Biotechnology and Bioengineering News

April 23, 2024

Top Headlines

Researchers Create Artificial Cells That Act Like Living Cells

Apr. 23, 2024 — Researchers describe the steps they took to manipulate DNA and proteins -- essential building blocks of life -- to create cells that look and act like cells from the body. This accomplishment, a first in the field, has implications for efforts in ...

Plastic-Free Vegan Leather That Dyes Itself Grown from Bacteria

Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes ...

Synthetic Gene Helps Explain the Mysteries of Transcription Across Species

Mar. 6, 2024 — 'Random DNA' is naturally active in the one-celled fungi yeast, while such DNA is turned off as its natural state in mammalian cells, despite their having a common ancestor a billion years ago and the same basic molecular machinery, a new study ...

Key Genes Linked to DNA Damage and Human Disease Uncovered

Feb. 14, 2024 — Scientists unveil 145 genes vital for genome health, and possible strategies to curb progression of human genomic ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:22pm EDT

Low-Cost Microbe Can Speed Biological Discovery

Feb. 13, 2024 — Researchers have created a new version of a microbe to compete economically with E. coli -- a bacteria commonly used as a research tool due to its ability to synthesize proteins -- to conduct ...

Scientists Develop New Biocontainment Method for Industrial Organisms

Feb. 6, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new biocontainment method for limiting the escape of genetically engineered organisms used in industrial ...

Computer-Engineered DNA to Study Cell Identities

Feb. 5, 2024 — A new computer program allows scientists to design synthetic DNA segments that indicate, in real time, the state of cells. It will be used to screen for anti-cancer or viral infections drugs, or to ...

Using Computers to Design Proteins Allows Researchers to Make Tunable Hydrogels That Can Form Both Inside and Outside of Cells

Jan. 30, 2024 — New research demonstrates a new class of hydrogels that can form not just outside cells, but also inside of them. These hydrogels exhibited similar ...

Smart Skin Bacteria Are Able to Secrete and Produce Molecules to Treat Acne

Jan. 9, 2024 — An experimental study has shown that a type of skin bacterium can efficiently be engineered to produce a protein to regulate sebum production. This application could treat acne without compromising ...

How Researchers Are 'CReATiNG' Synthetic Chromosomes Faster and Cheaper

Dec. 21, 2023 — A new technique to clone and reassemble DNA, dubbed CReATiNG, could simplify and lower the cost to make synthetic chromosomes. Potential applications are numerous, including pharmaceutical ...

Enzymes Can't Tell Artificial DNA from the Real Thing

Dec. 13, 2023 — Researchers have come one step closer to unlocking the potential of synthetic DNA, which could help scientists develop never-before-seen proteins in the ...

Scientists Use Quantum Biology, AI to Sharpen Genome Editing Tool

Nov. 9, 2023 — Scientists used their expertise in quantum biology, artificial intelligence and bioengineering to improve how CRISPR Cas9 genome editing tools work on organisms like microbes that can be modified to ...

First Live Birth of a Chimeric Monkey Using Embryonic Stem Cell Lines

Nov. 9, 2023 — A team of researchers has reported for the first time the live birth of a monkey that contains a high proportion of cells derived from a monkey stem cell line. This 'chimeric' monkey is composed of ...

Yeast With an Over Half Synthetic Genome Is Created in the Lab

Nov. 8, 2023 — Researchers have combined over seven synthetic chromosomes that were made in the lab into a single yeast cell, resulting in a strain with more than 50% synthetic DNA that survives and replicates ...

First Mice Engineered to Survive COVID-19 Like Young, Healthy Humans

Nov. 1, 2023 — Researchers have genetically engineered the first mice that get a human-like form of COVID-19, according to a new ...

Engineered Bacteria Paint Targets on Tumors for Cancer-Killing T Cells to See

Oct. 12, 2023 — Synthetic biologists report on a new approach to attacking tumors. They have engineered tumor-colonizing bacteria (probiotics) to produce synthetic targets in tumors that direct CAR-T cells to ...

