Petri Dish News and Research

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Protein-based modular system could help detect viral infection or kill cancer cells

MIT biological engineers have developed a modular system of proteins that can detect a particular DNA sequence in a cell and then trigger a specific response, such as cell death.

22 Sep 2015

Purple potatoes may help prevent colon cancer

Compounds found in purple potatoes may help kill colon cancer stem cells and limit the spread of the cancer, according to a team of researchers.

27 Aug 2015

Study may lead to effective antimicrobial treatment strategies for people with uncontrolled diabetes

Case Western Reserve scientists may have uncovered a molecular mechanism that sets into motion dangerous infection in the feet and hands often occurring with uncontrolled diabetes. It appears that high blood sugar unleashes destructive molecules that interfere with the body's natural infection-control defenses.

7 Aug 2015

Radiation from solar events too weak to cause birth defects down on Earth's surface

Studies find airplane crews at high altitude are exposed to potentially harmful levels of radiation from cosmic rays.

29 Jul 2015

Researchers use gene-editing technique involving low-dose irradiation to repair human stem cells

For the first time, researchers have employed a gene-editing technique involving low-dose irradiation to repair patient cells, according to a study published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine. This method, developed by researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, is 10 times more effective than techniques currently in use.

23 Jul 2015

Binghamton University researchers creating 3-D printing process to help treat incurable diseases

A team of Binghamton University researchers are creating a 3-D printing process to build implantable tissues and organs to treat otherwise incurable diseases.

21 Jul 2015

New 3D cell culture system could facilitate search for therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease

The progressive loss of neurons in the brain of Parkinson's patients is slow yet inexorable. So far, there are no drugs that can halt this insidious process.

25 Jun 2015

New device tracks chemical messages that regulate cell growth

Biomedical engineers at the University of Toronto have invented a new device that more quickly and accurately "listens in" on the chemical messages that tell our cells how to multiply.

25 Jun 2015

Researchers create cell lines to study gene expression in precursor brown fat and white fat cells

Since the 2009 discovery that energy-burning brown fat can be active in adults, research has raced ahead to understand this tissue and exploit it to treat the epidemic of obesity. Active brown fat also may assist in directly easing the burden of diabetes and related metabolic diseases by lowering the levels of glucose and fatty acids in the bloodstream. But progress in studying human brown fat often has been slowed by difficulties in obtaining and studying samples of the human cells that develop into brown fat.

17 Jun 2015

High throughput media preparation at the Institut Curie

The Institut Curie (Paris, France), a world leader in oncology research, has reported how it has standardised on using MEDIACLAVE media preparation and MEDIAJET automated petri dish filling systems from INTEGRA Biosciences to prepare its petri dishes.

From INTEGRA Biosciences 14 Jun 2015

Study opens door to deeper understanding of genetic, molecular aspects underlying sleep disorders

Washington State University Spokane scientists have grown a tiny group of brain cells that can be induced to fall asleep, wake up and even show rebound sleep after "staying up late."

10 Jun 2015

Smoking cannabis may reduce chances of infection by intestinal worms

Washington State University researchers have found that the more hunter-gatherers smoke cannabis, the less they are infected by intestinal worms. The link suggests that they may unconsciously be, in effect, smoking medical marijuana.

1 Jun 2015

Scientists develop human cortical spheroids

A patient tormented by suicidal thoughts gives his psychiatrist a few strands of his hair. She derives stem cells from them to grow budding brain tissue harboring the secrets of his unique illness in a petri dish. She uses the information to genetically engineer a personalized treatment to correct his brain circuit functioning. Just Sci-fi? Yes, but...

1 Jun 2015

Nanoparticle-based therapy effective in treating mice with multiple myeloma

Researchers have designed a nanoparticle-based therapy that is effective in treating mice with multiple myeloma, a cancer of immune cells in the bone marrow.

21 May 2015

Leeds scientists examine benefits of hyaluronic acid in helping improve IVF success rates

Scientists from the University of Leeds are investigating whether a molecule usually found in moisturisers and skin creams could improve IVF success rates in the UK.

20 May 2015

Researchers submit patent application for drug that could destroy acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A patent application for a drug that could destroy the deadly childhood disease known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia — and potentially other cancers as well — has been submitted by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Maryland and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

14 May 2015

Automated PoCyton cytometer effective for counting cancer cells

Biological and medical scientists have been using flow cytometry to count cancer cells for the past 40 years. But the large instruments are expensive and can only be operated by trained personnel. By contrast the PoCyton cytometer developed by Fraunhofer researchers is cheap to produce, no bigger than a shoebox, and automated.

6 May 2015

Scientists grow miniature human myelomas in shell-less chicken eggs to study multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. To date, no screening systems have been available to examine the effects of new drugs in a 3D environment. Researchers on the EU project OPTATIO might now fill this gap. They succeeded in growing miniature human myelomas in shell-less chicken eggs in order to screen new marine compounds for anti-myeloma activity.

5 May 2015

Findings provide glimmer of hope for treating diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas

Using brain tumor samples collected from children in the United States and Europe, an international team of scientists found that the drug panobinostat and similar gene regulating drugs may be effective at treating diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), an aggressive and lethal form of pediatric cancer.