DNA and genetic engineering

Laste ikon
LOADING CONTENT

Explaining the mRNA technology that led to a Nobel prize

Last week, the Hungarian Katalin Karikó and the American Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their research into the mRNA-technology applied to develop the vaccines used to combat Covid-19. But what exactly is mRNA technology?

Ground-breaking knowledge from minute organs grown on microchips

The use of stem cells now makes it possible for us to cultivate so-called organoids, such as tiny versions of a liver, heart or small intestine, in the lab. These micro-organs can then be connected to a microchip that simulates the body’s biological processes. This ‘organ-on-a-chip’ technology opens the door to previously undreamt-of research possibilities.

Doctor looking for lungecancer on x-rayer

Developing a new cure for lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer. Treatments are available, but they are demanding on patients and less than 30 percent survive. But mRNA technology is offering new hope for higher survival rates because treatments target the malignant cells in an entirely new way.

Could gene therapy soon curb muscle loss in the elderly?

Researchers at NTNU have managed to restore muscle function in older mice with muscle loss using advanced gene therapy. The hope is that this method might eventually be used on humans to prevent severe loss of muscle mass.

Mini brains in a petri dish

Mini-brains reveal cause of rare syndromes

The culprit behind a large number of cancerous tumours is known to be a certain protein. Now for the first time, research shows that the same protein is the cause of several rare brain syndromes.

NOTES

Nordic prize for excellent research awarded to NTNU professor

The Anders Jahre’s Award for Medical Research for young researchers is awarded this year to Professor Barbara van Loon at NTNU. Several previous winners of the main prize have since received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. This includes May-Britt and Edvard Moser at NTNU.

People with genetic map in background
VIEWPOINTS

Twenty years of sequencing genes… for better or for worse

It’s been 20 years since the first draft sequence of the human genome was published in the journals Nature and Science. The result led then-President Bill Clinton to state that we are now learning the language in which life was written, and that “doctors will increasingly be able to cure diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes, and cancer by attacking their genetic roots.”
Sequencing 30 000 genes has changed the world, but in a different way than expected.

Norwegian family’s medical mystery solved

Back in the 1970s, a Norwegian family was found to have abnormally high red blood cell counts. Thirty-five years later, researchers succeeded in solving the mystery, thanks to new analytical methods and the latest developments in genetic engineering – and a chance meeting with a Swiss scientist.

Turning genes off for better cancer treatment

A treatment that kills the cancer cells in one fell swoop, without causing the patient to feel sick from the medication’s side effects? That’s the goal of new personalized cancer therapies that are being developed across the globe, including at NTNU.

Ten findings about ADHD, behavioural disorders and overweight in children

Lots of children grow out of their ADHD symptoms. Parents believe children are more physically active than they really are. Sad children are easily overlooked and don’t get the help they need in the preschool years. Some children gain more weight than others – which can solely be explained by children’s eating behaviour.

Using Big Data to understand immune system responses

An enzyme found in many bacteria, including the bacterium that gives us strep throat, has given mankind a cheap and effective tool with which to edit our own genes. This technology, called CRISPR, is also being used to understand how the immune system responds to a viral attack.