scientists have devised a new strategy to precisely modify human T cells using the genome-editing system known as CRISPR/Cas9.
and inexpensively edit genetic information in virtually any organism. T cells, which circulate in the blood, are an obvious candidate for medical applications of the technology,
But in practice, editing T cell genomes with CRISPR/Cas9 has proved surprisingly difficult, said Alexander Marson, Ph d.,a UCSF Sandler Fellow,
said that the research is a significant step forward in bringing the power of CRISPR/Cas9 editing to human biology
and allows new genetic sequences to be inserted, has generally been introduced into cells using viruses or circular bits of DNA called plasmids.
(or nock in specific new sequences to correct mutations in T cells. As will be reported online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of July 27
so there increasing clinical infrastructure that we could potentially piggyback on as we work out more details of genome editing,
associate professor and senior Cancer Research UK Fellow at the division of biomedical cell biology at Warwick Medical school.
s a cell biologist you dream of finding a new structure in cells but it so unlikely.
when they divide each new cell has a complete genome. Mitotic spindles are made of microtubules
A cell needs to share chromosomes accurately when it divides otherwise the two new cells can end up with the wrong number of chromosomes.
This is called aneuploidy and this has been linked to a range of tumours in different body organs.
The mitotic spindle is responsible for sharing the chromosomes and the researchers at the University believe that the mesh is needed to give structural support.
and cells had trouble sharing chromosomes during division. Dr Emma Smith, senior science communications officer at Cancer Research UK, said:
roblems in cell division are common in cancer cells frequently end up with the wrong number of chromosomes.
This early research provides the first glimpse of a structure that helps share out a cell chromosomes correctly
Warwick Medical school division of biomedical cell biology carries out fundamental molecular and cellular research into biomedical problems.
Without a molecular understanding of the underlying cell biology, intelligent directed therapeutic intervention is impossible. The division research focuses on fundamental cell biology processes such as cell division and intracellular communication.
Hey, check out all the research scientist jobs. Post your resume today s
#Could Dissolvable Microneedles Replace Injected Vaccines? Osaka University Study Eric is terrified. He stands outside the clinic and takes a few deep breaths before walking slowly through the automatic doors.
according to new research published in Biomaterials. The authors of the study, from Osaka University in Japan, say their dissolvable patch the only vaccination system of its kind could make vaccination easier, safer and less painful.
one of the authors of the study and Professor of Biotechnology and Therapeutics at the Graduate school of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Osaka University. ecause the new patch is so easy to use,
suggests research published today in the journal Nature Genetics. The ytospongesits within a pill which,
and the genetic mutations involved could help doctors catch the disease earlier, offering better treatment options for the patient.
However, researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown that variations in mutations across the oesophagus mean that standard biopsies may miss cells with important mutations.
A sample was more likely to pick up key mutations if taken using the Cytosponge, developed by Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald at the Medical Research Council Cancer Unit at the University of Cambridge. he trouble with Barrett oesophagus is that it looks bland
explains Professor Fitzgerald. e created a map of mutations in a patient with the condition
Some might carry an important mutation, but many will not. If youe taking a biopsy, this relies on your hitting the right spot.
Professor Fitzgerald and colleagues carried out whole genome sequencing to analyse paired Barrett oesophagus and oesophageal cancer samples taken at one point in time from 23 patients,
The researchers found patterns of mutations in the genome where one etterof DNA might change to another,
Even in areas of Barrett oesophagus without cancer, the researchers found a large number of mutations in their tissue on average 12,000 per person (compared to an average of 18,000 mutations within the cancer.
Many of these are likely to have been ystanders genetic mutations that occurred along the way but that were implicated not actually in cancer.
where a patient would go from having lots of individual mutations, but no cancer, to a situation where large pieces of genetic information were being transferred not just between genes but between chromosomes.
Co-author Dr Caryn Ross-Innes adds: e know very little about how you go from pre-cancer to cancer
Barrett oesophagus and the cancer share many mutations, but we are now a step closer to understanding
which are the important mutations that tip the condition over into a potentially deadly form of cancer.
along with Dino Di Carlo, professor of bioengineering, and Omai Garner, associate director of clinical microbiology for the UCLA Health System.
