Bioengineering News and Research

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Study Expands Potential of Retrons for DNA Editing

Within bacterial cells, specialized immune systems known as retrons fend off viral attacks. But that's not all they can do.

18 Sep 2024

Using Optogenetic Control to Generate Leader Cells

In processes such as embryonic development, wound healing or cancer invasion, cells are known to move in groups in a coordinated way.

17 Sep 2024

Study Reveals How Alternative Splicing Regulates Plant Metabolite Production

A recent study highlights the pivotal role of alternative splicing in controlling plant secondary metabolism, which is crucial for producing bioactive compounds with significant medicinal and industrial value.

14 Sep 2024

A Novel Method for Incorporating Non-Canonical Amino Acids into Proteins

Every basic biology lesson teaches that proteins are made up of combinations of 20 distinct amino acids, which are ordered in various patterns similar to words.

12 Sep 2024

Study Proposes Using Virus-Based Vectors to Enhance Crop Performance

Humans, livestock and companion animals benefit from virus-based vaccines and gene therapies, but crops do not.

11 Sep 2024

Rice Researchers Map Protein Interactions for Creating Functional Gas Vesicles

As far as water gear goes, floaties are not exactly high tech. But the tiny air-filled bubbles some microorganisms use as flotation devices when they compete for light on the water surface are a different story.

4 Sep 2024

Transforming Waste into Culinary Delights with Neurospora

Chef-turned-chemist Vayu Hill-Maini has a passion: to turn food waste into culinary treats using fungi.

30 Aug 2024

Evolution of Blood Sugar Regulation in Neotropical Bats

Humans must regulate blood sugar concentrations to stay healthy and to fuel our cells. Too little or too much can cause serious health complications, and high blood sugar is a hallmark of the metabolic condition, diabetes. New research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research may enable potential solutions to metabolic disease by turning to evolution and to bats.

29 Aug 2024

A Breakthrough in RNA Therapy for Heart and Nervous System Diseases

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed new techniques to sculpt RNA molecules into circles that may result in more potent and long-lasting treatments.

27 Aug 2024

Efficient and Reproducible BBB Modeling for Drug Development

Scientists at Southwest Research Institute have developed a new screening method to identify drug formulations that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), to facilitate treatment of brain diseases and conditions.

23 Aug 2024

Harnessing the Power of Gut Bacteria to Combat Drug Resistance

There are approximately 100 trillion microbes in the human gut on average, and many of them are always vying for scarce resources.

20 Aug 2024

Mechanical Manipulation of Stem Cells Promises New Treatments

New stem cell therapies may result from a novel method that McGill researchers have created for mechanically modifying stem cells, which has not yet reached its full therapeutic potential.

14 Aug 2024

Novel Microscopy Method Revolutionizes Imaging with Reduced Radiation and Faster Results

An international team of scientists, led by Trinity College Dublin, has devised an innovative imaging method using state-of-the-art microscopes that significantly reduces the time and radiation required.

1 Aug 2024

Nitrogen-Fixing Nodules Evolved More Than Once in Plants

Feeding the world's expanding population is made possible by nitrogen fertilizers, but their production is energy-intensive, expensive, and detrimental to ecosystems.

16 Jul 2024

Harnessing Enzymes for Making RNA Therapeutics

While the COVID-19 vaccines introduced many people to RNA-based medicines, RNA oligonucleotides have already been on the market for years to treat diseases like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and amyloidosis.

15 Jul 2024

Retron-Based Tool Enables Multi-Site DNA Editing

Genome editing has become a widely adopted technology to modify DNA in cells, allowing scientists to study diseases in the lab and develop therapies that repair disease-causing mutations.

10 Jul 2024

Unveiling the Power of mRNA and LNPs in Modern Medicine

Consider a situation in which an expert hacker has to upload vital software to update a central server and stop a potentially fatal virus from causing havoc on a sizable computer network.

10 Jul 2024

New Genetic Circuit Forces Cancer Cells to Self-Destruct

Treating cancer can sometimes feel like a game of Whac-A-Mole. The disease can become resistant to treatment, and clinicians never know when, where and what resistance might emerge, leaving them one step behind.

5 Jul 2024

Bridge RNA: The Revolutionary Tool in Genetic Recombination

In a leap forward for genetic engineering, a team of researchers from the Arc Institute have discovered the bridge recombinase mechanism, a precise and powerful tool to recombine and rearrange DNA in a programmable way.

27 Jun 2024

3D Cell Cultures Improve Drug Screening Accuracy but Show Lower Efficacy for Anti-Cancer Drugs

The existing knowledge on monolayers and spheroid-based cell cultures, including the constituent compounds, and the difference in efficacy during drug screening, especially for anti-cancer drugs targeting cytoskeletal dynamics and cell cycles.

21 Jun 2024