and Ronald Harty in the Department of Pathobiology of the University of Pennsylvania School of veterinary medicine demonstrates a way to do that,
Next they looked directly at VLP production in normal cultured cells or cells with a mutation in ORAI1.
which requires the highest levels of biocontainment. There, researchers carried out experiments similar to what had been done with the VLP assays.
said Ellington, professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and member of the UT Center for Systems and Synthetic biology.
#New treatment targets cancers with particular genetic signature Oxford university researchers have found the Achilles heel of certain cancer cells mutations in a gene called SETD2.
It is well known that mutations drive cancer cell growth and resistance to treatment. However, these mutations can also become a weak point for a tumour.
The Oxford team found that that was the case for cancer cells with mutations in a key cancer gene called SETD2.
Study author, Dr Timothy Humphrey said: utations in SETD2 are frequently found in kidney cancer and some childhood brain tumours,
when we discovered that a new drug we were studying specifically killed cancer cells with this mutation.
hen WEE1 was inhibited in cells with a SETD2 mutation, the levels of deoxynucleotides, the components that make DNA,
Importantly, normal cells in the body do not have SETD2 mutations, so these effects of WEE1 inhibition are potentially very selective to cancer cells.
and the Medical Research Council, have developed also a biomarker test to identify SETD2 mutated tumours,
said Andrzej Joachimiak, an Argonne Distinguished Fellow, head of the Structural biology Center, co-principal investigator at the Center for Structural genomics of Infectious diseases and a corresponding author on the new study.
and a specialty of co-author Huilin Li, a molecular biologist at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University.
A link to epigenetics To identify which polymerase was at the top of the helicase,
Oonnell suggests. hanges to nucleosomes carry epigenetic information that instructs different cells to become the different tissues of the body,
and other organs during embryonic development, Oonnell says. o we can speculate that Pol-e interaction with nucleosomes could play a role in assigning different epigenetic identities to the two new daughter cells after cell division,
and shows genome changes that indicate domestication by humans. The new research is published in Nature Genetics.
The plant endosperm has been an important factor in the establishment of a mutualistic relationship with humanso facilitate their survival and spread,
But a direct link between the biochemistry of the seed-filling processes and domestication had remained long elusive.
#Researchers Smash Records with Pig-to-Primate Organ transplants A biotech company is genetically engineering pigs so that their organs might work in people.
With the financial aid of a biotechnology executive whose daughter may need a lung transplant, U s. researchers have been shattering records in xenotransplantation,
The GM pigs are being produced in Blacksburg, Virginia, by Revivicor, a division of the biotechnology company United Therapeutics.
and difficult to get them to function correctly. ou try to put all your genes into one parcel so they go to one place in the genome,
who leads a German consortium developing transgenic pigs. t very cumbersome. Creating a good pig is really like winning the lottery. n the United states,
Since last year, some of the genetic engineering has been carried out in collaboration with Synthetic Genomics, a California company started by DNA sequencing entrepreneur J. Craig Venter.
who runs the mammalian synthetic biology program for Synthetic Genomics. o one is so naïve as to think, h,
The organs he used before had three genetic alterations, but the next ones will have seven. f they survive,
Genome pioneer Craig Venter led a team that manufactured a genome for a germ that causes pneumonia in cows,
Romesberg lab could claim to have made the first living thing with an expanded genetic code. eople would ask what the big deal is said,
The technology might also pave the way to new biotech drugs. Nearly all such drugs
too big, says Peter Schultz, a Scripps biologist. Romesberg trained in Schultz lab.)Eventually, there could be bacteria producing entirely new proteins. o make a billion-dollar business, yes,
Steven Benner, a synthetic biologist and a founder of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Florida, asks.
suggests that synthetic biology might also improve the ability to detect new earthly life forms. aybe they exist on earth,
Both Romesberg and Church reported a tiny fraction of the bacteria managed to slip the genetic handcuffs via mutation.
And once synthetic biology leads to a new drug or vaccine, he thinks, wel get used to the idea of inventing life for our own good. ne has to pick the most near-term applications of this technology to show what it can really do for the good of mankind,
"In nature, a great number of microorganisms, like diatoms, can assemble biominerals into intricate hierarchical three-dimensional architectures with great structural control,
#Stimulating Neurons with Sound Over the past five years, optogenetics method for stimulating genetically engineered neurons with lightas taken the life sciences by storm.
Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La jolla, California, have used the method, dubbed onogenetics,
Study coauthor Sreekanth Chalasani, a molecular neurobiologist at the Salk Institute, explained that sonogenetics will complement optogenetics,
People using optogenetics in mammals for instance, must surgically insert a probe, whereas stimulation with ultrasound will require no such surgery. his is said noninvasive,
because it really opens up new possibilities for how we modulate biology, said Jamie Tyler,
the amplified ultrasound waves also do appear to affect some other neurons. t not he same thing at this point as optogenetics, where it really an all-or-none thing,
The team found a similar gene expression profile to that of kidneys of first-trimester human fetuses, for example,
The results, published in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, describe the array as consisting of five superelastic wires made from nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium.
co-senior author of a paper describing the work and an assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and UNC-Chapel hill.
According to NC State, the technology consists of an elastic film that is studded with biocompatible microcapsules.
Co-authors include Yanqi Ye and Jicheng Yu of the joint biomedical engineering program and Zheng Cui and Tushar Ghosh of NC State
Helen Huang, an associate professor in the biomedical engineering program at NC State and UNC-Chapel hill said that as well helping streamline the initial set up of prosthetics,
and biological fluids containing bacteria and blood. According to the researchers, all liquids were repelled, with the tungsten oxide actually making the steel stronger than steel without the coating.
"says Sanjeev Mariathasan, a biologist Genentech, the biotech company behind the study. That's a big problem because drugs that are used normally against staph infections can take over four hours to work far longer than it takes for Staph bacteria to move into new cells,
biotechnology companies have made them as well. Genentech manufactured antibodies based on those the immune system makes to combat staph infections.
"says Gerald Pier, a microbiologist at Harvard university who also acts as a consultant for Visterra,
a biotechnology company that's working on a similar technique. Now, the researchers have to show that it works against multiple strains of bacteria as well,
States Professor Joseph Perry, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech,"sol-gels...such as phosphonic acids are well known...
and will later launch other authentication services based on biometrics, the company said.""Going forward, we plan to not target hardware manufacturers that make smartphones,
but to instead provide our biometric solutions to online service and security companies,"said a Samsung SDS spokesperson."
"We plan to offer clients that need biometrics solution with various business models and offer differentiated authentication services."
"Samsung's self-developed biometrics authentication solution has received certification from the Fast IDENTITY Online (FIDO) Alliance, an international standard setter for online authentication,
FIDO-backed biometric authentications will become the de facto standard of the future, "said the spokesman.
Samsung SDS did not elaborate on how its biometrics solutions work, but said it includes the use of fingerprint-,iris,
Security will be boosted by using biological information as a key the company said. Meanwhile, Samsung last week announced that it aims to become one of the top 10 global IT service companies in the world,
Just a few years ago, sequencing a human genome cost $95m. Now, the price is $1 000.
In line with women's health, connected care plays a crucial role in keeping the world's XX-chromosomes healthy.
#South korea to invest $300m in biotech The South korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy,
and other local agencies have announced plans to invest $300 million in fostering biotechnology over the course of 2015
As of 2012, it controlled just 1. 3 percent share in global biotechnology, the ministries said.
Biotechnology is quickly gaining popularity in South korea, the government said, with startups working on the area accounting for 13.7 percent of listed companies on the KOSDAW based on market value.
Venture capitalists invested a total of $225 million in biotech last year more than IT manufacturing's $150. 8 million and IT services'$131 million.
The government expects the global biotechnology market to see rapid growth, and expects it to dwarf the semiconductor, chemical,
Understanding the interdependency of physiochemical properties of nanomedicines in correlation to their biological responses and functions is crucial for their further development of as cancer-fighters.
--and their interactions with biological systems explains Jianjun Cheng an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
and his collaborators systematically evaluated the size-dependent biological profiles of three monodisperse drug-silica nanoconjugates at 20 50 and 200 nm.
Cheng a Willett Faculty Scholar at Illinois is affiliated with the departments of Bioengineering and of Chemistry the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory the Institute of Genomic Biology the Frederick
Mapping that dense molecular machinery is one of the most promising and challenging frontiers in medicine and biology.
and surprising said study coauthor Huilin Li a biologist at Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University.
