Researchers at Ohio State University have developed new software that allows them to rapidly design and simulate DNA nanorobots. Previously, it was challenging to engineer such tiny devices, but now researchers can map out their design in minutes. DNA-based devices have significant promise as medical technologies with potential applications in drug (Read more...)
Tag: Genetics
mRNA Delivery System Protects Neurons After Stroke
Researchers at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University have developed a way to deliver therapeutic mRNA to the brain, in this case to produce brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which can protect neurons from ischemia. The researchers hope that the treatment could help patients who have suffered a stroke to achieve better outcomes by reducing (Read more...)
Quick and Easy CRISPR COVID Test Spots Mutations
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed an easy to perform CRISPR-based COVID-19 test that takes only 30 minutes for the results to come in. The test, which involves dipping a paper strip into a mixture containing a nasal sample, can identify various new variants of the virus, and could be useful [& (Read more...)
Smartphone Dongle for Cancer Biomarker Measurement
Researchers at McMaster and Brock universities in Canada have developed a hand-held device that can provide rapid measurements of cancer biomarkers in blood samples. Termed an electrochemical bio‐barcode assay, the device could be used to measure a variety of health markers at home, and is similar to the devices used by patients with diabetes (Read more...)
Discovery of Hepatitis C Wins Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Medgadget would like to congratulate Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice on receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in discovering the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C, a virus that infects liver cells and causes inflammation, certain cancers, and lymphomas, is fairly widespread among certain groups of pe (Read more...)
Orbit Subretinal Delivery System for Gene Therapy: Interview with Mike Keane, CTO of Gyroscope Therapeutics
Gyroscope Therapeutics, a retinal gene therapy company, has developed the Orbit subretinal delivery system (SDS). The technology is designed to deliver therapies to the retina without the need for invasive procedures, such as vitrectomies, which involve removing the gel-like substance within the eye, or retinotomies, which involve making a hole in (Read more...)
Nanoparticles for Large Gene Therapy to Cure Common Eye Diseases
Wet age-related macular degeneration and a number of other eye diseases, including congenital conditions, are related to mutated genes that result in blood vessel abnormalities. These can be treated with gene therapy, but delivering genetic material has proven to be difficult when dealing with large gene sequences that are common in retinal conditi (Read more...)
Nanopropellers to Deliver Gene Therapy Into Cells
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany have developed powerful nanopropellers that can be steered into the interior of cells to deliver gene therapy. The magnets that these devices, each about the size of a bacteria, are made of were created for the first time for this very task. Most powerful […]
microLED Neural Probes to Study Brain Activity in Living Animals
Optogenetics is a fast evolving technique that allows scientists to activate specific neurons within the brains of living laboratory animals using flashes of light. It may also be effective at recovering sight, as well as achieving other impressive feats (see flashbacks below). To best study and manipulate complex brain activity using optogenetics, (Read more...)
CRISPR-Based Test to Diagnose COVID-19 in Less than One Hour
With the COVID-19 pandemic growing globally, new ways of detecting the infection is the need of the hour. University of California, San Francisco researchers have recently published a paper in Nature Biotechnology outlining their approach to diagnose COVID-19 infections from respiratory swabs using CRISPR. The test, called the SARS-CoV2 DETECTR ass (Read more...)
Robotic COVID-19 Testing Lab Can Process 1000 Patient Samples Daily
Researchers at UC Berkeley have set up a “pop-up” robotic COVID-19 testing lab that can process up to 1000 patient samples a day, and it could ramp up to as many as 3000 a day, if required. The initiative received donations of high-throughput robotic PCR systems from campus research labs within Berkeley, and the new […]
Artificial Self-Assembled Blood Vessels
A team of researchers headed by groups at University of Nottingham and Queen Mary University London have come up with a smart material that forms into new blood vessels. Made out of graphene oxide and a protein, the material is 3D printed and naturally forms into tubular shapes that are very similar to blood vessels. […]
New Customizable Bio-Ink for Printing Organs, Tissues
3D printing of tissues and organs requires a bio-ink that can host the living cells that are required for every unique application. A viable construct requires an extracellular matrix that will have the right mechanical and biochemical properties for the intended cells. Researchers at Rutgers University believe they’re on track to being able (Read more...)
Chip Recreates Blood-Brain Barrier to Study Delivery of Drugs to Brain
The blood-brain barrier is one of the greatest challenges that modern medicine has to overcome if we want to be able to fight neurological diseases using drugs. Animal models serve a purpose, but they’re not very good at replicating the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) as results often don’t translate during clinical trials. A better way (Read more...)
Plasma Protein Levitation Technique Could Provide New Diagnostic Tool
Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a technique to levitate plasma proteins using a magnetic field. The technique provides very accurate information on the density of the proteins, and could reveal signatures of disease, potentially allowing clinicians to diagnose various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, more easily. The (Read more...)
Genomic Profiling for Precision Medicine: Interview with David Spetzler, Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences, a Dallas-based innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, has developed the MI Genomic Profiling Similarity (GPS) score to compare the molecular characteristics of specific tumors against those in the Caris database. This allows clinicians to identify the molecular subtype of their p (Read more...)
Device Links Up to 10 Organ Chips to Form Body-on-a-Chip
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a “body-on-a-chip” consisting of up to 10 organ-on-a-chip devices that are linked together to mimic blood flow between different organ systems. The new system allows for more comprehensive drug testing, enabling researchers to see the effects of a drug on multiple organ systems si (Read more...)
Gene Delivery Device to Make Engineered Cell Therapies Much Cheaper
Engineered cell treatments, such as CAR-T cell cancer immunotherapies and hematopoietic stem cell gene therapies, are extremely expensive. In large part that is because it’s not easy to grow myriads of precisely engineered cells that are originally sourced from the patient being treated. Now, researchers at University of California, Riverside (Read more...)
Eyevensys Non-Viral Gene Therapy for Ocular Diseases: Interview with Patricia Zilliox, CEO of Eyevensys
Eyevensys, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in France, has developed a method to perform non-viral gene therapy in the eye, with the aim of treating ocular diseases. The system uses ocular electrotransfection to deliver therapeutic genes into the eye. Consisting of an ocular device and an electrical pulse generator, the system can deliv (Read more...)
3D Printed Liquid Biopsy Device Captures Most Cancer Cells
Circulating tumor cells can point to the existence of cancer and provide information about its progression. Capturing these cells remains a tricky process. Dozens of devices have been developed that do their best to grab onto only the cancer cells being looked for, but they all suffer from problems such as poor efficiency, damage to […]