Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice before most cancer surgeries, but a study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, using data from mouse models demonstrated that chemotherapy can paradoxically enhance cancer progression.
A newly developed nanomaterial that mimics the behavior of proteins could be an effective tool for treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The nanomaterial alters the interaction between two key proteins in brain cells—with a potentially powerful therapeutic effect.
The innovative findings, recently published in the journal Advanced Materials, were made possible thanks to a collaboration between University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists and nanomaterial engineers at Northwestern University.
The work centers around altering the interaction between two proteins that are believed to be involved in setting the stage for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
In the quest for more efficient and sustainable energy solutions, a multi-university research team has reached a significant milestone in capacitor technology. Researchers from the University of Houston, Jackson State University and Howard University have developed a new type of flexible high-energy-density capacitor, which is a device that stores energy.
Though the prototype device is just 1-inch by 1-inch, scaled-up versions of this innovation could potentially revolutionize energy storage systems across various industries, including medical, aviation, auto (EV), consumer electronics and defense.
The researchers shared the study details in a paper titled “Ultrahigh Capacitive Energy Density in Stratified 2D Nanofiller-Based Polymer Dielectric Films,” published in the journal ACS Nano.
Scientists champion global genomic surveillance using the latest technologies and a ‘One Health’ approach to protect against novel pathogens like avian influenza and antimicrobial resistance, catching epidemics before they start.
The COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. In fighting it, one of our most important weapons was genomic surveillance, based on whole genome sequencing, which collects all the genetic data of a given microorganism. This powerful technology tracked the spread and evolution of the virus, helping to guide public health responses and the development of vaccines and treatments.
But genomic surveillance could do much more to reduce the toll of disease and death worldwide than just protect us from COVID-19. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Science, an international collective of clinical and public health microbiologists from the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) calls for investment in technology, capacity, expertise, and collaboration to put genomic surveillance of pathogens at the forefront of future pandemic preparedness.
A new project unites world-leading experts in quantum computing and genomics to develop new methods and algorithms to process biological data.
Researchers aim to harness quantum computing to speed up genomics, enhancing our understanding of DNA and driving advancements in personalized medicine
A new collaboration has formed, uniting a world-leading interdisciplinary team with skills across quantum computing, genomics, and advanced algorithms. They aim to tackle one of the most challenging computational problems in genomic science: building, augmenting, and analyzing pangenomic datasets for large population samples. Their project sits at the frontiers of research in both biomedical science and quantum computing.
Xaira has recruited a group of researchers who developed the leading models for protein and antibody design while in Baker’s lab. The company aims advance these models and develop new methods that can “connect the world of biological targets and engineered molecules to the human experience of disease.”
“Driven by growing data sets and new methods, there has been accelerating progress in artificial intelligence and its applications to medicine, biology and chemistry, including seminal work from David Baker’s lab at the Institute for Protein Design,” said Foresight’s Dr Vikram Bajaj. “In starting Xaira, we have brought together incredible multidisciplinary talent and capabilities at the right time to reimagine our entire approach, from drug discovery to clinical development.”
Boasting proficiency in handling vast and multidimensional datasets, Xaira claims it will enable comprehensive characterization of disease biology at various levels, from molecular to clinical. Drawing from Illumina’s functional genomics R&D effort and integrating a key proteomics group from Interline Therapeutics, the company aims to gain new insights into disease mechanisms.
DNA nanostructures can perform some of the complex robotic fabrication process for manufacturing and self-replication. Building things and performing work with nanorobots has been a major technical and scientific goal. This has been done and published in the peer reviewed journal Science. Nadrian C. “Ned” Seeman (December 16, 1945 – November 16, 2021) was an American nanotechnologist and crystallographer known for inventing the field of DNA nanotechnology. He contributed enough to this work published in 2023 to be listed as a co-author.
Seeman’s laboratory published the synthesis of the first three-dimensional nanoscale object, a cube made of DNA, in 1991. This work won the 1995 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology. The concept of the dissimilar double DNA crossover introduced by Seeman, was important stepping stone towards the development of DNA origami. The goal of demonstrating designed three-dimensional DNA crystals was achieved by Seeman in 2009, nearly thirty years after his original elucidation of the idea.
The concepts of DNA nanotechnology later found further applications in DNA computing, DNA nanorobotics, and self-assembly of nanoelectronics. He shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience 2010 with Donald Eigler for their development of unprecedented methods to control matter on the nanoscale.
The gang, which calls itself RansomHub, published several files on its dark web leak site containing personal information about patients across an array of documents, some of which included internal files related to Change Healthcare. RansomHub said it would sell the stolen data unless Change Healthcare paid a ransom.
In a statement provided to TechCrunch, UnitedHealth spokesperson Tyler Mason confirmed the company paid the cybercriminals. “A ransom was paid as part of the company’s commitment to do all it could to protect patient data from disclosure.” The company would not confirm the amount it paid.
RansomHub is the second gang to demand a ransom from Change Healthcare. The health tech giant reportedly paid $22 million to a Russia-based criminal gang called ALPHV in March, which then disappeared, stiffing the affiliate that carried out the data theft out of their portion of the ransom.
Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered a DNA repair mechanism that advances understanding of how human cells stay healthy, and which could lead to new treatments for cancer and premature aging.
The study, published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, also sheds light on the mechanism of action of some existing chemotherapy drugs.
“We think this research solves the mystery of how DNA double-strand breaks and the nuclear envelope connect for repair in human cells,” said Professor Karim Mekhail, co-principal investigator on the study and a professor of laboratory medicine and pathobiology at U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
