https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Sejong University researchers have developed a high-quality soybean with improved oxidative stability, reduced saturated fat and increased seed fatty acid content. The research team led by Hyun Uk Kim, a professor in the Department of Bio-Industrial Resources Engineering at Sejong University, created the soybean line containing up to 90.2% oleic acid using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. The study is published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gene-soybean-oleic-acid.html Biotechnology Wed, 23 Sep 2026 18:20:05 EDT news709396372 The ability of cells to move and change position is essential for various processes in our bodies. Immune cells move to sites of action, epithelial cells migrate during wound closure, and neurons extend their axons for signal transmission over long distances. In metastasis, cancer cells employ their motile machinery to spread throughout the body. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-migrating-cells-edge-master-debate.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 21 Sep 2026 15:20:08 EDT news709214761 RNA-based therapeutics use RNA as a blueprint that enables cells to produce specific proteins—including proteins that can precisely modify genes. For this to work, the RNA must reach the inside of the cell intact. Delivery systems currently used for this purpose include virus-derived vehicles and lipid nanoparticles, tiny particles made of fat-like molecules. Both approaches have limitations. Researchers are therefore working on new mechanisms that can deliver RNA into cells more efficiently and, in the future, more selectively. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-proteins-enable-generation-rna.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:00:01 EDT news707581863 Targeted drug delivery directly to the liver has unlocked major breakthroughs across medicine, but constructing the chemical key to enter liver cells remains complex and costly. Today, researchers at Kumamoto University, in collaboration with the National University of Singapore, have unveiled a nature-inspired solution that bypasses synthetic bottlenecks by giving single sugar molecules room to move. Their findings are published in the journal Advanced Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sugars-simpler-smarter-route-precision.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:20:02 EDT news707400419 Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified a potential new target to prevent the spread of Chagas disease. The parasitic infection is transmitted through the bite of the kissing bug in Central and South America and, more recently, in the United States. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-chagas-parasite-survival-antimalarial-style.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:40:06 EDT news706961281 Scientists at the Department of Energy (DOE)'s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have shown that more than 93% of possible E. coli CRISPR-Cas9 guide RNAs—molecules that direct the gene-editing CRISPR tool to the right spot in DNA—work as intended, a far higher percentage than researchers expected. They also discovered why a small number of guides fail and developed a simple way to repair them. The work is published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sharpening-essential-tool-biotechnology.html Biotechnology Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:00:06 EDT news706952041 As antimicrobial resistance grows around the world, novel therapies to counter it become increasingly important. Phages—viruses that infect bacteria—are an exciting avenue of research in this regard, providing a means to selectively kill pathogenic bacteria, even those resistant to traditional antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-viral-loose-cannon-enzyme-phages.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:20:04 EDT news706360571 The recent announcement of novel, viable viruses created by artificial intelligence (AI) was celebrated as a major advance in the fight against antibiotic resistance. But it also raised urgent concerns about regulation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-biotechnology-faster-technology.html Biotechnology Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:20:09 EDT news706266902 The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of living organisms contains regulatory elements that control when, where and to what extent specific genes are turned on or off. They can be co-opted to create "gene switches" that hold significant potential for understanding gene expression and for therapeutic applications, particularly for the noninvasive treatment or management of genetic disorders. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-molecular-electromagnetic-sensor-enable-remote.html Biotechnology Mon, 17 Aug 2026 19:40:04 EDT news706196881 Humans love dogs, but petting them can leave some people sneezing and wheezing. About 15% of the world's population lives with a dog allergy, which can increase the risk of hay fever and asthma. The main culprit is Can f 1, a protein found mainly in dog saliva. Right now, staying away from furry friends or getting regular immunotherapy shots or tablets is the only way to deal with the symptoms. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gene-beagles-major-dog-allergen.html Biotechnology Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:00:01 EDT news705919142 Like a delivery driver navigating crowded city streets, a gene-therapy-toting lipid nanoparticle faces a gauntlet of potential detours on its journey toward a cell's nucleus. First, there's entering the cell's plasma membrane; then navigating around organelles like the Golgi apparatus, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum—all destinations that can errantly absorb the particle's payload, rendering it ineffective at best or harmful at worst. And that's all before the particle even enters the nucleus and successfully makes a genetic change. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-crispr-roadblocks-scientists-genes-blocking.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:00:03 EDT news705841141 Researchers at Queen Mary University of London and University of Cambridge in collaboration with colleagues at HHMI Janelia and NIH, have created some of the most detailed three-dimensional maps ever generated of human airway cells, revealing how the specialized cells that protect our lungs are built and organized. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-3d-nanoscale-human-airway-epithelium.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:50:01 EDT news704038861 Scientists have successfully edited the genome of biting midges, opening the door to new research on how these insects transmit disease. Culicoides biting midges are small blood-feeding insects responsible for spreading important vector-borne viruses such as bluetongue virus (BTV), Schmallenberg virus (SBV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), which cause major losses to livestock production worldwide. Despite their importance as disease vectors, Culicoides are among the smallest blood-feeding insects, just 1–4 mm (0.04–0.16 inches) long, making them difficult to study in the laboratory. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-world-gene-culicoides-midges-door.html Biotechnology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:40:12 EDT news703771621 Blood transfusions are crucial in human and veterinary medicine, yet human blood reserves are in constant need of donors, while blood bank systems in veterinary care are nearly nonexistent. This leaves canine transfusions largely reliant on donations from healthy dogs, but securing compatible blood remains a major challenge because dogs also have different blood types. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-generating-red-blood-cell-cells.html Biotechnology Sun, 19 Jul 2026 20:00:05 EDT news703496702 Hiroshima University researchers have used genome editing to transform red perilla into a green look-alike and simultaneously restructured the plant's chemistry to boost levels of compounds prized for their potential health benefits. The findings point to a new strategy for developing high-value crops for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The study was published in Frontiers in Plant Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-disrupting-enzyme-gene-herb-red.