Adjuvant engineered from yeast
Synthetic biologists have engineered baker’s yeast so that they can convert simple sugar into the complex plant compound QS-21, usually extracted from the Chilean soapbark tree (Quillaja saponaria).
Gene therapy treats child's hearing loss
A deaf baby girl can hear for the first time after receiving a new gene therapy at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK. The 11-month-old girl, Opal Sandy, was the first British patient and the youngest in the world to be treated this way.
Sticky spheres ensnare pests
Carnivorous sundews ensnare insects with their sticky leaves, a phenomenon that fascinated Charles Darwin. Now, inspired by the tiny hairs and secretions of plants like sundews, a group in the Netherlands have developed their own adhesive spheres as physical pesticides. The tiny sticky orbs were sprayed onto plants to trap western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), a globally important pest.
Blue-green fixation
The discovery of how a critical enzyme works has shed new light on how cells control key processes in carbon fixation. It could help scientists to engineer climate-resilient crops capable of sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently, while producing more food in the process.
Optical sensors warn of beetle infestations
Optical sensors could help farmers better monitor beetle populations in oilseed rape fields. In a recent experiment in agricultural fields in the UK and Denmark, scientists found that optical sensors detected pollen beetles faster and with higher sensitivity than any of the other methods studied.
Pollinator-unfriendly flowers
Some annual flowers come in varieties that are unappealing to pollinators, while others are surprisingly popular, a new study shows. Worryingly, the most popular annual flowers are not a good choice for attracting and supporting pollinators, a US group has concluded.
Patent matters: 10x Genomics v NanoString
The biggest news in the patent community now is the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which came into being on 1 June 2023. It is the world’s first supranational patent court, and currently has jurisdiction over European patents in 17 out of the 27 EU member states, including France, Italy and Germany, but excluding, for example, Spain and Poland. Ireland was planning a referendum to allow it to join the system, but recently announced that it was postponing the vote.
Vaping risks: AI study warns of dangers
Irish researchers have used artificial intelligence to help identify multiple potentially harmful chemicals used in vaping devices. With growing numbers of teenagers and younger children using vapes, they say there is a real risk of a new wave of vaping-induced chronic diseases emerging in 15 to 20 years.
AI targets antimicrobial resistance
Researchers have harnessed AI technology to identify 863,498 promising antimicrobial peptides – small molecules that can kill or inhibit the growth of infectious microbes. The findings are welcome news as the world contends with growing numbers of superbugs resistant to current drugs.