/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers at Integra Therapeutics, in collaboration with the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) and the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), have designed and experimentally validated new synthetic proteins that can edit the human genome more efficiently than proteins provided by nature. /news/2025-10-generative-ai-outperform-nature-proteins.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 02 Oct 2025 10:50:05 EDT news678620131 "RUBY"—a cost-effective innovation designed to track gene activity—is proving valuable across a range of fields. It all started with the idea of finding a better way to monitor genes. /news/2025-09-red-scientists-track-genes.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 30 Sep 2025 14:50:01 EDT news678462409 Egg whites may be perfect for a health-conscious breakfast, but egg yolks turned out to be the key ingredient for cultivating bird embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the lab. Using a growing medium of egg yolk along with a few other key factors, a USC Stem Cell-led team of scientists has succeeded in deriving and maintaining authentic ESCs from chickens and seven other bird species. /news/2025-09-egg-yolk-key-authentic-embryonic.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:07:04 EDT news678452821 CRISPR-Cas systems are adaptive immune systems found in prokaryotes that defend against invading nucleic acids through CRISPR RNA-guided cleavage. Type V CRISPR-Cas (Cas12) systems, in particular, serve as one of today's most powerful tools for genome editing, especially in basic research, medicine, and agriculture. /news/2025-09-scientists-reveal-functional-rna-mechanism.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:00:07 EDT news678110042 For decades, gene-editing science has been limited to making small, precise edits to human DNA, akin to correcting typos in the genetic code. Arc Institute researchers are changing that paradigm with a universal gene editing system that allows for cutting and pasting of entire genomic paragraphs, rearranging whole chapters, and even restructuring entire passages of the genomic manuscript. /news/2025-09-bridge-recombinases-optimized-human-cells.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:00:01 EDT news678012320 Natural systems such as CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) offer a targetable, one-step way to edit genomes. However, adapting them for biomedical applications has been challenging. /news/2025-09-screening-approach-crispr-genome-efficiency.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:12:04 EDT news677927521 In a development that could help protect one of the world's most beloved agricultural commodities, a research team at Penn State has successfully created disease-resistant cacao plants using gene-editing technology. According to the researchers, the innovation promises to help resolve a significant problem for the global chocolate industry, worth more than $135 billion annually, which faces threat from the phytophthora species, a fungal-like pathogen that gives rise to the destructive black pod disease that can cause yield losses of up to 30% worldwide. /news/2025-09-gene-traditional-crossbreeding-disease-resistant.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 24 Sep 2025 08:16:06 EDT news677920562 A German-Austrian team led by Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Leibniz-HKI has been able to biochemically demonstrate for the first time that different types of mushrooms produce the same mind-altering active substance, psilocybin, in different ways. /news/2025-09-magic-mushrooms-unique-biochemical-paths.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:01 EDT news677773852 Turning genes on and off is like flipping a light switch, controlling whether genes in a cell are active. When a gene is turned on, the production of proteins or other substances is promoted; when it's turned off, production is suppressed. Korean researchers have gone beyond the limitations of existing CRISPR technology, which focused primarily on "off" functions, by developing the world's first innovative system that can simultaneously turn genes on and off, opening a new paradigm for the synthetic biology-based bio-industry. /news/2025-09-dual-mode-crispr-enables-simultaneous.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:00:04 EDT news677774507 A research team led by Prof. Wang Yanli from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the structure and mechanism of a highly active Type II-D Cas9, offering a promising new tool for genome editing. The study was published on August 11 in Nature Communications. /news/2025-09-compact-cas9d-enzyme-revealed-genome.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 22 Sep 2025 10:18:54 EDT news677755124 The dodo has been extinct for more than 300 years, but that isn't stopping Dallas' Colossal Biosciences from trying to resurrect the 3-foot-tall, flightless bird. /news/2025-09-resurrection-dodo-bird-closer-colossal.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Mon, 22 Sep 2025 09:27:33 EDT news677752048 Australian farmers face inconsistent guidelines when it comes to crop regulations across genetically modified (GM), organic and other crop frameworks, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. /news/2025-09-policy-patchwork-coexistence-crops.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Fri, 19 Sep 2025 07:18:29 EDT news677485105 A research team led by scientists from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) has introduced a new way to fine-tune genetic material. Their study, published in Nature Biotechnology, describes an innovative technique in which chemical tags are attached directly to DNA, opening the door to new approaches in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. /news/2025-09-bacteria-defense-strategies-scientists-chemical.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:57:04 EDT news677415421 Genetic editing holds promise to treat incurable diseases, but the most popular method—CRISPR—sometimes does more harm than good. A new study from University of California San Diego and Yale University researchers highlights an innovative alternative approach that may be safer. The study was published in Nature Chemical Biology on Sept. 18, 2025. /news/2025-09-small-nuclear-rna-base-safer.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:57:04 EDT news677408222 How did digits evolve? While it is clear that they derive from genetic programs already present in fish, their precise origin remains a matter of debate. An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) with EPFL, the Collège de France, and the universities of Harvard and Chicago has come up with an unexpected answer: Digits may have evolved from the reuse of an ancient region of the genome, initially active in the formation of the fish cloaca rather than their fins. /news/2025-09-fish-cloaca-fingers-scientists-digits.