What is new in Biotech
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An ink that boosts coral settlement by 20 times could help rebuild reefs worldwide
16.5.2025 | Press monitoring
With coral reefs in crisis due to climate change, scientists have engineered a bio-ink that could help promote coral larvae settlement and restore these underwater ecosystems before it's too late. In a paper published in Trends in Biotechnology, researchers demonstrate that the ink could boost coral settlement by more than 20 times, which they...
Mass spectrometry method identifies pathogens within minutes instead of days
14.5.2025 | Press monitoring
Traditionally, bacterial diseases are diagnosed by the tedious isolation of pathogens and the creation of bacterial cultures. Waiting times of several days are the rule here. Only then can targeted treatment of the disease begin. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Imperial College London have developed a new method to...
Engineered Vibrio natriegens strain boosts bioremediation of complex pollutants in harsh environments
12.5.2025 | Press monitoring
A multi-institutional collaboration of synthetic biology research centers in China has developed a genetically engineered strain of Vibrio natriegens capable of bioremediating complex organic pollutants, including biphenyl, phenol, naphthalene, dibenzofuran, and toluene, in saline wastewater and soils. Microbial bioremediation methods typically...
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Synthetic nanoparticle eyedrops help corneas heal after chemical or inflammatory damage
9.5.2025 | Press monitoring
Northwestern Medicine investigators have developed first-of-its-kind eyedrops that use synthetic nanoparticles to help the eye regenerate cells that have been damaged by mustard keratopathy, or exposure to mustard gas, and other inflammatory eye diseases. Limbal epithelial stem cells are responsible for maintaining and regenerating the cornea's...
Its hard to get meds to the lungs: Breathable algae offers a new path
7.5.2025 | Press monitoring
If we want to get something inside the lungs, like medicine to treat a disease like bacterial pneumonia, it has to be small enough to actually reach the lungs and sneaky enough not to be detected and eaten once there. It's like breaking into a heavily-defended vault. UC San Diego chemical and nano engineering researchers have cracked the code to...
Designer microbe shows promise for reducing mercury absorption from seafood
5.5.2025 | Press monitoring
An engineered gut microbe can detoxify methylmercury, reducing the amount that passes into the brain and developing fetuses of mice fed a diet rich in fish, UCLA and UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists have discovered. In the ocean, mercury transforms into a toxic form called methylmercury. It also biomagnifies, meaning...
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Ultrasound and microrobots team up to boost stem cell therapy for brain repair
2.5.2025 | Press monitoring
Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are characterized by irreversible neuron damage and limited natural repair mechanisms. While stem cell therapy holds great promise for regenerating neural tissue, it has long been hindered by inefficiencies in cell delivery and low differentiation rates. Current methods, including...
Scientists develop silk microneedles to deliver nutrients and chemicals to plants
30.4.2025 | Press monitoring
When farmers apply pesticides to their crops, 30 to 50% of the chemicals end up in the air or soil instead of on the plants. Now, a team of researchers from MIT and Singapore has developed a much more precise way to deliver substances to plants: tiny needles made of silk. In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers developed a...
First synthetic mini prion shows how protein misfolding multiplies
28.4.2025 | Press monitoring
Scientists at Northwestern University and University of California, Santa Barbara have created the first synthetic fragment of tau protein that acts like a prion. The mini prion folds and stacks into strands (or fibrils) of misfolded tau proteins, which then transmit their abnormally folded shape to other normal tau proteins. Misfolded,...
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Superbug-fighting paint promises cleaner hospitals and safer public spaces
25.4.2025 | Press monitoring
A bacteria-killing coating created by scientists has been used in trials of a new paint that can be applied to a range of surfaces to effectively kill bacteria and viruses, including difficult-to-kill species such as MRSA, flu and COVID-19. Scientists at the University of Nottingham's School of Pharmacy have trialed a new paint-on resin product...
