The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The world’s largest music label has yanked its artists’ music off TikTok Universal Music Group claims TikTok is unwilling to compensate musicians appropriately. (The Guardian) + Taylor Swift fans are kicking off. (Wired $) + Indie record labels don’t like the sound of Apple’s pay plans either. (FT $)
Chemotherapy can be toxic to heart cells. To help protect the hearts of cancer patients, Cedars-Sinai investigators have created a three-dimensional “heart-on-a-chip” to evaluate drug safety. In a study published in the journal Lab on a Chip, they show that the heart-on-a-chip, created using stem cells, accurately predicts the effects of drugs on human heart cells.
The investigators worked with induced pluripotent stem cells, which are blood cells that have been reprogrammed into stem cells and can be turned into any cell type in the body. They used the stem cells to create two types of heart cells, but instead of placing them all together in an unstructured cell culture dish, as is usually done in heart toxicity testing, the investigators introduced the cells into specialized chips.
The 3D chips feature two channels that are arranged to cross each other, keeping each cell type separate but allowing them to interact. The chips also allow for movement and the introduction of fluids.
There are approximately 425 million people worldwide with diabetes. Approximately 75 million of these inject themselves with insulin daily. Now, they may soon have a new alternative to syringes or insulin pumps. Scientists have found a new way to supply the body with smart insulin.
The new insulin can be eaten by taking a capsule or, even better, within a piece of chocolate.
Inside these are tiny nano-carriers in which the insulin is encapsulated. The particles are 1/10,000th the width of a human hair and so small that you cannot even see them under a normal microscope.
In the presence of protospacer adjacent motif (PAM), sgRNA accurately leads the Cas9 endonuclease to the target regions, where it causes DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), resulting in site‐specific genomic change. Endogenous DNA repair can take place following the creation of a DSB via two primary genome editing pathways: nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology‐directed repair (HDR).
By using the biological characteristics of Cas9 targeting specific DNA sequences under the guidance of sgRNA, scientists have further developed gene targeting activation and gene targeting inhibition tools based on dCas9, called CRISPRa and CRISPRi respectively.
In the paper, characteristics of three forms of CRISPR/Cas9 cargos are outlined. Three delivery forms of the CRISPR/Cas9 system are plasmids, mRNA/sgRNA, and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Colorectal cancer (also called bowel cancer) typically develops in the large bowel (colon) or rectum. Recent studies have shown significant rises in the number of colorectal cancer cases, particularly those in young adults. As we discussed earlier, the recently released estimated cancer statistics for 2024 predict colorectal cancer as the leading cause of mortality in men under 50 and the second-leading cause of mortality in women. Additionally, experts predict over 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancers this year.
To combat these troubling figures, ongoing research focused on the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancers remains a high priority and urgent need. This includes data recently published in Science Advances which demonstrates pre-clinical efficacy for a new treatment approach.
The study involves genetic material known as microbial or mislocalized DNA. This type of DNA arrises from cells that become damaged, thus no longer providing the correct genetic instructions. Damaged DNA can elicit various reactions in the body, including activating the immune response. Damaged DNA can therefore influence how the body responds to diseases, including colorectal cancer.
Researchers have overcome a major challenge in biomimetic robotics by developing a sensor that, assisted by AI, can slide over braille text, accurately reading it at twice human speed. The tech could be incorporated into robot hands and prosthetics, providing fingertip sensitivity comparable to humans.
Human fingertips are incredibly sensitive. They can communicate details of an object as small as about half the width of a human hair, discern subtle differences in surface textures, and apply the right amount of force to grip an egg or a 20-lb (9 kg) bag of dog food without slipping.
As cutting-edge electronic skins begin to incorporate more and more biomimetic functionalities, the need for human-like dynamic interactions like sliding becomes more essential. However, reproducing the human fingertip’s sensitivity in a robotic equivalent has proven difficult despite advances in soft robotics.
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University have investigated in mice how spreading tumor cells behave at the site of metastasis. Some tumor cells immediately start to form metastases. Others leave the blood vessel and may then enter a long period of dormancy. What determines which path the cancer cells take is their epigenetic status. This was also confirmed in experiments with human tumor cells. The results of the study could pave the way for novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
The work appears in Nature Cancer.
What makes cancer so dangerous? Cancer cells that leave the primary tumor to reach distant sites of the body where they may grow into daughter tumors, called metastases. While most primary tumors can be effectively treated, metastases are the real danger. Oncologists estimate that more than 90% of all cancer deaths in solid tumors are due to metastases.
