Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Researchers develop CRISPR-based rapid diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2

SENSR, the latest innovation addressing COVID-19, adds to the toolkit of quick-turnaround diagnostics needed for future pandemics.

November 8, 2021 Read more

Stem cells from the bioreactor

With the aid of artificial stem cells, it will soon be possible to establish new treatments for previously incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Scientists are developing a process for the mass production of these so called induced pluripotent stem cells.

November 3, 2021 Read more

Organoids: The future of disease modelling?

Organoid technologies have become a powerful emerging tool to model liver diseases, for drug screening, and for personalized treatments. Researchers have generated and characterized the hepatic organoid culture system using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) as an intermediate.

November 1, 2021 Read more

First artificial scaffolds for studying plant cell growth

Atificial scaffolds that can support the growth of individual plants cells will help make it possible to study how mechanical forces, such as gravity, affect the way that plant cells form and grow.

October 23, 2021 Read more

Tissue engineering - a possible cure for diabetes?

Scientists propose tissue engineering to treat type 2 diabetes. Experiments in mice show prolonged normal blood sugar levels after a single one-time treatment.

October 22, 2021 Read more

Lab-grown 'mini brains' hint at treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have developed 'mini brains' that allow them to study a fatal and untreatable neurological disorder causing paralysis and dementia - and for the first time have been able to grow these for almost a year.

October 22, 2021 Read more

Scientists design antibodies that destroy old cells; claim to slow down ageing

Scientists have designed an antibody that acts as a 'smart bomb' able to recognize specific proteins on the surface of these aged or senescent cells. It then attaches itself to them and releases a drug that removes them without affecting the rest, thus minimizing any potential side effects.

October 20, 2021 Read more

Scientists assemble a biological clock in a test tube to study how it works

A team of scientists has reconstituted the circadian clock of cyanobacteria in a test tube, enabling them to study rhythmic interactions of the clock proteins in real time and understand how these interactions enable the clock to exert control over gene expression.

October 11, 2021 Read more

Scientists can switch on plants' response to light

Scientists have figured out how plants respond to light and can flip this genetic switch to encourage food growth. The discovery could help increase food supply for an expanding population with shrinking opportunities for farming.

October 6, 2021 Read more

Protein distancing

Scientists have joined two proteins together by means of a free-standing, rigid link. The structural element holds the two protein molecules together at a defined distance and angle, much the way a barbell handle connects two weights.

September 28, 2021 Read more

Power of stem cells harnessed to create cartilage tissue

Researchers have invented a new way to generate human cartilage tissue from stem cells. The technique could pave the way for the development of a much-needed new treatment for people with cartilage damage.

September 28, 2021 Read more

Grow and eat your own vaccines?

Grant enables study of plants as mRNA factories.

September 16, 2021 Read more

Comprehensive Sandia software aids scientists in synthetic biology analysis

Biologists developed comprehensive software that will help scientists in a variety of industries create engineered chemicals more quickly and easily.

September 15, 2021 Read more

Engineers grow pancreatic 'organoids' that mimic the real thing

Studying these organoids could help researchers develop and test new treatments for pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest types of cancer.

September 13, 2021 Read more

These fridge-free COVID-19 vaccines are grown in plants and bacteria

Nanoengineers have developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates that can take the heat. Their key ingredients? Viruses from plants or bacteria.

September 7, 2021 Read more

Hidden bacterial hairs power nature's 'electric grid'

A hair-like protein hidden inside bacteria serves as a sort of on-off switch for nature's 'electric grid', a global web of bacteria-generated nanowires that permeates all oxygen-less soil and deep ocean beds.

September 1, 2021 Read more

AI helps to spot single diseased cells

Researchers developed a novel artificial intelligence algorithm for clinical applications called 'scArches'. It efficiently compares patients' cells with a reference atlas of cells of healthy individuals. This enables physicians to pinpoint cells in disease and prioritize them for personalized treatment in each patient.

August 30, 2021 Read more

Synthetic biology enables microbes to build synthetic muscle

Researchers have developed a synthetic chemistry approach to polymerize proteins inside of engineered microbes. This enabled the microbes to produce the high molecular weight muscle protein, titin, which was then spun into fibers.

August 30, 2021 Read more