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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,933

CRISPR-induced immune diversification in host-virus populations

Just like humans, microbes have equipped themselves with tools to recognize and defend themselves against viral invaders. In a continual evolutionary battle between virus and host, CRISPR-Cas act as a major driving force of strain diversity in host-virus systems.

A new study led by Professor of Life Sciences Shai Pilosof (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel), Professor of Microbiology Rachel Whitaker (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), and Professor of Ecology and Evolution Mercedes Pascual (University of Chicago) highlights the role of diversified immunity in mediating -pathogen interactions and its eco-evolutionary dynamics. The study also included Professor of Bioengineering and Bliss Faculty Scholar Sergei Maslov (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Sergio A. Alcal´a-Corona (University of Chicago), and Ph.D. graduate students Ted Kim and Tong Wang (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).

Their findings were reported in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Portable Sequencing Is Reshaping Genetics Research

Portable sequencing is making it possible for biologists to perform DNA analysis anywhere in the world. How is this technology reshaping the way they work?

Thanks to nanopore technology, scientists can now collect samples and sequence them anywhere. It is the concept of backpacking applied to scientific research.

French molecular biologist Anne-Lise Ducluzeau has experienced this first hand during her research in the freezing environment of Alaska. “I remember driving back home with my sequencing station on the passenger seat, it was −20ºF (−29ºC) but the car was warm and reads kept coming,” ‪relates Ducluzeau, who has been using a portable sequencer for her research for the past four years.

Scientists map the human proteome

Knowing which proteins are key to protection from disease, and the deficiencies in expression or activity that are hallmarks of disease, can inform individualized medicine and the development of new therapies.

Twenty years after the release of the human genome, the genetic “blueprint” of human life, an international research team, including the University of British Columbia’s Chris Overall, has now mapped the first draft sequence of the human proteome.

Their work was published Oct. 16 in Nature Communications and announced today by the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO).

“Today marks a in our overall understanding of human life,” says Overall, a professor in the faculty of dentistry and a member of the Centre for Blood Research at UBC. “Whereas the provides a complete ‘blueprint’ of , the human proteome identifies the individual building blocks of life encoded by this blueprint: proteins. ” Proteins interact to shape everything from life-threatening diseases to cellular structure in our bodies.”

Scientists use holographic imaging to detect viruses and antibodies

A team of New York University scientists has developed a method using holographic imaging to detect both viruses and antibodies. The breakthrough has the potential to aid in medical diagnoses and, specifically, those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our approach is based on physical principles that have not previously been used for diagnostic testing,” explains David Grier, a professor of physics at NYU and one of the researchers on the project, which is reported in the journal Soft Matter. “We can detect and viruses by literally watching them stick to specially prepared test beads.”

If fully realized, this proposed test could be done in under 30 minutes, is highly accurate, and can be performed by minimally trained personnel. Moreover, the method can test for either the (current infection) or antibodies (immunity).

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rolls off production line amid hopes for emergency approval

Pfizer has already made “several hundred thousand doses” of a potential coronavirus vaccine as it prepares to seek emergency use in the US by November.

The drugmaker told the Mail on Sunday that scientists in its main British lab have also unearthed drugs that could provide a potential complete cure for COVID-19, as opposed to merely a preventative vaccine.

The firm’s UK boss, Ben Osborn, said the company is manufacturing the huge stockpile of its current vaccine candidate in Belgium “at risk and at scale,” calling it “tremendously exciting.”

Early Childhood Trauma Affects Metabolism in the Next Generation

Article. The research/article indicates that childhood trauma can not only impact the current generation, but future generations. Biochemical signals are sent to the germ cells, modifying the expression of some genes and/or the DNA structure.

Traumatic experiences can have a lasting impact, so children that suffer through them can feel their effects for a lifetime. Work has also shown that trauma can change the way genes are expressed, through epigenetics. Epigenetic changes do not alter the sequence of genes but they alter the biochemistry of DNA, and these changes are sometimes passed down to future generations through germ cells. Scientists have been working to learn more about how traumatic events get embedded in the genetic code of germ cells.

Image credit: Pkist

New research reported in The EMBO Journal has used a mouse model to suggest that childhood trauma can influence the composition of blood, and this is the conduit for passing the impact down to offspring.

Could cold water hold a clue to a dementia cure?

“In a world first, a “cold-shock” protein has been found in the blood of regular winter swimmers at London’s Parliament Hill Lido.”

“The protein has been shown to slow the onset of dementia and even repair some of the damage it causes in mice.”

“Prof Giovanna Mallucci, who runs the UK Dementia Research Institute’s Centre at the University of Cambridge, says the discovery could point researchers towards new drug treatments which may help hold dementia at bay.”

Swimmers at a London lido aid understanding of what cold does to the body.

World’s First Human Head Transplant Will Take Place This Year

Last year, Dr. Sergio Canavero created quite the ruckus (to put it mildly) when he vowed to be the primary person to transplant a person’s head onto a deceased donor’s body. Yes, he’s planning on attempting the world’s first caput transplant (or body transplant, betting on how you study it).

In fact, it’s been a few years since his initial proclamation, and therefore the Italian neurosurgeon still stands firm on his declaration, despite claims from other experts that it’s nothing but a PR Stunt (at best) or a hoax. Some have even hypothesized it’s all just a plot meant to push Metal Gear Solid.

Autopsies Show Microplastics in Major Human Organs

It looks like micro-plastics are now found inside human bodies.

Researchers found evidence of plastic contamination in tissue samples taken from the lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys of donated human cadavers.

“We have detected these chemicals of plastics in every single organ that we have investigated,” said senior researcher Rolf Halden, director of the Arizona State University (ASU) Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering.

There’s long been concern that the chemicals in plastics could have a wide range of health effects ranging from diabetes and obesity to sexual dysfunction and infertility.

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