Growing meat in vats could help us prepare for climate change - and curb the environmental damage done by traditional meat. But only if we can scale it up.
Robots a fraction of a millimetre small could swim around your eye or bloodstream for medical treatments in the future.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, speaks with scientist Krishnaraj Tiwari at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Royalmount Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre facility in Montreal, Aug 31, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
To continue the fast-paced collaborative research and innovation we have seen during the pandemic, here are five ways universities can support health research that responds to societal needs.
The polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, is used to copy strands of DNA.
(Pixabay/PixxlTeufel)
COVID-19 tests rely on a process developed at a biotech company co-founded by a Canadian. Canada’s current testing expertise needs to be channelled to prepare for the next wave, and the next pandemic.
The groundbreaking Xenobots were created by a team from Tufts University and the University of Vermont.
Douglas Blackiston, Tufts University
Xenobots have been called the world’s first “living robots”. They are made entirely of living tissue, and can be programmed to move towards a certain object.
The giant freshwater prawn is native to the Indo-West Pacific from northwest India to Vietnam, Philippines, New Guinea and northern Australia. It has been introduced into many countries for aquaculture.
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Entire populations of prawn ‘super-females’ are now being commercially distributed. The science behind this continues to advance and could have a far-reaching impact on both humans and animals.
Delivering genetic material is a key challenge in gene therapy.
Invitation image created by Kstudio
One big challenge for gene therapies is delivering DNA or RNA safely to cells inside patients’ bodies. New nanoparticles could be an improvement over the current standard – repurposed viruses.
By 2030, the Blue Economy will be worth $3 trillion. And the UK is well placed to capture a slice of this lucrative market, if it meets the challenges involved with innovation and ambition.
Clinton, who named drug companies among her enemies in this week’s debate, is pushing populist-inspired policies that could hamper the flow of new medicines.
New EU rules on GM attempt to unblock logjam that has hung over the technology in the region for most of this century. To work, anti-GM member states and Big Biotech will need to cooperate.