https://phys.org/biology-news/biotechnology/ en-us The latest science news on biotechnology Until now, it has been technically nearly impossible to rotate highly sensitive samples in all directions under a microscope without making contact. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a new laser-based technique that allows microscopic samples such as cells to be rotated contact-free in all three spatial directions. The laser creates tiny temperature differences in the liquid, which trigger gentle fluid flows that move the sample. This protects delicate samples and enables more accurate three-dimensional images—an important step for basic medical research. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gentle-laser-driven-enable-precise.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 12 May 2026 14:40:04 EDT news697807441 Most drugs work by inhibition: they block a protein's activity but leave the protein itself intact. Targeted protein degradation takes a fundamentally different approach, harnessing the cell's own quality-control machinery to remove proteins entirely. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-drug-cleanup-crews-built-backup.html Biotechnology Tue, 12 May 2026 12:00:06 EDT news697799242 A water-based formulation developed at the University of Waterloo using nanotechnology is both greener and more effective than conventional methods for delivering agricultural pesticides. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-based-nanocrystal-sticky-solution-pesky.html Biotechnology Tue, 12 May 2026 09:20:10 EDT news697794226 What are the first steps that chart the path for a cell to become a blood cell, neuron cell, or pigment cell? Scientists have developed increasingly powerful tools to track those changes, but one challenge has persisted: understanding not just where cells are headed, but which regulators steer them to their final fate. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-tool-cells-future-uncover.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 11 May 2026 16:20:06 EDT news697733257 Until now, studying the genetic processes in cells required destroying them—making it impossible to observe these processes over extended periods of time. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Munich has developed a new method to repeatedly obtain up-to-date genetic information from living cells. In the future, this will enable better monitoring of stem cells for therapies or the effects of drugs within cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genetic-cells-destroying.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 10 May 2026 08:30:02 EDT news697214957 Engineered microorganisms are widely used in industrial biotechnology and biopharmaceutical applications, including the production of biofuels, sustainable chemicals, and therapeutic compounds. However, concerns remain regarding the unintended environmental release and uncontrolled proliferation of genetically engineered microbes. For this reason, biocontainment technologies, which are designed to prevent microorganisms from surviving outside controlled environments, have become increasingly important in both academia and industry. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-crispr-safeguard-microbes.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 09 May 2026 16:00:01 EDT news697463333 Scientists from Trinity and Technical University of Denmark have developed a new radar-based technique that could address a critical gap in global conservation efforts, by transforming how we identify and track the insects that are actually responsible for pollinating plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bee-specific-radar-tech-identification.html Ecology Sat, 09 May 2026 13:00:03 EDT news697298009 Artificial intelligence can dramatically speed up the painstaking work of tracking wildlife with remote cameras, cutting analysis time from months or even a year to just days while producing nearly the same scientific conclusions as humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-wildlife-tracking-months-days.html Ecology Sat, 09 May 2026 10:00:01 EDT news697378446 A new computational method could dramatically accelerate efforts to map the body's cells in space, according to a study published in Nature Genetics. Spatial multi-omics technologies—often described as ultra-high-resolution maps of tissues—allow scientists to see not only which genes or proteins are active in a cell, but exactly where that activity occurs. That spatial context is critical for understanding complex organs such as the brain, immune tissues and developing embryos. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-tool-fragmented-cell-spatial.html Biotechnology Thu, 07 May 2026 19:40:05 EDT news697390141 Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered that high-frequency ultrasound waves similar to those used in medical exams can eliminate viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 without damaging human cells. In an article published in Scientific Reports, they describe how the phenomenon, known as acoustic resonance, causes structural changes in viral particles until they rupture and become inactivated. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ultrasound-rupture-covid-flu-viruses.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 07 May 2026 17:20:08 EDT news697378206 A protein found only in microscopic tardigrades, one that allows them to survive extreme conditions like dehydration, can convey similar durability in synthetic cells, according to new research from University of Michigan Engineering and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-death-defying-protein-tardigrades-synthetic.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 06 May 2026 16:00:05 EDT news697291202 A research team led by Prof. Hsing I-Ming, Professor of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with Prof. Zhai Yuanliang, Associate Professor of the Division of Life Science (LIFS), has successfully developed the world's first DNA-guided CRISPR-Cas system capable of programmable RNA targeting and cleavage. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dna-crispr-flips-gene-script.html Biotechnology Wed, 06 May 2026 15:00:05 EDT news697289641 Imagine a sea of glowing blue lights pulsing to the beat of the music. But instead of glow sticks filled with toxic chemicals, the luminescence comes from living algae, shimmering on demand. In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and collaborators unveil a new technology that could make it possible. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-electricity-algae.html Biotechnology Wed, 06 May 2026 14:00:07 EDT news697275721 Scientists have uncovered more than 1,700 new proteins that could have implications for human diseases, including cancer. Mostly very small, these proteins were found in what's called the "dark proteome," which covers gene products from previously overlooked sections of DNA. These proteins have unusual properties, motivating scientists to coin a new concept, peptideins, to help understand their potentially unique biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dark-proteome-yields-microproteins-reshape.html Biotechnology Wed, 06 May 2026 11:00:10 EDT news697206062 A new kind of CRISPR that destroys cells rather than gene editing them has shown potential for killing sick cells while leaving healthy cells untouched. The technology has largely been tested in cells in a dish, but if it can be applied to organisms, it could be a powerful tool to treat disease and advance research. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-kind-crispr-viral-infection-cancer.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 06 May 2026 11:00:08 EDT news697201681 Scientists at Keele University have created the first detailed map of the genetic "switches" that control reproduction in disease-carrying insects such as Anopheles gambiae, the mosquito species most responsible for malaria transmission, paving the way for more effective methods of genetically controlling these insects. