Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers turn living cells into biological sensing and computing platforms.

The preferred term is “ribocomputing.” Take a molecule of RNA, the “messenger” chemical that carries instructions from a cell’s DNA to the rest of the cell, and basically rewire it. By hacking the RNA, it’s thus possible to take command of the processes of the cell, particularly that of protein synthesis. It’s also possible to rewire the RNA to respond to specific stimuli, offering an engineered microbiological system that reacts to inputs in the same way that an embedded computer might respond to a temperature sensor of accelerometer.

Synthetic biology or “hacked” biology is a quickly growing field, but the term ribocomputing is scarce, mostly limited to a single 2016 study. That was the case at least until this week and the publication of a paper in Nature describing RNA-based synthetic biological circuits that are capable of implementing just what I described above: sensing external signals and directing cellular machinery to respond to those signals in programmed ways. It’s fascinating but also a bit spooky.

Continue reading “Hacked E. Coli Shows the Promise of Programmable Biology” »

Imagine a scientist experimenting on her own genes from her kitchen, rather than going to a physician, because she wants to cure a medical ailment. Another “do-it-yourself” scientist across the country extracts DNA samples from plants to figure out how they affect its growth.

DIY biohacking is a relatively new phenomenon in which scientists (typically those with an interest in genetic engineering) want to take biology experimentation outside of the lab or classroom. Currently, it’s mostly used for medical purposes, but the future of DIY biohacking could look a lot different. So we asked four experts a simple question: By the year 2040, what will be the gene most edited via DIY biohacking?

Welcome to Mr Futurist’s first weekly podcast where I discuss what going on in emerging science and technology. Scientists have successfully edited the first human embryo in the U.S. using CRISPR. CRISPR is a gene editing technique that can modify any region of the genome of any species with high precision accuracy. Modifying a species to have certain characteristics or traits. If you’re curious as to what CRISPR is, I have added a link below to an excellent video from Futurist that explains what CRISPR is and what it can be used for, all in 60 seconds. It’s worth a minute of your time.

Cancer continues to be one of the major diseases that plagues humanity. Around the world, approximately 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The prevalence of cancer is due, in part, to the absence of a universal cure for all forms of the disease. While various treatments are available, each type of cancer generally requires specific treatment.

A new method developed by doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London presents a hopeful solution. The team has successfully tested their method on two infants with an aggressive form of leukaemia.

Continue reading “Two Babies Have Been Cancer-Free After Receiving Treatment Created With Gene Editing” »

A US team is said to have carried out the most extensive study of editing human embryos yet, but the full results have not yet been released.

Researchers in Portland, Oregon have, for the first time, edited a human embryo in the US.

This work adds to the promise of CRISPR, and it stands as an important step toward the birth of the first genetically modified humans.

Continue reading “Scientists Have Used CRISPR to Edit a Human Embryo in The US For The First Time” »

Imagine a world in which you’re 90 years old and nowhere near middle-aged. An app on your phone has hacked your DNA code, so you know exactly when to go to the doctor to receive gene therapy to prevent all the diseases you don’t yet have. A microchip in your skin sends out a signal if you’re at risk of developing a wrinkle — so you step out of the sun and hotfoot it to your dermatologist. Every evening you sync your brain-mapping device with The Cloud, so even if you were caught up in a fatal accident you’d still be able to cheat death — every detail of your life would simply be downloaded to one of the perfect silicon versions you’d had made of yourself, ensuring you last until at least your 1,000th birthday.

This may sound like science fiction but it could be your fate — provided you can afford it. If current research develops into medicine, in the London of the future the super-rich won’t simply be able to buy the best things in life, they’ll be able to buy life itself by transforming themselves into a bio-engineered super-race, capable of living, if not forever, then for vastly longer than the current UK life expectancy of 81 years.

The science of turning back the clock has never been more advanced. In Boston, a drug capable of reversing half a lifetime of ageing in mice is about to be tested on humans in a medical trial monitored by NASA. NMN is a compound found naturally in broccoli which boosts levels of NAD, a protein involved in energy production that depletes as we get older. Professor David Sinclair, who headed up the initial research at Australia’s University of New South Wales, doses himself with 500mg daily, and claims that he has already become more youthful. According to blood tests analysing the state of the 48-year-old’s cells, prior to taking the pills Sinclair was in the same physical shape as a 57-year-old, but now he’s ‘31.4’.

Continue reading “Why the super-rich are ploughing billions into the booming ‘immortality industry’” »

The interdisciplinary nexus of biology and engineering, known as synthetic biology, is growing at a rapid pace, opening new vistas that could scarcely be imagined a short time ago.

DARPA’s Safe Genes program plans to invest $65 million in seven teams that will collect data and develop gene editing tools to support bio-innovation and combat bio-threats such as invasive species.