Engineered

A commonly used cancer drug called vinblastine is sourced from certain flowers, but unfortunately it takes literally tons of plant matter to make each gram of the drug. To find an alternative source, scientists have now engineered yeast to produce the precursors of vinblastine, which could help make this vital drug more available and affordable.Madagascar periwinkle (C. roseus) is a flowering plant that’s been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years, and as a source of chemotherapy drugs vinblastine and…

So far, B cells haven’t gotten the same attention—indeed, genetically engineered versions have never been tested in a human. That’s partly because “engineering B cells is not that easy,” says Xin Luo, a professor at Virginia Tech who in 2009 demonstrated how to generate B cells that have an added gene. That early work, carried out at Caltech, explored whether the cells could be directed to make antibodies against HIV, perhaps becoming a new form of vaccination. While that idea didn’t pan out, now biotech companies like…

What’s next for Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga, the “creative exploration” fronted by Demna and the artist formerly known as Kanye West?After this month’s in-store rollout (complete with a Times Square overhaul that saw Gap’s flagship redecorated to more strictly fall in line with the shared vision of the two creatives), fans have been in speculation mode about what may or may not be up next from the undeniably unique collaborative project.This (and more) is detailed in a new report from the New York Times, which…

A look at the heating and cooling sections of the mattress using a thermal camera. Credit: The University of Texas at AustinThroughout the course of a day, people alternate between feeling alert and sleepy. This sensation is actually controlled in part by the ebb and flow of a 24-hour rhythm of their body temperature. A unique mattress and pillow system that uses heating and cooling to tell the body it is time to go to sleep has now been developed by bioengineers at The University of Texas at Austin.When the body…

Researchers successfully transplanted genetically modified pig hearts into two recently deceased people connected to ventilators, the New York University team announced today. The surgeries are the latest step forward in the field of animal-to-human transplants, or xenotransplantation, which has seen a flurry of successes so far this year — raising hopes for a new, steady supply of organs to ease shortages. The only thing different about these heart transplants from a normal human-to-human heart transplant was the…

An artist’s depiction of a bacterial cell. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/James ArcherSince its inception, chemotherapy has proven to be a valuable tool in treating many kinds of cancers, but it has a significant drawback. In addition to killing cancer cells, it can also destroy healthy cells like the ones in hair follicles, causing baldness, and those that line the stomach, producing nausea.Now, scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) may have a better solution: genetically…

Dr. Jie Li examines vitamin D-enriched tomatoes. Credit: Phil RobinsonTomatoes that have been gene-edited to produce vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin, could be a simple and sustainable innovation to address a worldwide health problem.Researchers used gene editing to turn off a specific molecule in the plant’s genome which increased provitamin D3 in both the fruit and leaves of tomato plants. It was then transformed into vitamin D3 through exposure to UVB light.Vitamin D is created in our bodies after our skin is…

Vitamin D deficiency is a growing health issue, but very few foods are rich in the nutrient. To help combat the problem, scientists have now used CRISPR gene editing to fortify tomatoes with vitamin D.By helping the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D is especially crucial for good bone health and strengthening the immune system. However, it’s tricky to get enough of it through food alone, with the majority of it produced in the skin in response to UV light from the Sun.Unfortunately, many people…

Encapsulated stem cells (green) tracking and killing GBM tumor cells (red). Credit: Shah lab (CSTI)Investigators uncovered a diagnostic method to identify receptors on cancer cells in the blood, then engineered a cell-based therapy to target and kill tumor cells in the brain, paving the way to clinical testing.Glioblastomas (GBMs) are highly aggressive cancerous tumors of the brain and spinal cord. Brain cancers like GBM are challenging to treat because many cancer therapeutics cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier,…