Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Detoxifiers from the landfill

Bacteria from an Indian landfill could help eliminate contaminated chemicals. The focus is on pesticides such as lindane or brominated flame retardants, which accumulate in nature and in food chains. Researchers used these bacteria to generate enzymes that can break down these dangerous chemicals.

June 17, 2021 Read more

Plant biologists solve major cell puzzle on path to leaf engineering

Scientists discovered that tensile force patterns in thin, pressurized cell walls carry information that pattern cell and tissue morphogenesis. The findings uncover a conserved cellular basis of plant growth and are key to understanding leaf architecture and potentially modifying it in the future to improve plants.

June 15, 2021 Read more

Natural rainbow colorants microbially produced

Integrated strategies of systems metabolic engineering and membrane engineering led to the production of natural rainbow colorants comprising seven natural colorants from bacteria for the first time.

June 8, 2021 Read more

Scientists develop the 'evotype' to help unlock the power of evolution for better engineering biology

Scientists have pioneered a new approach to help biological engineers both harness and design the evolutionary potential of new biosystems. Their concept of the 'evotype' lays a foundation for the next generation of stable, safe and self-improving biotechnologies.

June 8, 2021 Read more

Synthetic SPECIES developed for use as a confinable gene drive (w/video)

Researchers create novel CRISPR-based fly species as a new method of controlling gene drive spread.

June 2, 2021 Read more

Enzymes successfully embedded in plastics

In a new process, researchers are able to embed enzymes in plastics without the enzymes losing their activity in the process. The potentials this creates are enormous.

June 1, 2021 Read more

Pollen-sized technology protects bees from deadly insecticides

New technology provides beekeepers, consumers and farmers with an antidote for deadly pesticides, which kill wild bees and cause beekeepers to lose around a third of their hives every year on average.

May 28, 2021 Read more

DNA-based material with tunable properties

Scientists have performed large-scale computer simulations of dense solutions of DNA molecules with different degree of supercoiling and found several surprising results.

May 28, 2021 Read more

Biologists construct a 'periodic table' for cell nuclei

Project to classify nuclei across the tree of life discovers how to transmute them from one type into another.

May 27, 2021 Read more

Artificial neurons recognize biosignals in real time

Researchers have developed a compact, energy-efficient device made from artificial neurons that is capable of decoding brainwaves. The chip uses data recorded from the brainwaves of epilepsy patients to identify which regions of the brain cause epileptic seizures. This opens up new perspectives for treatment.

May 27, 2021 Read more

Scientists turn aquaculture waste into new biomaterial for tissue repair

Scientists have developed a new biomaterial made entirely from discarded bullfrog skin and fish scales that could help in bone repair.

May 27, 2021 Read more

Harnessing next-generation sequencing to detect SARS-CoV-2 and prepare for the next pandemic

Combining their expertise in genomics, RNA biochemistry and data analysis, scientists developed a method that could enable large groups to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 with the same sensitivity as regular PCR tests.

May 26, 2021 Read more

Polymer 'wafers' placed under the tongue could deliver vaccines of the future

Researchers have developed a polymer 'wafer' that, when placed under the tongue, can effectively deliver and preserve protein-based vaccines for diseases. The research could open the door for vaccines that can be more easily produced and distributed to communities around the world.

May 26, 2021 Read more

Finer touch for tuning stem cell 'fate' with substrates of varying stiffness

Quantitative control over localization of key proteins in mesenchymal stem cells.

May 23, 2021 Read more

Researchers develop non-contact probe to analyze single cells within tumors

Researchers develop non-contact probe to analyze single cells within tumors.

May 19, 2021 Read more

New screening method could lead to microbe-based replacements for chemical pesticides

Scientists have developed a screening method based on cultured plant cells that makes such testing easier. This may lead to microorganism-based crop protection methods that reduce the need for chemical pesticides.

May 18, 2021 Read more

Engineers set sights on implantable 'living pharmacy' to counter jet lag

Scientists have embarked on an effort to develop a wireless, fully implantable device that can control the body's circadian clock, halving the time it takes to recover from jet lag and similar disruptions to the body's sleep/wake cycles.

May 13, 2021 Read more

Efficiently smuggling drugs into cells

A new, patented method called Progressive Mechanoporation makes it possible to mechanically disrupt the membranes of cells for a short time period and let drugs or genes inside cells. In this way, researchers can test new therapies more easily than before.

May 12, 2021 Read more