Researchers at Kanazawa University report in ACS Nano how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used to study the biomolecular mechanisms underlying gene editing.
The DNA of prokaryotes—single-cell organisms, for example bacteria—is known to contain sequences that are derived from DNA fragments of viruses that infected the prokaryote earlier. These sequences, collectively referred to as CRISPR, for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” play a major role in the antiviral defense system of bacteria, as they enable the recognition and subsequent neutralization of infecting viruses. The latter is done through the enzyme Cas9 (“CRISPR-associated protein 9”), a biomolecule that can locally unwind DNA, check for the existence of the CRISPR sequence and, when found, cut the DNA.
In recent years, CRISPR/Cas9 has emerged as a genome editing tool based on the notion that the Cas9 protein can be activated with artificially created CRISPR-like sequences. Sometimes, however, the wrong target is “caught” by Cas9—when the wrongly identified DNA sequence is too similar to the intended target sequence. It is therefore of crucial importance to fully understand how Cas9 binds to, “interrogates,” and cuts DNA. Mikihiro Shibata from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now succeeded in video-recording the DNA binding and cleaving dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus (a particular bacterium) Cas9 by means of high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM). Their observations will help to reach a more complete understanding of CRISPR-Cas9 mechanisms.
Scientists created mice with two biological dads by producing eggs from male cells, which is a development that opens radical new possibilities for reproduction. Progress can ultimately pave way for treatments for severe infertility forms and increase possibility of attracting couples of same gender to have a biological child in future. Hayashi, who presented development at the third International Human Genome Regulation Summit at Francis Crick Institute in London on Wednesday, predicts it would be technically possible to create a human egg from a male skin cell in ten years. Considering that human eggs did not create eggs, he argued this timeline was optimistic. Previously, scientists have created mice technically with a detailed step chain, including genetic engineering. This is first time that can be applied first time, eggs were raised from male cells and pointing to an important progress. He was trying to reproduce with human cells, but there would be important obstacles for use of eggs grown in laboratory clinical purposes, including creating safety. “In terms of technology, it will be possible even in 10 years in 10 years, ve he personally added that the technology used clinically to allow two men to have a baby. Orum I don’t know if they are ready reproduction,” he said.“This is a question not only for the scientific program, but also[society].” Technique, X chromosome is missing or partially missing a copy of the turner syndrome, including women with severe infertility forms can be applied to treat and Hayashi, this application is the primary motivation for research, he said. Others argued that translating technique into human cells may be challenging. Human cells need much longer agricultural periods to produce a mature egg, which can increase the risk of undesirable genetic changes. Profess George Daley, the Dean of Harvard Medical Faculty, described the study as “fascinating„ but other researches also showed that creating gamet creating from human cells in laboratory is more difficult than mouse cells.said. The study, which was sent to be leading magazine, was based on a number of complex steps to transform skin cell that carries the combination of male XY chromosomes into an egg. Men’s skin cells were re-programmed into a stem cell-like condition to form the induced pluripotent root cells. Then the Y chromosome of these cells was deleted and changed and ” borrowed from another cell to produce IPS cells with two identical X chromosome. Hayashi said, ” The trick, greatest trick, the reproduction of X chromosome,” he said. ” We really tried to establish a system to replicate the X chromosome.” Finally, cells were grown in an ovary organoid with a cultural system designed to replicate the conditions within ovary. When Yumurtas were fertilized with normal sperm, scientists obtained approximately 600 embryos implanted in the mice, which resulted in birth of seven mouse offspring. ‘Efficiency was lower than the efficiency obtained by normal female-derived eggs, where approximately 5% of the embryos continued to produce a lively birth. Baby mice looked healthy, had a normal life, and as an adult continued to the offspring. ” They look good, they grow normal, they become a father, Hay Hayashi said. He and his colleagues are now trying to increase the creation of eggs grown in the laboratory using human cells. Working on Gamets grown in the laboratory at the University of California Los Angeles, Prof Amander Clark said that it would be a ” big jump in, because scientists have not yet created human eggs from women’s cells. Scientists have created the premises of human eggs, but so far, cells, mature eggs and sperm, a critical cell division step, which has stopped development before the point of meiosis. It can be 10 years or 20 years.”
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating condition characterized by alternating states of depression (known as depressive episodes) and abnormal excitement or irritability (known as manic episodes). Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have revealed that variations in the genes present on the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) locus are linked to an increased risk of BD.
Enzymes coded by FADS genes—FADS1 and FADS2—convert or “biosynthesize” omega-3 fatty acids into the different forms required by the human body. Omega-3 fatty acids like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are crucial for the brain to function, and a reduction in the synthesizing activity of these molecules seems to increase susceptibility to bipolar mood swings.
