Biotechnology

West Lafayette, IN — A Purdue University engineer’s patent-pending invention could improve the quality of life for millions of people suffering from diabetic foot ulcers. Rahim Rahimi, an assistant professor in the School of Materials Engineering, has developed a flexible polymer composite microneedle array that can overcome the physicochemical bacterial biofilm present in chronic, nonhealing wounds […]

Sakai, Japan — When it comes to cancer, clarity is key. The ability to visualize cancerous tumors and metastatic tissue three dimensionally (3D) can help clinicians diagnose the precise type and stage of cancer, while also informing the best treatment methods. To obtain an even clearer tissue for imaging, a research team based in Japan […]

Incheon, South Korea — The term ‘DNA’ immediately calls to mind the double-stranded helix that contains all our genetic information. But the individual units of its two strands are pairs of molecules bonded with each other in a selective, complementary fashion. Turns out, one can take advantage of this pairing property to perform complex mathematical […]

Beijing, China — A research group led by Prof. YANG Hui from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has reported a novel nanofluidic device for high-throughput preparation of exosome-based drug delivery vehicles. Their study was published in Small. Exosomes are biological nanoparticles that are secreted into extracellular space or body fluid by almost all cell types, with a diameter […]

Gwangju, South Korea — DNA is the instruction manual for every living organism, guiding the development and functioning of all biological processes. In essence, it is a molecule with a double helix structure with each unit of a helix containing what are known as “DNA bases”. Maintenance of DNA is extremely important for smooth operation […]

La Jolla, CA — Leveraging advancements in CRISPR-based genetic engineering, researchers at the University of California San Diego have created a new system that restrains populations of mosquitoes that infect millions each year with debilitating diseases. The new precision-guided sterile insect technique, or pgSIT, alters genes linked to male fertility–creating sterile offspring–and female flight in Aedes […]

Cambridge, MA — Genetic muscle diseases lead to progressive muscle wasting and often early death, with few treatment options and no cure. Some gene therapies that use a harmless virus to deliver a functioning copy of a disease-causing gene to cells have shown promise in clinical trials for a subset of muscular dystrophies, but have […]

Nomi, Japan — With the rapid emergence of new infectious virus strains that result in rapid outbreaks (such as 4 variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 from Alpha to Delta and 5 variants of interest (VOIs) of SARS-CoV-2 from Eta to Mu that spread worldwide within months), the availability of rapid, sensitive, and reliable test […]

Stanford, CA — A compact and efficient CRISPR-Cas system, named CasMINI, could be broadly useful for cell-engineering and gene-therapy applications because it is easier to deliver into cells. The findings appear in a study publishing September 3 in the journal Molecular Cell. “This is a critical step forward for CRISPR genome-engineering applications,” says senior study author […]

Houston, TX — University of Houston researchers are reporting a breakthrough in the field of materials science and engineering with the development of an electrochemical actuator that uses specialized organic semiconductor nanotubes (OSNTs). Currently in the early stages of development, the actuator will become a key part of research contributing to the future of robotic, […]

Kanazawa, Japan — Cells in the human body constantly receive substances from the outside via a process called endocytosis.  One important endocytosis pathway involves the formation of a protrusion within the cell membrane, pointing to the inside of the cell, triggered when a molecule needing to get in reaches the membrane.  The protrusion wraps and […]

Cambridge, MA — In recent years, scientists have developed monoclonal antibodies — proteins that mimic the body’s own immune defenses — that can combat a variety of diseases, including some cancers and autoimmune disorders such as Crohn’s disease. While these drugs work well, one drawback to them is that they have to be injected. A […]