You will be able to “grow your own transplant liver in a lab within just five years,” says the Daily Mail. This news story is based on research that demonstrated a method to develop skin cells into stem cells, which were then matured into liver cells. The researchers used this technique to develop lab-grown liver cells from patients with inherited liver diseases, which they hope might aid future research into diseases. They found that the new liver cells shared a number of characteristics with the patients’ liver cells. The method developed in this research looks likely to be an invaluable...

The success of scientists in the US in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA has led to a call for a ban on the research. The scientists constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species “dictated” by the synthetic DNA. Experts agree that the technology could radically change the world but some are objecting to its use on saftey and ethical grounds. Pallab Ghosh reports.

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell. The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species “dictated” by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb...

(Reuters) – British fish stocks have dropped by 94 percent in the past 118 years and commercial fishing has profoundly changed seabed ecosystems, leading to a collapse in numbers of many species, scientists said on Tuesday. The dramatic decline means fisherman working today land only a fraction of the fish caught by their predecessors 100 years ago, when the British fleet brought in four times more fish, according to a study by researchers at the University of York. Read more…

Study Shows Why You Might, and Might Not, Want to Know Your Genome By Daniel J. DeNoon April 29, 2010 — Do you really want to know all of the information encoded in your genes? A thought-provoking new study shows why you might — and why you might not. It’s not science fiction. It now costs less than $10,000 to learn your own personal genome. Soon it will cost no more than $1,000. What might you learn? Ask Stephen Quake, PhD, a Stanford University bioengineer. Recently, Quake and colleagues showed that a whole human genome — his own — could be unraveled by a single...

The patch uses 100 times less vaccine than an injection to provide the same resistance By Jeremy Hsu In a successful test of a prototype nanotech vaccine patch, Australian researchers at the University of Queensland used a patch smaller than a postage stamp to deliver vaccine through the skin without needles, and with 100 times less vaccine required to evoke a similar protective immune response, according to Pharmacy News. We noted previously that the nanopatch efficiency could help limited stocks of vaccine go a longer way during epidemics. Its ability to be self-administered also means that ordinary...

A new system controls diabetics’ blood sugar by monitoring both insulin and glucagon. Managing type 1 diabetes is a feat of organization and control. The better a diabetic can keep blood sugar in check, the less likely are long-term health complications. But even with devices like automated insulin pumps, which release a continuous dose of insulin, diabetics still need to remember to add an extra dose of insulin at meals, and many spend a significant amount of time each day with blood-sugar levels either higher or lower than normal. Read more…

Researchers have successfully tested a technique that uses melanin-coated nanoparticles to protect bone marrow from damage commonly sustained during radiotherapy One of the major downsides of radiation therapy, which is commonly used to shrink cancerous tumors, is its harmful effect on normal cells. Now, thanks to research done by scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, doctors may someday use melanin-covered nanoparticles to administer higher doses of radiation to cancerous cells without compromising the healthy ones. Ekaterina Dadachova, Ph.D., and her colleagues...

By Paul Sims The lives of heart attack patients could be saved or extended after scientists discovered how blood vessels could be repaired using stem cells. They have devised a way of harvesting the cells and stimulating the growth of new arteries. The breakthrough offers hope to the 28,000 patients who need bypass surgery every year as well as thousands of other patients with heart problems. A heart attack occurs when the coronary artery taking blood to the heart’s muscles becomes blocked or damaged. It is hoped that injections of stem cells could one day be used to repair the arteries,...

By Megan Treacy Australian scientists have discovered that whale poo is not only helping ocean plant life to flourish, but also increasing the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2. Because whales’ diets are made up largely of iron-rich krill (small crustaceans), their droppings are a great fertilizer for marine plants, helping them to grow like weeds (or algae). These plants then do their part by absorbing CO2 as they grow, a process that scientists have tried to amp up (unsuccessfully) in Antarctic waters with iron fertilization. Researchers say one-third of the world’s oceans are...