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 17 Sep 2025 14:12:04 EDT news677337122 Tiny tweaks in DNA folding can have big effects. A study from UmeÃ¥ University shows that even the most subtle changes in DNA's shape have an important influence on gene activity and energy production. This discovery challenges the view of DNA as passive storage of information and points to its active role in cell behavior, offering new possibilities for understanding diseases like cancer and diabetes. /news/2025-09-dna-important-cell-function-previously.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:10:06 EDT news677331232 A genome-editing technique known as prime editing holds potential for treating many diseases by transforming faulty genes into functional ones. However, the process carries a small chance of inserting errors that could be harmful. /news/2025-09-cas9-proteins-error-prime.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:00:21 EDT news677236202 Genes are the building blocks of life, and the genetic code provides the instructions for the complex processes that make organisms function. But how and why did it come to be the way it is? /news/2025-09-genetic-code-early-protein.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:44:05 EDT news677259841 When cells are healthy, we don't expect them to suddenly change cell types. A skin cell on your hand won't naturally morph into a brain cell, and vice versa. That's thanks to epigenetic memory, which enables the expression of various genes to "lock in" throughout a cell's lifetime. Failure of this memory can lead to diseases, such as cancer. /news/2025-09-cell-memory-dimmer-dial-onoff.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:30:27 EDT news676650622 Using optical tweezers, researchers at National Taiwan University have observed individual binding events in real time, offering new insights into the molecular regulation of homologous recombination. /news/2025-09-accessory-proteins-filament-growth-real.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 08 Sep 2025 17:28:03 EDT news676571282 Researchers from the Belgian Federal Institute Sciensano, as part of the DARWIN project, have developed a proof-of-concept for next generation detection methods of genome-edited organisms. /news/2025-09-genetic-fingerprint-approach-gene.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:31:03 EDT news676553461 Autophagy—meaning "self-eating" in Greek—is a fundamental cellular mechanism that preserves cell health by recycling and degrading worn-out or dysfunctional components. Serving as an essential housekeeping process, autophagy also plays a key role in strengthening immunity, mobilizing when cells encounter stressors such as starvation or infection to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and other threats. /news/2025-09-uncovering-cells-picky-eaters-team.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 04 Sep 2025 17:07:04 EDT news676224421 When scientists discovered how bacteria protect themselves against viral invaders, called phages, in the early 2000s, little did they know they'd stumbled upon a revolutionary tool researchers could use to edit the DNA of living cells. /news/2025-09-crispr-reveals-role-cas9-guardian.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 04 Sep 2025 04:16:40 EDT news676178180 Genetically engineered cell lines used in biomedical research have long been prone to misidentification and unauthorized use, wasting billions of dollars each year and jeopardizing critical scientific discoveries. These problems not only undermine reproducibility of research results, but also put valuable intellectual property at risk. /news/2025-09-advance-technology-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:52:04 EDT news676119122 With the power to rewrite the genetic code underlying countless diseases, CRISPR holds immense promise to revolutionize medicine. But until scientists can deliver its gene-editing machinery safely and efficiently into relevant cells and tissues, that promise will remain out of reach. /news/2025-08-crispr-efficiency-triples-lab-dna.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:00:03 EDT news675675301 Genomes contain the complete library of information required to build and maintain a living organism—the figurative blueprints of life. In eukaryotes, genomes are stored in the nuclei, where they are organized into chromosomes. A eukaryote is an organism whose cells have a nucleus surrounded by a membrane: plants, animals, fungi and many microbes are eukaryotes. /news/2025-08-white-mold-fungi-genome-nuclei.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:45:03 EDT news675614701 One of our most popular summer soft fruits could last longer in the fridge thanks to new research conducted at Cranfield University. In Frontiers in Genome Editing, researchers have published a new method to edit the DNA of raspberries, with the goal of creating more sustainable raspberry production and less food waste. The research paper is titled "DNA-free CRISPR genome editing in raspberry (Rubus idaeus) protoplast through RNP-mediated transfection." /news/2025-08-raspberry-genome-technique-future-fruit.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:18:04 EDT news675591481 Gout, a form of arthritis caused by crystals that build up in joints and cause swelling and pain, is one of humanity's oldest diseases. Scientists at Georgia State University may have found an ancient solution to treat it. /news/2025-08-scientists-revive-ancient-gene-gout.html Evolution Biotechnology Wed, 27 Aug 2025 10:20:04 EDT news675508617 An integral part of Mediterranean culture, wine is made by fermenting pressed grape juice. The resulting drink consists of water and alcohol, alongside volatile chemical compounds (aldehydes, ketones, esters) and non-volatile compounds (sugar, flavonoids, terpenes) in highly variable proportions. It has accompanied human rituals, celebrations, meals and moments socialization or rest since at least the Paleolithic era. /news/2025-08-parents-cabernet-sauvignon-chardonnay-dna.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 27 Aug 2025 09:41:05 EDT news675506462 For decades, large stretches of human DNA were dismissed as "junk" and considered to serve no real purpose. In a new study published in Cell Genomics, researchers at Lund University in Sweden show that the repetitive part of the human genome plays an active role during early brain development and may also be relevant for understanding brain diseases. /news/2025-08-repetitive-dna-human-brain-evolution.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:00:12 EDT news675345601