Seminars

The release of engineered organisms into the environment is required for many biotechnologies. However, their adoption remains limited due to a lack of knowledge surrounding their impact. To address this, we studied the first and one of few known releases of engineered bacteria: a case study in Estonia dating back to 1989. We sampled the area over 35 years later and re-detected sequences identical to the released genes. We show that the long-term fate of these genes is governed by selective pressures and interactions with the native microbiota.

Early ovarian cancer (OC) detection remains challenging, as there are no reliable screening methods and existing clinical modalities rarely resolve small lesions before metastasis. Near infrared II (NIR-II) materials offer opportunities for clearer tumor imaging. Here, we engineer rare earth nanoparticles with tunable NIR-II emission and targeted surfaces to enable early OC detection. By combining inorganic chemistry, layer-by-layer assembly, and antigen targeting, this work aims to develop a sensitive imaging platform for OC in interception.