Neuroscientists at Lund University in Sweden have developed a new technology that engineers the shell of a virus to deliver gene therapy to the exact cell type in the body that needs to be treated. The researchers believe that the new technology can be likened to dramatically accelerating evolution from millions of years to weeks.

Several of the new revolutionary treatments that have been used clinically in recent years to treat complex diseases – such as spinal muscular atrophy and enzyme deficiency – are based on gene therapy.

With gene therapy, the genetic material is controlled or altered using biological drugs...

Scientists model how synthetic gels can tune body’s inflammatory response. Hydrogels for healing, synthesized from the molecules up by Rice University bioengineers, are a few steps closer to the clinic.

Rice researchers and collaborators at Texas Heart Institute (THI) have established a baseline set of injectable hydrogels that promise to help heal wounds, deliver drugs and treat cancer...

JAXA and NASA satellite observations show where killer electrons are generated in the Van Allen radiation belts surrounding Earth. The finding, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, could help scientists more accurately forecast when these killer (relativistic) electrons will form.

Professor Yoshizumi Miyoshi of the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research at Nagoya University and colleagues compared data from two satellites situated on opposite sides of the Earth: the Arase satellite, developed by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)...

How some cancers resist chemotherapy…
Mitochondria, tiny structures present in most cells, are known for their energy-generating machinery. Now, Salk researchers have discovered a new function of mitochondria: they set off molecular alarms when cells are exposed to stress or chemicals that can damage DNA, such as chemotherapy. The results, published online in Nature Metabolism on December 9, 2019, could lead to new cancer treatments that prevent tumors from becoming resistant to chemotherapy.

“Mitochondria are acting as a first line of defense in sensing DNA stress...