Engineered

Consumers in the United States can now pre-order a genetically engineered plant for their home or garden that glows continuously. At a base cost of US$29.00, residents of the 48 contiguous states can get a petunia (Petunia hybrida) with flowers that look white during the day; but, in the dark, the plant glows a faint green. Biotechnology firm Light Bio in Sun Valley, Idaho, will begin shipping a batch of 50,000 firefly petunias in April.Researchers contacted by Nature seem enamoured by them. This is a “groundbreaking…

Scientists have created a method to transform plastic waste into biodegradable spider silk using bacteria, providing an innovative and sustainable approach to tackling plastic pollution. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comFor the first time, researchers have used bacteria to “upcycle” waste polyethylene.Move over Spider-Man: Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a strain of bacteria that can turn plastic waste into a biodegradable spider silk with multiple uses.Transforming Plastic Into…

Researchers have successfully engineered a type of skin bacterium to treat acne by producing a therapeutic molecule. This innovative approach, validated in lab and mouse models, could revolutionize the treatment of skin conditions and other diseases using living therapeutics.A breakthrough study shows that engineered skin bacteria can effectively treat acne, opening new possibilities for living therapeutics in various diseases.International research led by the Translational Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Department…

Our B cells help prevent us from getting sick. Their job is to make antibodies, immune system proteins that fight off viruses and other foreign invaders. And they make a lot of antibodies—thousands of them every second. What if these antibody factories could be harnessed to make other things the body needs?That’s the idea behind a trial launched by Seattle-based biotech company Immusoft. The company announced today that its scientists have genetically programmed a patient’s B cells and put them back in his body in an…

Researchers have developed a new memory research breakthrough by genetically modifying the LIMK1 protein and activating it with rapamycin. This innovative approach shows potential in treating memory-related neuropsychiatric diseases and advancing neurology research.Researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the Catholic University, Rome and the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS have developed an engineered protein that boosts memory.Neuroscientists at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of…

Scientists have hit a major milestone in a 15-year project trying to build a completely synthetic yeast genome. Reporting in a bumper crop of new papers, the team has engineered viable yeast cells with more than 50% synthetic DNA for the first time, and have created synthetic versions of almost all its chromosomes, plus a completely new one.The world’s first completely synthetic organism was created in 2010, and has been tweaked in the years since to let it grow and divide, and even move around on its own. But this, and…

Scientists have devised a promising immunotherapeutic approach for treating melanoma brain metastases, offering the potential to significantly improve the survival rate, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine. This innovative therapy involves the use of a ‘twin stem cell model’ whereby one stem cell releases a cancer-killing virus to reduce tumor growth and a second, gene-edited stem cell, immune to the virus, releases proteins to bolster the immune system’s cancer-fighting capabilities.Acting…

In your very busy day, have you not thought that an extra arm, or two, may come in very handy to finish the tasks at hand? Well, now you can have them, literally!Humans and technology share a very symbiotic relationship, where humans have constantly explored and tried to innovate the way we interact with it. Till now, help was limited. Smartphones and laptops introduced a more visually and touch-oriented interface, while recently virtual reality headsets like the Meta Quest Pro VR extended the boundaries of visual…

During experiments at DOE’s Joint BioEnergy Institute, researchers observed an engineered strain of the bacteria Streptomyces as it produced cyclopropanes, high-energy molecules that could potentially be used in the sustainable production of novel bioactive compounds and advanced biofuels. Credit: Jing Huang/Berkeley LabResearchers have uncovered a novel pathway in bacteria that holds the potential to decarbonize various industries. This breakthrough could significantly decrease the emission of greenhouse gases generated…

We are all aware that the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, is working on developing a premium MPV based on Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s Innova Hycross. Recently, reports suggested that the company could be naming it the Maruti Suzuki “Engage,” as the brand has recently trademarked this name in the country. However, besides this information, we do not have any insight into what this MPV could look like in real life. To help us imagine, a render of the Maruti Suzuki Engage premium MPV was recently…