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Archive for the ‘bioengineering’ category

Dec 3, 2024

Stem Cell Behavior Influenced by PIEZO-Dependent Mechanosensing

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

“In vivo measurement of basement membrane stiffness showed that ISCs reside in a more rigid microenvironment at the bottom of the crypt,” the article’s authors wrote. “Three-dimensional and two-dimensional organoid systems combined with bioengineered substrates and a stretching device revealed that PIEZO channels sense extracellular mechanical stimuli to modulate ISC function.”

The paper’s first author is Meryem Baghdadi, PhD, a former researcher at SickKids, and the paper’s senior authors are Tae-Hee Kim, PhD, a senior scientist at SickKids, and Danijela Vignjevic, PhD, a research director at Institut Curie. The study they led expanded on the work of one of the paper’s co-authors, Xi Huang, PhD, a senior scientist at SickKids.

In 2018, Huang found that PIEZO ion channels influence tumor stiffening in brain cancer. Inspired by this research, the collaborators in the current study set out to explore how stem cells in the intestines use PIEZO channels to stay healthy and function properly.

Dec 3, 2024

Customized CRISPR toolkit allows remote-controlled genome editing

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

Thanks to CRISPR, medical specialists will soon have unprecedented control over how they treat and prevent some of the most challenging genetic disorders and diseases.

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a Nobel Prize-winning gene-editing tool, already widely used by scientists to cut and modify DNA sequences to turn genes on and off or insert new DNA that can correct abnormalities. CRISPR uses an enzyme known as Cas9 to cut and alter DNA.

Engineers at the USC Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering have now developed an update to the tool that will allow CRISPR technology to be even more powerful with the help of focused ultrasound.

Dec 2, 2024

Scientists develop self-sustained protein transport and tissue assembly in artificial cells

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

In a new Nature Communications study, scientists have developed a novel method for artificial cells to interact with their external environment without the need for complex modification processes.

This method could open new frontiers in , , and cell processes.

Biological cells are protected by a membrane, made of phospholipids, which modulates interactions with the outside environment. Recreating this in is challenging, requiring manual external modification of the membrane.

Dec 1, 2024

SECTION 1: Genetic Engineering for The Future of Space Travel

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

As we explore space outside our solar system, genetic engineering offers hope for overcoming challenges like radiation exposure and the effects of microgravity. By understanding and modifying our genes, we could make astronauts more resilient and improve their health in space. However, these advancements raise important ethical questions about safety, fairness, and long-term impacts, which must be carefully considered as we develop new space travel technologies.

We are on the edge of exploring space outside our solar system. This is not just a major advancement in technology, but a transformation for all of mankind. As we aim for the stars, we also try to understand more about ourselves. Our exploration into space will determine the future of our history. However, this thrilling adventure comes with many challenges. We need to build faster spacecraft, develop ways to live sustainably in space and deal with the physical and mental difficulties of long space missions. Genetics may help us solve some of these problems. As we travel further into space, it will be important to understand how genetics affects our ability to adapt to the space environment. This knowledge will be crucial for the success of space missions and the well-being of astronauts.

Genetics offers a hopeful path to overcoming many challenges in space exploration. As we venture further into space, it becomes essential to understand how our genes affect the way we adapt to the space environment. Genetics affects many aspects of an astronaut’s ability to survive and do well in space. It influences how the body handles exposure to radiation, deals with microgravity, and copes with isolation. Some genetic differences, like changes in the Methylene-TetraHydrofolate-Reductase (MTHR) gene, can make certain people more vulnerable to the harmful effects of radiation in space. With tools like genetic testing and personalized medicine, space agencies can now choose the best-suited astronauts and develop health strategies to improve their safety and performance in harsh space conditions.

Nov 29, 2024

How to Pop a Microscopic Cork

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Researchers used machine learning to optimize the process by which a tiny cage is opened to release a molecule.

Researchers have designed a tiny structure that could help deliver drugs inside the body [1]. The theoretical and computational work required machine learning to optimize the parameters for the structure, which could stick to a closed shell containing a small molecule and cause the shell to open. The results demonstrate the potential for machine learning to assist in the development of artificial systems that can perform complex biomolecular processes.

Researchers are developing artificial molecular-scale structures that could perform functions such as drug delivery or gene editing. Creating such artificial systems, however, usually entails a frustrating tradeoff. If the components are simple enough to be computationally tractable, they are unlikely to yield complex interactions. But if the components are too complex, they become harder to combine and coordinate. Machine learning can reduce the computational cost of designing useful artificial systems, according to graduate student Ryan Krueger of Harvard University.

Nov 29, 2024

When asked to build web pages, LLMs found to include manipulative design practices

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, chemistry, neuroscience

Oxford University researchers have made a significant step toward realizing a form of “biological electricity” that could be used in a variety of bioengineering and biomedical applications, including communication with living human cells. The work was published on 28 November in the journal Science.

Iontronic devices are one of the most rapidly-growing and exciting areas in biochemical engineering. Instead of using electricity, these mimic the by transmitting information via ions (charged particles), including sodium, potassium, and .

Ultimately, iontronic devices could enable biocompatible, energy-efficient, and highly precise signaling systems, including for drug-delivery.

Nov 28, 2024

How to REVERSE AGING: The Latest Scientific Advances

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

Bill Faloon discusses advancements in age reversal therapies and their transition from research to clinical application, emphasizing the potential for delaying and reversing biological aging. He highlights advancements in age reversal, discussing therapies like young plasma, gene editing, yamanaka factors and exosome treatments, emphasizing their potential to reverse aging, improve health, and extend lifespan.

Credits to : Age Reversal Network https://age-reversal.net/

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Nov 28, 2024

Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology, robotics/AI

A tiny, four-fingered “hand” folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report. Dubbed the NanoGripper, the nanorobotic hand also could be programmed to interact with other viruses or to recognize cell surface markers for targeted drug delivery, such as for cancer treatment.

Led by Xing Wang, a professor of bioengineering and of chemistry at the U. of I., the researchers describe their advance in the journal Science Robotics.

Inspired by the gripping power of the human hand and bird claws, the researchers designed the NanoGripper with four bendable fingers and a palm, all in one nanostructure folded from a single piece of DNA. Each finger has three joints, like a human finger, and the angle and degree of bending are determined by the design on the DNA scaffold.

Nov 26, 2024

New CRISPR system pauses genes, rather than turning them off permanently

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

Researchers in Lithuania present the molecular structure of a new, more-versatile CRISPR system for gene editing.

Nov 26, 2024

Synthetic Genes Engineered to Mimic how Cells Build Tissues and Structures

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

Advance paves the way for broad applications in medicine and biotech. Researchers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy have developed synthetic genes that function like the genes in living cells.

The artificial genes can build intracellular structures through a cascading sequence that builds self-assembling structures piece by piece. The approach is similar to building furniture with modular units, much like those found at IKEA. Using the same parts, one can build many different things and it’s easy to take the set apart and reconstruct the parts for something else. The discovery offers a path toward using a suite of simple building blocks that can be programmed to make complex biomolecular materials, such as nanoscale tubes from DNA tiles. The same components can also be programmed to break up the design for different materials.

The research study was recently published in Nature Communications and led by Elisa Franco, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and bioengineering at UCLA Samueli. Daniela Sorrentino, a postdoctoral scholar in Franco’s Dynamic Nucleic Acid Systems lab, is the study’s first author.

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