2021

Scientists at ETH Zurich are working to develop information-​processing switching systems in biological cells. Now, for the first time, they have developed an OR switch in human cells that reacts to different signals. Biological cells might one day be equipped with artificial genetic programs that work in much the same […]

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have implicated a type of immune cell in the development of chronic lung disease that sometimes is triggered following a respiratory viral infection. The evidence suggests that activation of this immune cell — a type of guardian cell called a […]

Managing single risk factors like blood pressure rather than looking at overall risk may be wasting scarce resources in countries where cardiovascular disease (CVD) is on the rise, according to a new study. Researchers looked at country-specific levels of cardiovascular risk, associations with socio-demographic factors and whether WHO guidelines on the […]

The ambitious project aims to preserve humankind – and animal-kind, plant-kind and fungi-kind – in the event of a global crisis. University of Arizona researcher Jekan Thanga is taking scientific inspiration from an unlikely source: the biblical tale of Noah's Ark. Rather than two of every animal, however, his solar-powered […]

Melanoma is the most aggressive and deadliest form of skin cancer. Effective treatments are elusive because one type of this cancer develops resistance to available inhibitors, and in another type, no effective drug treatment has yet been found. But a promising pathway to effective drug treatment of both types of […]

Powerful new genetic engineering methods have given scientists the potential to revolutionize several sectors of global urgency. So-called gene drives, which leverage CRISPR technology to influence genetic inheritance, carry the promise of rapidly spreading specific genetic traits throughout populations of a given species. Gene-drive technologies applied in insects, for example, […]

COVID-19 has been with us for more than a year already. But do you remember how little we knew about it just one year ago? We didn’t know what this viral disease can do to children. It turned out, they are more immune to COVID-19 than adults are. But why? […]

Incorporating social and behavioral factors alongside biological mechanisms is critical for improving aging research, according to a trio of studies by leading social scientists. A trio of recent studies highlight the need to incorporate behavioral and social science alongside the study of biological mechanisms in order to slow aging. The […]

Human population in the world is growing. And we will need to feed all these people. How can we do that without limited resources and farming capabilities, not putting even more damage on the wildlife. Scientists at the University of Melbourne have put their ears on the clock the plants […]

Using cellular genomics, Garvan-led researchers have uncovered new links between DNA variants and cell gene activity. Researchers led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have made a crucial step forward in the understanding of how our own DNA information influences our personal disease risk, thanks to cutting-edge cellular genomics […]

A newly announced grant from the MS Society is helping researchers at the University of Alberta to better understand the underlying cause of chronic pain that afflicts an estimated half of people with multiple sclerosis, and how to eradicate it. Bradley Kerr and his team are looking in particular at the peripheral nervous […]

It looks like science fiction: A machine dips into a shallow vat of translucent yellow goo and pulls out what becomes a life-sized hand. But the seven-second video, which is sped-up from 19 minutes, is real. The hand, which would take six hours to create using conventional 3D printing methods, […]