With the help of photolithography and programmable DNA, researchers have created a new technique that can rapidly print two-dimensional arrays of cells and proteins that mimic a wide variety of cellular environments in the body. The work was led by recent BioE PhD Olivia Scheideler with ME professor Lydia Sohn, BioE & CBE professor David Schaffer, BioE PhD Andrew Bremer and current BioE student Roberto Falcón-Banchs, among others.
research
To survive on Earth, figure out Mars
Prof Adam Arkin is Director of the Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space, a multi-institution center partnering with NASA to build the technology for a self-sustaining, zero-waste human settlement on Mars. Their revolutionary synthetic biology-based food production and closed-loop biomanufacturing could transform human space travel and address the growing food crisis on Earth.
Kassianidou’s cell images featured in CellPress
Striking images showing the intricate beauty of actin network formation taken by Dr. Elena Kassianidou when she was a graduate student in Sanjay Kumar’s lab are featured in the micropatterning edition of the Cell Picture Show at CellPress.
Conboy and Murthy lead new frontiers in gene editing
Professors Murthy and Conboy are featured for their work changing CRISPR to correct, rather than cut, DNA to repair genetic diseases.
Unlocking the biochemical treasure chest within microbes
PhD alumna Yasuo Yoshikuni, a scientist at the Joint Genome Institute, and colleagues have invented a genetic engineering tool, called CRAGE, that could not only make studying secondary metabolites much easier, but also fill significant gaps in our understanding of how microbes interact with their surroundings and evolve.
Conboy featured in Economist article
Anti-aging research by Professor Irina Conboy is featured in The Economist’s “Uncovering how the body ages is leading to drugs to reverse it” article. Conboy specializes in aging and rejuvenation research, with recent breakthroughs in a combinatorial approach for multi-tissue rejuvenation without blood transfusion. (Full story behind paywall)
Fletcher Lab’s LoaScope Receives Gates Foundation Support
Professor Dan Fletcher’s lab has received a $1.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the scaled-up production of the LoaScope. The video adaptation of the CellScope cellphone-based microscope will enable mapping of Loa loa prevalence and intensity in Central and West Africa.
How can we leverage evolution to make better cell therapies?
Alumnus Dino Di Carlo, Professor at UCLA Bioengineering, tackles the big question on the cover of SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening).
Nature Communications: Long-term and persistent vocal plasticity in adult bats
The Yartsev Lab shows that adult bats can not only modify distinct parameters of their vocalizations, but that these changes persist weeks or months, making bats an important model organism for studies of the rare trait of vocal plasticity in adulthood.