This recent news from Harvard is a perfect fit for the IBBio course, connecting lots of what we have learned in the course. Watch this short TED Talk from Prof. Doug Melton on how they are using stem cells to create new insulin-producing beta cells. Then read this article from the Harvard Gazette on the most recent developments in their work. ..o0O0o.. Goal: Produce a poster, blog post or short presentation to communicate Meltons teams breakthrough, including connections to the IBBio course. Role: You are science communicators. Audience: Your peers high school students and teachers. Scenario: Stem cells and diabetes are both headline-grabbing stories. As we develop more treatments for diseases using stem cells, the public need to be well informed of the reality of what is happening and inspired by the future. Product: Large visual poster, blog (500 words with media) or short presentation (4-5 mins). .o0O0o. Required information Going Further Go here to read the rest: i-Biology | international, independent, illuminated … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 6-Nov-2014 Contact: Jens Wilkinson jens.wilkinson@riken.jp 81-048-462-1225 RIKEN Researchers at the RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center in Japan, together with collaborators from the University of Tokyo, have developed a method that combines tissue decolorization and light-sheet fluorescent microscopy to take extremely detailed images of the interior of individual organs and even entire organisms. The work, published in Cell, opens new possibilities for understanding the way life works--the ultimate dream of systems biology--by allowing scientists to make tissues and whole organisms transparent and then image them at extremely precise, single-cell resolution. To achieve this feat, the researchers, led by Hiroki Ueda, began with a method called CUBIC (Clear, Unobstructed Brain Imaging Cocktails and Computational Analysis), which they had previously used to image whole brains. Though brain tissue is lipid-rich, and thus susceptible to many clearance methods, other parts of the body contain many molecular subunits known as chromophores, which absorb light. One chromophore, heme, which forms part of hemoglobin, is present in most tissues of the body and blocks light. The group decided to focus on this issue and discovered, in a surprise finding, that the aminoalcohols included in the CUBIC reagent could elute the heme from the hemoglobin and … Continue reading →

BERKELEY Genetically engineered microbes could help make manned missions to Mars, the moon and other planets more practical, according to a new analysis by UC Berkeley and NASA scientists. In the cover story of todays issue of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, four bioengineers describe how synthetic biology what some have termed genetic engineering on steroids could allow space travelers to use microbes to produce their own fuel, food, medicines and building materials from raw feedstocksreadily available on Mars or the moon, instead of carrying all supplies aboard the spacecraft or making them at the destination with conventional non-biological methods. Our analysis indicates that (synthetic biology) has a good chance of being a disruptive space technology by providing substantial savings over current techniques, said first author Amor Menezes, a postdoctoral scholar in UC Berkeleys California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3). One goal of our paper is to advocate for an expanded role for synthetic biology in space science, with a view toward future mission deployment. Menezes coauthored the paper with Adam Arkin, professor of bioengineering and division director of physical biosciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and John Cumbers and John A. Hogan of NASA Ames Research Center … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 6-Nov-2014 Contact: Lynn Yarris lcyarris@lbl.gov 510-486-5375 DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory @BerkeleyLab Does synthetic biology hold the key to manned space exploration of Mars and the Moon? Berkeley Lab researchers have used synthetic biology to produce an inexpensive and reliable microbial-based alternative to the world's most effective anti-malaria drug, and to develop clean, green and sustainable alternatives to gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. In the future, synthetic biology could also be used to make manned space missions more practical. "Not only does synthetic biology promise to make the travel to extraterrestrial locations more practical and bearable, it could also be transformative once explorers arrive at their destination," says Adam Arkin, director of Berkeley Lab's Physical Biosciences Division (PBD) and a leading authority on synthetic and systems biology. "During flight, the ability to augment fuel and other energy needs, to provide small amounts of needed materials, plus renewable, nutritional and taste-engineered food, and drugs-on-demand can save costs and increase astronaut health and welfare," Arkin says. "At an extraterrestrial base, synthetic biology could even make more effective use of the catalytic activities of diverse organisms." Arkin is the senior author of a paper in the Journal of the Royal Society … Continue reading →

Lynchburg, Va. (PRWEB) November 06, 2014 Dr. Ben Kalu, an assistant professor in Liberty Universitys Department of Biology & Chemistry, will be spending his Christmas break studying the molecular signatures of breast cancer in his homeland of Nigeria. Kalu, who graduated from Abia State University in Nigeria in 2007 with an M.D. in medicine and surgery, has taught medical biochemistry and physiology at Liberty for the past three years. He will be collaborating with one of his former professors, Dr. Charles Adisa, in the surgical oncology unit of ABSUs teaching hospital beginning Dec. 8. Kalu and Adisa are among the second group of recipients of project funding through the new Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, which selected 33 scholars based in the United States and Canada to collaborate with universities in their native African countries on research, graduate teaching, training, and mentoring activities in fields ranging from the arts and humanities to sciences, engineering, and technology. I trained as an M.D. in Nigeria, so I know the challenges of medical education there and what the deficits are, Kalu said. Having had some graduate training in the U.S., I know how I can help, and this fellowship grant provides me that … Continue reading →