It's possible enhancing the biochemical events that lead to growth in the brain would cause issues elsewhere in the body like potentially raising the risk of cancer.
#How Mya Breitbart Is Mapping The Genomes Of Entire Ecosystems Each year Popular Science seeks out the brightest young scientists and engineers and names them the Brilliant Ten.
--The Editorsuniversity of South Floridamapping the genomes of an entire ecosystem at once. Viruses are the most abundant entities on the planet and among the most mysterious.
Rather than try to isolate individual virus species from a sample there are up to 10 billion viruses in a liter of seawater Breitbart extracts all the genetic material present chops it into smaller pieces and sequences those pieces simultaneously.
Breitbart's approach has spawned a new branch of biology called metagenomics which researchers use to sample
and sequence genetic material directly from the enviroment. Recently Breitbart has found a new source of viruses:
#How Feng Zhang Modified A Cell's Genome On the fly Each year Popular Science seeks out the brightest young scientists and engineers and names them the Brilliant Ten.
--The Editorsmassachusetts Institute of technology and Broad Institutemodifying a cell's genome on the flywhen Feng Zhang was in graduate school he discovered that the tools for splicing new genes into living cells were costly time-consuming and proprietary.
They dramatically sped up the study of genetics and disease. The techniques Zhang helped develop called TALE
and CRISPR create transgenic or otherwise genetically modified organisms with unprecedented efficiency. TALE is a molecule that gloms onto a section of DNA
CRISPR is based on a microbial enzyme that snips the DNA to introduce new genetic material. Using these methods Zhang can make a transgenic mouse in three weeks (normal methods require more than six months to achieve that feat.
Almost 2000 labs have requested information about CRISPR alone since it was cited first in a publication in January 2013.
Zhang plans to use the techniques to study the genetics of autism and schizophrenia. He has begun already to insert genes linked to each disorder one by one into animal models to observe their effects.
Arjun Raj and his collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania invented a technique to track that gene expression and its effects.
which carry genetic information from DNA reveal which genes are turned on and how often they're active.
When a chromosome gets chopped into several pieces and reassembled as often happens in cancer even undamaged genes are expressed at different levels than in a normal chromosome.
Raj also discovered that in genetically identical worms varying levels of gene transcription could mean the difference between a long life and an early death.
But now that cell biologists can see these subtle events they can begin to study why the events happen.
Many animals in biology are repelled by noxious animals â##prey that provide a signal that somehow says'Don't eat
It's unlikely that this clone could develop into a human say the scientists a team of biologists from the U s. and Thailand.
Mitalipov is a biologist who studies cells and development at the Oregon Health and Science University.
and transplanted them into eggs that had their own genetic material removed. They then grew the eggs for a few days harvested the daughter cells that appeared
So is a biological system with the future potential to develop into a person itself an actual person or not?
Study of embryonic stem cells will further our understanding of developmental biology which will lead to a better understanding of embryogenesis potentially leading to currently unavailable treatments for debilitating congenital disorders
Mutations in the X chromosome cause a person to perceive more or less color which is why men more commonly have congenital colorblindness than women
(if their one X chromosome has a mutation). But the theory stood that if a woman received two mutated X chromosomes she could have four cones instead of the usual three.
I have a mutation Antico said. The more she helps scientists understand tetrachromacy she figures the better they will be able to help people like her daughter.
#The Substitute that Deliversto fix a lesion doctors use osteochondral autograft transplant#surgery#(OATS)# to transfer cartilage from a non-load-bearing section of the patient s knee.#
That s just what a group of MIT researchers have done in a new study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
CRISPR has a certain protein in it called Cas9 that acts like a scissor Lu associate professor of biological engineering electrical engineering
So what we can do is take that genome-editing tool and target anything we want.
Once these genome-editing techniques were mastered the researchers then had to figure out ways to deliver the modified CRISPRS to the bacteria.
because they're made of super-strong transgenic spider silk. Functional and good-looking! Our favorite.
A silkworm that makes spider proteins could be a gentle little biological silk factory spinning out a super-strong product.
In this research scientists made copies of the genetic code for one dragline protein from Araneus ventricosus spiders The researchers inserted the copies into the DNA of Japanese silkworms.
Subsequent research found tensegrities all throughout biology#for instance the human spine relies on both the vertebrae and the muscles tendons and ligaments that surround and support the bones.
