Biomolecular Engineering aims to predictably design and engineer biomolecules or bio-inspired molecules for therapeutics, biocatalysts, protein-based biosensors, and other novel functions. The Fifth Annual Advances in Biomolecular Engineering Symposium will emphasize the design of oligosaccharides and proteins for materials and energy applications.
Specifically the symposium will focus on the following areas: (1) synthetic and biosynthetic methods to prepare oligosaccharides, and the role of these macromolecules in materials science and glycobiology, (2) rational design and self-assembly of periodically sequenced polypeptides and proteins, and (3) physical and electronic properties of bio-inspired molecules.
]]>In the 30-year battle waged since the initiation of the “war on cancer,” there have been substantial victories, with cures for childhood malignancies among the most important. Our ever-expanding understanding of cellular and molecular biology has provided substantial insights into the molecular underpinnings of the spectrum of diseases we call cancer. Yet, while researchers view this as tremendous progress, many patients have seen only limited improvement. In fact, the relatively modest gains achieved in treating the most common malignancies have caused some to say that we are actually losing the war on cancer.
Based on new intelligence, oncologists are making informed battle plans to attack a particularly pernicious enemy—the cancer stem cell. Controversial though they are, cancer stem cells are an incredibly promising target. If treatment-resistant cancer, and the metastases that transplant the cancer throughout the body, could be attributed to the actions of a single cell type, it could explain many of the treatment failures and provide a novel way to attack the disease.
The idea that cancers are driven by cells with “embryonic features” is an old one. Many cancers regress to a less differentiated state, expressing proteins that are usually expressed only in the embryo or during early development. It is only in the past 20 years or so, however, that additional observations led to the hypothesis that these embryonic-like cells were a separate subpopulation that fueled tumor expansion, much the same way that stem cells churn out the cells that make up a particular organ. Rest
]]>“The decision to further develop this successful research collaboration underlines Bayer’s commitment to China as an important component of our innovation strategy,” said Prof. Dr. Andreas Busch, Member of the Bayer HealthCare Executive Committee and Head of Global Drug Discovery.
“The Bayer-Tsinghua Joint Research Center for Innovative Drug Discovery has established itself as an interface to foster communication between leading experts from Tsinghua University’s Institute of Biomedicine and researchers from Bayer HealthCare,” said Prof. Yuan Si, vice president of Tsinghua University.
Headed by Dr. Shi Yigong, Professor and Dean of School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, multiple joint research projects have been initiated at the BTC which was established by Bayer HealthCare and Tsinghua University in 2009. The joint projects focus on different research aspects starting from early research programs to gain deeper understanding of disease mechanisms, identification of new drug targets and spanning further to joint structural biology research and medicinal chemistry programs.
“A new focus of our collaboration will be the area of structural biology, where scientists from Tsinghua University will work in close collaboration with Bayer scientists to solve the 3D protein structure of biological molecular targets as a basis for new drug discovery projects,” said Dr. Shi, who also is a renowned structural biologist. rest
]]>Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories (http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13315) summarizes the workshop discussion, which included the following topics:
Workshop attendees described the history and current challenges they face in their individual laboratories. Speakers recounted steps they were taking to improve safety and security, from running training programs to implementing a variety of personnel reliability measures. Many also spoke about physical security, access controls, and monitoring pathogen inventories. Workshop participants also identified tensions in the field and suggested possible areas for action.
]]>RUSNANO and Domain have signed an investment agreement under which they will jointly invest in emerging life sciences technology companies, foster transfer of technology into Russia, and establish manufacturing facilities in Russia for production of advanced therapeutic products for the treatment of medical conditions including viral infections, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and others.
RUSNANO and Domain’s venture capital funds will co-invest in approximately 20 US-based healthcare technology companies. Target companies will include groups developing innovative products in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and other areas of life sciences, that have significant applications for patient populations in Russia, and that complement RUSNANO’s focus on nanotechnology-based innovation. Rest
]]>Just as a postal worker knows to deliver a package to a specified address, a new type of nanoscale robot can deliver therapeutic cargo specifically to cancer cells (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1214081). The nanobot, made from DNA, could be used for targeted drug delivery, taking molecules to the surface of specific cells.
A robot is something that senses and reacts to its environment, explains George M. Church, the Harvard Medical School professor who devised the DNA nanobot along with colleagues Shawn M. Douglas and Ido Bachelet. The Harvard team’s robot is a hexagonal barrel that can carry a variety of payloads and is held together by two “locks” made from DNA aptamers, which are short oligonucleotide strands that can bind antigen targets. Rest
Also, started reading U.S. patent 5,795,782 that was filed in 1995 and issued in 1998. The co-inventors include George Church and it is believed that this was the first patent application for nanopore technology. The issued patent can be downloaded from Google at this link.
]]>Promising Agents for Gene Delivery
Cyanobacteria have a complete tricarboxylic acid cycle
Researchers Spy On The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle
Nanomaterials in the food chain
Misc
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]]>Live at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ebling Symposium Center, Room 1220: Who should attend? Carbohydrate Chemists, Synthetic Chemists, Glycobiologists, Pharmaceutical Scientists, and those interested in automated synthesis or carbohydrate-based vaccines
Carbohydrates on the surface of cells are involved in a host of fundamental biological processes. While peptides and oligonucleotides are now readily accessible using automated solid phase synthesis, access to complex carbohydrates has been very difficult and time consuming. Professor Seeberger is a pioneer and leading authority in automated oligosaccharide synthesis. In this presentation, he will describe the development of a fully integrated platform based on automated oligosaccharide synthesis and carbohydrate arrays to address biological problems. Particular emphasis will be placed on the latest version of the automated synthesis platform that is currently being made available to laboratories around the world. Rest
The researchers, led by Seung-Wuk Lee, UC Berkeley associate professor of bioengineering and faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), describe their “self-templating material assembly” process in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Nature. Rest
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