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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,091

Novel artificial genomic DNA can replicate and evolve outside the cell

Professor Norikazu Ichihashi and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo have successfully induced gene expression from a DNA, characteristic of all life, and evolution through continuous replication extracellularly using cell-free materials alone, such as nucleic acids and proteins for the first time.

The ability to proliferate and evolve is one of the defining characteristics of living organisms. However, no artificial materials with these characteristics have been created. In order to develop an artificial molecular system that can multiply and evolve, the information (genes) coded in DNA must be translated into RNA, proteins must be expressed, and the cycle of DNA replication with those proteins must continue over a long period in the system. To date, it has been impossible to create a reaction system in which the genes necessary for DNA replication are expressed while those genes simultaneously carry out their function.

The group succeeded in translating the genes into proteins and replicating the original circular DNA with the translated proteins by using a circular DNA carrying two genes necessary for DNA replication (artificial genomic DNA) and a cell-free transcription-translation system. Furthermore, they also successfully improved the DNA to evolve to a DNA with a 10-fold increase in replication efficiency by continuing this DNA replication cycle for about 60 days.

By adding the genes necessary for transcription and translation to the artificial genomic DNA developed by the group, it could be possible to develop artificial cells that can grow autonomously simply by feeding them low-molecular-weight compounds such as amino acids and nucleotides, in the future. If such artificial cells can be created, we can expect that useful substances currently produced using living organisms (such as substances for drug development and food production) will become more stable and easier to control.

This research has been led by Professor Norikazu Ichihashi, a research director of the project “Development of a self-regenerative artificial genome replication-transcription-translation system” in the research area “Large-scale genome synthesis and cell programming” under the JST’s Strategic Basic Research Programs CREST (Team type). In this research area, JST aims to elucidate basic principles in relation to the structure and function of genomes for the creation of a platform technology for the use of cells.

Top 10 Quotes from AI leaders in 2021

The pandemic brought about a change in the way people look at technology. 2021 proves to be the development of a new era of technology where AI is at the core.

According to McKinsey’s Global Survey on artificial intelligence (AI) 2020, organizations are using AI as a tool for generating value in the form of revenues. Some executives have even observed that implementing AI has brought about a change of 20% in the organizations’ earnings. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the concept of ‘all things digital’, and these companies plan to invest more in AI.

Why is No One Talking About “Informed Consent?”

Informed consent not something we hear a lot about these days, which is kind of odd, given all the drugs our government currently insists that we take and how often those very same legal concepts are invoked for aboriginal rights and sexual assault cases.

“Informed consent” is a well understood legal doctrine in healthcare, requiring the healthcare provider (traditionally a doctor) to educate patients about the risks, benefits, and alternatives of any given recommended procedure or intervention, allowing the patient to make informed and “voluntary” decisions about whether to undergo the procedure.

Shapeshifting Microrobots that Fight Cancer on a Cellular Level

No, it’s not from a science fiction movie or from an episode of a popular kid’s television show. It’s real life. Researchers, in a proof-of-concept study, have made fish-shaped microrobots that are guided with magnets to cancer cells, where a pH change triggers them to open their mouths and release their chemotherapy cargo.

Scientists have previously made microscale (smaller than 100 µm) robots that can manipulate tiny objects, but most can’t change their shapes to perform complex tasks, such as releasing drugs. Some groups have made 4D-printed objects (3D-printed devices that change shape in response to certain stimuli), but they typically perform only simple actions, and their motion can’t be controlled remotely.

In a step toward biomedical applications for these devices, Jiawen Li, Li Zhang, Dong Wu and colleagues wanted to develop shape-morphing microrobots that could be guided by magnets to specific sites to deliver treatments. Because tumors exist in acidic microenvironments, the team decided to make the microrobots change shape in response to lowered pH.

Can Israel’s vaccine end the COVID-19 pandemic?

The vaccine candidate was originally developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), which operates under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office and works closely with the Defense Ministry.

The institute’s strategic and technical capabilities are shrouded in secrecy, but this week, The Jerusalem Post gained access to new data that show BriLife could be more effective against mutations and confer lasting immunity.

The Israeli vaccine could potentially address COVID better than other technologies, according to the CEO of NeuroRx.

Israeli oral COVID vaccine heads to Mexico, aims to fast-track approval

Oramed Pharmaceuticals, the developer of the Oravax oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate, has announced a partnership with Mexico’s Genomma Lab Internacional to help fast-track a Phase II clinical trial and gain emergency use authorization in the Latin American country.

Only about 58% of Mexico’s population has been jabbed with one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, averaging around 4,500 new cases per day.

Biden administration to buy Pfizer antiviral pills for 10 million people, hoping to transform pandemic

The Biden administration is expected to announce this week it is purchasing 10 million courses of treatment Pfizer’s covid pill, a multibillion dollar investment in a medication that officials hope will help change the trajectory of the pandemic by staving off many hospitalizations and deaths, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction.

-call me Nostradamus, but I called this.

Officials see Pfizer’s pill, and another by Merck, as potential gamechangers to tame the pandemic.

Wait what? FDA wants 55 years to process FOIA request over vaccine data

Freedom of Information Act requests are rarely speedy, but when a group of scientists asked the federal government to share the data it relied upon in licensing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the response went beyond typical bureaucratic foot-dragging.

55 years and longer.

That’s how long the Food & Drug Administration in court papers this week proposes it should be given to review and release the trove of vaccine-related documents responsive to the request. If a federal judge in Texas agrees, plaintiffs Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency can expect to see the full record in 2076.

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