Genetic engineering and Biotechnology News explains: The team began studying reflectin to discern how it enables the squid to change color
The fact that it is biological and flexible means that it may be better than existing materials for integrating into the human body,
#life sciences genomics and synthetic biology;##regenerative medicine;##agri-science;##advanced materials and nanotechnology;##energy and its storage.
#DNA TESTING chip delivers results in one hour, paves way for personalized drug treatments Panasonic, together with the Belgium-based research institution IMEC, has developed a DNA TESTING chip that automates all stages of obtaining genetic information,
including preprocessing. This development is expected to enable personalized, tailor-made therapy to become widespread. his is the chip wee actually developed.
#Desktop PC-sized fully automatic genetic testing device The Genelead from Precision System Science (PSS) is a fully automatic genetic testing device that completely automates the genetic testing process that ordinarily would require manual intervention.
At this time genetic testing is conducted typically only at large research facilities but PSS aims to create an environment where genetic testing devices can be used at more medium-sized hospitals emergency testing hospitals and even small clinics.
Under the concepts of companion diagnostics and personalized medicine that have recently become popular topics in the US as well as Japan the idea is to use medicine suited to the patient and conduct genetic testing for that purpose.
As these types of devices become widespread even the town doctor will be able to conduct these tests.
In a paper published in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics today, a team from LIS, EPFL and NCCR Robotics propose a new kind of flying robot that can also walk.
#What happens when quantum physics meets genetic engineering? Nature has had billions of years to perfect photosynthesis, which directly or indirectly supports virtually all life On earth.
and genetic manipulation, described this week in the journal Nature Materials, was the work of MIT professors Angela Belcher,
Lloyd and Belcher, a professor of biological engineering, were reporting on different projects they had worked on,
a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard university who was involved not in this work. The research, he says, ombines the work of a leader in theory (Lloyd) and a leader in experiment (Belcher) in a truly multidisciplinary and exciting combination that spans biology to physics to potentially, future technology.?
ccess to controllable excitonic systems is shared a goal by many researchers in the field, Aspuru-Guzik adds. his work provides fundamental understanding that can allow for the development of devices with an increased control of exciton flow. his article is published in collaboration with MIT.
former director of professional development programs who now is the graduate programs director in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical engineering.
The Old Way Vickie Maris, former director of professional development programs who now is the graduate programs director in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical engineering,
#Biologist creates'self-healing'concrete No matter how carefully it is mixed or reinforced, all concrete eventually cracks,
Jonkers, a microbiologist, began working on it in 2006, when a concrete technologist asked him if it would be possible to use bacteria to make self-healing concrete.
Now Jonkers hopes his concrete could be the start of a new age of biological buildings."
The regrowth of the arm takes place inside a bioreactor providing nutrients and stimulation for the limb to reform.
"says Maximina Yun, a regenerative biology researcher at University college London. But she adds:""there are still a few challenges to overcome."
"Yun's work on limb regeneration has focused on the biology of salamanders, which regrow their own limbs readily when needed."
Through her expertise on the biology of salamanders, Yun hopes to one day apply this knowledge to humans.
bioengineer Prakash told The Atlantic.""The biggest thing we're trying to do is to make people curious,
program manager of the DARPA biological technologies office, in a presentation he gave on Thursday at the Wait, What?
said Dr. Paul S. Cederna, professor of plastic surgery and biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan.
and transform the genetic material into mature sperm. Then, an IVF procedure will be used or the sperm may be frozen for later use.
Engineers and biologists from several nations teamed up to build different parts, but for various reasons the robo-pus (octo-bot?)
Ranzani is lead author on a new study on the project appearing today in the journal Biomimetics
and the new study is a step in the right direction toward a commercial device. hat has made all of this happen is an interest in biology on the part of engineers,
By using biological materials, we can bring down costs and expend less energy in the manufacturing process.
professor of genetics at Harvard university and an author on the paper published this week in Science Express.
