https://phys.org/biology-news/biotechnology en-us The latest science news on biotechnology In a compost heap, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans finds a richly laid table: at a length of just one millimeter, the worm feeds on bacteria that decompose organic material. It is essential that the animal avoids sunlight—and not just to ensure its body remains at an optimal temperature and does not dry out. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-nematode-artificial-intelligence-elucidate-sensor.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 02 Aug 2023 10:40:54 EDT news610191648 In the peak heat of summer, beachgoers don't want their plans thwarted by harmful algal blooms (HABs). But current methods to remove or kill toxin-producing algae and cyanobacteria aren't efficient or practical for direct applications in waterways. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-sponge-algal-blooms.html Ecology Biotechnology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 17:00:07 EDT news610128005 Biofilms are highly resistant communities of bacteria that pose a major challenge in the treatment of infections. While studying biofilm formation in laboratory conditions has been extensively conducted, understanding their development in the complex environment of the human respiratory tract has remained elusive. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-organoids-revolutionize-respiratory-infections.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:00:01 EDT news610098560 New York University researchers have discovered new cell types in the visual system of flies, made possible by their creation of a tool that finds and labels neurons during development. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-flies-sight-scientists-single-cell-sequencing.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:00:01 EDT news610015035 A team of microbiologists and bioengineers at the University of Pennsylvania has tested the possibility of bringing back extinct molecules to fight modern bacteria. In their study, reported in Cell Host & Microbe, Jacqueline Maasch, Marcelo Torres, Marcelo Melo and Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez used an AI application to bring back extinct molecules for testing against modern bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-extinct-molecules-modern-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:50:02 EDT news610014932 In a new study published on July 27 in Matter, a research group led by Prof. Liu Jing at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators from Tsinghua University, has made a breakthrough in creating biotissue-like rhythmic agglomerates via two inanimate liquid materials, water and liquid metals assembled from the ground up. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-hydrous-liquid-metals-rhythmic.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 12:03:39 EDT news609764616 For the first time, scientists have managed to induce virgin birth in an animal that usually reproduces sexually: the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-secret-virgin-birth-ability.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 11:00:02 EDT news609695808 In recent years, a virtual tidal wave of studies linking the expression of certain genes to complex diseases as varied as cancer and diabetes has raised hopes for major advances in medical treatment and drug discovery. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-method-gene-tissues-cell.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:37:44 EDT news609759461 Nitrogen, especially in the form of inorganic nitrite and nitrate, is one of the major pollutants in freshwaters and human wastewater. Researchers from the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources in Xiamen and the IGB have identified a natural fungus-bacteria consortium that metabolizes nitrate particularly efficiently and consistently. This could be crucial for the further development of biotechnological approaches in water treatment and provides further evidence of the important role of fungi in aquatic ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-purification-biotechnology-approach-combining-fungi.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:18:12 EDT news609758290 As global temperatures continue to rise, maintaining the quality and yield of crops adapted to lower temperatures will increasingly become a challenge. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-gene-grain-quality-stress-rice.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:35:03 EDT news609755701 Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the University of Chicago have discovered semiconductor nanocluster precipitation within the periplasmic space of Gram-negative bacteria for efficient solar-driven chemical production. The findings were published in Science Advances on July 21. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-exploring-potential-periplasmic-biosynthesis-efficient.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:03 EDT news609754441 In a step forward in the development of genetic medicines, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a proof-of-concept model for delivering gene editing tools to treat blood disorders, allowing for the modification of diseased blood cells directly within the body. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-vivo-rna-based-gene-blood.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:00:01 EDT news609672100 Plastic waste is a problem. Most plastics can't be recycled, and many use finite, polluting petrochemicals as the basic ingredients. But that's changing. In a study published in Nature Sustainability, researchers successfully engineered microbes to make biological alternatives for the starting ingredients in an infinitely recyclable plastic known as poly(diketoenamine), or PDK. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-renewable-infinitely-recyclable-plastics-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 11:00:01 EDT news609673227 Two leading sequencing techniques are no longer at odds, thanks to an international effort led by scientists at University of California San Diego. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-resource-harmonizes-16s-shotgun-sequencing.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 27 Jul 2023 11:00:01 EDT news609672863 What happens inside the carnivorous plant Venus Flytrap when it catches an insect? New technology has led to discoveries about the electrical signaling that causes the trap to snap shut. Bioelectronic technology enables advanced research into how plants react to their surroundings, and to stress. The work is published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-fast-electrical-bioelectronic-technology.