https://phys.org/biology-news/biotechnology/ en-us The latest science news on biotechnology Cells are crowded, dynamic places where thousands of molecules interact in tight quarters. Until now, scientists lacked a reliable way to see many of these molecular interactions as they happen. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have now developed a new imaging method that allows scientists to see previously hidden enzyme activities in small regions across the whole cell. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, open new possibilities for understanding how cells process information. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cell-imaging-method.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:40:05 EDT news703255069 Mathematics has always been at the core of securing information. From online banking to government communications, modern society relies on cryptography, in which complex mathematical algorithms transform readable information into an unreadable form to keep it secure. But as computing power grows and quantum technology advances, these mathematical safeguards are increasingly vulnerable to being broken. That's where biology stepped in. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dna-origami-secret-messages-nanomorse.html Biotechnology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:20:07 EDT news703241682 Tissue engineers are finding ways to grow living organs and tissues from cells, with the aim of replacing diseased and damaged counterparts in the body. Scientists have successfully grown artificial muscles, livers, kidneys, skin and other tissues. But there's been no reliable way to engineer precisely patterned networks of blood vessels, some of which can be finer than a human hair. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-precise-artificial-blood-vessels.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:30:02 EDT news703241819 The era of "biomanufacturing," in which microbes, not petroleum, produce chemical products, is one step closer. A KAIST research team has analyzed the key challenges limiting the commercialization of biomanufacturing and proposed an AI-driven strategy for industrialization. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-era-microbial-cell-factories-closer.html Biotechnology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:35:14 EDT news703229595 A team led by bioengineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a genome-scale reference map that details how individual genes control the functions and identities of human stem cells. This open-access resource could help researchers build virtual cell models for complex diseases, as well as design patient-specific treatments for these diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-million-stem-cells-reveal-genome.html Biotechnology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:30:01 EDT news703155590 Long before scientists began studying them in the lab, mind-altering substances were already being gathered from plants, fungi and even animals for use in rituals, healing practices and mental health treatment. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have now managed to bring together in a single organism five psychedelic substances that in nature are scattered across the tree of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-decipher-psychedelic-substance.html Biotechnology Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:00:02 EDT news702724320 Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with Wismut GmbH and scientists from the University of Granada in Spain, have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when they have access to glycerol as a food source. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-dissolved-uranium-stable-compound.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:20:10 EDT news702888774 A smartwatch can tell us the level of oxygen in our blood, when our sleep is restless or the number of steps we take in a day. Now imagine that kind of tracking ability for plants. By the time farmers see curling leaves or stunted growth in their fields, their crops may already have spent days under stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wearables-track-health-farmers-real.html Biotechnology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:20:07 EDT news702807380 The speed at which a cell produces proteins is a decisive factor in determining whether it divides, specializes or retains its stem cell properties. A team of researchers led by Professor Stefan H. Stricker, professor of epigenetic engineering at LMU's Biomedical Center and research group leader at Helmholtz Munich, has worked with international partners to demonstrate directly for the first time that the amount of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) directly regulates these processes. Their results were published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-crispr-method-protein-production-cells.html Biotechnology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news702729337 RNA has emerged as one of the most promising molecules in modern medicine, enabling advances from mRNA vaccines and gene therapies to genome editing and synthetic biology. However, designing RNA molecules that reliably fold into a desired secondary structure remains a major challenge. Even for relatively short sequences, the number of possible nucleotide combinations grows exponentially, making it difficult to identify optimal candidates. As a result, conventional computational methods often require extensive candidate evaluations, creating a significant bottleneck when experimental validation is both time-consuming and costly. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-optimizing-rna-ai-ising-machine.html Biotechnology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:50:01 EDT news702724633 High-speed movies of microscopic worms may sound like a dull night at the cinema, but this advanced imaging capability could help scientists better understand how diseases begin and progress, track subtle changes in cells and study how the body responds to treatments. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-invisible-visible-high-movies-scientists.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:40:04 EDT news702724281 A new genetic screening method allows researchers to efficiently modulate individual genes across entire tissues and provides new insights into human development. The research, published in eLife, is described as a landmark study by the journal's editors. They go on to say in their assessment of the work that "this technical tour de force is exceptional and one of the first studies to reveal new knowledge on human development through embryo models." https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unveils-genetic-screen-human.html Biotechnology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:20:11 EDT news702646951 Understanding how cells within and around a tumor interact provides key information about a cancer's architecture, a patient's immune response to the disease and even how susceptible the cancer may be to various types of treatment. But deducing these cellular "neighborhoods" using traditional techniques is time-consuming and expensive. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-inferring-multicellular-interactions-tumors-standard.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:40:01 EDT news702638952 "Complex chemical processes are essential for making DNA." This long-held assumption in the field of biotechnology has been overturned by a Korean research team. A KAIST research team has developed the world's first foundational technology that enables the synthesis of desired DNA using only temperature. Using this technology, the team also demonstrated a "DNA temperature black box" that records temperature changes during shipping without electricity. