Category Biology/Biotechnology

EC gate control of DNA conductance.

DNA may very well also pack quite the jolt for engineers trying to advance the development of tiny, low-cost electronic devices. Much like flipping your light switch at home – only on a scale 1,000 times smaller than a human hair – an ASU-led team has developed the first controllable DNA switch to regulate the flow of electricity within a single, atomic-sized molecule.

“It has been established that charge transport is possible in DNA, but for a useful device, one wants to be able to turn the charge transport on and off. We achieved this goal by chemically modifying DNA,” said Tao, who directs the Biodesign Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors and is a professor in the Fulton Schools of Engineering...

A novel substance inhibits the pain effectively and is well tolerated. (Picture: Center of Dental Medicine; UZH)

Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by sharp, lancinating pain in the teeth or facial area. The standard treatment for this chronic nerve pain can cause burdening side effects. A novel substance inhibits the pain effectively and is well tolerated, as documented by the initial results of an international study involving the Center of Dental Medicine at the University of Zurich.

Trigeminal neuralgia pain bouts are triggered by touch, such as shaving, putting on make-up, showering, talking and tooth brushing, or even a gust of wind...

The fungus Pichia, a type of yeast, is linked to kids’ likelihood of developing asthma, new research shows.

University of British Columbia microbiologists have found a yeast in the gut of new babies in Ecuador that appears to be a strong predictor that they will develop asthma in childhood. The new research furthers our understanding of the role microscopic organisms play in our overall health. “Children with this type of yeast called Pichia were much more at risk of asthma,” said Brett Finlay, a microbiologist at UBC. “This is the first time anyone has shown any kind of association between yeast and asthma.”

In previous research, Finlay and his colleagues identified 4 gut bacteria in Canadian children that, if present in the first 100 days of life, seem to prevent asthma...

dATF4 regulation of mitochondrial folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism is neuroprotective. Cell Death and Differentiation, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/cdd.2016.158

A genetic ‘switch’ has been discovered by MRC researchers at the University of Leicester which could help to prevent or delay the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The team discovered that a gene called ATF4 plays a key role in Parkinson’s disease, acting as a ‘switch’ for genes that control mitochondrial metabolism for neuron health. Dr Miguel Martins from the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester explained: “When the expression of ATF4 is reduced in flies, expression of these mitochondrial genes drops. This drop results in dramatic locomotor defects, decreased lifespan, and dysfunctional mitochondria in the brain.”

“Intere...