UCLA undergraduate Brandon Berg was the study first author, and two other undergraduates also contributed to the research. t is quite important to have these kinds of mobile devices,
and Bioengineering. his mobile platform can be used for point-of-care testing, screening populations for particular diseases,
This mobile platform was compared with the standard FDA-approved well-plate readers in a UCLA clinical microbiology laboratory.
The UCLA team included researchers from electrical engineering, physics and astronomy, bioengineering, pathology and laboratory medicine,
and Michael Lewinski, an adjunct faculty in UCLA bioengineering department. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Howard hughes medical institute h
the research team included Professor Vladimir Tsukruk from the Georgia Tech School of Materials science and engineering and Rajesh Naik, Biotechnology Lead and Tech Advisor of the Nanostructured and Biological Materials Branch
and by Georgia Tech Renewable Bioproducts Institute Fellowship. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors
says Jeffrey Karp, a bioengineer at Brigham and Women Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. ne of the greatest implications of the work is to track thousands of cells simultaneously with a single technique,
The engineered ribosome may enable the production of new drugs and next-generation biomaterials and lead to a better understanding of how ribosomes function.
The artificial ribosome, called Ribo-T, was created in the laboratories of Alexander Mankin, director of the UIC College of Pharmacy's Center for Biomolecular Sciences
and Northwestern's Michael Jewett, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering. The human-made ribosome may be able to be manipulated in the laboratory to do things natural ribosomes cannot do.
or producing designer therapeutics--and perhaps one day even non-biological polymers. No one has developed ever something of this nature."
"Our new protein-making factory holds promise to expand the genetic code in a unique and transformative way, providing exciting opportunities for synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering,
Professor Elizabeth Hartland, head of the department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne added that the international collaboration has brought together the immunological expertise in Melbourne
as a result of collaboration between Kobe-based medical device manufacturer My Tech researchers from Showa University uses a biochip,
'published this month in Biomaterials. The authors further explained that the new delivery mechanism uses a dissolvable material,
Even better news is that the transgenic cats have passed successfully both traits (glowing and resistance) along to their offspring.
#State Deficits to Shrink & Taxes Drop-Good News for Biotech Forecasters at the National Conference of State Legislatures2011 Legislative Summit expect a dramatic reduction of state deficits in the coming years,
Unfortunately these corporate tax cuts do not provide much-needed capital to small biotech companies because their lack of profits makes tax benefits unredeemable.
Most emerging biotech companies with promising scientific innovation are small, research-intensive and not yet profitable because they do not have approved an FDA product on the market.
Biotech start-ups generally struggle to raise capital to finance their research, and BIO advocates two important policies that enable them to continue critical R&d of advancements and breakthroughs.
The biotech industry has shrunk dramatically in recent years based primarily on the continued tight capital markets and increased aversion to risk on the part of investors.
a rare hereditary disease in which a mutation of the MEN1 gene on chromosome 11 makes patients susceptible to developing both benign
Animal studies previously linked this gene mutation with breast cancer; and the researchers further conducted an analysis of the utchmen1 Study Groupdatabase.
Right now there are 400 patients in The netherlands with this mutation. Breast cancer is a leading killer for women.
#Biodiesel production from Sugarcane A multi-institutional team led by plant biology professor Stephen P. Long from the University of Illinois reports that it can increase sugarcane's geographic range boost its photosynthetic rate by 30 percent
Using genetic engineering the researchers increased photosynthetic efficiency in sugarcane and sorghum by 30 percent Long said.
Long is an affiliate of the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois s
#Uniting To Accelerate Pediatric Medicine Drug companies inherently absorb significant risk when developing compounds and biologics for clinical use.
I have noticed a promising trend the rise of open source drug R&d consortia that include large biotech
and biotech companies to develop better treatments most recently with Shire around rare diseases. These alliances leverage Boston Children research expertise and companiesdevelopment and commercialization capabilities.
generating creative initiatives from universities, tech transfer organizations, government and biotechs. BIO-X is an open innovation vehicle run by Uppsala BIO.
and small biotechs, offering to support their ideas through to proof of principle. or the proposals selected,
#Biotechnology Helps Meet Consumer Demand for Earth-Friendly Products Industrial biotechnology has its roots in cleaning up environmental hazards.
Today, biotechnology enables manufacturers to make sustainable products with renewable material, instead of oil, and to use less energy in the manufacturing process A recent Roundtable discussion hosted by the Industrial biotechnology Journal
and printed in its April edition features academic experts and executives from industrial biotechnology and consumer product companies discussing demand for sustainable products.
