Biotechnology

BIG NEWS! Australian researchers have grown a kidney from human stem cells. The rudimentary kidney resembles that of a 5-week-old embryo, but it could be used to test drugs. The technology could also help produce kidneys for transplantation.

Read more: http://ab.co/IZbxLf via ABC Science

The herbal extract of a yellow-flowered plant known as Golden Root (or Rhodiola) can extend the lifespan of fruit flies by 24%, a new study has revealed. The extract works in a completely different way to dietary restriction, which has previously been shown to improve lifespan in lab animals.

Read more: http://bit.ly/1400vvz via Sci-News.com

Happy 60th Anniversary DNA! Genentech employees celebrating the anniversary of the discovery of DNA by forming a human DNA strand. Over 2,600 participated!

New technology from the University of Maryland (UM) could potentially provide a five-minute diagnostic test and a vaccine for tough-to-treat Staphylococcus aureus infections, including the antibiotic-resistant MRSA, often called a "super bug," says inventor Mark Shirtliff, PhD, an associate professor at the UM School of Dentistry in Baltimore.

Shirtliff is the winner of the 2013 BioMaryland LIFE (Leading Innovative Faculty Entrepreneurs) Prize for the most promising technology from the University as awarded by a judging panel at the annual joint meeting of the UM Baltimore Commercial Advisory Board and the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Alliance for Science and Technology Development.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and other drug-resistant forms of bacteria too often colonize implantable medical devices, said Shirtliff, causing many of the nearly 2 million health care-associated infections each year in this country. Such infections cause thousands of deaths every year and the annual cost of treating such infections exceeds $5 billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Shirtliff received the LIFE Prize following his presentation, "Protective Vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms and Other Antigens," before an audience of more than 150 venture capitalists, seasoned biotech entrepreneurs, and business development executives from the biopharma industry.

"I am incredibly honored. I owe this to my lab folks and to my dean [Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent], my department chair [Patrik Bavoil, PhD.] and my early faculty mentor [the late J. William Costerton, PhD] for their support," said Shirtliff.

Dr. Shirtliff's laboratory in the School of Dentistry's Department of Microbial Pathogenesis will receive a $50,000 award sponsored by the Maryland Biotechnology Center and the UM Office of Technology Transfer in Baltimore

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