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-enable-dna-synthesis-temperature.html Biotechnology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:20:03 EDT news702630507 In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Technion and Tel Aviv University present BetaDescribe, an AI system that translates protein sequences into natural-language descriptions, opening a new path toward understanding protein functions and accelerating drug development and material design. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-protein-sequences-text-reveal.html Biotechnology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 21:20:03 EDT news702571489 Contrary to common assumptions, pigeons do not lock their eyes in place during flight. Instead, they make slow, subtle eye movements that may help them gather more information about their surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-qa-camera-equipped-homing-pigeons.html Ecology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:00:08 EDT news702287200 Scientists have grown wheat containing supersized starch granules—a leap forward in biological engineering with potential benefits for our daily diets and a raft of industrial applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-giant-wheat-starch-granules-biological.html Biotechnology Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:00:10 EDT news702286264 Researchers have spent decades—and billions of dollars—sequencing animal and crop genomes, but fungi have historically been the forgotten middle child of genomics, only noticed when they're ruining bread or colonizing toes. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fungal-genome-tool-fresh-paths.html Biotechnology Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:40:03 EDT news702287408 Embedded in the boundary between the inside and outside of each cell are membrane proteins. They act as first responders by sensing signals, regulating which molecules enter and leave the cell, and enabling cells to quickly adapt to changes in their environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biology-greasiest-problem.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:00:15 EDT news702215581 Superworms, a mealworm-like form of beetle larva commonly used as pet food, are efficient cleaners of skeletons, according to a study published in PLOS One by Fatemeh Rastekar of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-superworms-future-skeleton.html Plants & Animals Wed, 01 Jul 2026 17:00:03 EDT news702136201 As humans, our eyes take in two-dimensional images that our brains convert to three-dimensional experiences. This ability enables us to be aware of our position in space, judge distances, possess depth perception, and visually examine and enjoy all manner of objects and happenings. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-d-scientists-ai-tool-complex.html Biotechnology Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:00:03 EDT news702125822 A Korean research team has developed a new viral vector technology that significantly improves the production efficiency of next-generation cell and gene therapies known as CAR immune cell therapies, which are designed to recognize and destroy cancer cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-srv2-envelope-protein-efficient-car.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:20:01 EDT news702125281 While many of life's mysteries remain unsolved, every biologist can describe the basic processes performed by a living organism, including energy use, reproduction, growth and development. While these characteristics can be replicated in isolation in a lab, the idea of a completely synthetic biological organism has long been relegated to science fiction. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-world-synthetic-cell-life-revolutionize.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:04:56 EDT news702129845 Accurate RNA splicing is essential for gene expression and human health, yet predicting how DNA sequence variations affect splicing remains a major challenge. Although recent artificial intelligence (AI) models have improved splice-site prediction, many struggle to capture regulatory signals located thousands of DNA bases away from the sites they influence. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-deciphers-range-dna-rna.html Biotechnology Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:20:08 EDT news702037742 The same family of artificial intelligence that powers today's image generators is now being aimed at one of biology's hardest puzzles: the ever-changing, three-dimensional shapes of RNA. These are the molecules behind mRNA vaccines like the ones that prevent serious COVID-19 cases. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-ai-tool-rivals-alphafold.html Biotechnology Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:40:03 EDT news702035677 Researchers have developed a way to program human cells to perform calculations and make autonomous decisions, similar to how computer chips work. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-human-cells-tiny.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:10:01 EDT news702044582 A study by a team of researchers from the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University offers new hope to millions of people with irreversible hearing loss. The researchers identified a unique biological mechanism that could, in the future, enable the regeneration of sensory hair cells in the inner ear—a process previously thought impossible in humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rare-ear-cells-regenerative-treatments.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 18:20:07 EDT news701961181 A research team at the University of Turku in Finland has developed a reliable laboratory model to study BAP1-deficient melanomas, which are a rare type of melanoma that evade the immune system once they have metastasized and are universally resistant to current state-of-the-art immunotherapies. The tool could change how therapies are developed for aggressive melanomas that currently have almost no effective treatment options. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-cellular-rare-deadly-melanomas-enables.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 18:00:08 EDT news701958121 RNA interference is a natural mechanism for living cells to control whether specific genes are being used. Crowned with the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the discovery of RNA interference has since been harnessed by scientists to create a powerful and growing class of drugs capable of suppressing disease-related genes. Seven such drugs have already received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, including inclisiran, which can replace daily cholesterol-lowering pills with twice-yearly injections. Despite these clinical successes, the molecular details of how the system executes its cuts remained poorly understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-blueprint-rna-therapeutics-reveals-sirna.html Biotechnology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:10:04 EDT news701967902 Red-tailed hawks can compensate for feather loss during molt by subtly changing their wing and tail movements, according to a new study by University of California, Davis, researchers in the College of Engineering and the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-red-tailed-hawks-flight-feathers.html Ecology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:00:03 EDT news701944621