Visit Journal publisher Maryann Liebert at Booth 3617 in the BIO Exhibition. Consumers are looking for products that are safer,
Vice president of Global Sales and Applications for Dupont Industrial Biosciences. bout 80 percent of U s. consumers say they will buy green products
The $3. 5 trillion global chemicals market represents a significant opportunity for growth of industrial biotechnology that ultimately provides consumers a choice of safer, cleaner products f
#Wall street journal Highlights Promising Gene therapy Advances Yesterday, bluebird bio reported some very uplifting news at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
have been able to forgo transfusions for at least five months following a gene therapy treatment from bluebird.
Advances such as this show the promise of biotechnology to transform lives and enable patients who had relied previously on frequent,
and women at biotechnology companies across the world are working hard to advance every day. Read the full Wall street journal article here r
Industrial biotechnology continues to enable solutions to energy challenges and building a biobased economy is key to reducing dependence on foreign oil enhancing our nation economic and energy security.
Last week, the U s. Navy signed an agreement with biotech company Biodico to collaborate on developing advanced biofuels and bioenergy refineries throughout the globe for the U s. military.
The biopharmaceutical industry is an important contributor to U s. economic growth and sustainability, with more than 650,000 direct jobs (supporting a total of nearly 4 million jobs) and an economic output that totals more than $900 billion
As a result, gains and losses in the biopharmaceutical sector cascade across many important economic sectors in the U s. It is becoming clear,
however, that the U s. can no longer take its leadership in biopharmaceuticals or other knowledge-based industries for granted.
many of which are targeted to the biopharmaceutical industry and related sectors. Despite the short-term costs associated with these investments,
As a result, more and more, the U s. is competing globally to maintain its leadership position in biopharmaceuticals.
For purposes of this study, entitled The Biopharmaceutical Research and development Enterprise: Growth Platform for Economies Around the World, Battelle examined policies
and programs being implemented to promote the bioscience sector in 18 countries and the European union (E u.).These countries were selected because of their interest in growing an innovation economy.
In addition, countries selected include a mix of developed countries with an existing biopharmaceutical presence (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sweden, the United kingdom UK,
and the E u. as a whole) and emerging countries that are targeting the biopharmaceutical sector (Brazil, Chile, China, Russia, Saudi arabia, Singapore, South africa, and South korea).
and capital, all of the countries examined are focusing on strategic components to grow their biopharmaceutical economy.
and programs to increase the economic footprint of the biopharmaceutical and related sectors in their own countries.
America innovative biopharmaceutical companies face increasing challenges, ranging from the cost and increased complexity of bringing new medicines to patients, the prospect of attracting
Just as other countries have drawn lessons from the growth of the U s. biopharmaceutical sector so too can the U s. learn from other countries that are strategically
Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford, is the proprietor of"frugal science, "a term he coined to explain the movement toward building cheap versions of high tech tools.
whether the safety of concrete could be improved using a biological solution. This manufacturing query turned out to be the right question asked at the right time.
a microbiologist, the cracks that form in concrete are not just unpleasant to look at, they can eventually lead to structural failures. he problem with cracks in concrete is said leakage
Jonkers said he hopes his concrete could be the start of a new age of biological buildings.
#Biomimicry Wave Energy Device Ready To Leave The Nest A new bio-inspired method of harvesting energy from the ocean has completed its shakedown on land,
However, kelp is pretty much on the money in terms of biomimicry. The Biowave wave energy device was inspired by the way that kelp sways and pivots with the movement of ocean swell waves.
led by Nenad Bursac, Duke university associate professor of biomedical engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Lauran Madden.""The beauty of this work is that it can serve as a test bed for clinical trials in a dish,
Cosmetics firm has teamed with bioengineering experts to develop tissue By Sarah Griffiths for Mailonline Published:
13:07 GMT, 20 may 2015 Cosmetics giant Lreal is joining forces with a bioengineering firm to print human skin.
Dr Ivan Poon, a molecular biologist at La Trobe University who led the work, said they may have uncovered a key part of the immune systems defence mechanism.
Professor Banfield and her colleagues sequenced the genomes of organisms found in ground water at a site beside the Colorado river in Rifle Colorado.
They then assembled the millions of DNA pieces into eight complete bacterial genomes from four new and one previously studied phyla.
