Category archives: Biotechnology

How to engineer bacteria to treat cancer

How to engineer bacteria to treat cancer

BiomedicineBiotechnologyMedicineMicrobiology

By Jaime de Juan Sanz

It all began in 1891, when Dr. William B. Coley, a bone sarcoma surgeon at the Memorial Hospital in New York, injected streptococcal organisms into a patient with inoperable cancer. He thought that the infection he induced would have the side effect of shrinking the malignant tumor… and quite surprisingly he was right! The patient’s […]

Ancient DNA Calling Out for “De-Extinction”  — How far can or should we go?

Ancient DNA Calling Out for “De-Extinction” — How far can or should we go?

BiologyBiotechnologyEthicsEvolutionGenetics

By F. Javier Carmona

Ever since the 1993 film based on Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park was released, the thought of reviving extinct species using molecular biology techniques has been on the forefront of the collective imaginary. The idea seemed pretty simple: reading the genetic code of fossilized animals would provide the instruction manual to bring them back to […]

Genetic engineering of insect-free plants

Genetic engineering of insect-free plants

BiotechnologyGeneticsPlant biology

By Daniel Marino

Plants are sessile organisms, which means they can´t move around. Of course, they have some types of movements like turning towards the sun but the place where the seed germinates the plant will stay during their entire life cycle. Obviously, this fact has important consequences on how plants respond upon variations of their surrounding environment […]