Genetically Modified News

April 23, 2024

Top Headlines

New Approach for Combating 'Resting' Bacteria

Apr. 11, 2024 — Most disease-causing bacteria are known for their speed: In mere minutes, they can double their population, quickly making a person sick. But just as dangerous as this rapid growth can be a bacterium's resting state, which helps the pathogen evade ...

Biofortified Rice to Combat Deficiencies

Apr. 11, 2024 — Vitamin B1 is an essential micronutrient for human beings. Its deficiency is the cause of numerous diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Researchers have achieved a significant advance in the fight against vitamin B1 deficiency, ...

Plastic-Free Vegan Leather That Dyes Itself Grown from Bacteria

Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes ...

Giant Phage Holds Promise as Treatment for Lung Infections

Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new bacterial killer that can target common lung infection caused by Burkholderia bacteria that has exciting potential for biotechnological ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:52pm EDT

Geobiology: New Placozoan Habitat Discovered

Apr. 11, 2024 — Traces of DNA in the stomachs of predatory snails give a team og geobiologists new insights into the ecology of ...

Craving Snacks After a Meal? It Might Be Food-Seeking Neurons, Not an Overactive Appetite

Mar. 20, 2024 — Psychologists have discovered a circuit in the brain of mice that makes them crave food and seek it out, even when they are not hungry. When ...

Alzheimer's Drug Fermented With Help from AI and Bacteria Moves Closer to Reality

Mar. 14, 2024 — Researchers combined artificial intelligence and chemical biosensors to ferment the precursor of an Alzheimer's drug in ...

Gene Flow in Giraffes and What It Means for Their Conservation

Mar. 12, 2024 — Giraffes, with their bizarre body plan, have always held a special place in the minds of evolutionary biologists and non-experts alike. In a new study whole-genome sequencing data was used to ...

Synthetic Gene Helps Explain the Mysteries of Transcription Across Species

Mar. 6, 2024 — 'Random DNA' is naturally active in the one-celled fungi yeast, while such DNA is turned off as its natural state in mammalian cells, despite their having a common ancestor a billion years ago and ...

Asexual Propagation of Crop Plants Gets Closer

Feb. 15, 2024 — When the female gametes in plants become fertilized, a signal from the sperm activates cell division, leading to the formation of new plant seeds. This activation can also be deliberately triggered ...

Key Genes Linked to DNA Damage and Human Disease Uncovered

Feb. 14, 2024 — Scientists unveil 145 genes vital for genome health, and possible strategies to curb progression of human genomic ...

Female Lab Mice Behave Very Differently When Placed Outdoors

Feb. 14, 2024 — A new study has examined social behavior of lab mice in large outdoor ...

Low-Cost Microbe Can Speed Biological Discovery

Feb. 13, 2024 — Researchers have created a new version of a microbe to compete economically with E. coli -- a bacteria commonly used as a research tool due to its ability to synthesize proteins -- to conduct ...

Scientists Develop New Biocontainment Method for Industrial Organisms

Feb. 6, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new biocontainment method for limiting the escape of genetically engineered organisms used in industrial ...

Engineering Viruses to Kill Deadly Pathogens

Jan. 31, 2024 — Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent and growing global crisis. Researchers are exploring phages, viruses that infect bacteria, as a possible solution. In the new study, researchers successfully ...

DNA from Preserved Feces Reveals Ancient Japanese Gut Environment

Jan. 24, 2024 — DNA from ancient feces can offer archaeologists new clues about the life and health of Japanese people who lived thousands of years ago, according to a new ...

Smart Skin Bacteria Are Able to Secrete and Produce Molecules to Treat Acne

Jan. 9, 2024 — An experimental study has shown that a type of skin bacterium can efficiently be engineered to produce a protein to regulate sebum production. This application could treat acne without compromising ...

Scientists Engineer Plant Microbiome to Protect Crops Against Disease

Jan. 4, 2024 — Scientists have engineered the microbiome of plants for the first time, boosting the prevalence of 'good' bacteria that protect the plant from disease. The findings could substantially ...