They also produced draft genomes more than 90 per cent complete for a further 789 other bacteria.
the protein-based machinery that translate genetic information into proteins. They have placed them into an entirely new branch of the tree of life they have called the'candidate phyla radiation'due to their similarities to each other.
Christopher Brown, a microbiologist who was part of the team who took part in the study at the University of California Berkeley,
They have extremely small genomes and appear to be stripped down'forms of life with just enough genes needed to survive.
The team has named now 20 the new phyla they identified after award-winning microbiologists and one was called Berkelbacteria-after University of California Berkeley.
'There is a lot of biology that we haven't been able to understand from our current methods.'
Can we take some inspiration from biology and create a skin-like display?''The team is able to change the colour on an ultrathin nanostructured surface by applying voltage.
Alicia Jackson, the deputy director of Darpa Biological Technologies Office In virginia, made comments alluding to the technology at a biotech conference on Monday. or the first time
On earth, most synthetic biology projects use just two at the moment-e coli and yeast. want to use any organism that has properties
dubbed the oogle Maps of genomes, will help scientists correlate information on organisms. And the ultimate goal is to choose organisms with specific genes to create something with certain characteristics.
But understanding the genetics means it is now possible to engineer a microbe like yeast to do the job.
reported in the journal Science on Thursday, provides the missing piece in the biosynthesis puzzle.
'said Matias Ison, Lecturer in Bioengineering, University of Leicester.''But the astonishing fact was that these changes were dramatic,
Gene therapy that restores hearing in mice could be used on humans in just five years By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail. com and Reuters Published:
01:22 GMT, 9 july 2015 Gene therapy to treat hereditary human deafness could be available within five years.
Separately, a similar Novartis gene therapy trial is under way to help restore hearing in people who have become deaf through damage or disease.
when safety scares set back research, gene therapy is enjoying a renaissance. The technique has had positive clinical results recently in conditions ranging from blood diseases to blindness.'
'It's an exciting time for gene therapy in hearing.''A key element in current optimism is the development of better and safer viral delivery systems for getting corrective genes into the body.
Within a month, around half the mice with the mutation showed brainwave activity consistent with hearing
'said Kevin Healy, a UC Berkeley professor of bioengineering, who is co-senior author of the study with Dr. Bruce Conklin, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular disease and a professor of medical genetics and cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San francisco.'
'This technology could help us quickly screen for drugs likely to generate cardiac birth defects, and guide decisions about
'Published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers used biochemical and biophysical cues to prompt stem cells to differentiate
'This spatial differentiation happens in biology naturally, but we demonstrated this process in vitro, 'said study lead author Zhen Ma, a UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher in bioengineering.'
'The confined geometric pattern provided biochemical and biophysical cues that directed cardiac differentiation and the formation of a beating microchamber.'
'Modeling early heart development is difficult to achieve in a petri dish and tissue culture plates,
#Harvard Yale scientists develop technique to make GMOS safer A new milestone has been reached by scientists at Ivy League universities Yale and Harvard;
they have discovered a method to prevent genetically modified organisms (GMOS) from escaping into the wild. This technique is a powerful breath through in the mission to build stable, synthetic life forms.
The cells that carry an alternative genetic code will make them dependent on an artificial nutrient not available in nature.
George Church, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical school oversaw one of the studies that was published Wednesday in the journal Nature,
and compered the study to putting GMOS n a leash. The ability to alter an organisms genetic composition has been entertained one long by scientists and the plot of dozens of sci-fi movies and novels.
#Pop-up silicon 3d structures mimic biological structures A way to make pop-up silicon structures which can mimic the shape of biological structures like the veins
and brain cells has been found by researchers at Northwestern University, Illinois and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Complex three-dimensional (3d) structures in biology (e g.,, cytoskeletal webs, neural circuits, and vasculature networks) form naturally to provide essential functions in even the most basic forms of life.
spent two years using a PCC store as a iving laboratory to understand how food waste is created in a retail grocery environment. n 2010 the WISERG teamith the help of biologists, computer programmers and engineerseveloped a solution:
despite a vast number of examples in the biological world. The potential of evaporation to power engineered systems is neglected largely.
since DNA cages and bunny rabbits don have to act as genetic material for a cell, they have a much narrower list of chemical requirements than natural DNA.
incubated from an idea that struck Manu Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford university, when he was a graduate student.