Natural GM Crops: Grasses Take Evolutionary Shortcut by Borrowing Genes from Their Neighbors

Oct. 5, 2023 — Grass may transfer genes from their neighbors in the same way genetically modified crops are made, a new study has revealed. ...

Small but Mighty New Gene Editor

Sep. 29, 2023 — A new CRISPR-based gene-editing tool has been developed which could lead to better treatments for patients with genetic disorders. The tool is an enzyme, AsCas12f, which has been modified to offer ...

Genetically Engineering Associations Between Plants and Nitrogen-Fixing Microbes Could Lessen Dependence on Synthetic Fertilizer

Sep. 27, 2023 — Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but the overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture is not sustainable. A team of bacteriologists and plant scientists discuss the ...

Genetically Modifying Individual Cells in Animals

Sep. 20, 2023 — Researchers have developed a method that lets them genetically modify each cell differently in animals. This allows them to study in a single experiment what used to require many animal experiments. ...

Spider Silk Is Spun by Silkworms for the First Time, Offering a Green Alternative to Synthetic Fibers

Sep. 20, 2023 — Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully ...

Fast-Track Strain Engineering for Speedy Biomanufacturing

Sep. 19, 2023 — Using engineered microbes as microscopic factories has given the world steady sources of life-saving drugs, revolutionized the food industry, and allowed us to make sustainable versions of valuable ...

Genetically Modified Bacteria Break Down Plastics in Saltwater

Sep. 14, 2023 — Researchers have genetically engineered a marine microorganism to break down plastic in salt water. Specifically, the modified organism can break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used ...

3D-Printed 'Living Material' Could Clean Up Contaminated Water

Sep. 5, 2023 — A 'living material,' made of a natural polymer combined with genetically engineered bacteria, could offer a sustainable and eco-friendly solution to clean pollutants from water. Researchers ...

Researchers Describe Rebuilding, Regenerating Lung Cells

Aug. 24, 2023 — Researchers have discovered a novel approach for engrafting engineered cells into injured lung tissue. These findings may lead to new ways for treating lung diseases, such as emphysema, pulmonary ...

Building Muscle in the Lab

Aug. 16, 2023 — A new method allows large quantities of muscle stem cells to be safely obtained in cell culture. This provides a potential for treating patients with muscle diseases -- and for those who would like ...

Researchers Engineer Bacteria That Can Detect Tumor DNA

Aug. 10, 2023 — Creating new technologically advanced sensors, scientists have engineered bacteria that detect the presence of tumor DNA in live organisms. Their innovation could pave the way to new biosensors ...

A Roadmap for Gene Regulation in Plants

June 21, 2023 — For the first time, researchers have developed a genome-scale way to map the regulatory role of transcription factors, proteins that play a key role in gene expression and determining a plant's ...

CRISPR/Cas9-Based Gene Drive Could Suppress Agricultural Pests

June 12, 2023 — Researchers have now used a gene-drive system to suppress an important agricultural ...

Designing Synthetic Receptors for Precise Cell Control

May 22, 2023 — Scientists have developed a groundbreaking new technique for engineering biosensors that respond sensitively to specific biomolecules, enhancing cell migration and targeting in cancer treatment. The ...

Scientists Create CRISPR-Based Drug Candidate Targeting the Microbiome

May 9, 2023 — A new drug candidate targeting E. coli in the gut is in phase 1 clinical trials. According to a new paper it may improve the well-being of blood cancer patients and reduce their mortality rate from ...

Scientists Slow Aging by Engineering Longevity in Cells

Apr. 27, 2023 — Researchers have developed a biosynthetic 'clock' that keeps cells from reaching normal levels of deterioration related to aging. They engineered a gene oscillator that switches between the ...

Synthetic Biology Meets Fashion in Engineered Silk

Apr. 20, 2023 — Engineers developed a method to create synthetic spider silk at high yields while retaining strength and toughness using mussel foot ...

SpyLigation Uses Light to Switch on Proteins

Apr. 18, 2023 — Scientists can now use light to activate protein functions both inside and outside of living cells. The new method, called light-activated SpyLigation, can turn on proteins that are normally off to ...