Lifeboat Foundation

The gene-editing tool’s potential to upend science is dizzying.

More progress with cancer using a senolytic compound found in Indian Long Peppers.

DALLAS – January 3, 2017 – UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have uncovered the chemical process behind anti-cancer properties of a spicy Indian pepper plant called the long pepper, whose suspected medicinal properties date back thousands of years.

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Proteins are the workhorse molecules of life. Among their many jobs, they carry oxygen, build tissue, copy DNA for the next generation, and coordinate events within and between cells. Now scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a method to control proteins inside live cells with the flick of a switch, giving researchers an unprecedented tool for pinpointing the causes of disease using the simplest of tools: light.

Continue reading “Scientists use light to control the logic networks of a cell (w/video)” »

Samuel Sia, a professor of biomedical engineering at New York City’s Columbia University, has developed a 3D printed biobot that can be implanted in the body to release controlled doses of drugs. The amazing device can be controlled from outside the body using only magnets.

Continue reading “Tiny 3D printed biobots could dispense drug doses from inside your body” »

Is it possible to kill bacteria with bacteria?

This is the unorthodox question posed by a team of researchers funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)—a research and development organization within the U.S. Department of Defense—that is exploring whether an unusual type of bacteria that eats other bacteria could be a new weapon in the fight against drug-resistant infections.

Known as the Pathogen Predator program, the DARPA initiative (led by Dr. Barry Pallotta) is part of a growing effort to seek new and innovative ways to defeat drug-resistant superbugs, which are rapidly evolving to beat even our most powerful antibiotics.

Continue reading “‘Out-of-the-Box’ Approaches Can Help Combat Antibiotic Resistance” »

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Synthetic RNA kit business Synthego has raised $41 million to step up its efforts to make CRISPR gene editing easier and more accurate. The West Coast startup relied heavily on tech VCs for the cash, but also gained validation from having CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna invest in its business.

Redwood City, CA-based Synthego exited stealth in August, four years after it was set up by two former SpaceX computer engineers. In those early years, which were bankrolled by an $8.3 million investment in 2013, Synthego established an automated manufacturing process for guide RNA products that it thinks sets it apart from larger competitors in terms of cost, turnaround time and editing efficiency.

Continue reading “Synthego bags $41M to grow CRISPR synthetic RNA kit biz” »

Continuous-flow system went from synthesis to dosage forms in hours.

Stu Borman

Drug manufacturers typically produce drugs in batches in large factories. But a new trend is developing in the pharmaceutical industry to reduce infrastructure costs by using small continuous-flow systems to make drug doses on demand.

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Removing senescent cells could help reduce age-related diseases and improve health. You have the power to help shape the future of medicine by supporting the CellAge campaign at lifespan.io check it out on the link below:

https://www.lifespan.io/campaigns/cellage-targeting-senescen…c-biology/

Continue reading “#CellAge is working on making age-related disease a thing of the past” »

For just $25 your name will be converted into cool DNA coding language and placed in the special CellAge time capsule for a future generation to discover!

Your donation could help us to develop cures for age-related diseases, check out the CellAge project on Lifespan.io today.

https://www.lifespan.io/campaigns/cellage-targeting-senescen…c-biology/

Continue reading “For true biologists this is the only way their keyboard works :D” »