Collaborate Disseminate
One of the challenges of farming lies in the fact that by the time plants appear to be diseased or otherwise stressed, it may already be too late to address the problem. A new type of potato, however, is designed to warn farmers by fluorescing at the e… Continue reading Genetically engineered potato plant “glows” in response to stress
CRISPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing tool, but it’s not without its downsides. Now, scientists at Harvard have demonstrated an alternative genetic engineering system called Retron Library Recombineering (RLR), which works without cutting DNA and… Continue reading Harvard gene-editing tool “sneaks” DNA into cells without making cuts
Many years ago, I took a summer trip to the Maryland shore with some friends. One of my buddies and I got bored with playing football on the beach, so …read more Continue reading Genetically Modified Mosquitos: Biohacking for Disease Prevention
In a breakthrough new study, scientists have created human-monkey chimera embryos for the first time. These chimeras pave the way for more accurate models of human biology and disease, which could open up a range of new medical benefits. But of course … Continue reading Human-monkey chimera embryos created in lab for first time
Scientists at the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative hope to tackle the issues of climate change and food security by unraveling the genomic architecture behind various plant species, and they’ve just gleaned some valuable lessons from the f… Continue reading World’s fastest growing plant offers genomic clues for next-gen crops
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered how to effectively switch off a gene that drives the growth of cancer. The gene, known as Myc, has long been a target but was considered “undruggable” – so the team instead shut down a protein that i… Continue reading Scientists bypass “undruggable” cancer proteins to shrink tumors in mice
One of the most promising emerging cancer therapies is CAR T cell immunotherapy, where a patient’s own immune cells are supercharged to fight tumors. Now researchers have found a way to refresh exhausted immune cells and get them back into battle soone… Continue reading Reviving exhausted T cells gets them back in the fight against cancer
They might be small and their kills may be indirect, but for humans, mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on the planet by quite a margin. While tackling the diseases these annoying insects spread is one approach to reduce their lethality, others are l… Continue reading Self-deleting genes promise risk-free genetic engineering of mosquitoes
DEET may be an effective mosquito repellent, but it can cause irritation, and has to be reapplied every few hours. Scientists are now working on a more innocuous, longer-laster alternative, that involves introducing genetically engineered bacteria to p… Continue reading Microbiome-altering mosquito repellent could last for two weeks
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a genetically modified pig for human consumption and therapeutic use. The pig is engineered to be free of a certain sugar molecule responsible for severe allergic reactions in some people.Continue … Continue reading FDA approves first genetically modified pig for food and medical use