An MIT biotechnology student has gotten “Doom” to run on a cell array full of gut bacteria, proving that it really does run on everything.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 966
Highly targeted CRISPR delivery system advances gene editing in living animals
Most approved gene therapies today, including those involving CRISPR-Cas9, work their magic on cells removed from the body, after which the edited cells are returned to the patient.
This technique is ideal for targeting blood cells and is currently the method employed in newly approved CRISPR gene therapies for blood diseases like sickle cell anemia, in which edited blood cells are reinfused in patients after their bone marrow has been destroyed by chemotherapy.
A new, precision-targeted delivery method for CRISPR-Cas9, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, enables gene editing on very specific subsets of cells while still in the body—a step toward a programmable delivery method that would eliminate the need to obliterate patients’ bone marrow and immune system before giving them edited blood cells.
Researchers use supercomputer to determine whether ‘molecules of life’ can be formed naturally in right conditions
Basic biology textbooks will tell you that all life on Earth is built from four types of molecules: proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. And each group is vital for every living organism.
But what if humans could actually show that these “molecules of life,” such as amino acids and DNA bases, can be formed naturally in the right environment? Researchers at the University of Florida are using the HiPerGator—the fastest supercomputer in U.S. higher education—to test this experiment.
HiPerGator—with its AI models and vast capacity for graphics processing units, or GPUs (specialized processors designed to accelerate graphics renderings)—is transforming the molecular research game.
First functional human brain tissue produced through 3D printing
A team of researchers has created the first functional 3D-printed brain tissue to examine the brain’s function and study various neurological disorders.
The first functional 3D-printed brain tissue has been developed to examine the human brain’s function and study various neurological disorders.
According to experts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, printed tissue can “grow and function like typical brain tissue.”
This 3D-printed brain model might be useful in studying various neurological and neurodevelopmental problems, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Biotech is the new focus in U.S.-China tech rivalry
The need to quash outbreaks, quickly create medicines, stress-proof crops and fend off other 21st century threats is providing a lucrative arena for biotech companies to sell their services.
Why it matters: But the infrastructure to support such ambitions is increasingly recognized by the U.S., China and other countries as a linchpin of national security and economic strategy, putting it at the center of geopolitics.
Team develops a laser printer for photonic chips
Photonic integrated circuits are an important next-wave technology. These sophisticated microchips hold the potential to substantially decrease costs and increase speed and efficiency for electronic devices across a wide range of application areas, including automotive technology, communications, health care, data storage, and computing for artificial intelligence.
Photonic circuits use photons, fundamental particles of light, to move, store, and access information in much the same way that conventional electronic circuits use electrons for this purpose. Photonic chips are already in use today in advanced fiber-optic communication systems, and they are being developed for implementation in a broad spectrum of near-future technologies, including light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, for autonomous vehicles; light-based sensors for medical devices; 5G and 6G communication networks; and optical and quantum computing.
Given the broad range of existing and future uses for photonic integrated circuits, access to equipment that can fabricate chip designs for study, research and industrial applications is also important. However, today’s nanofabrication facilities cost millions of dollars to construct and are well beyond the reach of many colleges, universities, and research labs.
‘Landmark event’: Chinese scientists assemble world’s most detailed human genome
The lack of representation of Asians in the genome can cause “large deviations” when diagnosing or treating patients, and could affect the development of targeted drugs, he said.
To address the gap, in 2020 Gao and his research team set out to construct a reference of the Chinese genome, particularly of the Han ethnicity, the largest ethnic group in the world.
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Researchers produce the first 3D-printed functional human brain tissue
A team of University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists has developed the first 3D-printed brain tissue that can grow and function like typical brain tissue.
It’s an achievement with important implications for scientists studying the brain and working on treatments for a broad range of neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
“This could be a hugely powerful model to help us understand how brain cells and parts of the brain communicate in humans,” says Su-Chun Zhang, professor of neuroscience and neurology at UW–Madison’s Waisman Center. “It could change the way we look at stem cell biology, neuroscience, and the pathogenesis of many neurological and psychiatric disorders.”