To our surprise we found an intermediate structure with one ORC binding two rings said Brookhaven Lab biologist
One step further along the researchers also determined the molecular architecture of the final double-ring structure left behind after the ORC leaves the system offering a number of key biological insights.
Precision methods close collaborationexamining these fleeting molecular structures required mastery of biology chemistry and electron microscopy techniques.
This proclivity for copper uptake is something we have known could be an Achilles'heel in prostate cancer tumors as well as other cancers said Donald Mcdonnell Ph d. chairman of the Duke Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology and senior author
Though a magnetic reversal is a major planet-wide event driven by convection in Earth's iron core there are no documented catastrophes associated with past reversals despite much searching in the geologic and biologic record.
of which can cause genetic mutations a weakening or temporary loss of the field before a permanent reversal could increase cancer rates.
We should be thinking more about what the biologic effects would be said Renne. Dating ash deposits from windward volcanoes The new finding is based on measurements of the magnetic field alignment in layers of ancient lake sediments now exposed in the Sulmona basin of the Apennine Mountains east of Rome Italy.
Christoph Benning MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and his colleagues unearthed the protein's potential
and Department of Plant Biology and co-author. They go into quiescence to conserve energy and nutrients.
This marriage of materials science and biology could give birth to a flexible sensitive coating that is easy and cheap to manufacture in large quantities.
The work to be published Oct 14 in the journal Nature Communications could lead to new types of biological sensors flow valves
This work represents a unique convergence of the fields of biomimetic materials biomolecular engineering and synthetic biology said principal investigator Dr. Sanjay Kumar UC Berkeley associate professor of bioengineering.
We created a new class of smart protein-based materials whose structural principles are inspired by networks found in living cells.
Kumar's research team set out to create a biological version of a synthetic coating used in everyday liquid products such as paint
To create the biological equivalent of a polymer brush the researchers turned to neurofilaments pipe cleaner-shaped proteins found in nerve cells.
In biology precision is said critical Kumar. Proteins are synthesized generally with the exact same sequence every time;
the length and biochemical order of the protein sequence affects all of its properties including structure
and the ability to bind to other molecules and catalyze biochemical reactions. This kind of sequence precision is difficult if not impossible to achieve in the laboratory using the tools of chemical synthesis. By harnessing the precision of biology
and letting the bacterial cell do all the work for us we were able to control the exact length and sequence of the bristles of our protein brush.
The researchers also hope to explore the unexpected conformational changes for insights into epigenetics the field that studies how genes are expressed and moderated.
#Protein found in insect blood helps power pests immune responses Pest insects may be sickened to learn to that researchers at Kansas State university have discovered a genetic mechanism that helps compromise their immune system.
Michael Kanost university distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics led a study by Kansas State university researchers that looked at how protein molecules in the blood of insects function in insects'immune system.
It is recognized often by a genetic mechanism in the mosquito's immune system which kills the parasite.
The study Self-association of an Insect Beta-13-Glucan Recognition Protein Upon Binding Laminarin Stimulates Prophenoloxidase Activation as an Innate Immune response was published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Ramaswamy Krishnamoorthi associate professor of biochemistry and bimolecular physics; Huaien Dai a doctoral graduate; and former faculty member Yasuaki Hiromasa.
Researchers used a variety of biochemical and biophysical experiments to understand how the protein molecules assemble on the surface of the pathogen.
Retrieving small genomes from a mix of organisms Scientists from the IZW led by Alex Greenwood publish in PLOS ONE a simple way to retrieve small genomes from a mix of various organisms.
Molecular biological analyses of tissue samples always confront scientists with the same problem: how to retrieve the genome of a specific pathogen from a mixture of DNAS in a patient and its microbial cohabitants?
Very easily says Alex Greenwood from the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.
Analysis of the sequences and comparison with reference data demonstrated that the complete mitochondrial genome of the rodents had been retrieved from the DNA pool.
It is therefore possible to yield plenty of genetic information with just a tiny fragment. In fact entire mitochondrial genomes and almost the entire genome sequence of a bacterium were obtained
when specifically tested for the efficiency of the bycatch principle. Capflank opens doors to completely new possibilities e g. in the genetic analysis of pathogens.
We can use short preserved gene sequences to yield the genome (or at least large sections of it) from pathogenic variants of influenza viruses for example or from completely new pathogens explains Greenwood.
