Detecting the activity of CRISPR gene editing tools in organisms with the naked eye and an ultraviolet flashlight is now possible using technology developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Scientists demonstrated these real-time detection tools in plants and anticipate their use in animals, bacteria and fungi with diverse applications for biotechnology, biosecurity, bioenergy and agriculture. The team described the successful development of the UV system in Horticulture Research and their proof-of-principle demonstration in ACS Synthetic Biology….

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba place a radio-frequency repeater inside an MRI machine that allows it to detect sodium ions, which may lead to enhanced clinical imaging and monitoring functionality at very low cost. Scientists at the University of Tsukuba demonstrated how conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines can be retrofitted to detect sodium ions using a cross band radio-frequency repeater. This work may allow for new medical diagnostics to be performed without expensive new equipment. Magnetic resonance imaging…

Biophysicists in Japan have found ways to make and manipulate capsule-like DNA structures that could be used in the development of artificial molecular systems. Such systems could function, for example, inside the human body. The study was a collaboration between Yusuke Sato of Tohoku University and Masahiro Takinoue of the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), and the findings were published in the JACS Au. To make the capsules, the researchers first created two different types of DNA nanostructures. Each…

The Bubbler, a breathalyzer that reverse-transcribes RNA from airborne SARS-CoV-2 in breath, predicts lower respiratory tract involvement and is less invasive than alternative testing approaches, report researchers in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. In a new study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, investigators report on the design and testing of a breathalyzer, known as the Bubbler, that relies on viral RNA detection to diagnose SARS-CoV-2. Its name is derived from the bubbling sound that occurs when…

Fluorescence light microscopy has the unique ability to observe cellular processes over a scale that bridges four orders of magnitude. Yet, its application to living cells is fundamentally limited by the very rapid and unceasing movement of molecules and the light-induced destruction of fluorescent probes. Ultrarapid cryo-arrest of cells during live observation on a microscope, as developed by the group of Prof. Philippe Bastiaens the at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, now circumvents these fundamental problems…

Organ-on-a-chip technology has provided a push to discover new drugs for a variety of rare and ignored diseases for which current models either don’t exist or lack precision. In particular, these platforms can include the cells of a patient, thus resulting in patient-specific discovery. As an example, even though sickle cell disease was first described in the early 1900s, the range of severity in the disease causes challenges when trying to treat patients. Since this disease is most prevalent among…

Study on genetic changes in neuroblastoma. Tumors are heterogeneous, which means that different parts of the same tumor can be genetically distinct. This phenomenon, known as intratumor heterogeneity, is steadily gaining in significance within the field of cancer research. Cellular and molecular differences within the same tumor play an important role in many different cancers due to their implications for diagnosis and the use of targeted therapies. According to a recently published study by Charité, the MDC and the German…

For the first time, scientists have identified a rare population of potentially toxic senescent cells in human brains that can serve as a target for a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment. The study, published in the Dec.10 edition of the journal Nature Aging, was led by Miranda Orr, Ph.D., assistant professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine, at Wake Forest School of Medicine and research health scientist at the W.G. Hefner VA Medical Center, and Habil Zare, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell…

A characteristic of depression is a lack of motivation. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Bo Li, in collaboration with CSHL Adjunct Professor Z. Josh Huang, discovered a group of neurons in the mouse brain that influences the animal’s motivation to perform tasks for rewards. Dialing up the activity of these neurons makes a mouse work faster or more vigorously—up to a point. These neurons have a feature that prevents the mouse from becoming addicted to the reward. The findings may point to new therapeutic…

NIAID scientists developed vaccine platform. An experimental HIV vaccine based on mRNA—the same platform technology used in two highly effective COVID-19 vaccines—shows promise in mice and non-human primates, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Their results, published in Nature Medicine, show that the novel vaccine was safe and prompted desired antibody and cellular immune responses against an HIV-like virus. Rhesus macaques receiving a priming vaccine followed…

Researchers have found where and how mRNA arrives in a cell to modify or deliver genetic information, a crucial process for the development of novel therapies. In recent years, ribonucleic acid (RNA) has emerged as a powerful tool for the development of novel therapies. RNA is used to copy genetic information contained in our hereditary material, the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and then serves as a template for building proteins, the building blocks of life. Delivery of RNA into cells remains…

Protein ZAP inhibits multiplication of SARS-CoV-2 by 20-fold. HZI and HIRI study investigates antiviral protein of the immune defence system. Scientists at the Würzburg Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig demonstrate for the first time how ZAP, a protein of the human immune defence system, inhibits the replication mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and can reduce the viral load by 20-fold. The findings were published today in the journal…

The method lets researchers more easily study factors that can lead to cell death, in conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. It’s surprisingly hard to tell when a brain cell is dead. Neurons that appear inactive and fragmented under the microscope can persist in a kind of life-or-death limbo for days, and some suddenly begin signaling again after appearing inert. For researchers who study neurodegeneration, this lack of a precise “time of death” declaration for neurons makes it hard to pin down…

A potentially game-changing Antigen Rapid Test (ART) technology to diagnose COVID-19 has been developed by scientists in Singapore. Using a proprietary on-kit amplification technique, a person’s saliva can be self-administered or tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the point-of-care with sensitivity higher than current ART tests and close to that of laboratory-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Dubbed the Parallel Amplified Saliva rapid POint-of-caRe Test (PASPORT), the technology produces results in minutes, without the need for additional equipment or specially-trained…

For the first time, scientists show a causal link between tissue repair, mitochondrial metabolism, and the activation and function of macrophages (scavenger cells) / Publication in ’Cell Metabolism’. A Cologne-based research team has discovered that the metabolism of mitochondria, the energy suppliers of cells, in macrophages coordinate wound healing to a significant degree. Macrophages belong to the white blood cells and are also known as scavenger cells. Professor Dr. Sabine Eming and her collaborators and colleagues at the CECAD Cluster…

Research team with new development pipeline for RNA-based drugs successful in Europe-wide competition. Viruses are a major problem for human health worldwide – and not just since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Despite successful vaccine development, there are still no effective drugs for most viral diseases. This should change as quickly as possible. With the project “iGUARD (integrated Guided Ultrafast Antiviral RNAi Drug development)”, a research team led by Professor Dr. Dr. Axel Schambach, head of the Institute for…