Church also is cofounder of the biotech firm Editas Medicine. He said he expects the company will enter clinical trials next year on a gene-editing process for humans e
Previous guidelines called for only treating the estimated 28 million HIV-infected people who have fewer than 500 CD4 lymphocytes per microliter of blood.
before a patient's CD4 cells have had significant declines. Large studies have shown that early treatment benefits HIV-infected people and, separately,
which point ARVS were recommended only for people who had fewer than 200 CD4S d
#Designer antibodies may rid body of AIDS virus Anti-HIV drugs have extended life for millions of people,
That because HIV integrates its genetic material into the chromosomes of some white blood cells, helping it escape notice of the immune system.
and involved a collaboration between three universities and a biotech company. Both groups designed artificial versions of antibodies, the Y-shaped molecules made by the immune system to target pathogens.
Drinkwater and his colleagues will pair with biologists and doctors to demonstrate applications that until now,
Manalis, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor in MIT departments of Biological engineering and Mechanical engineering, and a member of MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, is the paper senior author.
and bioengineering at Caltech, who is pioneering the development of inertial imaging but was not part of this study. heir application of our approach for simultaneous monitoring position
the researchers unveil how one of a battery of chemical warfare agents used by the immune system to fight off infection can itself create DNA mutations that lead to cancer.
a research associate in the Department of Biological engineering at MIT, and the paper lead author.
and James Fox all professors of biological engineering at MIT had identified the presence of a lesion,
says John Essigmann, the William R. 1956) and Betsy P. Leitch Professor in Residence Professor of Chemistry, Toxicology and Biological engineering at MIT,
DNA sequencing of a developing gastrointestinal tumor revealed two types of mutation: cytosine (C) bases changing to thymine (T) bases,
the researchers first placed the 5clc lesion at a specific site within the genome of a bacterial virus. They then replicated the virus within the cell.
the 5clc instead paired with an adenine base around 5 percent of the time a medically relevant mutation frequency, according to Essigmann.
the researchers replicated the genome containing the lesion with a variety of different types of polymerase,
and causes the same kind of mutations seen within cells, Fedeles says. hat gave us confidence that this phenomenon would in fact happen in human cells containing high levels of 5clc.
the C-to-T mutation characteristic of 5clc is extremely common, and is present in more than 50 percent of mutagenic ignatures,
or patterns of DNA mutations, associated with cancerous tumors. e believe that in the context of inflammation-induced damage of DNA,
many of these C-to-T mutations may be caused by 5clc, possibly in correlation with other types of mutations as part of these mutational signatures,
says the paper provides a novel mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and cancer development. ith a combination of biochemical,
genetic, and structural biology approaches, the researchers have found that 5-chlorocytosine is intrinsically miscoding during DNA replication
and it could give rise to significant frequencies of C-to-T mutation, a type of mutation that is frequently observed in human cancers,
Wang says. Studies of tissue samples of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease have found significant levels of 5clc,
the researchers predict that accumulation of the lesions would increase the mutation rate of a cell up to 30-fold,
who points to many illustrations in biology and chemistry. e propose that you can use processes of self-assembly for large-scale applications like manufacturing
and CEE department head Professor Markus Buehler, the study senior author published their findings In ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.
Mechanical tests on several mutations suggested that natural collagen could be optimized for stiffness and stability.
such as collagen mutations, is currently quite challenging, especially in the chemistry lab. Massively parallel simulation has opened new pathways for materials discovery,
By tweaking the genomes of these viruses, known as bacteriophages, researchers hope to customize them to target any type of pathogenic bacteria.
MIT biological engineers have devised a new mix-and-match system to genetically engineer viruses that target specific bacteria.
an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and biological engineering. hese bacteriophages are designed in a way that relatively modular.
Also, each family of bacteriophages can have a different genome organization and life cycle, making it difficult to engineer them
the researchers combed through databases of phage genomes looking for sequences that appear to code for the key tail fiber section, known as gp17.
they had to create a new system for performing the genetic engineering. Existing techniques for editing viral genomes are fairly laborious
so the researchers came up with an efficient approach in which they insert the phage genome into a yeast cell,
where it exists as an rtificial chromosomeseparate from the yeast cell own genome. During this process the researchers can easily swap genes in
and out of the phage genome. nce we had that method, it allowed us very easily to identify the genes that code for the tails
and engineer them or swap them in and out from other phages, Lu says. ou can use the same engineering strategy over and over,
a microbiologist at the Institut pasteur in Paris. hages tend to infect only a very limited number of bacterial strains,
what synthetic biology approaches will bring to medicine in the near future. A targeted strike In this study,
#New system for human genome editing has potential to increase power and precision of genome engineering A team including the scientist who first harnessed the CRISPR-Cas9 system for mammalian genome editing has identified now a different CRISPR system with the potential for even simpler and more precise genome engineering.
