Category Biology/Biotechnology

Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) capable of working within human cells could power advanced gene therapies, including those addressing some cancers, along with many laboratory applications, though serious technical obstacles have hindered their development. Now a team led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has made a significant breakthrough in this field that effectively bypasses a common stumbling block.

In a study published in Science, the researchers explained how they devised an efficient technique for making HACs from single, long constructs of designer DNA...

One of the largest threats to human health is obesity, but now researchers from the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute have made an important discovery in how the brain controls food intake.

Obesity and being overweight have become the “new normal” in modern times and can lead to a multitude of health problems. We know that excess weight is primarily caused by eating more calories than the body needs; however, new research published in Current Biology has found a specific cluster of cells in the brain that control body weight.

How the brain controls hunger has not been fully defined. The researchers discovered a cluster of brain cells that can be harnessed to reduce food intake and body weight...

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots – objects so tiny, they’re controlled by the strange and complex rules of quantum physics. Many quantum dots used in electronics are made from toxic substances, but their nontoxic counterparts are now being developed and explored for uses in medicine and in the environment. One team of researchers is focusing on carbon- and sulfur-based quantum dots, using them to create safer invisible inks and to help decontaminate water supplies.

The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Quantum dots are synthetic nanometer-scale semiconduc...

Gene therapy may be the best hope for curing retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited condition that usually leads to severe vision loss and blinds 1.5 million people worldwide.

But there’s a huge obstacle: RP can be caused by mutations in over 80 different genes. To treat most RP patients with gene therapy, researchers would have to create a therapy for each gene—a nearly impractical task using current gene therapy strategies.

A more universal treatment may be forthcoming...