As their next task his team wants to retrieve simple and well characterised DNA VIRUSES such as the elephant herpes virus.
From the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli contained in a human urine sample the scientists retrieved 90 per cent of the genome in one go.
and have been published in the journal Genome Research. When people talk about stress they generally refer to feeling the strains of too high burdens at work or in their private life.
In biology the term stress has a broader meaning: discovered and first described in 1936 by Viennese physician and biochemist Hans Selye stress is a psychological and physical reaction to external stimuli
which the body initially reacts to by mobilizing its defense mechanisms. Triggers for stress so called stress factors include not only emotional strain but also physical factors such as heat cold too much sun infections injuries and toxic substances--for example in cigarette smoke.
They are only able to reproduce inside the host's cells they have known the smallest genome of all organisms with a cell nucleus (eukaryotes) and they posses no mitochondria of their own (the cell's power plant.
Due to their phenomenal high molecular evolution rate genome analysis has so far been rather unsuccessful:
The analysis of the entire genome had several surprises in store for them: The genome resembles more that of a fungi than a microsporidium
and in addition also has a mitochondrial genome. The new species now named Mitosporidium daphniae thus represents the missing link between fungi and microsporidia.
With the help of scientists in Sweden and the U s. the Basel researchers rewrote the evolutionary history of microsporidia.
but that its genome is rather atypical for a microsporidium. It resembles much more the genome of their fungal ancestors.
Genome modificationsthe scientists thus conclude that the microsporidia adopted intracellular parasitism first and only later changed their genome significantly.
These genetic adaptations include the loss of mitochondria as well as extreme metabolic and genomic simplification. Our results are not only a milestone for the research on microsporidia
#Greater rates of mitochondrial mutations discovered in children born to older mothers The discovery of a maternal age effect by a team of Penn State scientists that could be used to predict the accumulation of MITOCHONDRIAL DNA mutations in maternal egg cells
--and the transmission of these mutations to children--could provide valuable insights for genetic counseling. These mutations cause more than 200 diseases and contribute to others such as diabetes cancer Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
The study found greater rates of the MITOCHONDRIAL DNA variants in children born to older mothers as well as in the mothers themselves.
Many mitochondrial diseases affect more than one system in the human body said Kateryna Makova professor of biology and one of the study's primary investigators.
whether maternal age is important in the accumulation of MITOCHONDRIAL DNA (mtdna) mutations both in the mother and in the child as a result of transmission.
Studying healthy individuals gave the researchers a baseline for future studies of disease-causing mutations.
Through DNA sequencing they found more mutations in blood and cheek cells in the older mothers in the study.
But finding greater rates of mutations in children born to the older mothers did come as a surprise.
The researchers believe a similar mutation process is occurring both in the cells of the mothers'bodies and in their germ lines.
Compared to molecules assembled without these hooks those incorporating the Suntag can greatly amplify biological activity.
In collaboration with Jonathan Weissman Phd professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology and a Howard hughes medical institute (HHMI) investigator at UCSF UCSF researchers also used the Suntag to supercharge a variation of a biochemical approach known as CRISPR.
CRISPR is a technique that emerged a few years ago as a way to edit DNA anywhere within the genome.
The selected RNA serves as an adaptor that determines the target anywhere within the genome.
The Weissman team led experiments demonstrating that CRISPR molecules incorporating the Suntag can be used to precisely control gene expression of many genes within the genome.
For instance these methods could be used to identify biochemical pathways that cancer cells may use to develop drug resistance
RNA interference was identified more than a decade ago launching a new research field that has spawned a Nobel prize and new biotech firms.
CRISPR activation of genes can provide complementary biological insights. The adaptation of the Suntag for CRISPR activation makes it possible to systematically probe the biological roles of all genes within the genome in a single experiment.
The Weissman team used CRISPR activation to identify a number of tumor suppressor genes that inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
and responds by activating cellular gene expression programs. Observations that fructose potently activates Chrebp in rodent livers
Ribosomes common to all living organisms are the machines that read the genetic code producing proteins based on the instructions therein.
It quickly grew into an effort involving two Ph d. microbiologists a talented graduate student and several analytical biochemists.
