/ en-us Âé¶čÒùÔș internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Âé¶čÒùÔșics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Mosquitoes kill more people each year than any other animal. In 2023, the blood-sucking insects infected a reported 263 million people with malaria, leading to nearly 600,000 deaths, 80% of which were children. /news/2025-07-genetic-tweak-mosquitoes-blocks-malaria.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:00:15 EDT news672420040 A team that includes Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists has unlocked some of the secrets of corn DNA, revealing how specific sections of genetic material control vital traits such as plant architecture and pest resistance. /news/2025-07-corn-dna-reveals-genes-traits.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:30:25 EDT news671815819 A Ph.D. student in biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has built a software program designed to facilitate the kind of precision genome editing involved in the development of cutting-edge therapeutics for genetic conditions such as certain metabolic or blood disorders, like sickle-cell anemia. /news/2025-07-software-precision-genome-crispr-accessible.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:00:05 EDT news671198104 Professor Hirohide Saito (Department of Life Science Frontiers at CiRA / The University of Tokyo) and Assistant Professor Hirohisa Ohno (Department of Life Science Frontiers at CiRA) recently led a team effort to develop a novel RNA-based system called the split RNA switch, integrating translational and post-translational control to achieve highly specific gene expression in targeted cell types. Their study is published in Nature Communications. /news/2025-07-rna-boosts-precision-cell-specific.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 03 Jul 2025 11:47:42 EDT news670762053 Using an inexpensive electrode coated with DNA, MIT researchers have designed disposable diagnostics that could be adapted to detect a variety of diseases, including cancer or infectious diseases such as influenza and HIV. /news/2025-07-polymer-dna-sensors-enable-month.html Biochemistry Polymers Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:56:39 EDT news670604193 Genome editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 have transformed biology, medicine, and agriculture, but concerns remain about unintended edits at off-target DNA sites. These off-target effects can cause harmful mutations and are difficult to predict, as they depend not only on the guide RNA but also on an organism's unique genetic makeup. Most existing prediction tools rely on a standard reference genome, ignoring key variations like SNPs, insertions, and deletions that differ across individuals and alleles. /news/2025-07-web-based-tool-crispr-accuracy.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:07:03 EDT news670590421 During animal development, cells divide and arrange themselves in a coordinated way, eventually forming the embryo. The cells communicate with one another during this process through cell-surface receptors, which interact with proteins outside the cell to trigger processes within the developing embryo's cells at specific times and places. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms behind how cells communicate during early embryonic development are not yet fully understood. /news/2025-07-unique-cell-receptor-interactions-essential.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 01 Jul 2025 11:51:04 EDT news670589461 A recent study involving researchers from the University of Basel reveals that slowing down the intracellular transport of RNA-based drugs can significantly enhance their effectiveness. These promising therapeutics are currently used to treat rare genetic diseases. /news/2025-06-rna-drug-cells-boost-effectiveness.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 30 Jun 2025 11:15:04 EDT news670500902 Researchers at the IPK Leibniz Institute have discovered a previously unknown protein that is central to plant reproduction. The protein SCEP3 enables plants to mix and precisely distribute their chromosomes—carriers of genetic information—during meiosis. This process is crucial for maintaining genetic diversity. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Plants. /news/2025-06-previously-unknown-scep3-protein-essential.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:29:04 EDT news670246141 Your DNA is continually damaged by sources both inside and outside your body. One especially severe form of damage called a double-strand break involves the severing of both strands of the DNA double helix. /news/2025-06-rna-newly-role-dna-genome.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 16 Jun 2025 11:31:04 EDT news669292262 A research team led by Prof. Cao Xiaofeng from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered a key translational regulatory mechanism governing the seed-to-seedling transition. /news/2025-06-key-mechanism-crop-losses-early.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 12 Jun 2025 11:29:02 EDT news668946541 Precision gene editing is crucial for treating genetic diseases, as it enables targeted correction of specific mutations. A Korean research team has become the first in the world to significantly enhance the low efficiency of a key genome editing mechanism—known as homologous recombination (HR)—by inducing autophagy, a natural process within cells. /news/2025-06-boosting-precision-gene-autophagy-shifts.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:27:04 EDT news668856421 The promise of genome editing to help understand human diseases and create new therapies is vast, but technological limitations have limited advancement of the field. While existing editing technologies can alter or delete single base pairs within the human genome's 3 billion base pairs, they are limited in their ability to alter multiple locations simultaneously—and can sometimes incorrectly alter neighboring DNA bases. /news/2025-06-genome-precision-human-gene.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:05:03 EDT news668775901 For the first time, scientists have successfully edited oat DNA, a breakthrough that could accelerate the development of oats with more fiber, higher yields, and greater resilience to climate change. /news/2025-06-scientists-successfully-oat-dna-enabling.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:02:04 EDT news668772121 Axolotls, with their signature smiles and pink gills, are the celebrities of the salamander world. But they are more than just cute: They might also hold the secret to regenerating human limbs. /news/2025-06-axolotls-regenerate-limbs-uncover-secret.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:57:03 EDT news668771821 Researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed a genetic editing method tailored to crop plants, which has influenced various traits in tomato plants, including the taste and shape of the fruit. The researchers believe this innovative technology can be applied to a wide variety of crop species and may eventually be used to cultivate new and improved plant varieties. /news/2025-06-crispr-based-technology-discovery-complex.