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-genetic-mosquito-reproductive-genes.html Biotechnology Tue, 05 May 2026 18:10:01 EDT news697216501 Approximately 145 million: That's the number of specimens—including plants, animals, minerals, and human artifacts—curators estimate are held in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. However, these estimates do not reflect the billions of tiny individual specimens contained on microscope slides—thin pieces of glass that fix objects in place for observation—each representing a record of a species at a specific place and time. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-digitizing-microscope-uncover-billions-fossils.html Biotechnology Tue, 05 May 2026 17:30:01 EDT news697216081 As record-breaking amounts of sargassum seaweed drift toward Florida's shores, researchers at Florida International University are exploring how the coastal nuisance could become a valuable ingredient in everyday foods. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sargassum-florida-beaches-uncover-food.html Ecology Tue, 05 May 2026 15:20:05 EDT news697199821 Modern biology is awash in data. Scientists can sequence DNA, track gene activity cell-by-cell, map proteins in space, and image tissues at microscopic resolution. However, it is a struggle to put all that information together to form a cohesive view. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-super-aims-biology-ai.html Biotechnology Tue, 05 May 2026 13:40:06 EDT news697198681 One of life's many mysteries is how it ended up choosing only a set of 20 amino acids to build proteins for its wide catalog of organisms, from single-celled bacteria to behemoth whales. From a chemical standpoint, many of the canonical amino acids share similar chemical structures and properties, which might make them expendable. This raises an intriguing question: could life manage with one less amino acid? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-life-bacteria-amino-acid.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 05 May 2026 10:00:02 EDT news697190307 The secret behind insects' lightning-fast reactions could offer a blueprint for more energy-efficient robots and self-driving cars, according to a new study challenging our understanding of how brains process information. Published in Nature Communications, the University of Sheffield research shows that house flies and fruit flies do not process visual information passively, as previously believed. Rather than simply watching the world, insects twitch their bodies in sync with what they see. These tiny, jerky movements, such as rapid movements of the eyes called saccades, help their brains receive clearer, faster information about the world around them. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-insect-brain-discovery-blueprint.html Biotechnology Tue, 05 May 2026 09:40:02 EDT news697190924 Researchers at the University of Oregon have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can read genetic code the way large language models like ChatGPT read text. Scanning the genome for biological mutation patterns, the computer model traces pairs of genes back in time to their last common ancestor. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dna-ai-reconstructs-ancestry-minutes.html Biotechnology Mon, 04 May 2026 16:20:06 EDT news697124401 Millions of tons of plastic waste accumulate in landfills and oceans every year. One promising response is to engineer microbes to break the plastic down into useful chemical building blocks. However, teaching a bacterium to digest plastic efficiently demands fine-tuning not just one gene, but entire clusters of genes working in concert, like upgrading every machine on a factory assembly line rather than swapping out a single part. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bacteria-complex-tasks-munching-plastics.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 04 May 2026 08:20:01 EDT news697100822 When cows burp, they send a substantial amount of methane gas into the air, which makes them a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to research published in the journal Science, a newly discovered hydrogen-producing structure within the microbes of cow stomachs may influence how much of that gas is expelled. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-newly-organelle-cow-methane-emissions.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 03 May 2026 11:40:02 EDT news696857519 As the spread of infectious diseases accelerates, technologies that can accurately distinguish multiple viruses in a single test are becoming increasingly important. KAIST and an international research team have developed a new diagnostic technology that simultaneously identifies various viruses and variants by controlling the "speed" of gene scissors. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-crispr-patterns-multiple-viruses-variants.html Biotechnology Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:00:01 EDT news696772441 When a gene is turned on in a cell, it creates a ripple effect along the DNA strand, changing the physical structure of the strand. A new study by MIT researchers, appearing in Science, shows that these ripples can stimulate or suppress neighboring genes. These effects, which result from the winding or unwinding of neighboring DNA, are determined by the order of genes along a strand of DNA. Genes upstream of the active gene are usually turned up, while those downstream are inhibited. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-gene-circuits-reshape-dna-affect.html Biotechnology Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:30:03 EDT news696781441 Cell division during the early stage of embryo development is a trade-off between speed and accuracy; the cells need to divide quickly to enable rapid growth, but it's important not to introduce errors that could be fatal to the developing embryo. But some stages of embryo development might be more tolerant of errors, coping with them without leading to complete failure. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-protein-illuminates-embryos-cope-disruptions.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:00:01 EDT news696771362 Researchers have uncovered a previously hidden layer of complexity in how genes are activated, showing that water molecules play a direct and essential role in one of the most fundamental processes in biology: DNA transcription. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-molecules-gene-transcription.html Biotechnology Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:00:14 EDT news696671043 An autonomous underwater glider is giving us a new and effective way to track sperm whales by tuning into their clicks and silently following them. To study these large oceanic predators, researchers need to monitor their movements and social interactions for months at a time. But that's not easy, because they swim deep and stay underwater for long periods, making them hard to reach. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-silent-robot-shadows-sperm-whales.html Plants & Animals Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news696685606 In every backyard, park, and playground on Earth, the ground is teeming with a type of bacteria called Streptomyces—one of the most abundant organisms on the planet. While these dirt-dwelling microbes are known for producing that earthy odor that fills the air after rainfall, that familiar scent is only the tip of their chemical-producing iceberg. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-soil-million-year-bacterial-toxin.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:00:06 EDT news696682982