Blog

Archive for the ‘genetics’ category: Page 451

Aug 4, 2016

New microfluidic chip replicates muscle-nerve connection

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, computing, genetics, neuroscience

MIT engineers have developed a microfluidic device that replicates the neuromuscular junction—the vital connection where nerve meets muscle. The device, about the size of a U.S. quarter, contains a single muscle strip and a small set of motor neurons. Researchers can influence and observe the interactions between the two, within a realistic, three-dimensional matrix.

The researchers genetically modified the neurons in the device to respond to light. By shining light directly on the neurons, they can precisely stimulate these cells, which in turn send signals to excite the muscle fiber. The researchers also measured the force the muscle exerts within the device as it twitches or contracts in response.

The team’s results, published online today in Science Advances, may help scientists understand and identify drugs to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, as well as other neuromuscular-related conditions.

Continue reading “New microfluidic chip replicates muscle-nerve connection” »

Aug 3, 2016

Machine Learning Is Helping Us Find The Genetics Of Autism

Posted by in categories: genetics, neuroscience, robotics/AI

Princeton researchers are working smarter, not harder.

Read more

Aug 3, 2016

Universal cancer vaccine on horizon after genetic breakthrough

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, particle physics

A universal cancer vaccine is on the horizon after scientists discovered how to rewire immune cells to fight any type of disease.

The potential new therapy involves injecting tiny particles of genetic code into the body which travel to the immune cells and teach them to recognise specific cancers.

Although scientists have shown previously that is it is possible to engineer immune cells outside the body so they can spot cancer it is the first time it has happened inside cells.

Continue reading “Universal cancer vaccine on horizon after genetic breakthrough” »

Jul 31, 2016

Now there’s an app to help you breathe

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health, neuroscience

Apple’s new app to help you do deep breathing to improve your mind, intelligence, and over all health.


APPLE is set to launch a new app that aims to make you healthier through just a few minutes a day of deep breathing.

It is based on the growing field of research proving the biological benefits, including genetic changes, of mind-body medicine.

Continue reading “Now there’s an app to help you breathe” »

Jul 30, 2016

Scientists’ search for ‘noise-canceling’ gene networks supported

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

New Gene research.


Look closely at the raw materials that make up any group of cells and you’ll notice some “noise,” a term scientists use to describe natural variations in cellular composition.

Continue reading “Scientists’ search for ‘noise-canceling’ gene networks supported” »

Jul 30, 2016

Researchers find a male hormone that reversed cell aging in a clinical trial — “Cellular elixir of youth”

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Telomerase, an enzyme naturally found in the human organism, is the closest of all known substances to a “cellular elixir of youth.” In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Brazilian and US researchers show that sex hormones can stimulate production of this enzyme.

The strategy was tested in patients with genetic diseases associated with mutations in the gene that codes for telomerase, such as aplastic anemia and pulmonary fibrosis.

READ MORE ON AGÊNCIA FAPESP

Continue reading “Researchers find a male hormone that reversed cell aging in a clinical trial — ‘Cellular elixir of youth’” »

Jul 29, 2016

Portable bioreactor from MIT produces medications, vaccines on-demand

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

A new method for medicine.


Imagine a cross between one of those multi-color retractable pens and an epi-pen. But instead of colors, the device would have different medications. Now combine this with a tiny, droplet-sized sweatshop full of obedient single-celled organisms genetically engineered to produce those medications, and you’ve got what a team from MIT just published in Nature Communications: A new project, with funding from DARPA, that has demonstrated the ability to synthesize multiple medications on-demand and as-needed using yeast. The discovery could soon revolutionize our ability to deliver medicine after natural disasters or to remote locations.

Let’s stick with the metaphor of an epi-pen. First, the user presses the actuator, which mixes a chemical trigger into a culture of engineered Pichia pastoris cells. Upon exposure to certain chemical triggers, the cells are programmed to produce a protein: in the report, the team used estrogen β-estradiol, which caused the cells to express recombinant human growth hormone (rHGH), and also methanol, which induced the same culture of yeast to make interferon. By controlling the concentration of the chemical trigger and the population of P. pastoris, the team demonstrated that they could make their device produce a dose of either interferon or rHGH on command. To switch between products, they just pushed another button on the microbioreactor, which flushes out the cell culture with clean, sterile fluid.

Continue reading “Portable bioreactor from MIT produces medications, vaccines on-demand” »

Jul 29, 2016

New rare form of hereditary colon cancer identified

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Researchers have discovered that mutation in a gene can led to a form of hereditary colon cancer which was not identified earlier. The researchers discovered genetic changes in the MSH3 gene in patients and identified a new form of colon cancer.

“The knowledge about molecular mechanisms which lead to cancer is also a precondition for the development of new targeted drugs,” said Stefan Aretz from University of Bonn Hospital in Germany.

The formation of large numbers of polyps in the colon has a high probability of developing into colon cancer, if left untreated.

Continue reading “New rare form of hereditary colon cancer identified” »

Jul 28, 2016

Yale team designs gene modification system

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

A Yale research team has designed a system to modify multiple genes in the genome simultaneously, while also minimizing unintended effects. The gene-editing “toolbox” provides a user-friendly solution that scientists can apply to research on cancer and other disciplines, according to a news release from Yale.

The study was published on July 26 in Nucleic Acids Research.

The news release states that, with modern genetic engineering techniques, researchers can edit genes in experiments. This allows researchers to study important disease-related genes and may ultimately allow them to treat genetic diseases by making edits in specific sites of the human genome. However, progress has been hampered by several challenges, including the editing of unintended sites — referred to as off-target effects.

Continue reading “Yale team designs gene modification system” »

Jul 26, 2016

We’re Understanding How The Brain Functions By Linking Retinas To Chips

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, genetics, neuroscience

Many folks are not aware that one of the early detections of GBM is through a person’s weakened eyesight as well as Ophthalmologist examinations.


The retina is essentially part of the brain. Studying them led researchers one step closer to understanding how the brain processes stimuli.

There is a genetically transmitted disease that causes the eyeballs to twitch back and forth, and it’s called Nystagmus. It impacts 1 in 1,500 men. Notably, it has been recently discovered that the twitching is caused by the miscalculations done by the retinal neurons in converting visual stimuli into electrical signals.

Continue reading “We’re Understanding How The Brain Functions By Linking Retinas To Chips” »