Category Biology/Biotechnology

The biosensor chip — consisting of a double stranded DNA probe embedded onto a graphene transistor — electronically detects DNA SNPs. Credit: Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego

Researchers say the technology could one day be used in various medical applications such as blood-based tests for early cancer screening, monitoring disease biomarkers and real-time detection of viral and microbial sequences. “We are at the forefront of developing a fast and inexpensive digital method to detect gene mutations at high resolution–on the scale of a single nucleotide change in a nucleic acid sequence,” said Ratnesh Lal, professor of bioengineering, mechanical engineering and materials science in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.

The technology, which is at a proof-of-concept sta...

Glioblastoma (histology slide). Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

Blocking enzyme PRMT5 in tumor cells could be a promising new strategy for the treatment of glioblastoma (GB), the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer. The researchers show that knocking down PRMT5 (protein arginine methyltransferase 5) might force the cells into senescence and slow or stop tumor growth. PRMT5 regulates gene transcription and other cell processes by transferring methyl groups and modifying chromatin. Overexpression of the enzyme in GB is associated with more aggressive disease.

The researchers showed PRMT5 inhibits the activity of a major tumor-suppressor gene called PTEN...

Reconstruction of a single cell with all imaged orientation-tuned synapses overlaid onto the orientation preference map; the cell is indicated by a triangle and its synapses are indicated by circles — both are colored by their preferred orientation. Credit: Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Study points to an active role for dendrites in cortical processing. The cerebral cortex is the largest and most complex area of the brain, with 20 billion neurons and 60 trillion synapses-a neuronal network whose proper function is critical for sensory perception, motor control, and cognition. The part of the cerebral cortex devoted to vision has played a key role in elucidating fundamental principles that are used by cortical circuits to encode information.

As edges supply a wealth of info...

Overweight adults spend more of their sleep in REM stage than healthy weight adults do. An individual’s body composition and caloric intake can influence time spent in specific sleep stages, according to results of a new study from Perelman School of Med at PennU that will be presented at SLEEP 2016, 30th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

In the study, 36 healthy adults experienced 2 consecutive nights of 10 hrs in bed per night at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.Polysomnography was recorded on the second night. Body composition and resting energy expenditure were assessed on the morning following the first night of sleep. Food/drink intake was measured each day.

The Penn team found that BMI, body fat percentage and resting energy expenditur...