One of the first people to have a transfusion of lab-grown red blood cells says: 'why wouldn ’ t you do it?'
One of the first people to be transfused with red blood cells grown in a laboratory has spoken about her experiences. (Source: University of Bristol news)
Source: University of Bristol news - March 15, 2023 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Health, International, Research; Faculty of Life Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Biochemistry; Press Release Source Type: news
Paul Berg obituary
Nobel prizewinning biochemist who was a pioneer in the field of genetic engineeringThe Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 was built on the principle of stitching together DNA from two viruses, one to enable the vaccine to enter cells and the other to provoke an immune response.In 1972 Paul Berg, who has died aged 96, became the first person to combine the DNA of two organisms in this way. Recombinant DNA has become a fundamental tool of biomedical research and drug discovery, making it possible to grow drugs such as human insulin in bacteria as well as to develop tailor-made vaccines.Continue reading... (Source: G...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 14, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Georgina Ferry Tags: Genetics Biochemistry and molecular biology Nobel prizes US news New York Science People in science Source Type: news
Paul Berg, scientific firebrand who pioneered genetic engineering, dies
Nobel Prize-winning biochemist's experiments in gene-splicing reshaped cancer research and helped spawn the biotech industry. (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)
Source: Los Angeles Times - Science - February 22, 2023 Category: Science Authors: John Johnson Jr. Source Type: news
Paul Berg, Nobel-Winning Pioneer of Genetic Engineering, Is Dead at 96
In 1971, he transferred material from one organism to another, creating the first recombinant DNA, or rDNA. He later helped lead a historic effort to write protocols for genetic research. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - February 21, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Don R. Hecker Tags: Deaths (Obituaries) Berg, Paul Nobel Prizes DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) Biology and Biochemistry Stanford University Genetic Engineering Source Type: news
Epigenetic enzymes and regulation of transcription
<img width="100" src="https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/styles/large/public/2016/3/science-highlights/epigenetic/thumb781395.jpg?itok=KQzfSogD" /><br /><p>NIEHS biochemist Trevor Archer, Ph.D., discussed “Using Epigenetic Enzymes to Regulate Transcription,” in a Duke University seminar.</p>
(read more) (Source: Environmental Factor - NIEHS Newsletter)
Source: Environmental Factor - NIEHS Newsletter - February 3, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: news
The Bivalent Booster Protects Against New COVID-19 Variants, New Data Show
In this study, the bivalent booster was slightly better at generating virus-fighting antibodies than in previous studies, which found only small differences between people boosted with the original and bivalent vaccines in terms of antibodies generated against BQ.1.1 and XBB.1. (Unpublished data from these groups shows similarly small differences with XBB.1.5.) In those studies, however, blood wasn’t collected from people before and after their fourth booster dose; instead, the scientists compared blood from different groups of people who had been either boosted with the original or bivalent doses. A strength of the ...
Source: TIME: Health - January 25, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Alice Park Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news
Dr Michael Hayes, 1939-2022
Dr Michael Hayes, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry (Oral Biology) within the Department of Biochemistry, died on 22 September 2022. His colleagues Professor Dick Denton FRS and Dr John McGivan offer an appreciation. (Source: University of Bristol news)
Source: University of Bristol news - January 25, 2023 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Obituaries; Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bristol Dental School Source Type: news
Lifting the veil: Astronomers conjure up the hazes that obscure alien worlds
In 2013, from a windowless office at the University of Chicago, Laura Kreidberg peered into the sky of a distant planet. Kreidberg, then an astronomy graduate student, parsed data from the Hubble Space Telescope, its gaze set on the exoplanet GJ1214b, roughly three times the size of Earth. GJ1214b is a popular target for astronomers seeking clues to the nature of alien worlds, and not only because it’s relatively close, a mere 48 light-years away. It also orbits its star every 1.5 days, and each lap exposes its atmosphere to inspection.
On every pass, the planet briefly eclipses a portion of the star’s face. A fr...
