Category Biology/Biotechnology

Oxidized DNA (green) accumulates in the mitochondria (red) of neutrophils isolated from SLE patients.

Baylor Institute for Immunology Research has discovered the neutrophils of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients release oxidized DNA from their mitochondria that can stimulate an unwanted immune response. The study suggests that targeting the pathways that lead to the accumulation of this DNA and/or facilitate its removal could be new ways to treat this chronic autoimmune disease.

Though the initial trigger for SLE remains unknown, it is characterized by the generation of autoantibodies that recognize the patient’s own DNA or RNA-protein complexes and the excessive production of type I interferons, signaling proteins that activate the body’s immune response...

MFCs used in this study; A: Photograph of MFC_S; B: Photograph of MFC_L; C: Schematic layout of the device.

An affordable, renewable and carbon-neutral way of generating power as been created by Uni of bath researchers. In the near future this device could provide a means of generating much needed electricity to remote areas at very little cost, each device costs just £1-£2. With growing global pressures to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, microbial fuel cells could be an exciting alternative.

A microbial fuel cell is a device that uses natural biological processes of ‘electric’ bacteria to turn organic matter, such as urine, into electricity...

Engineering T cells to treat pancreatic cancer Researchers hope to have a human version of the T cell in clinical trials this year

Hingorani, a pancreatic cancer specialist, teamed up with Fred Hutch immunotherapy experts Drs. Phil Greenberg and Ingunn Stromnes in successful efforts to breach the cancer’s physical and immunological walls using immunotherapy, a type of treatment that harnesses or refines the body’s own immune system with T-cells engineered to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Specifically, Hingorani’s team created T cells with a high ffinity to a “relatively” tumor-specific antigen. Why relatively? Notoriously difficult pancreatic tumor cells don’t produce many unique proteins that allow for completely tumor-specific T cells...

Layout of the NH3 synthesis device bearing the Nb-SrTiO3 photoelectrode loaded with Au-NPs and a Zr/ZrOx thin film Credit: Copyright Hokkaido University

By using a photoelectrode in which gold nanoparticles are loaded on an oxide semiconductor substrate, a research has worked to develop a method of artificial photosynthesis that may prove to be an excellent light energy conversion system.

– Ammonia has gained attention as a next-generation energy carrier. By combining an optical antenna structure that can concentrate light into a nano-space, and a co-catalyst that selectively adsorbs nitrogen, we have succeeded in selectively synthesizing ammonia from water and di-nitrogen under visible light irradiation...