Genetic Engineering News and Research

RSS

Mayo Clinic researchers train mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within

Mayo Clinic researchers have trained mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within, using a genetic combination of human DNA from melanoma cells and a cousin of the rabies virus. The strategy, called cancer immunotherapy, uses a genetically engineered version of the vesicular stomatitis virus to deliver a broad spectrum of genes derived from melanoma cancer cells directly into tumors.

20 Mar 2012

FHCRC research represents potential breakthrough in treatment of pancreas cancer

Pancreas cancer tumors spread quickly and are notoriously resistant to treatment, making them among the deadliest of malignancies. Their resistance to chemotherapy stems in part from a unique biological barrier the tumor builds around itself. Now scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found a way to break through that defense, and their research represents a potential breakthrough in the treatment of pancreas cancer.

20 Mar 2012

Allergy-free egg in the making

Researchers at CSIRO and experts at Geelong's Deakin University have found a way to “switch off” four egg allergens. These modified eggs could produce chickens that lay hypoallergenic eggs but the genes and DNA of the chicken would remain unaltered.

15 Mar 2012

Seeds for heart-healthy soybean, canola and sunflower oils

With spring planting season on the horizon, scientists are planting the seeds of healthier oils for cooking French fries, fried chicken and other fried items prepared in restaurants and other settings in the foodservice industry.

15 Mar 2012

Silver nanoparticles cause more damage to testicular cells

Silver nanoparticles cause more damage to testicular cells than titanium dioxide nanoparticles, according to a recent study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. However, the use of both types may affect testicular cells with possible consequences for fertility.

15 Mar 2012

New research could make it easier to grow health-promoting blood oranges

For the red pigmentation to develop, blood oranges normally require a period of cold as they ripen. The only place to reliably grow them on a commercial scale is in the Sicilian area of Italy around Mount Etna. Here, the combination of sun and cold/sunny days and warm nights provides ideal growing conditions.

14 Mar 2012

JAK-STAT inhibitors reverse MS-like disease in mice

A new class of drugs completing clinical trials soon for rheumatoid arthritis should be examined as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, according to the authors of a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

13 Mar 2012

Policy makers, scientists collaborate to create new science-policy research agenda

One only has to be reminded of the BSE crisis and the MMR vaccine scare to recognise the importance of having policy informed by the best available science. Now, a collaboration of over fifty academics and policy makers from around the world have come together to agree a new research agenda on the role of science in public policy.

12 Mar 2012

Genetically modified pig may hold keys to develop treatments for RP

A newly developed, genetically modified pig may hold the keys to the development of improved treatments and possibly even a cure for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the most common inherited retinal disease in the United States.

9 Mar 2012

Researchers make significant strides in the study of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center's James P. Wilmot Cancer Center have made significant strides in the study of a primary cancer of the liver- Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC), also called biliary tract cancer.

8 Mar 2012

MicroRNAs key to memory and learning process

Studying tiny bits of genetic material that control protein formation in the brain, Johns Hopkins scientists say they have new clues to how memories are made and how drugs might someday be used to stop disruptions in the process that lead to mental illness and brain wasting diseases.

5 Mar 2012

High blood pressure due to stress maybe due to the immune system

If stress is giving you high blood pressure, blame the immune system. T cells, helpful for fighting infections, are also necessary for mice to show an increase in blood pressure after a period of psychological stress, scientists have found.

5 Mar 2012

Certain microRNAs key to controlling actions of BDNF, linked to brain cell survival

5 Mar 2012

Vitamin E may lead to thinning and weakening of bones: Study

From studies in laboratory animals it was found that the most common form of vitamin E stimulates the generation of bone-degrading cells. Scientists who carried out the research in Japan are now calling for their results to be followed up in humans.

4 Mar 2012

Public agencies must study ecological risks of synthetic biology

Experts say at least $20 million to $30 million in government research is needed over the next decade to adequately identify and address the possible ecological risks of synthetic biology, an emerging area of research focused on the design and construction of new biological parts and systems, or modification of existing ones, to create new applications in areas ranging from energy to chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

1 Mar 2012

New research shows beneficial side effect of anti-allergy parasite

New research is showing a beneficial side effect of parasites for our health. Hygiene Hypothesis: As rates of allergy are reported to have tripled in the UK in the past decade, the scientific finger is pointing to an over-sanitised lifestyle making our immune responses overactive. Now, a team of biologists at the University of Edinburgh, led by Professor Rick Maizels, are investigating how parasitic worms could offer a cure for modern illnesses.

1 Mar 2012

Gates calls for greater coordination among U.N. food agencies, announces nearly $200M in grants for agricultural development projects

In a speech delivered at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome on Thursday, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told IFAD, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the "approach being used today to fight against poverty and hunger is outdated and inefficient" and asked the agencies "to unite around a common global target for sustainable productivity growth to guide and measure their efforts," a Gates Foundation press release states.

24 Feb 2012

Circadian rhythm can influence a heart attack

Researchers have found that a biological clock can influence a heart attack. The risk of “sudden cardiac death” peaks in the morning and rises again in the evening as shown in lab animals.

23 Feb 2012

'Good-times' pumps warn cells of approaching starvation

Sugar, cholesterol, phosphates, zinc - a healthy body is amazingly good at keeping such vital nutrients at appropriate levels within its cells. From an engineering point of view, one all-purpose model of pump on the surface of a cell should suffice to keep these levels constant: When the concentration of a nutrient, say, sugar, drops inside the cell, the pump mechanism could simply go into higher gear until the sugar levels are back to normal.

23 Feb 2012

NK cells play an important role in rejection of porcine chondrocytes transplantation

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have studied for the first time the response of human NK cells (Natural Killer) against porcine chondrocytes (cartilage cells).

23 Feb 2012