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A novel approach to photosynthetic production of high-value compounds

Using evolution as a guiding principle, researchers have successfully engineered bacteria-yeast hybrids to perform photosynthetic carbon assimilation, generate cellular energy and support yeast growth without traditional carbon feedstocks like glucose or glycerol. By engineering photosynthetic cyanobacteria to live symbiotically inside yeast cells, the bacteria-yeast hybrids can produce important hydrocarbons, paving new biotechnical pathways to non-petroleum-based energy, other synthetic biology applications, and the experimental study of evolution.

27 Aug 2024

Human gut microbiome: A source of new antibiotic peptides

Researchers identified 323 peptide-based antimicrobials from the human microbiome, with 71% showing significant antibacterial activity, and the lead peptide, prevotellin-2, matching the efficacy of polymyxin B in both in vitro and in vivo models.

25 Aug 2024

Understanding the mechanisms post-surgery pain

An international research group led by MedUni Vienna and IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna, has made significant progress in understanding the mechanisms that influence the sensation of pain after surgery.

23 Aug 2024

Research suggests chlamydia may persist in the human intestine

People who are infected with chlamydia can transmit these bacteria to other people during unprotected sex.

23 Aug 2024

EEG technology marks 100 years with promising future innovations

One hundred years after the human brain's electrical activity was first recorded, experts are celebrating the legacy of its discovery and sharing their predictions and priorities for its future.

23 Aug 2024

Ingenza announces partnership with Cellugy to investigate the potential of biofabricated cellulose

Industrial biotech specialist Ingenza is delighted to announce that it is collaborating with Cellugy to accelerate the development of its innovative platform for producing biofabricated cellulose.

From Ingenza Ltd 23 Aug 2024

New technique speeds up screening of DNA molecules

Studying how single DNA molecules behave helps us to better understand genetic disorders and design better drugs.

22 Aug 2024

mRNA therapy shows promise for maple syrup urine disease

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Gene Therapy Program, and Moderna, have shown that repeated administration of lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA therapy significantly extended survival and reduced serum leucine levels in a mouse model of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).

22 Aug 2024

Advancements in neoantigen vaccines offer hope for personalized cancer therapy

The saga of cancer treatment is marked by a relentless pursuit of effectiveness against a disease characterized by complexity and adaptability.

19 Aug 2024

Automated implant offers new hope for preventing opioid overdose deaths

Naloxone is an effective treatment for opioid overdose, but it usually requires a bystander to step in and administer it.

14 Aug 2024

New insights into topoisomerase I inhibition reveal potential pathways for cancer therapies

A research group at the University of Bologna has identified, for the first time, the specific location and genomic context where DNA breaks occur due to the inhibition of the topoisomerase I, a protein crucial for many biological processes in cells.

8 Aug 2024

Insilico Medicine's pan-TEAD inhibitor ISM6331 receives FDA IND clearance for mesothelioma treatment

Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biotechnology company, today announced ISM6331, potential best-in-class pan-TEAD inhibitor, has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance for the treatment of mesothelioma, following the grant of Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) in June 2024. It brings the total number of IND-approved molecules of Insilico to nine.

8 Aug 2024

Discovery of Tr1 cells as a barrier to cancer immunotherapy offers new hope for treatment

Immunobiologists Robert Schreiber, PhD, (left) and Hussein Sultan, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, found that a subset of immune cells that normally puts the brakes on the immune system to prevent it from attacking the body's healthy cells inadvertently also dampens cancer immunotherapy.

7 Aug 2024

Researchers uncover immune system barrier to cancer treatment

By recruiting the immune system to combat tumor cells, immunotherapy has improved survival rates, offering hope to millions of cancer patients. However, only about one in five people responds favorably to these treatments.

7 Aug 2024

Natural compound from skin bacteria shows promise as tyrosinase inhibitor for skincare

Melanin protects the skin - the body's largest organ and a vital component of the immune system - from the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

5 Aug 2024

Study finds fourfold increase in risk of overt hypothyroidism after diagnosis of gestational subclinical hypothyroidism

A new study has shown that subclinical hypothyroidism diagnosed before 21 weeks of pregnancy is associated with more than fourfold higher rates of overt hypothyroidism or thyroid replacement therapy within 5 years of delivery.

2 Aug 2024

Study reveals how coinfecting phages impede each other’s entry into bacterial cells

The process by which phages - viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria - enter cells has been studied for over 50 years.

2 Aug 2024

Uncovering hidden drug benefits through protein mapping

Fewer side effects, improved chances of healing: the goal of precision medicine is to provide patients with the most individualized treatment possible. This requires a precise understanding of what is happening at the cellular level. For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now succeeded in mapping the interactions of 144 active substances with around 8,000 proteins. The results could help to identify previously unknown potential benefits of existing drugs.

2 Aug 2024

Novel anti-tuberculosis compound targets bacterial membrane protein

Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have together succeeded in identifying and synthesizing a group of molecules that can act against the cause of tuberculosis in a new way. In the scientific journal Cell Chemical Biology, they describe that the so-called callyaerins act against the infectious disease by employing a fundamentally different mechanism compared to antibiotic agents used to date.

1 Aug 2024