A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
Led by the University of Cambridge a team of researchers have, for the first time, described in humans how the epigenome – the suite of molecules attached to our DNA that switch our genes on and off – is comprehensively erased in early primordial germ cells prior to the generation of egg and sperm. Continue reading… “DNA reprogramming in human germ cells observed for first time”
According to one speaker at Advances in Genome Biology, a conference for genomic scientists held earlier this year, the use of genome sequencing to improve patient care is no longer a far-off goal — it’s happening today. Continue reading… “Using genome sequencing to improve patient care”
Thanks to an alarming and futuristic ad campaign, the litterbugs that make the world their personal dumpster can no longer hide in the shadows. Continue reading… “Hong Kong billboards use DNA to identify and shame litterers”
Man-made artificial DNA strands that mimic deadly diseases such as the flu, Ebola, cancer, and HIV have recently been created by scientists. Researchers are claiming that the treatments could be the key to defeating these killer diseases. Human trials have already begun and results are with researchers saying the results are promising. Continue reading… “Man-made DNA that can mimic killer diseases, injecting them into patients create immunity”
Scientists at Harvard University have taken a major step forward in bringing back the woolly mammoth by inserting DNA from the extinct mammal into the genetic code of an elephant. Continue reading… “Woolly mammoth DNA merged with elephant”
This incredible nanoinjector was created at Brigham Young University, is capable of penetrating a cell wall and delivering DNA. Continue reading… “Inserting DNA into cells with amazing nanoinjector”
Moving closer to an entirely new, and better, way to store the world’s information Swiss scientists have discovered encasing DNA in glass and chilling it down can preserve data encoded in it for millions of years. Continue reading… “Storing data for millions of years with man-made DNA”
Developed at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio a new software, which its creators claim puts it ahead of the pack as the fastest genome analysis software around, can take raw sequence data on a person’s genome and search it for disease-causing variations in a matter of hours. Continue reading… “Software can analyze human genome in 90 minutes”
A massive new DNA sequencing project on the New York City subway has been completed and the results have just been published. And as many of us would have guessed, there’s a lot of bacteria on the subway, though most of it is harmless. More importantly, is what we don’t know about it. Continue reading… “Half the DNA on the NYC Subway is of no known organism”
Researchers announced in 2011 that they had reprogrammed the genome of the bacteria E. coli so that one of DNA’s methods of encoding information went unused. While a technological breakthrough, the scientists didn’t do anything with the new bit of genetic code. Now only a few years later, two different groups have taken this technological tour-de-force, and are using it in the same way: creating genetically modified organisms that may never be able to escape into the wild.
Continue reading… “Creating a bacterial kill switch using genome engineering”
A normal mitochondria (left) contain distinctive folds known as cristae, but these folds are lost in damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria (right).
A team of Penn State scientists have discovered a “maternal age effect” that could be used to predict the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA mutations in maternal egg cells — and the transmission of these mutations to children — could provide valuable insights for genetic counseling. These mutations cause more than 200 diseases and contribute to others such as diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Brewbot
It isn’t easy to brew your own beer. It’s also hard to brew a good batch of beer, and even harder to duplicate that batch to drink later on. And it is near impossible to simplifying the process so that it’s as effortless as baking cookies because of all the factors involved with the brewing process, including fermentation, location, temperature, and of course the availability of equipment itself.
Continue reading… “Brewbot lets you download, brew and drink craft beer right in your own home”
