just as deadly as its...
AI technology generates original proteins from scratch
27.1.2023 | Press monitoring
Scientists have created an AI system capable of generating artificial enzymes from scratch. In laboratory tests, some of these enzymes worked as well as those found in nature, even when their artificially generated amino acid sequences diverged significantly from any known natural protein. The experiment demonstrates that natural language...