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:00:02 EDT news609579654 Antibody therapies have a variety of uses, but we need to know which therapies work and which ones don't. Recent research has discovered a means to determine how effective certain antibodies can be in medical scenarios. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-x-rays-antibodies.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 11:13:03 EDT news609588779 Artificial reefs might help to restore the ocean's ability to fight against climate change. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-artificial-reefs-seagrass-meadows-climate.html Ecology Biotechnology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 11:12:05 EDT news609588721 Keeping a watchful eye on newly settled corals at submillimeter scale on the Great Barrier Reef is now much easier, with Southern Cross University and CSIRO successfully using underwater macrophotogrammetry for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-advanced-imaging-technology-baby-corals.html Ecology Biotechnology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:02 EDT news609522071 Bacterial biofilms are clusters of microorganisms that form on wetted surfaces virtually everywhere. They harbor pathogens that compromise water quality, and they can disrupt the operation of many different engineered systems through the corrosion, fouling and clogging of tanks, pipes and valves. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-dark-problem-biofilms.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 25 Jul 2023 15:21:04 EDT news609517261 Researchers have created a unique microscopic toolkit of "green" tunable electrical components, paving the way for a new generation of bioelectronic devices and sensors. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-era-environment-friendly-programmable-bioelectronics.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 25 Jul 2023 10:03:22 EDT news609498199 Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) has emerged as the most powerful super-resolution technique for live cell imaging, owing to its inherent advantages of high speed, low phototoxicity, and compatibility with various dyes. With the advancement of SIM, researchers have proposed a range of algorithms such as Open-SIM, fairSIM, Hessian-SIM, HiFi-SIM, etc. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-group-publish-open-source-3d-illumination.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:39:23 EDT news609496759 Regenerative medicine has opened up exciting possibilities in the world of medicine. Now, researchers in Japan are searching for ways to recreate and rebuild body tissues and organs, which may be an alternative cure for diseases. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-successful-generation-functional-parathyroid-glands.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 24 Jul 2023 12:21:16 EDT news609420073 Sequencing the genome of single bacterial cells has long been technically difficult due to the seemingly unalterable bias in the gene amplification stage of the process, making it hard to produce high-coverage genome sequence from precisely just one bacterial cell. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-bacterial-single-cell-whole-genome-sequencing-overhauled.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 24 Jul 2023 12:20:27 EDT news609420024 Drawing inspiration from natural sensory systems, an MIT-led team has designed a novel sensor that could detect the same molecules that naturally occurring cell receptors can identify. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-sensor-mimics-cell-membrane-functions.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:00:01 EDT news609147182 In a new study published in Nature Methods, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, describe improvements in the methods with which mutations can be introduced in human and other genomes—making these methods much more efficient and less error prone. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-method-efficiency-precision-reliability-dna.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jul 2023 13:16:03 EDT news609077762 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have designed a short peptide capable of poisoning a key enzyme in disease-causing bacteria, including some of most deadly and antibiotic-resistant species. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-synthetic-peptide-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:16:04 EDT news609070561 Scientists have engineered adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to package and deliver gene therapies to cells in the body. But the field has struggled to develop AAVs that can efficiently target different cell types and organs such as the brain, driving scientists to look for better ways of developing new viral vectors. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-reprogram-gene-therapy-viral-vectors.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:09:03 EDT news609070141 Gastrulation, the process where an embryo reorganizes itself from a hollow sphere into a multilayered structure, is considered a "black box" of human development. This is because human embryos are typically not cultured for longer than 14 days because of bioethical concerns, and gastrulation occurs between 17- and 21-days post-fertilization. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-generate-human-embryo-like-extraembryonic-tissue.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:00:01 EDT news609062330 Integrated Biosciences, a biotechnology company combining synthetic biology and machine learning to target aging, in collaboration with researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara, today announced a drug discovery platform that enables precise control of the integrated stress response (ISR), a biological pathway that is activated by cells in response to a wide variety of pathological and aging-associated conditions. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-synthetic-biology-platform-enabling-aging-associated.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:59:57 EDT news608986793 Researchers at Italian Institute of Technology—IIT and University of Milan-Bicocca, in cooperation with Genoa Aquarium in Italy, have recently published a study in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, which demonstrates the efficacy of curcumin, a natural antioxidant substance extracted from turmeric, in reducing coral bleaching, a phenomenon caused primarily by climate change. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-efficacy-curcumin-coral-climate.html Ecology Biotechnology Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:16:04 EDT news608984161