The above story is provided based on materials by American Society for Microbiology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Bio-inspired nano-cocoons offer targeted drug delivery against cancer cells Biomedical engineering researchers have developed a drug delivery system consisting of nanoscale ocoonsmade of DNA that target cancer cells
which means it is biocompatible and less toxic to patients than systems that use synthetic materialssays Dr. Zhen Gu senior author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and UNC
Chapel hill. his technique also specifically targets cancer cells can carry a large drug load and releases the drugs very quickly once inside the cancer cellgu says. n addition
Margaret Reiff an undergraduate student in the joint biomedical engineering department; Tianyue Jiang a Ph d. student in the joint biomedical engineering department and at the China Pharmaceutical University;
and Dr. Ran Mo a former postdoctoral researcher in the joint biomedical engineering department now at the China Pharmaceutical University.
This research was supported by the North carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute under grant number 1ul1tr001111 and with funding from NC State and UNC Chapel hill.
Researchers characterize new tumor syndrome Scientists at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg have published their findings that mutations in a gene known as ARMC5 promote the growth of benign tumors in the adrenal glands
Now for the first time a mutation of ARMC5 has been characterized as the cause behind the growth of meningeal tumors.
Growth of these adrenal cortex adenomas is based on a combination of hereditary and spontaneous mutations: It affects people in
If the second allele of ARMC5 later also undergoes a spontaneous mutation in the adrenal cortex then the gene no longer functions.
and studied it using bioinformatic techniques. We demonstrated for the first time in a patient with an adrenal cortex tumor
and simultaneously a meningeal tumor that somatic that is nonhereditary ARMC5 mutations are present in both tumors.
which other types of tumor ARMC5 mutations are responsible for tumor growth: Building upon that we can learn
For the water to reach the households in a clean state via the distribution network a team headed by microbiologist Ursula Obst who directs the partial project for water processing and water quality assurance developed methods for the central semi
and metal--and also suppressed biofilm formation in a study reported in Nature Biotechnology. But that's not All the team implanted medical-grade tubing
Ingber is also the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical school and Boston Children's Hospital as well as professor of bioengineering at Harvard School of engineering and Applied sciences (SEAS.
One protein directs epigenetic players Every single human cell contains every single human gene. But depending on the cell only some of these genes need to be expressed or turned on.
Now scientists know that there are tiny proteins--epigenetic proteins--that sit atop the genetic code inside cells.
Now UNC researchers discovered that one gene-regulating protein called Bre1 must be maintained in the proper amount for other epigenetic players to do their jobs properly.
All this supporting staff is part of epigenetics--epi meaning on or above--a field that focuses on the environment and the players that allow our genes to act.
I think epigenetics is a new frontier of cancer research says Brian Strahl Ph d. a professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the UNC School of medicine.
We can now sequence the entire genome of a cancer cell and what we're finding is that many cancers have mutations in the epigenetic machinery.
We're not just finding this in cancer cell lines in the lab but in cancer patients.
or denies access to the genetic information inside our cells. This is what Strahl studies. His goal is to figure out precisely how histones contribute to basic biological functions
and in turn contribute to cancers and other diseases. Adding a twist to this idea however is the fact that not every histone is the same.
or further prevent access to our genetic information--our DNA. And this access or denial ultimately affects genes
and lungs for example and the various biological chemicals that simply make us tick. Proper nutrients for instance allow for the formation of chemical tags to direct the histones to activate genes in the proper ways.
Nasty environmental stuff such as cigarette smoke can mess up the epigenetic machinery. Yet these chemical tags are not ultimately in charge of the genes.
what had been an epigenetic mystery. Scientific literature on Bre1 had been mixed. Some studies indicated that Bre1 had a role as a tumor suppressor Strahl said.
Work the microbiome was pioneered by Washington University scientists led by Jeffrey Gordon MD the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology.
or biological contaminants with far-reaching implications for public health including homeland security concerns. Applying world class research to water quality has to be viewed as a critical component for sustaining society as a whole says Clarkson University President Tony Collins. As healthy water becomes increasingly scarce establishing real-time data as the new standard for understanding water quality around the globe
and designed said Peng Yin senior author of the paper Wyss Core Faculty member and Assistant professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical school.
The work was done in collaboration with MIT's Laboratory for Computational biology and Biophysics led by Mark Bathe senior co-author of the paper.
The paper's findings describe a significant advance in DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY as well as in inorganic nanoparticle synthesis Yin said.
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