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Archive for the ‘bioengineering’ category: Page 6

Jun 25, 2024

The genetic engineering Swiss army knife

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biological, genetics

In molecular biology, few molecules have had as profound an impact as Cas9. Madeleine King, Kayla Perry, Mitchell McAndrew and Audrone Lapinaite discuss how this multifunctional molecular tool of genetic engineering is revolutionizing multiple fields.

Jun 24, 2024

99% gene transmission: China’s CRISPR tool boosts food security

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, food

Chinese scientists have engineered a solution by which they could bypass natural plant gene inheritance. They aim to deploy a CRISPR-based gene editing system to help the transmission of preferred genes even when they aren’t suitable for a plant.

The scientists devised a system that would use both a toxin and an antidote which would directly affect the male plant germline. Through this process, the researchers could overcome the natural Mendelian transmission rate. This can help increase the gene transmission rates up to 99% over two generations.

Jun 24, 2024

Chilling Discovery: Ancient Protein Discovery Could Redefine How We Treat Pain

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, chemistry

Menthol detection predates the sensation of cold, indicating separate activation mechanisms that can be distinguished. This differentiation opens possibilities for novel pain treatments that avoid unwanted thermal side effects.

Millions of people around the globe suffer from chronic pain, and many existing treatments depend on opioids, which have significant addiction and overdose risks. Developing non-addictive pain relief options could transform how pain is managed. Recent research focusing on a human protein that controls cold sensations are paving the way for new pain medications. These innovative drugs aim to manage pain without altering body temperature or posing addiction risks.

A new study published in Science Advances on June 21, led by Wade Van Horn, professor in Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences and Biodesign Center for Personalized Diagnostics, has uncovered new insights into the main human cold and menthol sensor TRPM8 (transient receptor potential melastatin 8). Using techniques from many fields like biochemistry and biophysics, their study revealed that it was a chemical sensor before it became a cold temperature sensor.

Jun 21, 2024

Point biserial correlation symbiotic organism search nanoengineering based drug delivery for tumor diagnosis

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

Shukla, G., Singh, S., Dhule, C. et al. Sci Rep 14, 6,530 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55159-6

Download citation.

Jun 16, 2024

Unlocking Immortality: T Cells as the New Fountain of Youth

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Scientists have discovered that CAR T cells, traditionally used in cancer treatment, can be engineered to fight aging by eliminating senescent cells, offering a promising single-dose, lifelong treatment against aging-related diseases.

The fountain of youth has eluded explorers for ages. It turns out the magic anti-aging elixir might have been inside us all along.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Assistant Professor Corina Amor Vegas and colleagues have discovered that T cells can be reprogrammed to fight aging, so to speak. Given the right set of genetic modifications, these white blood cells can attack another group of cells known as senescent cells. These cells are thought to be responsible for many of the diseases we grapple with later in life.

Jun 15, 2024

CRISPR Gene Drives and the Future of Evolution

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, evolution, genetics

Immunizing enormous numbers of wild mice, however, is prohibitively difficult. By using genetic engineering, researchers could create white-footed mice that produced these antibodies from birth and could pass this ability on to their offspring. But did the island residents want to live with genetically engineered mice?

The answer was perhaps, but with caveats. In consulting with communities on this technology development, researchers found that community members preferred a cisgenic approach: They wanted white-footed mice that were engineered with DNA only from other white-footed mice.18 This would make the project more difficult for the researchers, and meant that a CRISPR-based gene drive, even one with limited spread, could not be used, since no white-footed mouse naturally has this gene-editing system. However, said Esvelt, “It’s their environment, so it’s their call.”

“We’re potentially causing an irreversible change to the environment,” said Telford. “We need to think about informed consent of the community as a proxy for informed consent of the environment. That’s been a real advance and something [that Esvelt] has pioneered—involving the communities from the very start.”

Jun 12, 2024

CRISPR: Gene editing and beyond

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionised gene-editing, but cutting DNA isn’t all it can do. From turning gene expression on and off to fluorescently tagging particular sequences, this animation explores some of the exciting possibilities of CRISPR.

Download a poster on ‘The expanding CRISPR toolbox’ here: https://www.nature.com/posters/crispr

Continue reading “CRISPR: Gene editing and beyond” »

Jun 9, 2024

Scientists develop new CRISPR gene editing platform for precision medicine and cancer treatment

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

Researchers at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have developed an exosome-based platform, “safeEXO-Cas,” that significantly enhances the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing components to specific cells and tissues.

Jun 9, 2024

The Great Gene Editing Debate: The Good, Bad and the Ugly

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

New rules on NGTs — here’s what it means.

Jun 7, 2024

AI plus gene editing promises to shift biotech into high gear

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, chemistry, robotics/AI

During her chemistry Nobel Prize lecture in 2018, Frances Arnold said, “Today we can for all practical purposes read, write and edit any sequence of DNA, but we cannot compose it.” That isn’t true anymore.

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