In a study published today in Cell, Feng Zhang and his colleagues at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Mcgovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT,
and John van der Oost at Wageningen University, describe the unexpected biological features of this new system
and demonstrate that it can be engineered to edit the genomes of human cells. his has dramatic potential to advance genetic engineering,
but also shows that Cpf1 can be harnessed for human genome editing and has remarkable and powerful features.
The Cpf1 system represents a new generation of genome editing technology. CRISPR sequences were described first in 1987
and their natural biological function was described initially in 2010 and 2011. The application of the CRISPR-Cas9 system for mammalian genome editing was reported first in 2013, by Zhang and separately by George Church at Harvard university.
In the new study, Zhang and his collaborators searched through hundreds of CRISPR systems in different types of bacteria,
says Zhang, the W. M. Keck Assistant professor in Biomedical engineering in MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive sciences.
leaving lunt endsthat often undergo mutations as they are rejoined. With the Cpf1 complex the cuts in the two strands are offset, leaving short overhangs on the exposed ends.
This could be an advantage in targeting some genomes, such as in the malaria parasite as well as in humans. he unexpected properties of Cpf1 and more precise editing open the door to all sorts of applications,
with other enzymes that may be repurposed for further genome editing advances. e
#Bubble, bubble, at the flick of a switch Boiling water, with its commotion of bubbles that rise from a surface as water comes to a boil,
and organs outside the body to support basic biological research, drug discovery and chemical toxicity testing.
Sherry Harbin, an associate professor in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical engineering and Department of Basic Medical sciences
Conventional biological products including collagen sponges require extensive chemical and physical processing to improve their mechanical strength
A challenge is that this processing method causes adverse cell reactions by altering the biological properties of the collagen.
Research into the nature of this process is of significant importance in biology and medical science.
Although research in molecular and cellular biology has gradually shed light on the proteins that form and control the contractile ring, there are many aspects of its self-organizational structure that remain a mystery.
Professor Shin'ichi Ishiwata (Graduate school of Advanced Science and Engineering) and Research Assistant Makito Miyazaki's (Research Institute for Science and Engineering) research team at the Waseda Bioscience Research Institute
The details of this research were published in the online English science magazine Nature Cell biology on March 23 3
#New technology could speed up lifesaving drug discoveries A team of researchers from our University has developed a revolutionary new biochip device that will lead to a faster
appear in the current issue of ACS Chemical Biology.""These are reported the first small-molecule Hur inhibitors that competitively disrupt Hur-RNA binding
"said Liang Xu, associate professor of molecular biosciences and corresponding author of the paper. The results hold promise for treating a broad array of cancers in people.
and involved the collaboration of chemists, cancer biologists, computer modeling experts, biochemists and biophysicists at KUOTABLY the labs of Xu, Jeffrey Aubé in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Jon Tunge in the Department of chemistry.
The International space station is an international science laboratory in low Earth orbit where astronauts conduct scientific research in biology, human biology, astronomy, meteorology and other fields in a gravity-free environment.
"Rasmussen holds a Phd in chemistry, specialty polymer chemistry, from Virginia Tech and a master's degree in biology, specialty biophysics, from Purdue University.
The study, funded by the Engineering and Physical sciences Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological sciences Research Council, is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Dr Nicola Stanley-Wall, of the University of Dundee's Division of Molecular Microbiology, said:"
when biologists and physicists work together on a problem of mutual interest.""Explore further: Antibiotics give rise to new communities of harmful bacteria More information:
Researcher finds keys to genome integrity Maintaining the stability and the correct sequence of our genetic information is vital to the accurate transmission of our genetic code.
However, in the course of replicating, our DNA frequently runs into roadblocks, arising from both internal and external sources,
that threaten the fidelity of our genetic information. The accurate processing of these roadblocks is paramount to genome integrity.
Defects in this process can lead to cancer, genetic problems and premature aging. In a research paper published in the Journal of Cell biology, Alessandro Vindigni, Ph d.,professor in the Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular biology at Saint louis University
shares a discovery that explains how cells use a process called replication fork reversal in order to deal with these roadblocks and transmit accurate genetic data.
