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Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

A tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, researchers report.

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Engineering viruses to kill deadly pathogens

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

In the new study, researchers successfully modified DNA from four types of phages to kill a deadly pathogen. Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent and growing global crisis. Researchers are exploring phages, viruses that infect bacteria, as a possible solution.

Virus 314
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Ancient Viruses Might Be Spurring Modern-Day Cancers

Drugs.com

FRIDAY, July 19, 2024 -- Cancer growth can be fueled by flecks of ancient viral DNA lodged into the genetics of modern humans, a new study says.Overall, about 8% of the human genome is made of bits of DNA left behind by viruses that infected our.

Virus 278
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Gene editing extends lifespan in mouse model of prion disease

Broad Institute

The treatment, which uses base editing to make a single-letter change in DNA, reduced levels of the disease-causing prion protein in the brain by as much as 60 percent. In 2018, Liu, who works on the same floor as Minikel and Vallabh at Broad, approached them and proposed a collaboration.

Disease 144
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Ancient DNA reveals how a chicken virus evolved to become more deadly

SCIENMAG: Medicine & Health

An international team of scientists led by geneticists and disease biologists from the University of Oxford and LMU Munich have used ancient DNA to trace the evolution of Marek’s Disease Virus (MDV). This global pathogen causes fatal infections in unvaccinated chickens and costs the poultry industry over $1 billion per year.

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An ancient RNA-guided system could simplify delivery of gene editing therapies

Broad Institute

An ancient RNA-guided system could simplify delivery of gene editing therapies By Corie Lok February 27, 2025 Breadcrumb Home An ancient RNA-guided system could simplify delivery of gene editing therapies The programmable proteins are compact, modular, and can be directed to modify DNA in human cells.

RNA 66
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Using a Function-First “Scout Fragment”-Based Approach to Develop Allosteric Covalent Inhibitors of Conformationally Dynamic Helicase Mechanoenzymes

Covalent Modifiers

3c10581 Helicases, classified into six superfamilies, are mechanoenzymes that utilize energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to remodel DNA and RNA substrates. Kapoor Journal of the American Chemical Society 2024 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c10581 Therefore, helicases are important targets for chemical probes and therapeutics.

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