Category Biology/Biotechnology

An enzyme was created via directed evolution to make silicon-carbon bonds 15X more efficiently than the best catalysts invented

A new study is the first to show that living organisms can be persuaded to make silicon-carbon bonds – something only chemists had done before. Scientists at Caltech “bred” a bacterial protein to make the humanmade bonds – a finding that has applications in several industries. Molecules with silicon-carbon, or organosilicon, compounds ar

gricultural chemicals, paints, semiconductors, and computer and TV screens. Currently, these products are made synthetically, since the Si-C bonds are not found in nature.

The new study demonstrates biology can be used to manufacture these bonds in ways that are more environmentally friendly and potentially much less expensive...

The attached image shows microscope images of the engineered cells (nuclei in blue) with HIF-1 visualized (in red). In the left hand panel, cells are in hypoxia but no doxyxyclin is present, therefore HIF-1 remains active (red dots). In the right hand panel, the cells are grown in hypoxia and in the presence of doxyxyxlin, therefore the cyclic peptide inhibitor is produced and HIF-1 is inhibited, as demonstrated by the absence of the red dots. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Southampton

Researchers at the University of Southampton have engineered cells with a ‘built-in genetic circuit’ that produces a molecule that inhibits the ability of tumors to survive and grow in their low oxygen environment...

Stage IV is when the invasive breast cancer has spread beyond the breast to nearby lymph nodes to other organs, such as the lungs, skin, bones, liver, and the brain, This may also be called, advanced stage or mechanistic stage of cancer, IV cancer a be a reoccurrence of previous cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.

A team from Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that controlling the levels of the TIP60 protein, which is a tumor suppressor, could potentially prevent the spread of breast cancer cells. Specifically, TIP60 interacts with two other proteins DNMT1 and SNAIL2, to inhibit the spread of cancer cells...

Overdoses from opioids like painkillers might become a thing of the pas–a vaccine to combat drug overdose is on the horizon. Eric Norris via Flickr, CC by 2.0

Scientists TSRI have developed a vaccine that blocks the pain-numbing effects of the opioid drugs oxycodone (oxy) and hydrocodone (hydro) in animal models. The vaccine also appears to decrease the risk of fatal opioid overdose, a growing cause of death in the United States. “We saw both blunting of the drug’s effects and, remarkably, prevention of drug lethality,” said Prof. Kim D. Janda.

MOA: The new oxy/hydro vaccine takes advantage of the immune system’s ability to recognize, seek out and neutralize invaders. Opioids were designed to reach receptors in the brain, causing pain reduction and feelings of euphoria...