Improper repair of DNA lesions can lead to mutations, abnormal chromosome structures, or loss of genetic information that in turn can cause premature aging, cancer, and genetic abnormalities.
Depending on the degree of genome instability these alterations will determine whether a cell survives, goes into a growth-arrest state, or dies.
If the cell's replication machinery collides with the lesion, a strand break can occur."
because they often carry mutations in DNA repair genes essential for the repair of these collisions.
"In addition to the paper published in the Journal of Cell biology, the journal also published a discussion that explains Vindigni's work:
Vindigni's group also contributed to a second paper that was published as back-to-back in the same issue of the Journal of Cell biology on the role of a key homologous recombination factor in the formation of reversed replication forks:
The experiment seeks to understand how the effects how physical forces such as gravity affect the biochemistry of bone cells
"Our technology is now also being adopted widely by many other scientists for a multitude of different applications in many different areas of cells biology in both academic and industrial research.
developed by Albert Einstein College of Medicine biologist Robert Singer, uses fluorescent probes made of DNA
"Single-molecule FISH has made enormous contributions to our understanding of cell biology, "says Zhuang. But what if scientists could simultaneously image not just 30,
The ability to image hundreds to thousands of different RNA species in individual cells allows many interesting biological questions to be addressed.
The technique will also allow researchers to examine gene expression in individual cells without removing them from tissue,
#Novel online bioinformatics tool significantly reduces time of multiple genome analysis UK research collaboration develops a new bioinformatics pipeline that enables automated primer design for multiple genome species
Crop breeding programmes can make use of this genetic information to ensure that the preferred trait is inherited by future crop yields,
However, the majority of tools for the analysis of DNA are designed for diploid organisms, such as humans, with one set of chromosomes,
. which has multiple sets of chromosomes. Scientists from The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) and John Innes Centre have developed a bioinformatics pipeline
Polymarker that facilitates the design of genomic specific primers for polyploid species. Once identified, these primers can be used to ascertain
whether or not an individual organism has associated the genetic variation with a given trait. As an open access tool, researchers and crop breeders can submit their own data to Polymarker
and the online tool will return suggested design primers to identify genetic variations that tag vital traits in their crop samples,
and applied in a research project where it identified genetic markers that signal resistance to the wheat yellow rust pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici).
In one new software tool, we have applied expertise in advanced algorithm development, knowledge on genetics and principles of genome architecture."
MIT is negotiating an exclusive license agreement with Lyndra, an early-stage biotechnology company developing novel oral drug-delivery systems,
the researchers unveil how one of a battery of chemical warfare agents used by the immune system to fight off infection can itself create DNA mutations that lead to cancer.
a research associate in the Department of Biological engineering at MIT, and the paper lead author.
and James Fox all professors of biological engineering at MIT had identified the presence of a lesion,
says John Essigmann, the William R. 1956) and Betsy P. Leitch Professor in Residence Professor of Chemistry, Toxicology and Biological engineering at MIT,
DNA sequencing of a developing gastrointestinal tumor revealed two types of mutation: cytosine (C) bases changing to thymine (T) bases,
the researchers first placed the 5clc lesion at a specific site within the genome of a bacterial virus. They then replicated the virus within the cell.
the 5clc instead paired with an adenine base around 5 percent of the time a medically relevant mutation frequency, according to Essigmann.
the researchers replicated the genome containing the lesion with a variety of different types of polymerase,
and causes the same kind of mutations seen within cells, Fedeles says. hat gave us confidence that this phenomenon would in fact happen in human cells containing high levels of 5clc.
the C-to-T mutation characteristic of 5clc is extremely common, and is present in more than 50 percent of mutagenic ignatures,
or patterns of DNA mutations, associated with cancerous tumors. e believe that in the context of inflammation-induced damage of DNA,
many of these C-to-T mutations may be caused by 5clc, possibly in correlation with other types of mutations as part of these mutational signatures,
says the paper provides a novel mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and cancer development. ith a combination of biochemical,
genetic, and structural biology approaches, the researchers have found that 5-chlorocytosine is intrinsically miscoding during DNA replication
and it could give rise to significant frequencies of C-to-T mutation, a type of mutation that is frequently observed in human cancers,
Wang says. Studies of tissue samples of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease have found significant levels of 5clc,
the researchers predict that accumulation of the lesions would increase the mutation rate of a cell up to 30-fold,
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