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A history of the interplay between the physical and life sciences is presented. Many of the discoveries that resulted from research conducted by life and physical scientists are described. The type of training required for effective interdisciplinary work is briefly discussed.
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Cellular engineering applies the principles and methods of engineering to the problems of cell and molecular biology of both a basic and applied nature. As biomedical engineering has shifted from the organ and tissue level to the cellular and sub-cellular level, cellular engineering has emerged as a new area. A cornerstone of much of this activity is cell culture technology, i.e., the ability to grow living cells in the artificial environment of a laboratory. Cellular engineering includes the role of engineering in both basic cell biology research and in the making of products which use living cells, e.g., tissue engineering and bioprocess engineering. The former involves the use of living cells in the development of biological substitutes for the restoration or replacement of function, and the latter the use of living cells to manufacture a biochemical product, e.g., through the use of recombinant DNA technology. In fact, as biomedical engineering has expanded to include the cellular level, and bioprocess engineering has shifted in interest from microbial organisms to include mammalian cells, there are intellectual issues in which an interest is shared by these two formerly separate areas of engineering activity. Cellular engineering thus transcends the field of biomedical engineering.
The review of literature (1970-1976) on problems of gene engineering is given. Gene engineering is pointed out to be a new method of modern biology and a new page of modern molecular genetics. Gene engineering detected a real possibility of artificial creating living hybrid organisms, i.e. constructing functional recombinant DNA molecules according to a project of investigator, but not to possibilities of crossing. The determination of gene engineering (in contrast with genetical engineering) is given in the first division of the article. Genetical engineering is a construction of hybrid organisms on the basis of recombination between non-homologous chromosomes cy crossing. Genetical engineering is based on sex crossing, thus the application of this method is restricted by crossability (i.e. experiments in vivo), which possibilities are determined by taxonomical limits. Gene engineering is a new method of operating directly with genes. It permits constructing in vitro any hybrid genomes desirable. There is no limits of combining ability for gene engineering. Three main stages of constructing hybrid genomes should be taken into account for the proper determination of gene engineering as a method of genome constructing: 1) the gene isolation; 2) their cross-linking in vitro; 3) the transfer of hybrid DNA into recipient cell or its genome. The cardinal stage of gene engineering is the construction of hybrid DNA, cross-linking any initial DNAs from any remote animals, plants and bacteria. All the methods known of gene isolation are described. The chemical method of gene isolation is based on that case, when DNA of some gene differs in its physico-chemical characteristics from total DNA, for example, DNAs of genes coding ribosomal RNAs or sea urchine histone DNA. Isolation of promotors and operators using DNA dependent RNA polymerase, which recognizes promotors, repressor and operator DNA, should also be considered as the chemical method of gene isolation. Restrictase method, which is also well known, is convenuent because the restricts have long enough sticky ends, which is important for the following gene cross-linking. The method of total restriction, reported by Lederberg et al. and Debabov et al., is described. The phage method (in particular, Shimada method) is given, permitting the direct integration of lambda phage into a number of sites of Escherichia coli chromosome. Gene engineering method of gene isolation is mentioned, in particular, the data of Kameron et al. on hybrid phages carrying DNA ligase gene, and Clark a. Carbon on hybrid plasmids carrying triptophane and arabinose operons genes. These methods are called "shot gun". Methods of gene isolation from higher organisms are less developed. A method of gene isolation using so called colony hybridization (according to Grünstein and Hognes) is also given...
Engine lubricating oils are known to accumulate carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during engine running. Oils from nine petrol-powered and 11 diesel-powered vehicles, in addition to samples of unused oil, were analysed for PAH content and ability to form DNA adducts when applied topically to mouse skin. The levels of 19 PAHs, determined by GC, were in total, approximately 22 times higher in used oils from petrol engines than in oils from diesel engines. Male Parkes mice were treated with 50 microliters of oil daily for 4 days before they were killed and DNA isolated from skin and lung tissue. DNA samples were analysed by nuclease P1-enhanced 32P-postlabelling. Used oils from both diesel and petrol engines showed several adduct spots on PEI-cellulose plates at total adduct levels of up to 0.57 fmol/microgram DNA [approximately 60 times greater than in experiments with samples of unused oil in which adduct levels (0.01-0.02 fmol adducts/microgram DNA) were close to the limit of detection]. Higher adduct levels were generally formed by petrol engine oils than by diesel engine oils. Lung DNA contained similar total adduct levels to those in skin although the adduct maps were less complex. Total adduct levels correlated with extent of oil use in the engine, the total PAH concentration in oils and with the concentrations of certain individual PAHs present in the oils. An adduct spot that co-eluted with that of the major benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct accounted for 9-26% of the total adducts in skin DNA, and approximately 8% of the adducts in lung DNA, of mice treated with petrol engine oils. A major, and as yet unidentified, adduct spot comprised up to 30% of the total adducts in skin DNA, and up to 89% of the total adducts in lung DNA, of these animals.