on-GMO ot treated with growth hormone o added preservatives Our 35%obesity rate in the US,
which approved the first GMO in 1980. Unhealthy, or even unsafe, became collateral damage in the ar on Poverty Ironically,
As per BBC News, authors of a study distributed in the Nature journal sequenced the genomes of 120 different birds of 17 species. Darwin backed his Theory of Natural selection with the finches,
as their beaks developed to better devour the food around them. his is an exciting case where mild mutations in a gene that is vital for typical development prompts phenotypic observable advancement,
lead analyst Leif Andersson, a professor of functional genomics at Uppsala University, the Swedish University of Agricultural sciences, said in a press release.
the research is a major step forward in pharmacology and builds on earlier work in optogenetics, a technology that makes individual brain cells sensitive to light
and demonstrated an implantable, cellular-scale microfluidic and micro-optical interface to biology, with application opportunities not only in the brain but in other parts of the nervous system and other organs as well, says the study other co-principal investigator, John A. Rogers, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois. For now,
and observe and study the biological and medical significance of RNA misregulation. Previous technologies made it possible to attain static snapshots of RNA location
Mirkin is professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering.
Nanoflares have been very useful for researchers that operate in the arena of quantifying gene expression. Aurasense, Inc.,a biotechnology company that licensed the Nanoflare technology from the university,
and EMD-Millipore, another biotech company, have commercialized Nanoflares. There are now more than 1, 700 commercial forms of Nanoflares sold under the Smartflare name in more than 230 countries.
The Sticky-flare is designed to address limitations of Smartflares most notably their inability to track RNA location and enter the nucleus. The research team believes Sticky-flares are poised to become a valuable tool for researchers who want to understand the function of RNA in live cells.
professor of stem cell biology. linical trials are still in the very early stages. However with this kind of product,
says lead author Satya Dandekar, who chairs the department of medical microbiology and immunology at University of California,
That finding dispels concerns that the genetic material will quickly degrade in rain and sunlight. In the proof-of-principle study researchers wanted to answer
Geneticists have used the technique to silence specific genes examine what functions are lost and hence learn that gene purpose.
Ronald laboratory has been studying rice genetics and disease resistance for more than two decades and in 1995 announced that a gene called Xa21 confers resistance to the bacterial blight pathogen.
associate professor of cell biology and physiology at Washington University School of medicine in St louis. y finding the mutation,
They looked for mutations in the FMR1 gene that might impair the protein but not eliminate it entirely.
To see what effect this mutation might have, geneticist Stephen T. Warren and colleagues at Emory University replicated it in mouse brain cells
and tested it for the widely known functions of FMRP. To their surprise, this mutated FMRP appeared to work normally.
who is also an associate professor of biomedical engineering. his patient presents a case of partial fragile X syndrome associated with mutated, rather than absent, FMRP.
What does this mutation impair to cause only two symptoms of fragile X? To find out, Warren replicated the mutation in fruit flies.
Surprisingly, the fruit fly studies indicated that this single mutation increased the number of transmitters in brain cells, implicating a fundamental problem in
which the brain cells send out too many signals. To verify the mechanism in mammals, they turned to Klyachko lab,
researchers were able to verify the same effect from just the mutation and link it to human disease.
This single mutation in FMRP has the same overactivating effect on transmissions as the total loss of the protein.
The scientists say they can rule out the possibility that additional problems also are caused by this mutation
In many cases, genetic mutations that cause cancer involve chemical changes to individual building blocks of DNAREATING DNA ADDUCTS."
And it impossible to determine the exact location where a building block in the genetic code has been altered into an adduct.
The technology, called the Missouri Osteochondral Allograft Preservation System (MOPS), more than doubles the storage life of bone
says medical entomologist Gregory Lanzaro, professor in the pathology, microbiology and immunology department at University of California,
biological agentsncluding mosquito-killing bacteria and fungind genetic manipulation of mosquitoes aimed at either killing them
and director of the campus Center for Bioengineering. Whether inflammation is a byproduct of the disease
The Shire-NPS deal comes less than two weeks before NPS faces a key decision from the FDAHETHER to approve its biologics license application (BLA) for Natpara
"The acquisition of NPS Pharma is a significant step in advancing Shire's strategy to become a leading biotechnology company, Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov, M d,
Amgen markets cinacalcet HCL as Sensipar in the U s. and as Mimpara in the EU;
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