Without pesticides farmers would become nearly impossible to feeding earth’s 7.6 billion inhabitants. One third of our global food supply is pollinated by bees. Researchers at Michigan State University’s entomology department may have found molecular tweaks that can allow Pyrethroid pesticides to kill pests without killing bees. Pyrethroids are a special chemical class of active […]

Akonni Biosystems Inc. and Chinese in vitro diagnostics company, Righton, announce a commercial agreement that enables Righton to sell Akonni’s products for nucleic acid purification and molecular diagnostics to researchers, clinical laboratories, and hospitals in China. The products to be sold include TruTip®, Akonni’s best-in-class sample preparation technology, which is low-cost and simple, yet highly […]

The University of Michigan Center for the Discovery of New Medicines (CDNM) has awarded research funding to seven faculty members from across the U-M campus for new drug development projects. The goal of University of Michigan’s CDNM is to accelerate the path toward commercialization for novel and translational approaches to potential therapies. They do this […]

Yale researchers have developed a set of synthetic molecules that may help boost the strength of a key, virus-fighting protein. The protein, RIG-I, is an important sensor in the immune system of humans and other animals. It recognizes and responds to viral RNA by surrounding it, latching onto it, and launching the immune system into […]

Injecting minute amounts of two immune-stimulating agents directly into solid tumors in mice can eliminate all traces of cancer in the animals, including distant, untreated metastases, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The approach works for many different types of cancers, including those that arise spontaneously, the study […]

On average, 20 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant, according to the United Network of Organ Sharing. However, scientists at the University of Minnesota envision a day when organ transplants from donors will no longer be necessary. Instead, failing organs will be replaced with ones created by specialized 3D printers. In […]

In the latter half of 2016, US jurisdictions with known local transmission of Zika saw a 21 percent increase in birth defects potentially linked to the virus, according to a report published today (January 26) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “This finding underscores the importance of surveillance for birth defects potentially […]

When obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was listed as a contributing factor in the death of actress Carrie Fisher, it brought the condition into the spotlight. Until the news, many people considered sleep apnea to be just a bothersome form of snoring. However, with OSA, breathing is actually interrupted for a few seconds or even several […]

Like most forms on cancer, brain cancers are frequently treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Although these treatments can be effective, many times they are not. Scientists around the world study different types of brain cancers to develop new treatment methods. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego have been researching a different approach […]

Researchers within the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) at the University of Pennsylvania have been conducting breakthroughs in the field of materials science since it opened in 1961. A leading center within the LRSM that helps with this breakthrough research, the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), was recently […]

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics (MDx) company that develops, manufactures, and intends to market advanced MDx systems, today announced it was chosen as a recipient for a challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant highlights the current unmet need for affordable, effective nucleic acid testing technologies that meet the requirements of […]

Genomics England is linking with leading life sciences companies Inivata and Thermo Fisher Scientific in a collaboration that strives to improve understanding of cancer. The pilot project will assess the quality of blood plasma samples and explore the potential of liquid biopsy testing in order to boost disease management and patient outcomes. The industry partnership […]

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company is proud to announce a travel fund for patients enrolled in a Phase II clinical study that employs their investigational LAMP-Vax™ technology to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Although the study, “Vaccine Therapy for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme (ATTAC-II),” is not formally sponsored […]

Canadian researchers have pinpointed a new gene associated with peanut allergy, offering further evidence that genes play a role in the development of food allergies and opening the door to future research, improved diagnostics and new treatment options. The gene, called c11orf30/EMSY (EMSY), is already known to play a role in other allergy-related conditions, such […]

Robots have just gotten much, much smaller. Scientists from Caltech have created an autonomous molecular machine at the nanoscale—made of a single strand of DNA— that can autonomously ‘walk’ around a surface, pick up certain molecules and drop them off in designated locations. “Just like electromechanical robots are sent off to faraway places, like Mars, […]

According to the World Health Organization, more than 36.7 million people around the world are infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Although there is not yet a cure for HIV, some treatments are able to slow the spread of the virus. Researchers around the world study the virus with the hope of one day creating […]

A new study released Tuesday from one of the foremost neuroscience researchers in the world suggests children exposed to tackle football before the age of 12 are two to three times more likely to develop emotional and/or behavioral issues later in life, compared with individuals who began playing the sport at 12 years or older. […]

An inexpensive biomaterial that can be used to sustainably replace plastic barrier coatings in packaging and many other applications has been developed by Penn State researchers, who predict its adoption would greatly reduce pollution. Completely compostable, the material — a polysaccharide polyelectrolyte complex — is comprised of nearly equal parts of treated cellulose pulp from […]

An existing drug may one day protect premenopausal women from life-altering infertility that commonly follows cancer treatments, according to a new study. Women who are treated for cancer with radiation or certain chemotherapy drugs are commonly rendered sterile. According to a 2006 study from Weill Cornell Medicine, nearly 40 percent of all female breast cancer […]

While Zika virus causes devastating damage to the brains of developing fetuses, it one day may be an effective treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that the virus kills brain […]