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Category: biotech/medical – Page 253

A more realistic look at DNA in action: Study shows it behaves differently when crowded by molecules

Most biochemistry labs that study DNA isolate it within a water-based solution that allows scientists to manipulate DNA without interacting with other molecules. They also tend to use heat to separate strands, heating the DNA to more than 150°F, a temperature a cell would never naturally reach. By contrast, in a living cell DNA lives in a very crowded environment, and special proteins attach to DNA to mechanically unwind the and then pry it apart.

“The interior of the cell is super crowded with molecules, and most biochemistry experiments are super uncrowded,” said Northwestern professor John Marko. “You can think of extra molecules as billiard balls. They’re pounding against the DNA double helix and keeping it from opening.”

Doctor behind 80-year happiness study was ‘shocked’ by the biggest predictor of a long, healthy life

What if the secret to longevity wasn’t in the mind or the gut — but in the heart?

Speaking at the inaugural New York Times Well Festival on Wednesday, psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Robert Waldinger announced he and his team were “shocked” by “the biggest predictor of who was going to live long and stay healthy.”

Waldinger, the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development — the longest-running scientific study of adult life — revealed the predictor was “how connected you were to other people and particularly the warmth of your connection to other people.”

The first genetic editing in spiders with CRISPR‐Cas yields colorful silk

The University of Bayreuth’s Biomaterials research group has, for the first time, successfully applied the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool to spiders. Following the genetic modification, the spiders produced red fluorescent silk.

The findings of the study have been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Spider silk is one of the most fascinating fibers in the field of materials science. In particular, its dragline thread is extremely tear-resistant, while also being elastic, lightweight and biodegradable. If scientists succeed in influencing production in vivo—in a living animal—and thereby gain insights into the structure of the dragline thread, it could pave the way for the development of new silk functionalities for a wide range of applications.

Annual blood test could detect cancer in its earliest stages

An annual blood test could prevent around half of cancer cases from reaching an advanced stage, new research suggests.

Scientists are currently trying to determine the effectiveness of simple blood tests in detecting cancer before symptoms appear, and whether such early detection improves survival rates.

The NHS is currently trialling such tests, including the Galleri test and miONCO-Dx test, with experts predicting a nationwide rollout of a universal cancer screening program within the next decade.

B cells found to be crucial for long-term vaccine protection, new study shows

The new findings could help improve vaccine effectiveness in some immunocompromised patients. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have uncovered a critical, previously underappreciated role for B cells in vaccine protection. Best known for producing antibodies, B cells also guide other immune cells, specifically CD8 T cells, teaching them how to mount lasting defenses after vaccination.

The study was recently published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

“Think of CD8 T cells as rookie firefighters,” said lead author Jared Klarquist, PhD, assistant research professor of immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “B cells teach the class on pacing. Without them, the rookies rush in, fight hard, and quit. They don’t save anything for the next fire.”

Sulfur-capped carbon nanobelts promise novel applications

RIKEN chemists have hit upon a fast and easy way to combine so-called nanobelts of carbon with sulfur-containing functional groups. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

This new material has intriguing properties that make it promising for use in novel optoelectronic devices.

Ever since their discovery in 1991, carbon nanotubes—tiny hollow cylinders made entirely from carbon atoms—have been attracting a lot of interest, being used in applications ranging from electronics to medicine.

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