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news703420275 Water-saving irrigation practices, including intermittent irrigation, are essential for sustainable rice cultivation amid growing freshwater shortages. However, periodic drainage creates aerobic soil conditions that drastically boost cadmium (Cd) bioavailability, leading to severe grain Cd enrichment. Disentangling the relationship between water conservation and high grain Cd has been a critical challenge for rice breeders and soil scientists worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-uncover-molecular-mechanism-linking.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:00:06 EDT news703169656 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 A team of researchers led by Professor Akitsu Hotta (Department of Clinical Application) developed a comprehensive framework that combines computational prediction, experimental validation and whole-genome analysis to evaluate intended and unintended mutations arising from CRISPR-Cas9 delivered by lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), providing a practical strategy to improve the safety of genome-editing therapies. The work is published in the journal Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-crispr-safety-unintended-mutations.html Biotechnology Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:20:10 EDT news701352362 A team of researchers led by Luigi Naldini at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget) has developed a new strategy to significantly improve the precision and safety of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in human blood stem cells, potentially overcoming one of the major barriers limiting broader clinical application of genome editing therapies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-smart-platform-gene-hematopoietic-stem.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:07:13 EDT news699530761 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 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 Red-leaf lettuce is red due to anthocyanins, a class of polyphenolic pigments widely studied for their antioxidant properties. In plants, anthocyanins are synthesized through enzymatic reactions originating from the amino acid phenylalanine. Along this biosynthetic pathway, multiple flavonoids—an umbrella term for diverse plant secondary metabolites—are produced as intermediates and ultimately converted into anthocyanins. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-gene-red-lettuce-upside.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:40:05 EDT news695993633 For the first time, a team of researchers from Stellenbosch University (SU) and the Agricultural Research Council has successfully edited the DNA of a woody crop plant in Africa by making precise changes to its genetic material. This is a major milestone for plant biotechnology on the continent. Using CRISPR technology—a tool that enables scientists to cut and edit DNA at very specific points—the researchers switched off a single gene (VvDMR6.1) in grapevine plants. This gene is linked to how plants respond to disease. The researchers say that this change made the plants less vulnerable to downy mildew, a major disease that affects vineyards around the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-grapevine-dna-boost-resistance-disease.html Biotechnology Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:40:03 EDT news695916362 For the first time, a research team at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has succeeded in reducing the size of, or even completely removing, chromosomes in plants with large genomes, such as wheat. They achieved this by using the CRISPR/Cas gene-editing tool to target highly repetitive sections of DNA. The results of the study, published today in the journal Plant Communications, could significantly accelerate breeding processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-team-successfully-trims-wheat-chromosomes.html Biotechnology Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news695649961 Cancer cells excel at evading detection, but subtle chemical differences set them apart from healthy cells. Now, a team of scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Van Andel Institute has identified a way to exploit this distinction. Using a variant of CRISPR, a modern tool for editing DNA, they distinguished tumor DNA from healthy DNA and selectively cut only the former. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-crispr-variant-tumor-dna.html Biotechnology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:20:03 EDT news695472722 The CRISPR-Cas gene-editing system has long been the focus of research as a promising tool in genome editing. However, the emphasis has been on its underlying mechanisms and nucleases. In contrast, little research has examined how CRISPR-Cas systems have evolved and been optimized. In collaboration with the universities of Leipzig, Freiburg, and Michigan (U.S.), a research team at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg found an optimization mechanism in CRISPR-Cas13, providing insights into the evolution of these systems. The results were recently published in The EMBO Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-built-hairpin-mechanism-crispr-cas13.html Evolution Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:40:06 EDT news695388602 Scientists at Rothamsted Research have successfully developed wheat with dramatically reduced levels of asparagine, without affecting yield, using gene editing techniques, offering a promising route to safer food production and improved regulatory compliance. Results from two years of field trials demonstrate that wheat produced using CRISPR genome editing can significantly lower concentrations of free asparagine—an amino acid that converts into acrylamide, a toxic and probably carcinogenic compound formed during everyday baking, frying, and toasting. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ultra-asparagine-wheat-precision-gene.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:00:05 EDT news694354753 CRISPR is a powerful DNA-editing tool that has underpinned huge advancements in human health care in the last decade. It is a precision tool, but is not perfect, and misplaced DNA edits can compromise safety and efficacy, costing billions each year. Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London and the University of Sheffield have published research in Nature showing that the physical twisting of DNA plays an important role in these mistakes. Using a newly developed platform of tiny (nanometer-sized) DNA circles, called DNA minicircles, the team captured never-before-seen interactions between CRISPR and DNA, providing insights that could help eradicate errors altogether. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dna-crucial-gene-therapy.html Biotechnology Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:40:05 EDT news693752711 Lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, best known as the delivery vehicle for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines received by billions of people, are now at the center of a much larger medical revolution. Researchers are racing to use them to ferry therapeutic mRNA into cells for cancer therapies and treatments for inflammatory diseases, as well as delivering CRISPR constructs that can correct disease-causing gene mutations. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-simple-cocktail-amino-acids-boosts.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:00:18 EDT news692452921 A scientific breakthrough not only promises faster testing for antimicrobial resistance, but also an ethical solution to the controversial issue of using rodents in research. University of Exeter scientists have created the world's first genetically engineered wax moths—a development which could both accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and significantly reduce the need for mice and rats in infection research. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-moths-mice-antimicrobial-resistance.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:00:03 EST news689874961