While today’s advancements in biotechnology suggest that there’s nothing we can’t artificially produce, sometimes there’s just no substitute for nature’s own recipes. At least, that’s the philosophy behind the University of Minnesota’s Schmidt-Dannert Lab, whose aim is to harness compounds created in natural organisms like plants and fungi that cannot be produced by chemical means. Many of these compounds have beneficial properties that can be used in further research and drug production.
For example, take chloroplasts, the organelles that perform photosynthesis inside plant cells. They provide energy to plant cells when exposed to light. Animal cells don’t have chloroplasts, which means they’re missing out on a valuable energy source. The Schmidt-Dannert Lab, led by University of Minnesota professor Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, is working toward is creating solar-powered animal cells that are more productive and produce different sorts of organic materials.
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An ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine is making a modern appearance in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. It’s called the Thunder God Vine, and it has been used in teas and traditional medicine for a long time. In recent years, it’s been making a name for itself in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered Thunder God Vine’s surprising potency against pancreatic cancer.
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The University of Minnesota is planning to construct a new $52 million new life science research building in the new Biomedical Discovery District Research Campus. The new facility will consolidate infectious disease and microbiology research conducted at the university into one complex.
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Thanks to a longtime Minnesota philanthropist and the State of Minnesota, neuroscience and diabetes researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic are looking at millions in research grant funding from two new programs:
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When the President launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) last month, a key component was the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), which will pool the resources of multiple government agencies to support the development of robots designed to augment the work and health of human beings. These are known as assistive systems, in contrast to the totalitarian robots of science fiction dystopias that threaten to supplant humans.
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Five years ago the federal government decided that private biomedical research companies were not bringing enough new technology to patients in need, and that it would step up that process by having the NIH fund research at academic medical institutions to bridge the gap between basic science and practical treatment. Thus the CTSA was born: the Clinical & Translational Science Awards program, a research consortium supporting the translation of science into medicine by accelerating laboratory discoveries.
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Even in the tailspin of a winter and spring the Midwest won't easily forget, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (UMN) scientists celebrate their accomplishments, students ride their bikes to shiny new green buildings on campus, and families look forward to a day in the park hunting for bugs. It's May in the Twin Cities, and these are some of the highlights at UMN:
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The State of Minnesota is funding 5 medical research studies to be carried out by the Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a collaborative between the state's largest medical research institutions: the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) and the Mayo Clinic (Rochester). This latest round of 2-year grants totals $3.5 Million. If successful, the 5 projects will either produce results that qualify them for futher federal or private funding, or produce intellectual property that can be marketed.
The research projects focus on:
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