Source: ScienceNOW - January 11, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news
Tiny implantable device designed by UCLA scientists helps kill cancer
Many solid tumors resist treatment in part by turning human biology against itself. Tumors surround themselves with extra white blood cells known as regulatory T cells, which call off the body ’s natural defenses against the disease.Strategies to treat cancer by deactivating these cells risk creating other serious problems. Since regulatory T cells play an important role in safeguarding healthy tissues, diminishing them throughout the body can lead to other immune cells mistakenly attacking these tissues and causing autoimmune conditions that damage the colon, liver, heart and other organs.Now, an interdisciplinary UCLA ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - January 4, 2023 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
UCLA-developed soft brain probe could be a boon for depression research
Key takeawaysUCLA chemists ’ new probe is outfitted with biosensors designed to track specific neurotransmitters like serotonin.The probe is flexible enough to monitor the brains of research subjects as they move and perform everyday activities.The ability to continuously measure neurotransmitters would improve our understanding of how these chemicals affect psychological states.Anyone familiar with antidepressants like Prozac or Wellbutrin knows that these drugs boost levels of neurotransmitters in the brain like serotonin and dopamine, which are known to play an important role in mood and behavior.It might come as a su...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - December 16, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
News at a glance: Logging ’s effects, endangered abalone, and a contract for UC postdocs
CONSERVATION
Life can thrive in a partially logged forest, study finds
Forest
plants and animals can thrive in selectively logged areas
, calling into question their designation as degraded ecosystems, a study in Malaysia has found. An international team of researchers studied differences among an intact old forest, partly logged forest areas, and sites cleared for oil palm plantations, all of them in Sabah state on northern Borneo. The scientists used data—gathered over 12 years by the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems project, one of the world’s largest ecological studies—abou...
Source: ScienceNOW - December 15, 2022 Category: Science Source Type: news
Happy Birthday, Omicron
One year after the variant ’s discovery, virologists are still scrambling to keep up with Omicron’s rapid evolution. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - November 26, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Carl Zimmer Tags: Coronavirus Omicron Variant Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Immune System Biology and Biochemistry Evolution (Biology) your-feed-science Source Type: news
Pocket feature shared by deadly coronaviruses could lead to pan-coronavirus antiviral treatment
Scientists have discovered why some coronaviruses are more likely to cause severe disease, which has remained a mystery, until now. Researchers of the University of Bristol-led study, published in Science Advances today [23 November], say their findings could lead to the development of a pan-coronavirus treatment to defeat all coronaviruses — from the 2002 SARS-CoV outbreak to Omicron, the current variant of SARS-CoV-2, as well as dangerous variants that may emerge in future. (Source: University of Bristol news)
Source: University of Bristol news - November 23, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Health, International, Research; Faculty of Life Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Institutes, Institutes, Bristol BioDesign Institute, Institutes, Elizabeth Bl Source Type: news
Scientists reveal new lines of attack to raise cancer survival rate
Targeting non-cancerous cells in tumours could open up new frontiers in fight against the diseaseScientists hope to double the survival rate of people with advanced cancer within a decade by using new lines of attack to fight the disease.Speaking at the launch of a joint five-year research strategy by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust in London, experts described how targeting non-cancerous cells within tumours could open up new frontiers in the fight against the disease, enabling more people to be cured and others to survive for far longer.Continue reading... (Source: Guardi...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - November 22, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Linda Geddes Tags: Cancer research Medical research Science Immunology Biochemistry and molecular biology Health Source Type: news
University welcomes German Ambassador delegation to the UK
The German Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Miguel Berger visited the University on Friday [11 November], to meet Professor Evelyn Welch, the University's Vice-Chancellor and President, to discuss opportunities for UK-Germany education and research collaboration. (Source: University of Bristol news)
Source: University of Bristol news - November 14, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: International, Research; Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Arts, School of Modern Languages, Faculty of Life Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Science, School of Chemistry, Institutes, Institutes, Bristol Source Type: news
