Nature paper solves 20-year mystery of how epigenetic modifications act as traffic lights to control gene expression. A major new study in the journal Nature reveals a ‘traffic light’ mechanism controlling genetic activity within cells – a system which could potentially be targeted by cancer drugs already in development. The research describes how ‘epigenetic’ changes to the structure of DNA can act as a stop-go signal in determining whether a gene should be read...

A model organism used in laboratories for the past 100 years has evolved so extensively that it may no longer be fit for purpose. According to a new study, published in Microbial Genomics, the bacterial strain Escherichia coli K-12 has been repeatedly cultured and mutated, resulting in an organism that carries many genetic changes compared to the original isolated bacteria. The research team, from Aston University...

AMSBIO has interviewed two extraordinary women in the 3D Cell Culture and Organoid field; Dr Hynda Kleinman, one of the co-inventors of Matrigel, and Dr Meritxell Huch, a director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) to mark International Women’s Day on the 8th March, and World Organoid Research Day on 22nd March 2023...

Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden are using INTEGRA Biosciences’ PIPETBOY pro pipette controllers with integrated LED lighting to study the physiological function of mast cells and their role in allergic reactions. Their ultimate aim is to develop novel vaccines and therapies to prevent and treat common allergies. The incidence of atopic allergies – such as hay fever and asthma – has dramatically increased in the past 50 years, with up to 30 percent of people in some western countries experiencing severe symptoms...

Asynt are proud to confirm that age 16+ learners attending Thomas Rotherham College (South Yorkshire, UK) Sixth Form College are using the CondenSyn waterless air condenser and Distillation Adapter in their lessons after recent updates in the science department. Luke Hanson, Lead Science Technician at the college, shared the college’s excitement at this change: ”We are proud to be one of the first pioneering sixth form colleges in the country to adopt the use of the CondenSyn in our teaching...

Particle Works, a leading provider of game-changing microfluidic nanoparticle synthesis platforms, is collaborating with NanoVation Therapeutics UK to reduce the time and costs associated with the screening of new lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations for use in drug delivery applications. Through this partnership, Oxfordshire-based NanoVation will benefit from Particle Works' Automated Library Synthesis (ALiS) System, which accelerates LNP formulation development while increasing throughput and precision...

To celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) today, contract research and scientific consultancy organization Broughton has released a whitepaper. Based on the experiences of five of its female scientists, the roundtable discussion shares their career journeys, gives behind the scenes access to what a career in science really looks like, and busts common myths. The whitepaper can be accessed here...

Inify Laboratories, a company providing fully digitalized laboratory services within prostate cancer diagnostics, has completed its new laboratory – including staffing up with skilled professionals – in less than a year. “The laboratory has been finished in record time. We now have an ultramodern AI-based laboratory, and a dedicated team with a broad spectrum of expertise within digital pathology,” says CEO Fredrik Palm at Inify Laboratories...

The BPMT program is a new NIH incubator with a collaborative reach across 11 NIH institutes, whose goal is to accelerate patient access to safe, effective, cutting-edge medical devices to diagnose and/or treat disorders of the nervous system. During each year of the contract, the BPMT incubator aims to support the development of multiple novel technologies from pharmaceutical, biotechnology and device companies...

Breakthrough in diagnostics testing enables ‘facial recognition for germs’. Nicolas Shiaelis and Dr Nicole Robb, Oxford University scientists and co-founders of health tech company Pictura Bio, have developed a world-first diagnostic, test powered by artificial intelligence, that can identify known respiratory viruses such as influenza and COVID-19 within five minutes from just one nasal or throat swab...

Organic solvents that are commonly used in various chemical processes have significant financial costs and can be environmentally damaging. Therefore, a key goal for both industrial and academic labs is to reduce their use in favour of green solvent alternatives. Here Paul Vanden Branden, director and product manager at laboratory equipment supplier SciMed, discusses the potential of supercritical CO2 for replacing environmentally damaging solvents, such as hexane, in separations and extractions...

INTEGRA Biosciences’ pipetting platforms are being used to streamline the liquid handling steps involved in antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), contributing to the early detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and helping to direct patients onto the appropriate care pathway as soon as possible. AMR has become one of the largest threats currently facing public health, with morbidity and mortality rates rising dramatically across the world...

Automata, a leading automation company powering life sciences labs, has announced it is partnering with the Advanced Sequencing Facility (ASF) at The Francis Crick Institute, a world-leading laboratory at the forefront of genomics, to unlock the power of open, integrated automation for genomics sample preparation. Integrated automation will support the Crick’s cutting-edge advanced genomics laboratory with greater walkaway time, R&D flexibility and data quality than ever before...

Benchling – the cloud R&D powering the biotechnology industry – launches a new whitepaper in partnership with AstraZeneca, exploring how AstraZeneca has become the first company to recycle critical DNA constructs at scale, reducing the cost of creating DNA constructs by 80-90%. The whitepaper explores how AstraZeneca’s combined team of computational and molecular biologists, along with Benchling, have created the FRAGLER (FRAGment recycLER), a novel solution for the whole DNA synthesis industry..

Computer modelling of our very first cells following conception has provided new insights that could lead to new ways of tackling disease through personalised medicine and cell therapy. A scientist at the University of Leicester has created the first computer model that captures the gene networks involved in human gastrulation, the point at which our cells start to develop our tissues and organs, once dubbed ‘the most important time in your life’...

Wheat containing exotic DNA from wild relatives benefits from up to 50 per cent higher yields in hot weather compared with crops lacking these genes. Following a year when temperature records have been smashed, research from the Earlham Institute in Norwich, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), offers much-needed hope for improving crop resilience and food security in the face of climate change...

Ubiquigent Limited (Ubiquigent), a drug discovery and development company harnessing novel deubiquitinase (DUB) modulators as new therapeutics for areas of high unmet medical need, has announced it is supporting a Master’s student at the University of Glasgow (UoG) to undertake a research project on USP30, a DUB implicated in neurodegenerative, renal, and cardiovascular diseases. Overseen by structural biology experts Professor Helen Walden, UoG, and Dr Mehmet Gundogdu, Principal Scientist at Ubiquigent...

Top 5 Questions to fnd the Perfect Preparative HPLC System for your Purification needs. There are many variables to consider when configuring an HPLC system. To help, here are the top five questions you need to answer. Sample Injection, do you need manual or automated sample injection?. Pumping System, what size of column do you need? Detection, what type of detector do you require? Top tips from Gilson...

Eppendorf and the journal Science are now accepting applications for the 2023 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology. This annual international research prize of US$25,000 is awarded to young scientists for their outstanding contributions to neurobiological research based on methods of molecular and cell biology. Researchers who are not older than 35 years are invited to apply by June 15, 2023...