Multitasking Microbes: Scientists Engineer Bacteria to Make Two Valuable Products from Plant Fiber

Dec. 21, 2023 — Researchers have engineered bacteria that can produce two chemical products at the same time from underutilized plant fiber. And unlike humans, these multitasking microbes can do both things equally ...

'Shocking' Discovery: Electricity from Electric Eels May Transfer Genetic Material to Nearby Animals

Dec. 5, 2023 — Researchers have discovered that electric eels can alter the genes of tiny fish larvae with their electric shock. Their findings help to better understand electroporation, a method by which genes can ...

Heart Repair Via Neuroimmune Crosstalk

Nov. 17, 2023 — Unlike humans, zebrafish can completely regenerate their hearts after injury. They owe this ability to the interaction between their nervous and immune systems, as researchers now ...

How Bacteria Recognize Viral Invasion and Activate Immune Defenses

Nov. 15, 2023 — Bacteria have an array of strategies to counter viral invasion, but how they first spot a stranger in their midst has long been a ...

First Mice Engineered to Survive COVID-19 Like Young, Healthy Humans

Nov. 1, 2023 — Researchers have genetically engineered the first mice that get a human-like form of COVID-19, according to a new ...

Plastic-Eating Bacteria Turn Waste Into Useful Starting Materials for Other Products

Nov. 1, 2023 — Mountains of used plastic bottles get thrown away every day, but microbes could potentially tackle this problem. Now, researchers report that they've developed a plastic-eating E. coli that can ...

You Say Genome Editing, I Say Natural Mutation

Oct. 19, 2023 — A plant geneticist and computational biologist teamed up to decipher the unpredictability of natural and engineered mutations in tomatoes. They discovered some combinations of mutations behave as ...

Soft Optical Fibers Block Pain While Moving and Stretching With the Body

Oct. 19, 2023 — New soft, implantable fibers can deliver light to major nerves through the body. They are an experimental tool for scientists to explore the causes and potential treatments for peripheral nerve ...

Engineered Bacteria Paint Targets on Tumors for Cancer-Killing T Cells to See

Oct. 12, 2023 — Synthetic biologists report on a new approach to attacking tumors. They have engineered tumor-colonizing bacteria (probiotics) to produce synthetic targets in tumors that direct CAR-T cells to ...

Natural GM Crops: Grasses Take Evolutionary Shortcut by Borrowing Genes from Their Neighbors

Oct. 5, 2023 — Grass may transfer genes from their neighbors in the same way genetically modified crops are made, a new study has revealed. ...

Small but Mighty New Gene Editor

Sep. 29, 2023 — A new CRISPR-based gene-editing tool has been developed which could lead to better treatments for patients with genetic disorders. The tool is an enzyme, AsCas12f, which has been modified to offer ...

Genetically Engineering Associations Between Plants and Nitrogen-Fixing Microbes Could Lessen Dependence on Synthetic Fertilizer

Sep. 27, 2023 — Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but the overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture is not sustainable. A team of bacteriologists and plant scientists discuss the ...

Genetically Modifying Individual Cells in Animals

Sep. 20, 2023 — Researchers have developed a method that lets them genetically modify each cell differently in animals. This allows them to study in a single experiment what used to require many animal experiments. ...

Spider Silk Is Spun by Silkworms for the First Time, Offering a Green Alternative to Synthetic Fibers

Sep. 20, 2023 — Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully ...

Genetically Modified Bacteria Break Down Plastics in Saltwater

Sep. 14, 2023 — Researchers have genetically engineered a marine microorganism to break down plastic in salt water. Specifically, the modified organism can break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used ...

Bacteria Generate Electricity from Wastewater

Sep. 8, 2023 — In a breakthrough for the field of bioelectronics, researchers have enhanced the ability of E. coli bacteria to generate electricity. The innovative approach only offers a sustainable solution for ...