Category Biology/Biotechnology

Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM

All living beings need cells and energy to replicate. Without these fundamental building blocks, living organisms on Earth would not be able to reproduce and would simply not exist. Little was known about a key element in the building blocks, phosphates, until now. University of Hawaii at Manoa researchers, in collaboration with colleagues in France and Taiwan, provide compelling new evidence that this component for life was found to be generated in outer space and delivered to Earth in its first one billion years by meteorites or comets. The phosphorus compounds were then incorporated in biomolecules found in cells in living beings on Earth.

The breakthrough research is outlined in “An Interstellar Synthesis of Phosphorus Oxoacids,” authore...

Su Ha and Subhanshu Gupta, holding a glucose-powered biofuel cell.
Credit: Washington State University

Cell runs on glucose from body fluids. Researchers at Washington State University have developed an implantable, biofuel-powered sensor that runs on sugar and can monitor a body’s biological signals to detect, prevent and diagnose diseases.

A cross-disciplinary research team led by Subhanshu Gupta, assistant professor in WSU’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, developed the unique sensor, which, enabled by the biofuel cell, harvests glucose from body fluids to run.

The research team has demonstrated a unique integration of the biofuel cell with electronics to process physiological and biochemical signals with high sensitivity.

Many popular sensors for disease detection...

The flexible device on a finger.
Credit: Image courtesy of RIKEN

Scientists have developed a human-friendly, ultra-flexible organic sensor powered by sunlight, which acts as a self-powered heart monitor. Previously, they developed a flexible photovoltaic cell that could be incorporated into textiles. In this study, they directly integrated a sensory device, called an organic electrochemical transistor – a type of electronic device that can be used to measure a variety of biological functions – into a flexible organic solar cell. Using it, they were then able to measure the heartbeats of rats and humans under bright light conditions.

Self-powered devices that can be fit directly on human skin or tissue have great potential for medical applications...

Only the part of the antibody (left) that binds to gluten is needed to create a product, which does not trigger an immune response. Credit: TU Wien

Meds alleviate or even completely eliminate the symptoms of celiac disease. In an industrial collaboration project, TU Wien has developed a medication that can alleviate or even completely eliminate the symptoms of celiac disease. It should be available as early as 2021. Celiac disease is a fairly common disease, affecting 1-2% of the European population. It is expressed as a hypersensitivity to gluten, a protein found in cereals such as wheat, barley or rye.

Although efforts are already being made to treat celiac disease, the proposed drugs have an effect on the immune system. Possible side effects must therefore be examined very carefully...