Research on most diseases involves establishment of an animal model of the disease. So, keeping this knowledge in mind, a team of researchers including Dr. Takaoki Kasahara and Hirona Yamamoto from RIKEN Brain Science Institute and Dr. Tadafumi Kato from Juntendo University in Japan, used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to create mutant mice that lack both Fads1 and Fads2 genes.
Making living cells blink fluorescently like party lights may sound frivolous. But the demonstration that it’s possible could be a step toward someday programming our body’s immune cells to attack cancers more effectively and safely.
That’s the promise of the field called synthetic biology. While molecular biologists strip cells down to their component genes and molecules to see how they work, synthetic biologists tinker with cells to get them to perform new feats — discovering new secrets about how life works in the process. In this episode, Steven Strogatz talks with Michael Elowitz, a professor of biology and bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
High-performance, realistic computer simulations are crucially important for science and engineering, even allowing scientists to predict how individual molecules will behave.
Scientists have always used models. Since the ancient Ptolemaic model of the universe through to renaissance astrolabes, models have mapped out the consequences of predictions. They allow scientists to explore indirectly worlds which they could never access.
Join Sir Richard Catlow as he explores how high-performance computer simulations have transformed the way scientists comprehend our world. From testing hypotheses at planetary scale to developing a personalised approach for the fight against Covid.
0.00 Intro and history of scientific modelling. 7.34 Examples of computer models in science and engineering. 16:10 Modelling molecules and materials. 20:25 Using modelling for crystallography. 28:14 Genetic algorithms for predicting crystal structures. 32:32 Lawrence Bragg and the bubble raft. 36:24 High performance computer modelling of materials. 41:18 Modelling of nanostructures and nanoparticles. 44:34 High energy density batteries. 51:04 Three challenges for modelling.
This Discourse was recorded at the Ri on 27 May 2022.
Research in animal models has demonstrated that stem-cell derived heart tissues have promising potential for therapeutic applications to treat cardiac disease. But before such therapies are viable and safe for use in humans, scientists must first precisely understand on the cellular and molecular levels which factors are necessary for implanted stem-cell derived heart cells to properly grow and integrate in three dimensions within surrounding tissue.
New findings from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) make it possible for the first time to monitor the functional development and maturation of cardiomyocytes—the cells responsible for regulating the heartbeat through synchronized electrical signals —on the single-cell level using tissue-embedded nanoelectronic devices. The devices—which are flexible, stretchable, and can seamlessly integrate with living cells to create “cyborgs”—are reported in a Science Advances paper.
“These mesh-like nanoelectronics, designed to stretch and move with growing tissue, can continuously capture long-term activity within individual stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes of interest,” says Jia Liu, co-senior author on the paper, who is an assistant professor of bioengineering at SEAS, where he leads a lab dedicated to bioelectronics.
Robots are all around us, from drones filming videos in the sky to serving food in restaurants and diffusing bombs in emergencies. Slowly but surely, robots are improving the quality of human life by augmenting our abilities, freeing up time, and enhancing our personal safety and well-being. While existing robots are becoming more proficient with simple tasks, handling more complex requests will require more development in both mobility and intelligence.
Columbia Engineering and Toyota Research Institute computer scientists are delving into psychology, physics, and geometry to create algorithms so that robots can adapt to their surroundings and learn how to do things independently. This work is vital to enabling robots to address new challenges stemming from an aging society and provide better support, especially for seniors and people with disabilities.
A longstanding challenge in computer vision is object permanence, a well-known concept in psychology that involves understanding that the existence of an object is separate from whether it is visible at any moment. It is fundamental for robots to understand our ever-changing, dynamic world. But most applications in computer vision ignore occlusions entirely and tend to lose track of objects that become temporarily hidden from view.
CRISPR gene editing has made it possible to cure sickle cell disease, which affects millions worldwide, but most people with the condition won’t be able to afford the cost of the treatment.
Recent advances in human stem cell-derived brain organoids promise to replicate critical molecular and cellular aspects of learning and memory and possibly aspects of cognition in vitro. Coining the term “organoid intelligence” (OI) to encompass these developments, we present a collaborative program to implement the vision of a multidisciplinary field of OI. This aims to establish OI as a form of genuine biological computing that harnesses brain organoids using scientific and bioengineering advances in an ethically responsible manner. Standardized, 3D, myelinated brain organoids can now be produced with high cell density and enriched levels of glial cells and gene expression critical for learning. Integrated microfluidic perfusion systems can support scalable and durable culturing, and spatiotemporal chemical signaling.
Forget about He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who created gene-edited babies. Instead, when you think about gene editing you should think of Victoria Gray, the African-American woman who says she’s been cured of her sickle-cell disease symptoms.
This week in London, scientists are gathering for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. It’s gene editing’s big event, where researchers get to awe the audience with their new ability to modify DNA—and ethicists get to worry about what it all means.
