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    Category Biology/Biotechnology

    New Anti-influenza Drugs

    January 26, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Fig. 1

    A neuronal microRNA module targets multiple chromatin modifying proteins in GBM

    Researchers at LSTM and Imperial College London have designed drugs which could help combat any potential new flu pandemic, by targeting the receptors of the cells by which the virus gains entry to the human body. In a paper published today in the Journal of Immunology the team, led by LSTM’s Professor Richard Pleass, show that by engineering a part of an antibody they can target the viral proteins that allow flu to mutate and become so deadly to humans.

    Last year marked the centenary of the 1918 influenza pandemic that claimed nearly 100 million lives worldwide, thus becoming the deadliest disease outbreak in recorded history...

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    Engineers develop Novel Strategy for designing Tiny Semiconductor particles for wide-ranging applications

    January 26, 2019, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology


    MoS2 quantum dots in aqueous solution (left) and an ultrahigh magnification of a MoS2 quantum dot (right). MoS2 quantum dots synthesised with the new approach developed by NUS researchers can potentially generate cancer-killing properties.

    MoS2 quantum dots synthesized with the new approach can potentially generate cancer-killing properties. NUS Engineers have developed a cost-effective and scalable strategy for designing tiny semiconductor particles known as transition metal dichalcogenide quantum dots (TMD QDs) which can potentially generate cancer-killing properties. The team is also looking to optimise TMD QDs for applications such as the next generation TV and electronic device screens, advanced electronics components and even solar cells.

    Two-dimensional (2D) transition ...

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    In surprising reversal, scientists find a Cellular Process that Stops Cancer before it starts

    January 25, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Left: The 23 pairs of chromosomes of cells in which autophagy is functioning look normal and healthy with no structural or numerical aberrations (each color represents a unique chromosome pair). Right: the chromosomes of cells in which autophagy is not functioning bypass crisis, showing both structural and numerical aberrations, with segments added to, deleted from, and/or swapped between chromosomes–a hallmark of cancer.
    Credit: Salk Institute

    Cellular recycling process, thought to fuel cancer’s growth, can actually prevent it. Scientists studying the relationship of telomeres to cancer made a surprising discovery: a cellular recycling process called autophagy – generally thought of as a survival mechanism – actually promotes the death of cells, thereby preventing cancer initiation.

    T...

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    CRISPR/Cas9 used to Control Genetic Inheritance in Mice

    January 24, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    UC San Diego researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 to control genetic inheritance in mammals for the first time.
    Credit: Cooper Lab, UC San Diego

    Technology offers powerful new genetic tools for human disease research in rodents. Using active genetics technology, biologists have developed the world’s first CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to control genetic inheritance in a mammal. The achievement in mice lays the groundwork for further advances based on this technology, including biomedical research on human disease. Future animal models may be possible of complex human genetic diseases, like arthritis and cancer, which are not currently possible.

    Scientists around the world have been using CRISPR/Cas9 in a variety of plant and animal species to edit genetic information...

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