Gene therapy and stem cells save limb
Researchers have developed therapies that increase blood flow, improve movement and decrease tissue death and the need for amputation, a procedure that could benefit diabetics.
Australian Life Scientist: http://www.lifescientist.com.au/article/329155/gene_therapy_stem_cells_save_limb?eid=-2
Research done at at Johns Hopkins. The findings were published online last week in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
‘Mini’ transplant may reverse severe sickle cell disease
Results of a preliminary study show that “mini” stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults.
Eurekalert: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/jhmi-tm120809.php
The National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins, research published December 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine,
Precision breeding creates super spud
A new, fast breeding technique has created a potato that can exclusively produce a nutritional starch important in food manufacturing and paper and thread production.
Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology:
http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2009/12/super-potato.jsp
Germany: Tilling (Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes) – a rapid mutation breeding program that switched off one of two producing genes, allowing the potato to produce only the starch amylopectin
GNTIS note: I am skeptical about their use of the term ‘natural’ for this plant breeding technique, and just because something is natural does that make it OK?
New molecule delivers drug directly into tumour
Researchers have found a molecule (peptide) that recognises and penetrates cancerous tumors but not normal tissues.
Burnham Institute for Medical Research: http://www.burnham.org/default.asp?contentID=853
The peptide was also shown to deliver diagnostic particles and medicines into the tumor. The work is being published December 8 in the journal Cancer Cell.
Self-destructing bacteria improve biofuel production
A US research team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe to self-destruct, which removes a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels
Eurekalert: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/asu-sbi120709.php
Research done at Arizona State University and the results were published in the Dec. 7 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Bacteria make light work of detecting landmines
Bacteria modified to glow green in the presence of explosives could provide developing countries with a cheap, easy-to-use tool for detecting landmines.
SciDev Net: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/bacteria-make-light-work-of-detecting-landmines.html
University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering has genetically modified E. coli bacteria to produce a protein in the cell membrane that senses TNT, a chemical used in explosives.
Draft guidelines to screen synthetic genes
The US government has issued draft guidelines for how synthetic-biology companies should screen customers and their gene orders to protect against bioterrorism.
Scientists are divided over how best to guard against bioterrorism.
Computer power boost as single-atom transistor built
Researchers from Australia and Finland have succeeded in building a working transistor, whose active region composes only of a single phosphorus atom in silicon.
Nanowerk: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=13849.php
Researchers from Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), University of New South Wales (Australia), and University of Melbourne (Australia). The results have just been published in Nano Letters (“Transport Spectroscopy of Single Phosphorus Donors in a Silicon Nanoscale Transistor”).
The rapid development of computers, which created the present information society, has been mainly based on the reduction of the size of transistors. This also has implications for the development of quantum computers.
First global nanotech regulation database
A global database of government regulatory documents on nanotechnology is being launched by Monash University and colleagues from the US and Belgium.
Phys Org: http://www.physorg.com/news178997767.html
The Nanotech Regulatory Document Archive, (http://nanotech.law.asu.edu), is a free resource built and maintained by the Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
Quantum dots used to detect early signs of cancer
Using tiny crystals called quantum dots, researchers have developed a highly sensitive test to detect external chemical modifications to DNA that can be early indicators of cancer.
John Hopkins University:
http://releases.jhu.edu/2009/08/17/new-dna-test-uses-nanotechnology-to-find-early-signs-of-cancer/
The new test was reported in a paper called “MS-qFRET: a quantum dot-based method for analysis of DNA methylation,” published in the August issue of the journal Genome Research.
The nanotechnology based test for epigenetic markers could be used as an early detection method for cancer or to determine whether a particular cancer treatments is working or not.