Category Biology/Biotechnology

A molecule derived from a type of primrose could prove to be a potent inhibitor of metastatic growth for a rare and aggressive cancer. Doctors diagnose about 2000 adults with uveal melanoma, a cancer of the eye, every year. In half of cases, the disease metastasizes to the liver. For these patients treatment options are scarce. Researchers at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) — Jefferson Health and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai found that a compound extracted from the Christmas berry primrose plant stops the cancer’s growth in preliminary tests. With further testing, the discovery could lead to new therapeutic options for patients with uveal melanoma.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Jeffrey Benovic, PhD, Thomas Eakins Endowed Profes...

Researchers at MIT and Arizona State University have designed a computer program that allows users to translate any free-form drawing into a two-dimensional, nanoscale structure made of DNA. Until now, designing such structures has required technical expertise that puts the process out of reach of most people. Using the new program, anyone can create a DNA nanostructure of any shape, for applications in cell biology, photonics, and quantum sensing and computing, among many others.

“What this work does is allow anyone to draw literally any 2D shape and convert it into DNA origami automatically,”...

Device fine-tunes treatment by stimulating and and recording electric current in the brain at the same time. A new neurostimulator developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, can listen to and stimulate electric current in the brain at the same time, potentially delivering fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson’s.

The device, named the WAND, works like a “pacemaker for the brain,” monitoring the brain’s ele...

If you’re planning to try to lose weight in 2019, you’re sure to find a fierce debate online and among friends and family about how best to do it. It seems like everyone has an opinion, and new fads emerge every year. Two major studies last year provided more fuel for a particularly polarizing topic—the role carbs play in making us fat. The studies gave scientists some clues, but, like other nutrition studies, they can’t say which diet—if any—is best for everyone...