Lifeboat Foundation

The remarkable physicochemical properties of the natural nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, define modern biology at the molecular level and are widely believed to have been central to life’s origins. However, their ability to form repositories of information as well as functional structures such as ligands (aptamers) and catalysts (ribozymes/DNAzymes) is not unique. A range of nonnatural alternatives, collectively termed xeno nucleic acids (XNAs), are also capable of supporting genetic information storage and propagation as well as evolution. This gives rise to a new field of “synthetic genetics,” which seeks to expand the nucleic acid chemical toolbox for applications in both biotechnology and molecular medicine. In this review, we outline XNA polymerase and reverse transcriptase engineering as a key enabling technology and summarize the application of “synthetic genetics” to the development of aptamers, enzymes, and nanostructures.

Copyright © 2019 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Individual RNA remains a challenging signal to synthetically transduce into different types of cellular information. Here, we describe Ribozyme-ENabled Detection of RNA (RENDR), a plug-and-play strategy that uses cellular transcripts to template the assembly of split ribozymes, triggering splicing reactions that generate orthogonal protein outputs. To identify split ribozymes that require templating for splicing, we use laboratory evolution to evaluate the activities of different split variants of the Tetrahymena thermophila ribozyme. The best design delivers a 93-fold dynamic range of splicing with RENDR controlling fluorescent protein production in response to an RNA input. We further resolve a thermodynamic model to guide RENDR design, show how input signals can be transduced into diverse outputs, demonstrate portability across different bacteria, and use RENDR to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This work shows how transcriptional signals can be monitored in situ and converted into different types of biochemical information using RNA synthetic biology.

© 2023. The Author(s).

Conflict of interest statement.

Bioethicist Nita Farahany says privacy law hasn’t kept up with science as employers increasingly use neurotechnology in the workplace.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=I3WVc9iLi_s

This video explores Age Reversal and 10 ways they will change the world. Watch this next video about digital immortality: https://youtu.be/sZdWN9pbbew.
► Udacity: Up To 75% Off All Courses (Biggest Discount Ever): https://bit.ly/3j9pIRZ
► Jasper AI: Write 5x Faster With Artificial Intelligence: https://bit.ly/3MIPSYp.

Official Discord Server: https://discord.gg/R8cYEWpCzK
Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/futurebusinesstech.

Continue reading “Age Reversal: 10 Ways It Will Change The World” »

Lifestyle behaviors such as eating well and exercising can be significant factors in one’s overall health. But the risk of developing cancer is predominantly at the whim of an individual’s genetics.

Our bodies are constantly making copies of our genes to produce new cells. However, there are occasional mistakes in those copies, a phenomenon geneticists call mutation. In some cases, these mistakes can alter proteins, fuse genes and change how much a gene gets copied, ultimately impacting a person’s risk of developing cancer. Scientists can better understand the impact of mutations by developing predictive models for tumor activity.

Christopher Plaisier, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, is developing a software tool called OncoMerge that uses genetic data to improve cancer modeling technology.

Engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have designed a new type of nanoparticle that can be administered to the lungs, where it can deliver messenger RNA encoding useful proteins.

With further development, these particles could offer an inhalable treatment for cystic fibrosis and other diseases of the lung, the researchers say.

“This is the first demonstration of highly efficient delivery of RNA to the lungs in mice. We are hopeful that it can be used to treat or repair a range of genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis,” says Daniel Anderson, a professor in MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES).

Assessing how energy-generating synthetic organelles could sustain artificial cells.

Researchers have assessed the progress and challenges in creating artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts for energy production in synthetic cells. These artificial organelles could potentially enable the development of new organisms or biomaterials. The researchers identified proteins as the most crucial components for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport, and ATP production, which serves as the cell’s primary energy currency.

Energy production in nature is the responsibility of chloroplasts and mitochondria and is crucial for fabricating sustainable, synthetic cells in the lab. Mitochondria are not only “the powerhouses of the cell,” as the middle school biology adage goes, but also one of the most complex intracellular components to replicate artificially.

Energy production in nature is the responsibility of mitochondria and chloroplasts, and is crucial for fabricating sustainable, synthetic cells in the lab. Mitochondria are “the powerhouses of the cell,” but are also one of the most complex intracellular components to replicate artificially.

In Biophysics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Sogang University in South Korea and the Harbin Institute of Technology in China identified the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts.

“If scientists can create artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts, we could potentially develop synthetic cells that can generate energy and synthesize molecules autonomously. This would pave the way for the creation of entirely new organisms or biomaterials,” author Kwanwoo Shin said.

Do you really want to live forever? Futurist Ray Kurzweil has predicted that humans will achieve immortality in just seven years. Genetic engineering company touts ‘Jurassic Park’-like plan to ‘de-extinct’ dodo bird Elon Musk ‘comfortable’ putting Neuralink chip into one of his kids.

Read more ❯.