Lifeboat Foundation

Cancer will become easier to detect and diagnose early using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thanks to A*STAR researchers who have engineered biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticle contrast agents¹.

A new technique to study intact parts of cell membranes could revolutionise studies of cancer, metabolic and heart diseases.

Nebula Genomics Aims To Speed Research And Lower Cost Of Genome Sequencing : Shots — Health News A full genome sequence costs about $1,000. But Nebula Genomics expects that companies and researchers would defray the cost in exchange for key medical information about the person involved.

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About 15 years ago, UNC Lineberger’s Dale Ramsden, Ph.D., was looking through a textbook with one of his students when they stumbled upon a scientific mystery.

A small line in the book indicated that a protein that helps repair major breaks in our genetic code did so by adding DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, as expected. However, there were hints that it could also add RNA, or ribonucleic acid, at least in a test tube. It seemed unlikely that this would occur during repair of DNA in living cells, since RNA is normally used only as a messenger to carry information from the genetic code to make proteins.

Continue reading “By solving a mystery of gene repair, scientists uncover an exception to biology’s rules” »

A molecule produced during fasting or calorie restriction has anti-aging effects on the vascular system, which could reduce the occurrence and severity of human diseases related to blood vessels, such as cardiovascular disease, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

It is predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) will transform many aspects of our life including healthcare and genomics. AI and machine learning have helped us to understand the genome of organisms and will potentially change the way we treat disease, determine effective drugs and edit genes.

Kidney organoids — miniature organs grown in the lab — recently went “rogue,” producing brain cells and muscle cells alongside the expected kidney cells.

Two different marketplaces for genetic data, Nebula and EncrypGen, recently launched with the promise of better protections for their users.

Chemical substances and nanomaterials are processed on a massive scale in diverse products, while their risks have not been properly assessed. Time and again synthesised substances have been shown to pollute the environment more than lab tests predicted. This is the warning given by Professor of Ecotoxicology Martina Vijver from Leiden University in her inaugural lecture on 16 November.

Laboratory tests are inadequate, according to Vijver, because they do not imitate a complete ecosystem. In her inaugural lecture she will discuss in greater detail two examples of substances where more realistic research is needed: agricultural toxins and nanoparticles. ‘But the same can be said for many other groups of substances, such as antibiotics, plasticizers and GenX.’