Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

3D-printed microbes open door to enhanced performance of biomaterials

Scientists have developed a new method for 3D printing living microbes in controlled patterns, expanding the potential for using engineered bacteria to recover rare-earth metals, clean wastewater, detect uranium and more.

February 3, 2021 Read more

Synthetic biology reinvents development

Scientists have used synthetic biology to develop a new type of genetic design that can reproduce some of the key processes that enable creating structures in natural systems, from termite nests to the development of embryos.

February 1, 2021 Read more

New biosensors quickly detect coronavirus proteins and antibodies

When mixed with fluid from a nasal swab or blood sample, these protein sensors emit light within minutes.

January 29, 2021 Read more

Scientists 'farm' natural killer cells in novel cancer fighting approach

Engineers and oncologists teamed to develop a microfluidic chip capable of capturing the body's natural killer immune cells to harvest their cancer-killing exosomes.

January 28, 2021 Read more

Making wheat and peanuts less allergenic

Research uses plant breeding and biotechnology to remove proteins associated with food allergies.

January 27, 2021 Read more

Wirelessly rechargeable soft brain implant controls brain cells

Researchers have developed a smartphone-controlled soft brain implant that can be recharged wirelessly from outside the body.

January 26, 2021 Read more

Cargo delivery by polymers

Degradable sugar-based polymers may store and release useful molecular freight.

January 22, 2021 Read more

Could lab-grown plant tissue ease the environmental toll of logging and agriculture?

Researchers grow structures made of wood-like plant cells in a lab, hinting at the possibility of more efficient biomaterials production.

January 20, 2021 Read more

New biomaterials can be 'fine-tuned' for medical applications

Researchers have succeeded in 'fine tuning' a new thermoplastic biomaterial to enable both the rate at which it degrades in the body and its mechanical properties to be controlled independently.

January 19, 2021 Read more

Lasers and molecular tethers create perfectly patterned platforms for tissue engineering

Researchers have developed a technique to modify naturally occurring biological polymers with protein-based biochemical messages that affect cell behavior. Their approach uses a near-infrared laser to trigger chemical adhesion of protein messages to a scaffold made from biological polymers such as collagen, a connective tissue found throughout our bodies.

January 19, 2021 Read more

A mathematical study describes how metastasis starts

A scientific study has produced a mathematical description of the way in which a tumor invades the epithelial cells and automatically quantifies the progression of the tumor and the remaining cell islands after its progression.

January 18, 2021 Read more

Model analyzes how viruses escape the immune system

Using this computational system, researchers can identify viral protein sequences that could make better vaccine targets.

January 15, 2021 Read more

Surgical suture made from bio-inspired spiral hydrogel fiber

Researchers have developed a bio-inspired lotus-fiber-mimetic spiral structure bacterial cellulose hydrogel fiber with high strength, high toughness, excellent biocompatibility, good stretchability, and high energy dissipation.

January 14, 2021 Read more

Inspired by kombucha tea, engineers create 'living materials'

A symbiotic culture of specialized yeast and bacteria can generate tough materials able to perform a variety of functions.

January 14, 2021 Read more

Biotechnologists measure the forces with which algae cells adhere to surfaces and move on them

Researchers examined how movement and adhesion in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii can be manipulated. To this end, they altered the sugar modifications in proteins on the cell surface. As a result, the so-called adhesion force was also altered.

December 29, 2020 Read more

Switching DNA functions on and off by means of light

Biochemists have developed a new strategy for controlling the biological functions of DNA by means of light and therefore provide a tool to investigate processes which take place in cells.

December 28, 2020 Read more

How COVID-19 vaccines work

With two, FDA-approved vaccines now rolling out across the US - and at least one other promising candidate potentially available as soon as early 2021- -the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic may one day soon be in sight.

December 23, 2020 Read more

Fibrous protein finding may lead to improved bioprinting, tissue engineering

Fibrous proteins such as collagen and fibrinogen form a thin solid layer on the surface of an aqueous solution similar to the 'skin' that forms on warm milk, according to a team of researchers, who believe this finding could lead to more efficient bioprinting and tissue engineering.

December 17, 2020 Read more