Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Synthetic biology innovations that rewire human cells poised to tackle complex diseases
Let’s recognize that synthetic biology can make the impossible happen in many areas besides food production. For example, synthetic biology ...
Can paralysis be cured? Injectable cell therapy helps mice regain the ability to walk
A new injectable therapy harnesses “dancing molecules” to reverse paralysis and repair tissue after severe spinal cord injuries. When just ...
Viewpoint: Gene editing can transform crop and animal agriculture — but we need to encourage competition and prioritize ‘ethical innovation’ to realize gains
[W]hile gene editing has had the potential to reduce inputs, improve nutrition, and “climate proof” our food supply, little has ...
CRISPR gene editing poised to address myriad agriculture-related climate change challenges
Many industries and fields of science are investigating innovative technologies to mitigate the effects of climate change—effects that are already ...
Novel artificial intelligence (AI) as good as physicians at reading ultrasound images and detecting breast cancer
Doctors often use ultrasound, mammograms, MRI, or biopsy to find or diagnose breast cancer. In a new study, researchers from ...
‘A gene called jealousy’: The growing pains of the biotechnology revolution
If there was one word I would use to describe the atmosphere in the early biotech days, it would be ...
How intermittent fasting can control weight and extend your life
Unlike many trendy diets, intermittent fasting appears to deliver real benefits—provided dieters can stick to the schedule, which usually restricts ...
How artificial intelligence (AI) can help prevent the next coronavirus from jumping from animals to humans
New research by scientists at the University of Glasgow suggests that machine learning (ML) models developed using viral genomes can ...
East African research finds key facial features are common across diverse populations
A new study published in PLOS Genetics compares genomic factors underlying facial features in East Africans and Europeans to reveal ...
Why are children less susceptible to severe COVID?
Children have had a reduced risk not only of developing severe COVID-19 but also of being infected by SARS-CoV-2 in ...
‘Would you wear clothing, shoelaces or a belt made of muscle fibers?’ Microbe-made synthetic proteins might be stronger than Kevlar
Would you wear clothing or, say, shoelaces or a belt made of muscle fibers? What if those fibers could endure ...
Sex or food? When deprived of both, dinner wins out — at least for fruit flies
Animals make behavioral choices every day. But how do they prioritize one need over another—especially when those choices are both ...
‘It’s all about genetic variability’: CRISPR targets sustainable agriculture
Although CRISPR has been slower to realize agricultural applications than biotechnology and biomedical applications, it is ready to help us ...
60% of elderly people have hearing problems. Here’s how gene editing and other cutting-edge techniques could restore the inner ear
Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities in the United States. It can be caused by the effects ...
OCD relief: A genetic-based therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder could be within reach
[OCD], which affects 1–2% of the population, commonly runs in families, and genes are known to play a large role ...
The exabyte data solution? How we can store all of the world’s data in microscopic silica particles placed in DNA
On Earth right now, there are about 10 trillion gigabytes of digital data, and every day, humans produce emails, photos, ...
Hopeful vaccine research: Universal vaccine protects against COVID-19 and four other coronaviruses and their variants, mice experiment shows
To prevent a future coronavirus pandemic... UNC-Chapel Hill researchers designed a vaccine to provide protection from the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus ...
‘Mindwriting’: Paralyzed clinical trial patient with brain implant able to ‘type’ words by thinking about writing by hand
Call it “mindwriting.” The combination of mental effort and state-of-the-art technology have allowed a man with spinal injury and immobilized ...
Breathing in CRISPR enzymes to treat infectious diseases, like the flu or COVID? It might soon be possible
A team of investigators from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University has developed a CRISPR-based treatment to stop ...
Mapping overthinking: Athletes who ‘choke’ under pressure activate areas of the brain involved in long-term thinking
Are penalty shots a soccer player’s dream or nightmare? Penalties can go either way, which makes them exciting to watch, ...
Using 3D printing to create algae-based novel, environmentally-friendly ‘living materials’, from skin to bio-garments
[A] solution that can help save our environment and change the world is 3D printing, which has been used in ...
400,000 people – that’s how many die from malaria each year. Here’s how gene editing and gene drives could prevent those deaths
The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 409,000 in 2019. There is an urgent need to find new ways ...
Video: Synthetic life? Scientists have created xenobots that move, remember, heal and work together in groups
Biologists and computer scientists from Tufts University and the University of Vermont have created novel, tiny self-healing living machines from ...
Sex differences: Stress during pregnancy affects babies’ physical and mental health — but males and females are impacted differently
In a new longitudinal study where individuals are followed over a course of 45 years, [researcher Jill] Goldstein and her ...
Fighting gut inflammation? Limiting alcohol, sugar, processed foods and animal-based proteins could be key
Reporting their findings in the journal Gut, [a team of researchers at the University of Groningen and University Medical Centre ...
What are the biological roots of psychosis? Studying mice offers a window into understanding human hallucinations
Psychosis occurs when a person loses touch with reality. During a psychotic episode people may become delusional — acquire false ...
A golden age of gene therapy is now in sight
To date, just two in vivo gene therapies have been approved in the United States. Both are for what [Duke ...
