MeetScience

Human ES cells cultured on defined surfaces

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:03:11 +0000

Synthetic peptide-acrylate surfaces for long-term self-renewal and cardiomyocyte differentiation of human embryonic stem cells Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have two properties of interest for the development of cell therapies: self-renewal and the potential to differentiate into all major lineages of [...] No related posts.

The $30 Genome?

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:59:36 +0000

A startup is developing a new and potentially much cheaper sequencing technology based on microfluidics. At a time when the longtime goal of a $1,000 genome is still just out of reach, a Harvard University physicist is promising an even cheaper [...] No related posts.

How to Make an Artificial Cell

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:09:52 +0000

Researchers at the Venter Institute explain their groundbreaking techniques.

Last month, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they had made the first synthetic cell by piecing together a genome made from bottled chemicals and transplanting it [...] No related posts.

Micro-RNAs for treatment of viral infections

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:30:18 +0000

Researchers at Edinburgh University have identified a family of micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) that have been shown to have broad acting anti-viral function on DNA and RNA viruses. A number of miRNAs have been identified that can modulate host cell defence mechanisms [...] No related posts.

iPS cells may not be good disease models after all

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:22:55 +0000

A study funded by the EU under its ESTOOLS research programme has delivered the disappointing finding that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells may not provide such important disease models as first hoped. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the [...] Related posts:

Provoking Our Inner Stem Cells Fate Therapeutics, a startup based in La Jolla, CA, aims to harness the body’s...

TR10: Engineered Stem Cells

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:16:57 +0000

Mimicking human disease in a dish.

The small plastic vial in James Thomson’s hand contains more than 1.5 billion carefully coddled heart cells grown at Cellular Dynamics, a startup based in Madison, WI. They are derived from [...] Related posts:

Provoking Our Inner Stem Cells Fate Therapeutics, a startup based in La Jolla, CA, aims to harness the body’s...

Cuba’s biotech boom

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:42:55 +0000

The United States would do well to end restrictions on collaborations with the island nation’s scientists. For a week after Cuba marked the 50th anniversary of its revolution on 1 January, a celebratory ‘Caravan of Liberty’ carried [...] No related posts.

Targeted nanoparticle destruction of cancer genes using RNAi

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:40:32 +0000

Caltech researchers have reported the first clinical trial of dose-dependent siRNA-nanoparticles that destroy mRNA and shutdown oncogenes in human patients.

A new clinical report by a team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) describes the successful [...] No related posts.

Blood vessels may be a new niche for stem cells

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:10:55 +0000

Research shows that endothelial cell co-cultures can be used to maintain and create large quantities of new adult stem cells.

Researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered that endothelial cells [...] Related posts:

Provoking Our Inner Stem Cells Fate Therapeutics, a startup based in La Jolla, CA, aims to harness the body’s...

3D tissue culture by magnetic cell levitation

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:00:54 +0000

Researchers have developed a new way of coaxing cells into 3D tissue constructs using magnetic rings that are compatible with all standard culturing technologies.

Researchers from Rice University and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas [...] No related posts.

Gene Patents Ruled Invalid

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:51:21 +0000

In a surprise ruling, Myriad’s controversial patents on breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes are struck down.

A federal court has ruled that key patents held by Myriad Genetics, a diagnostics company based in Salt [...] No related posts.

China Spends More on Clean Energy than the U.S.

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:42:47 +0000

[By Kevin Bullis @ www.technologyreview.com]

At Copenhagen, China may have been reluctant to sign an international treaty that heavily restricts its carbon emissions, but a new report from the Pew Environmental Group says that private investors there are [...] No related posts.

From Biomass to Chemicals in One-Step

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:23:22 +0000

[Source: www.technologyreview.com]

A startup’s catalytic process converts biomass directly into components of gasoline.

Sawdust to gasoline: A process called catalytic pyrolysis converts biomass, such as sawdust, into valuable chemicals. From left to right: sawdust; sludge-like chemicals produced without the [...] No related posts.

Swine Flu Pandemic Reincarnates 1918 Virus

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:29:40 +0000

[Source: http://news.sciencemag.org/]

Researchers have found that the H1N1 swine [...] Related posts:

Swine Flu (worldwide pandemic alert) Pandemic Potential of a Strain of Influenza A (H1N1): Early Findings A novel influenza...
Vaccine production is outdated. From the day it was first reported in Mexico, swine flu took less than...

RNA-Loaded Nanoparticles Fight Cancer

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:14:11 +0000

[Source: www.technologyreview.com]

In first human trial, particles successfully reach cancer cells and silence the target gene.

A specialized nanoparticle filled with an RNA-based cancer therapy can successfully target human cancer cells and silence the target gene, according to results from an [...] Related posts:

Scientists kill cancer cells with” trojan horse” Credits: Reuters By Michael Perry SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian scientists have developed a “trojan...