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:46:04 EDT news668691961 You may have seen it in the news recently: a baby in Pennsylvania with a rare genetic disorder was healed with a personalized treatment that repaired his specific genetic mutation. The treatment was created using a form of gene editing called base editing—a method created by Alexis Komor when she was a postdoctoral scholar in molecular biologist David Liu's group at Harvard University. /news/2025-06-dna-proteins-gene-outcomes.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:26:04 EDT news668251561 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have addressed a longstanding challenge in CRISPR genome editing—accurately predicting guide RNA (gRNA) activity. /news/2025-05-reveals-factors-efficient-precise-hidden.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 29 May 2025 11:31:03 EDT news667737061 Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a scalable, non-viral technology that efficiently delivers genetic material into human immune cells. The platform, called Nanostraw Electro-actuated Transfection (NExT), uses tiny hollow nanostructures and electrical pulses to insert a wide variety of biomolecules—proteins, mRNA and gene-editing tools—into immune cells with high efficiency and minimal disruption. /news/2025-05-gene-delivery-nanostraws-electrical-pulses.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 22 May 2025 11:35:05 EDT news667132501 Bats are known as natural hosts for highly pathogenic viruses such as MERS- and SARS-related coronaviruses, as well as the Marburg and Nipah viruses. In contrast to the severe and often fatal disease outcomes these viruses cause in humans, bats generally do not show obvious signs of viral illness following infection. /news/2025-05-organoid-platform-antiviral-immunity.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 21 May 2025 13:10:05 EDT news667051382 A team of scientists has answered a long-standing question in cell biology, uncovering how the cell's main energy currency, ATP, is transported into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Disrupted energy transport could affect diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. /news/2025-05-atp-journey-key-protein-gateway.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 21 May 2025 11:00:17 EDT news667035602 Every living creature on Earth needs to protect itself from things that would do it harm. Bacteria are no different. And despite their relative simplicity, they deploy remarkably savvy defensive strategies against viral invaders. The most well-known is CRISPR-Cas9, adapted for human use as the first FDA-approved genetic editing technique. /news/2025-05-scientists-defense-mechanism-crispr.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 16 May 2025 10:07:03 EDT news666608821 Ask scientists which gene-editing tool is most needed to advance gene therapy, and they'd probably describe a system that's now close to realization in the labs of Samuel Sternberg at Columbia University Vagelos College of Âé¶čÒùÔșicians and Surgeons and David Liu at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. /news/2025-05-advanced-gene-editor-enables-precise.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 15 May 2025 17:03:04 EDT news666547381 Scientists at the McGovern Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have reengineered a compact RNA-guided enzyme they found in bacteria into an efficient, programmable editor of human DNA. The engineered protein, called NovaIscB, can be adapted to make precise changes to the genetic code, modulate the activity of specific genes, or carry out other editing tasks. Because its small size simplifies delivery to cells, NovaIscB's developers say it is a promising candidate for developing gene therapies to treat or prevent disease. /news/2025-05-cas9-ancestor-compact-genome-tool.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 15 May 2025 13:30:01 EDT news666534359 The University of Bayreuth's Biomaterials research group has, for the first time, successfully applied the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool to spiders. Following the genetic modification, the spiders produced red fluorescent silk. /news/2025-05-genetic-spiders-crisprcas-yields-silk.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 08 May 2025 09:55:03 EDT news665916901 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a technique that enables efficient delivery of therapeutic proteins and RNA to cells. The method, published in Nature Communications, shows promising results in animal studies to deliver gene editors and protein therapeutics. /news/2025-04-extracellular-vesicles-delivery-advanced-medicines.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:22:03 EDT news665234521 Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, Aalto University and the University of Oulu have developed a new computational method for exploring DNA sequence patterns. The method, called KMAP, enables intuitive visualization of short DNA sequences and helps reveal how regulatory elements behave in different biological contexts. The study was recently published in Genome Research. /news/2025-04-tool-dna-cancer-genome.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 29 Apr 2025 15:19:03 EDT news665158741 Plant breeding plays a vital role in ensuring global food security by increasing crop yields, improving nutritional quality and creating crops that are adaptable to climate change. However, current plant transformation methods present significant hurdles—they're labor-intensive, costly and don't work for many important plant species. /news/2025-04-tiny-crispr-tool-door-faster.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Thu, 24 Apr 2025 08:44:04 EDT news664703041 Genome editing has advanced at a rapid pace with promising results for treating genetic conditions—but there is always room for improvement. A new paper by investigators from Mass General Brigham showcases the power of scalable protein engineering combined with machine learning to boost progress in the field of gene and cell therapy. /news/2025-04-bespoke-enzymes-machine-crispr-toolbox.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:00:25 EDT news664557400 A research team from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich has developed an advanced delivery system that transports gene-editing tools based on the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system into living cells with significantly greater efficiency than before. Their technology, ENVLPE, uses engineered non-infectious virus-like particles to precisely correct defective genes—demonstrated successfully in living mouse models that are blind due to a mutation. /news/2025-04-smart-delivery-tech-boosts-crispr.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:23:05 EDT news663438181