Scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland created a wireless photoelectric implant that allows them to activate or suppress certain neurons in the mouse spinal cord. The flexible implant is controlled through Bluetooth and contains miniaturized LEDs that emit red light, which helps to avoid absorption and r (Read more...)
Tag: Genetics
DNA Sensor Rapidly Determines If a Virus is Infectious
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a sensor that can rapidly detect a virus in a sample. It can also identify whether the viral particles are still infectious. So far, the researchers have trialed the technology to detect human adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2. It can provide an answer between 30 minutes and two [&he (Read more...)
Eyevensys Electrotransfection System for Ocular Disease: Interview with Patricia Zilliox, CEO
Eyevensys, a medtech company based in France, has developed the Eyevensys Electrotransfection System, a non-viral transfection system for the treatment of ocular diseases. So far, the firm has demonstrated the safety of the technique in treating noninfectious uveitis and is developing treatments for geographic atrophy, retinitis pigmentosa, and wet (Read more...)
CRISPR-Based Spit Test Detects SARS-CoV-2 and Variants
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute and MIT have developed an inexpensive at-home test for SARS-CoV-2 and several variants, which does not require nasal swabs. The test uses a simple spit sample, and provides results that can be read using a smartphone app within an hour. With access to a 3D printer and commonly available […]
Wireless Light Implant for Optogenetics Without Skull Damage
Researchers at the University of Arizona have overcome a major limitation of optogenetics with their wireless and battery-free implant that can shine light through the skull. The small device, which is implanted under the skin, could provide a light source for optogenetics that doesn’t require damage to the skull or brain. While optogenetics (Read more...)
DNA Origami to Trap Viruses Inside Body
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have developed a method to create tiny virus traps that can bind viral particles and render them harmless within the body. The technique relies on DNA origami to create self-assembling hollow nanocapsules, which are lined with molecules that will bind viruses and prevent them from leaving. With a [& (Read more...)
Non-Invasive Deep Brain Stimulation Using Ultrasound and Genetic Modification
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a technique they call sonothermogenetics, which combines ultrasound and genetic modification to achieve non-invasive neural control in deep brain regions. The technique involves using viral vectors to introduce genetic material encoding for ion channels to specific neurons in the brai (Read more...)
Gene-Silencing Nanoparticles to Treat COVID-19
Researchers at City of Hope, a research center based in California, and Griffith University in Australia have collaborated to create a new experimental anti-viral therapy that can treat COVID-19. The therapeutic consists of small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules encapsulated within lipid nanoparticles. When delivered into the bloodstream, the nano (Read more...)
Trojan Horse Virus Makes Tumors Destroy Themselves
Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a virus-based therapy that causes a tumor to destroy itself. They modified an adenovirus, which is a common virus that typically infects the respiratory tract and which is already widely used in medicine, to deliver genetic material that codes for an anti-cancer protein. In a sneaky move, [&hel (Read more...)
New Software Helps Design DNA Nanorobots
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...)
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 […]