The rise of antimicrobial resistance and novel emerging diseases has put microbiology at the forefront of public perception. From microbial growth and viability assays to high-throughput drug screening, microplate-based assays offer a more cost and time-efficient alternative to traditional assays. Modern microplate readers allow researchers to perform assays under controlled atmospheric conditions and to produce highly reliable, reproducible, and accurate results in real-time.
Can oncologists make better cancer treatment decisions if they consult fish? A clinical trial aims to find out.
Led by developmental biologist Rita Fior of the Champalimaud Foundation, the 5-year study is the first randomized trial in which patients will receive drugs that have been tested beforehand in zebrafish embryos implanted with the patients’ cancer cells. Retrospective studies have shown that so-called zebrafish avatars could have identified successful treatments if they had been deployed in advance, and Fior and colleagues now want to determine whether that ability can benefit patients.
The first clinical trial of zebrafish embryos acting as cancer “avatars” will start soon.
Thermoelectric generators played a major role in this experiment.
An experimentator has used waste heat of his body to turn humans into batteries. Nick Zetta, who runs Basically Homeless YouTube channel, turned himself into a battery using thermoelectric generators.
Zetta followed a simple approach that aimed at capturing the waste heat from the human body and turning that into electricity.
Thermoelectric generator, which uses temperature differential to force electron flow, played a major role in this experiment. The device generates electricity when one side is hotter than the other side.
Researchers at the University of Oxford and their collaborators, including the Serum Institute of India, have developed an innovative method to identify falsified vaccines without opening the vaccine vial.
The new method, published in npj Vaccines, analyzes the vaccine vial label and its adhesive and therefore allows the vaccine vials to be retained in the supply chain. Furthermore, the study has shown that the technique can also differentiate genuine COVID-19 vaccine liquid from falsified vaccine surrogates, using a recently published method developed using non-COVID vaccines.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10.5% of medicines worldwide in low and middle-income countries are substandard or are falsified medicines made by criminals. This threatens global health since the medicines and vaccines fail to prevent and treat the diseases for which they were intended, and they risk additional adverse health consequences if the ingredients used by criminals in the falsified products are harmful.
Australian researchers have successfully introduced an improved version of Cas12a gene-editing enzyme in mice. Their work establishes a next-generation gene-editing tool that enhances genetic manipulation for cancer and medical research in a preclinical model.
The study, “Advancing the genetic engineering toolbox by combining AsCas12a knock-in mice with ultra-compact screening,” was published in Nature Communications.
“This is the first time Cas12a has been used in preclinical models, which will greatly advance our genome engineering capabilities,” said co-author Eddie La Marca, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI) in Australia.
Wandering salamanders are known for gliding high through the canopies of coastal redwood forests, but how the small amphibians stick their landing and take-off with ease remains something of a mystery.
A new study in the Journal of Morphology reveals the answer may have a lot to do with a surprising mechanism: blood-powered toes. The Washington State University-led research team discovered that wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) can rapidly fill, trap and drain the blood in their toe tips to optimize attachment, detachment and general locomotion through their arboreal environment.
The research not only uncovers a previously unknown physiological mechanism in salamanders but also has implications for bioinspired designed. Insights into salamander toe mechanics could ultimately inform the development of adhesives, prosthetics, and even robotic appendages.
Cancer is infamously cunning, expansive and relentless. It has a talent for evading treatment, spreading throughout the body and coming back again and again. Despite a steady decline in U.S. cancer mortality rates thanks to better screening and treatments, the absolute number of deaths from cancer continues to tick up, in part because of an aging population.
In response, scientists and clinicians are taking a page from cancer’s playbook, learning to be just as cunning, expansive and relentless in their efforts to beat back the disease. Cancer is meeting its match.
“The field of oncology has been completely transformed from where it was 15 years ago — many aspects of cancer treatment resemble science fiction now,” said Steven Artandi, MD, PhD, the Laurie Kraus Lacob Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute.
Summary: Scientists have used advanced X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) to uncover how gut health may influence Alzheimer’s disease. The study found structural changes in the gut of Alzheimer’s-affected mice, revealing abnormalities in intestinal cells, neurons, and mucus secretion.
This supports the hypothesis that harmful gut bacteria may escape into circulation, triggering brain inflammation and neurodegeneration. The findings highlight the gut-brain connection and provide a new tool for detecting early disease markers.
Researchers aim to further explore how the enteric nervous system communicates with the brain in Alzheimer’s. The study paves the way for potential new therapeutic targets based on gut health.
The most complex engineering of human cell lines ever has been achieved by scientists, revealing that our genomes are more resilient to significant structural changes than was previously thought.
Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Imperial College London, Harvard University in the US and their collaborators used CRISPR prime editing to create multiple versions of human genomes in cell lines, each with different structural changes. Using genome sequencing, they were able to analyze the genetic effects of these structural variations on cell survival.
The research, published in Science, shows that as long as essential genes remain intact, our genomes can tolerate significant structural changes, including large deletions of the genetic code. The work opens the door to studying and predicting the role of structural variation in disease.