Nov 11 2015
The biotechnology company Editas hopes to begin clinical trials using the latest gene editing technique on human subjects in 2017, according to the company’s CEO Katrine Bosley. The CRISPR/Cas system is a prokaryotic immune system that confers resistance to foreign genetic elements such as plasmids and phages, and provides a form of acquired immunity.
May 20 2015
After malaria, dengue fever is the second-most widespread mosquito-borne disease in the world. It is an extremely painful – and sometimes fatal – disease that affects millions of people each year. One of the biggest problems is that there is currently no cure for dengue, nor any way to protect a population from getting sick …
Dec 13 2014
Ever since Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka found a way to treat skin cells with four genes and reprogram them back to their embryonic state, scientists have been buzzing over the promise of stem cell therapies. Stem cells can be coaxed to become any of the body’s cell types, so they could potentially replace diseased or …
Sep 04 2014
A new treatment has successfully protected monkeys infected with Marburg virus, a disease with a course so similar to Ebola‘s that it’s impossible to clinically differentiate the two. Though the technique has not yet been tested in people, the development has researchers noting that what’s helpful for Marburg could well be helpful for Ebola, which …
Jul 30 2014
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown virus that lives in the human gut, according to a study published in Nature Communications. An international team of scientists discovered the virus in CrAssphage genetic material from samples of intestine. Scientists believe the virus can affect the behavior of some of the most common bacteria in the …
Jul 23 2014
Protein in the body can improve its ability to detect and treat viral infections such as influenza and hepatitis C. This conclusion leads a laboratory study by researchers from the University Institute of cancer in Pittsburgh, USA. To start playback in the body, the virus actually “invaded”cells and “takes” control over them. Experts explain that, despite progress in the field of vaccines …