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Plants transformed into detectors of dangerous chemicals

What if your house plant could tell you your water isn't safe? Scientists are closer to realizing this vision, having successfully engineered a plant to turn beet red in the presence of a banned, toxic pesticide.

Oct 23rd, 2023

Researchers develop DANGER analysis tool for the safer design of gene editing

Scientists developed a software tool called DANGER (Deleterious and ANticipatable Guides Evaluated by RNA-sequencing) analysis that provides a way for the safer design of genome editing in all organisms with a transcriptome.

Oct 23rd, 2023

Mimics human tissue, fights bacteria: new biomaterial hits the sweet spot

A new lab-made substance mimics human tissue and could reduce or replace the use of animal-derived materials in biomedical research.

Oct 23rd, 2023

Wobbly gel mat trains muscle cells to work together

The vibrating platform could be useful for growing artificial muscles to power soft robots and testing therapies for neuromuscular diseases.

Oct 20th, 2023

3D-printed, soft, living materials made with algae glow under stress

Researchers developed soft yet durable materials that glow in response to mechanical stress, such as compression, stretching or twisting. The materials derive their luminescence from single-celled algae known as dinoflagellates.

Oct 20th, 2023

Unlocking the secrets of cell behaviour on soft substrates: A paradigm shift in mechanobiology

Scientists have developed a new method for studying how cancer cells function in softer and stiffer tissue environments. This insight challenges the existing paradigm, opening up new possibilities for research in cancer biology and tissue engineering.

Oct 18th, 2023

Nanoparticle vaccine could curb cancer metastasis to lungs by targeting a protein

Researchers have developed an experimental vaccine that could prevent the spread of metastatic cancers to the lungs. The key ingredients of the vaccine are nanoparticles - fashioned from bacterial viruses - that have been engineered to target a protein known to play a central role in cancer growth and spread.

Oct 18th, 2023

Bacteria found in desert pave the way for paint that produces oxygen whilst capturing carbon

Researchers have created an innovative paint that contains oxygen-producing bacteria capable of capturing carbon dioxide.

Oct 17th, 2023

Researchers develop organic nanozymes suitable for agricultural use

Nanozymes are generally considered too toxic and expensive for use in agriculture and food science. Now, researchers have developed a nanozyme that is organic, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and cost effective.

Oct 17th, 2023

Novel hydrogel finds new aptamers, or 'chemical antibodies', in days

A new method uses a hydrogel - a polymer network that holds its shape and can expand when it takes in a large amount of water - to retain 'high-affinity', or well-fitting, aptamers while the rest of the aptamer candidates leave the gel in 60 hours.

Oct 17th, 2023

Cell-friendly 3D bioprinting at high fidelity enhances its medical applicability

Researchers developed a cell-friendly means of bioprinting at high fidelity. By successive injection of a cell-based ink and a printing support, the ink solidified into defined geometries, even into the shape of a human nose.

Oct 16th, 2023

Scientists develop acoustic 3D trapping of microparticles in flowing liquid

Researchers have developed an acoustic trapping chip that can provide three-dimensional (3D) trapping of cells in a continuously flowing medium with a circular resonance structure.

Oct 13th, 2023

Shining light on the radical production of DNA building blocks

An international team has uncovered details about the formation of DNA's building blocks, paving the way for potential medical and therapeutic applications.

Oct 12th, 2023

The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms

Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can - and should - happen in the future.