Engineering of multistep enzymatic pathways often involves extensive optimization of heterologous gene expression levels and requires cloning of promoter and open reading frames (ORFs) to generate expression cassettes. We present work on a nascent method for multiplex genome engineering in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that negates the requirement for cloning of expression cassettes. Our system, Random Assembly and INtegration (RAIN), uses intron-mediated homologous recombination (HR) for random in vivo assembly of exogenous promoter and ORF libraries, which are combined and cotransformed in a one-pot method. The libraries include consensus homology arms which target long terminal repeat regions of the Ty1 retrotransposon, providing over a hundred possible integration loci. In this way, our developmental system aims to negate the need for in vitro combinatorial cloning of promoters and ORFs to generate expression cassettes, simplifying in vitro DNA preparation before multiplex genome engineering. This paper presents findings from a series of experiments to demonstrate a proof of concept for the RAIN system. These include: the first reported use of intron-mediated assembly of promoters and ORFs for expression of a functional gene product; up to three markerless genomic integrations; and up to five integrations with antibiotic selection. We also present a number of innovations to improve integration efficiency during multiplex engineering in S. cerevisiae including: SGS1 gene knockout; disruption of heteroduplex rejection; modified Cas9 expression architecture; and overexpression of HR genes RAD52, MRE11, and RAD59. To demonstrate how our system can be used for single transformation phenotype engineering of multiple strains, we also transformed a library of methylotrophy associated genes to generate four new strains that were able to grow on a solid minimal medium with methanol as the sole additional carbon source. Our findings contribute to the ongoing efforts to improve multiplex genome engineering tools in S. cerevisiae, and provide the foundations for further development of a novel toolbox for generating useful genetic diversity for metabolic pathway engineering.
CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics have emerged as powerful and programmable platforms that enable sensitive and specific detection for disease management and epidemiological surveillance. Advances in CRISPR engineering and assay design are driving the emergence of next-generation detection platforms that are highly sensitive, rapid, and amenable to field deployment. These engineering breakthroughs have the potential to reshape point-of-care tests (POCT) and transform how emerging and persistent health threats are monitored in decentralized and resource-limited settings. Herein, we systematically review the recent advancements in CRISPR engineering strategies aimed at improving detection sensitivity and specificity, eliminating the dependence on preamplification, and enabling robust POC deployment. The discussed strategies encompass both the rational engineering of CRISPR ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) and the optimization of downstream signaling modules for molecular diagnostic applications. We further highlight key challenges and future perspectives that may inspire impactful research directions and accelerate the advancement of CRISPR engineering strategies toward robust, field-deployable POCT platforms.
This review is a commentary on recent, altered perspectives about biomedical engineering and its role in medicine. It is argued that, rather than being a peripheral specialty, medical engineering and engineering principles in general have a direct application to biochemical medicine and cell biology. A brief description is given of the cell as a compartmentalised reactor system, and the ways in which it is possible to replace lost or aberrant cell function. Specific topics are then covered to illustrate the general thesis. These are: polymers for cell mimicry, cell-surface interactions, biomolecule transport, cell transport phenomena, cell signalling, harnessing of cells for therapy and microbial interactions. These disparate subject areas have a common thread of interest for the biomedical engineer, and are presented here in a way which highlights key points of relevance for engineering. Though necessarily brief, the various descriptions in this review provide a film indication that a rigorous approach to the assessment, modelling and use of cells along sound engineering lines is vital for the future. It is concluded that, without this approach, our understanding of cell biology will remain semiquantitative and semiempirical.
Industrial hygienists often work closely with engineers to control occupational safety and health hazards. This working relationship involves an educational process in which both engineers and industrial hygienists learn from one another. The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is expanding the opportunity for interdisciplinary cooperation and education by producing a series of guidelines publications on the technical and scientific issues critical to preventing and mitigating major releases of toxic materials. Examples of these guidelines include Hazard Evaluation Procedures; Technical Management of Chemical Process Safety; Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis; and Safe Storage and Handling of Highly Toxic Hazardous Materials. Additional topics are addressed in the 8 guidelines in print and the 15 others in preparation. Several guidelines contain specific examples that illustrate how industrial hygienists, engineers, and other readers can use the guidelines to help address chemical process safety problems. Another CCPS activity involves an effort to include an awareness of health, safety, and loss prevention as an integral part of undergraduate chemical engineering education. For practicing engineers and industrial hygienists, a number of continuing education courses on topics such as process hazard analysis, process risk assessment, and process safety are offered by the AIChE. All of these resources are particularly timely in light of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's recently enacted rule on Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals.
Due to antigen heterogeneity, restricted immune cell trafficking and an immunosuppressive, nutrient-restricted tumour microenvironment, solid tumours remain resistant to modern immunotherapies. Engineered bacteriophages offer a modular framework to overcome these obstacles: programmable virus-like particles with scalable production. Through genome engineering, capsid decoration with mammalian cell-targeting ligands, or hybrid AAV/phage systems, engineered bacteriophages can display tumour-associated antigens, enhance receptor-mediated uptake and deliver therapeutic payloads such as cytokines, chemokines and suicide genes without naturally infecting mammalian cells. These features support their use as vaccine platforms, immunological adjuvants and targeted gene-delivery vehicles. These may enable more precise, tumour-localized therapeutic intervention. Phages can engage innate immune pathways, including TLR9, TLR3/7/8, cGAS-STING and AIM2, promoting dendritic cell maturation and inflammatory mediators that may convert immunologically "cold" tumours into inflamed microenvironments. Their multivalent antigen display enhances B- and T-cell priming, while cDC1-mediated cross-presentation supports cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell responses and immunological memory. In CAR-T therapy, engineered phages may improve tumour homing through chemokine modulation, support persistence through local cytokine delivery, reduce antigen escape by presenting multiple tumour epitopes, and limit T-cell exhaustion through dominant-negative receptor strategies or local checkpoint blockade. This review summarizes engineering approaches, delivery systems, manufacturing, biodistribution, dosing, and safety issues, including immunogenicity, pre-existing anti-phage antibodies and horizontal gene transfer. It also distinguishes therapeutic engineered phage particles from phage display technologies used for molecular discovery. Despite encouraging results integrating modified bacteriophages with CAR-T cell therapy, the evidence remains mostly preclinical, indicating both substantial translational prospects and crucial obstacles for future clinical development.