Lifeboat Foundation

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A piece of high school genetics, relied on for many sorts of genetic testing, has been found to have exceptions. Although mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is normally received from the mother, three families have been identified where people received some of their mtDNA, three-quarters in the most extreme case, from their father. The finding may change the way we treat mitochondrial diseases and brings genetic testing for maternal ancestry into question.

MtDNA exists separately from the rest of our DNA, inside the thousands of mitochondria within each cell, rather than the cell nucleus. It is so widely accepted as being from the mother’s side it is sometimes known as the Eve Gene, the idea being that it can be traced back to some primeval mother of all living humans. Testing of mtDNA is used to identify maternal ancestry.

Continue reading “In Huge Shock, Mitochondrial DNA Can Be Inherited From Fathers” »

I have to admit, they really sound “alien-like” if you ask me. 😃

Just when we thought octopuses couldn’t be any weirder, it turns out that they and their cephalopod brethren evolve differently from nearly every other organism on the planet.

In a surprising twist, in April 2017 scientists discovered that octopuses, along with some squid and cuttlefish species, routinely edit their RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences to adapt to their environment.

Continue reading “Octopus And Squid Evolution Is Officially Stranger Than We Could Have Ever Imagined” »

Digital data storage is a growing need for our society and finding alternative solutions than those based on silicon or magnetic tapes is a challenge in the era of “big data.” The recent development of polymers that can store information at the molecular level has opened up new opportunities for ultrahigh density data storage, long-term archival, anticounterfeiting systems, and molecular cryptography. However, synthetic informational polymers are so far only deciphered by tandem mass spectrometry. In comparison, nanopore technology can be faster, cheaper, nondestructive and provide detection at the single-molecule level; moreover, it can be massively parallelized and miniaturized in portable devices. Here, we demonstrate the ability of engineered aerolysin nanopores to accurately read, with single-bit resolution, the digital information encoded in tailored informational polymers alone and in mixed samples, without compromising information density. These findings open promising possibilities to develop writing-reading technologies to process digital data using a biological-inspired platform.

DNA has evolved to store genetic information in living systems; therefore, it was naturally proposed to be similarly used as a support for data storage (1–3), given its high-information density and long-term storage with respect to existing technologies based on silicon and magnetic tapes. Alternatively, synthetic informational polymers have also been described (5–9) as a promising approach allowing digital storage. In these polymers, information is stored in a controlled monomer sequence, a strategy that is also used by nature in genetic material. In both cases, single-molecule data writing is achieved mainly by stepwise chemical synthesis (3, 10, 11), although enzymatic approaches have also been reported (12). While most of the progress in this area has been made with DNA, which was an obvious starting choice, the molecular structure of DNA is set by biological function, and therefore, there is little space for optimization and innovation.

You are an apogee of Earthly Nature encompassing numerous generations of humans as well as preceded non-human terrestrial life, sitting atop the tree of life… and so is everyone else who lives today. We all can be regarded as archetypes for future generations as well, or perhaps a “developing pattern,” if you intend to live indefinitely long. At any rate, genetically and anthropologically speaking, we all are one humongous extended family. #Timescape #HomoSapiens #ExponentialPedigree

This demographic research provides a host of quantifiable properties of the human species as a whole for further visualizing the data via certain graphs and diagrams. 5 trillion subjective years would constitute the ‘Timescape’ of Homo sapiens up to the p.

Follow the links in the story for sources, the text is in red. A new strain of COVID-19 is causing a wave of new lockdowns in London and travel restrictions for those coming from the U.K. because some are worried that this may be an even more contagious version of the coronavirus. Experts say it’s definitely something to watch out for, but it’s not clear whether or not this variant is actually more transmissible—and there’s no reason to think the current COVID-19 vaccines won’t be effective against it. So what exactly is different about this new strain of COVID-19? Well, this variant (also called B. 1. 1. 7.) has a few mutations, 17 to be exact. Not all of them are concerning, but a few are. The mutations that have experts a little on edge have to do with genes that encode the virus’s spike protein, which is located on the surface of the virus and is the piece of the virus that helps it actually bind to human cells. (That’s the first step in becoming infected.) One of these mutations (called N501Y) may make it easier for the spike protein to bind to the receptors on our cells, Science explains. Another mutation (called 69-70del) affects the number of amino acids (the building blocks that make up a protein) in the spike protein, and variants with this mutation have been previously identified in some immunocompromised people whose bodies were unable to muster the necessary immune response to protect them from the virus.

It’s causing new lockdowns and travel restrictions.

A team of Johns Hopkins University researchers has developed a new software that could revolutionize how DNA is sequenced, making it far faster and less expensive to map anything from yeast genomes to cancer genes.

The software, detailed in a paper published in Nature Biotechnology, can be used with portable sequencing devices to accelerate the ability to conduct genetic tests and deliver diagnoses outside of labs. The new technology targets, collects and sequences specific genes without sample preparation and without having to map surrounding genetic material like standard methods require.

“I think this will forever change how DNA sequencing is done,” said Michael C. Schatz, a Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Computer Science and Biology and senior author of the paper.

Summary: Artificial intelligence technology redesigned a bacterial protein that helps researchers track serotonin in the brain in real-time.

Source: NIH

Serotonin is a neurochemical that plays a critical role in the way the brain controls our thoughts and feelings. For example, many antidepressants are designed to alter serotonin signals sent between neurons.

Continue reading “AI-Designed Serotonin Sensor May Help Scientists Study Sleep and Mental Health” »

Video on the gene edited mosquitos to be released in Florida.

The U.S. EPA gave the green light to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys in 2021 — here’s what we know.

Using CRISPR to alter the genetics of astrocytes in mice, researchers hope they’ve discovered how to regenerate neurons in patients with Parkinsons disease.