Research finds that films made up of DNA block dangerous UV rays.
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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,724
Welcome to Mr Futurist’s first weekly podcast where I discuss what going on in emerging science and technology. Scientists have successfully edited the first human embryo in the U.S. using CRISPR. CRISPR is a gene editing technique that can modify any region of the genome of any species with high precision accuracy. Modifying a species to have certain characteristics or traits. If you’re curious as to what CRISPR is, I have added a link below to an excellent video from Futurist that explains what CRISPR is and what it can be used for, all in 60 seconds. It’s worth a minute of your time.
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Cancer continues to be one of the major diseases that plagues humanity. Around the world, approximately 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The prevalence of cancer is due, in part, to the absence of a universal cure for all forms of the disease. While various treatments are available, each type of cancer generally requires specific treatment.
A new method developed by doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London presents a hopeful solution. The team has successfully tested their method on two infants with an aggressive form of leukaemia.
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Researchers in Portland, Oregon have, for the first time, edited a human embryo in the US.
This work adds to the promise of CRISPR, and it stands as an important step toward the birth of the first genetically modified humans.
By now, most of us know what CRISPR gene editing is. At the very least, we have heard of this revolutionary technology that allows us to alter DNA — the source code of life itself.
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But if there is some kind of unifying computational principle governing our grey matter, what is it? Dr. Tsien has studied this for over a decade, and he believes he’s found the answer in something called the Theory of Connectivity.
“Many people have long speculated that there has to be a basic design principle from which intelligence originates and the brain evolves, like how the double helix of DNA and genetic codes are universal for every organism,” Tsien said. “We present evidence that the brain may operate on an amazingly simple mathematical logic.”
The Theory of Connectivity holds that a simple algorithm, called a power-of-two-based permutation taking the form of n=2i-1 can be used to explain the circuitry of the brain. To unpack the formula, let’s define a few key concepts from the theory of connectivity, specifically the idea of a neuronal clique. A neuronal clique is a group of neurons which “fire together” and cluster into functional connectivity motifs, or FCMs, which the brain uses to recognize specific patterns or ideas. One can liken it to branches on a tree, with the neuronal clique being the smallest unit of connectivity, a mere twig, which when combined with other cliques, link up to form an FCM. The more complex the idea being represented in the brain, the more convoluted the FCM. The n in n=2i-1 specifies the number of neuronal cliques that will fire in response to a given input, i.
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A research team led by Dr. Cai at the Albert Einstein college of medicine have shown that stem cells in the hypothalamus influence how fast we age. The new research, shown in mice, may lead to approaches that delay or even prevent age-related diseases[1].
Unfortunately like 70% of scientific research, this publication is behind a paywall, so those wishing to read will have to use the usual channels to obtain the publication. We discuss why paywalls are an unacceptable barrier to progress here in our interview with Sci-Hub.
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