Researchers discover new type of CRISPR gene scissors

Component of bacterial immune defense paralyzes infected cells and could advance molecular biology diagnostics

05-Jan-2023 - It is an unexpected discovery by scientists at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg in cooperation with Benson Hill, Inc. (Missouri) and Utah State University in the U.S.: They have found a nuclease, which they dubbed Cas12a2, that represents an entirely new type of CRISPR immune defense. Unlike any ...

Implantable cancer traps could provide earlier diagnosis

04-Nov-2019 - Invasive procedures to biopsy tissue from cancer-tainted organs could be replaced by simply taking samples from a tiny "decoy" implanted just beneath the skin, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated in mice. These devices have a knack for attracting cancer cells traveling through ...

15 emerging technologies that could reduce global catastrophic biological risks

11-Oct-2018 - Strategic investment in 15 promising technologies could help make the world better prepared and equipped to prevent future infectious disease outbreaks from becoming catastrophic events. This subset of emerging technologies and their potential application are the focus of a new report, ...

Progress toward Personalized Medicine

Microfluidic chip for analysis of single cells

21-Aug-2018 - A few little cells that are different from the rest can have a big effect. For example, individual cancer cells may be resistant to a specific chemotherapy—causing a relapse in a patient who would otherwise be cured. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have now introduced a ...

Stingray soft robot could lead to bio-inspired robotics

16-Jan-2018 - UCLA bioengineering professor Ali Khademhosseini has led the development of a tissue-based soft robot that mimics the biomechanics of a stingray. The new technology could lead to advances in bio-inspired robotics, regenerative medicine and medical diagnostics. The simple body design of stingrays, ...

New, old science combine to make faster medical test

23-Jan-2017 - A UCF researcher has combined cutting-edge nanoscience with a magnetic phenomenon discovered more than 170 years ago to create a method for speedy medical tests. The discovery, if commercialized, could lead to faster test results for HIV, Lyme disease, syphilis, rotavirus and other infectious ...

World's first total-body PET scanner takes a big step forward

19-Jan-2017 - The UC Davis-based EXPLORER consortium, which aims to build a revolutionary total-body PET (positron emission tomography) scanner, has announced the selection of two industry partners to help build the prototype device. They are United Imaging Healthcare America, a North American subsidiary of ...

Combatting antimicrobial resistance with smartphones

A simple and inexpensive attachment could help to expand testing to regions with limited resources.

16-Dec-2016 - A team of UCLA researchers has developed an automated diagnostic test reader for antimicrobial resistance using a smartphone. The technology could lead to routine testing for antimicrobial susceptibility in areas with limited resources. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are posing a severe threat ...

Genomic approaches give answers to undiagnosed primary immunodeficiency diseases

16-Nov-2016 - An international team of physician-researchers set out to change the approach by which they genetically diagnose primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDDs). The researchers’ strategy successfully identified disease-causing gene variants in 40 percent of previously undiagnosed patients with PIDDs ...

Scientists create novel imaging technique with potential for medical diagnostics

18-Oct-2016 - A unique new imaging method, called "polarized nuclear imaging" - combining powerful aspects of both magnetic resonance imaging and gamma-ray imaging and developed by two physicists in the University of Virginia's departments of Physics and Radiology has potential for new types of high-resolution ...