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With triplex origami, scientists can achieve a level of artificial control over the shape of double-stranded DNA that was previously unimaginable, thereby opening new avenues of exploration, according to the Aarhus University researchers. It has recently been suggested that triplex formation plays a role in the natural compaction of genetic DNA and the current study may offer insight into this fundamental biological process.

Potential in gene therapy and beyond

The work also demonstrates that the Hoogsteen-mediated triplex formation shields the DNA against enzymatic degradation. Thus, the ability to compact and protect DNA with the triplex origami method may have large implications for gene therapy, wherein diseased cells are repaired by encoding a function that they are missing into a deliverable piece of double-stranded DNA.

Organic electronic devices enhance biocompatibility, but have to rely on silicon-based technologies to improve limited speed and integration. This problem is overcome by creating a stand-alone, wireless, conformable, fully organic bioelectronic device with high electronic performance, scalability, stability and conformability in physiologic media.

Japanese scientists have discovered a compound, ethylammonium lead iodide, which can store and release ammonia safely and efficiently. This finding holds potential for ammonia’s role as a carbon-free hydrogen carrier, contributing to the transition towards a decarbonized society.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have discovered a compound that uses a chemical reaction to store ammonia, potentially offering a safer and easier way to store this important chemical. This discovery, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on July 10, makes it possible not only to safely and conveniently store ammonia, but also the important hydrogen is carries. This finding should help lead the way to a decarbonized society with a practical hydrogen economy.

For society to make the switch from carbon-based to hydrogen-based energy, we need a safe way to store and transport hydrogen, which by itself is highly combustible. One way to do this is to store it as part of another molecule and extract it as needed. Ammonia, chemically written as NH₃, makes a good hydrogen carrier because three hydrogen atoms are packed into each molecule, with almost 20% of ammonia being hydrogen by weight.

The process of converting DNA to proteins through an RNA is far from straightforward. Of the several types of RNA involved in the process of protein synthesis, a few may be edited mid-way. In mammals, RNA editing mostly involves converting adenosine (A) to inosine (I) through deamination, which can result in a wide range of effects. For example, A-to-I conversion can regulate gene expression in different ways and significantly alter the final synthesized protein.

While RNA editing is an essential biological process, it is also a key underlying mechanism in some diseases, including cancer. Thus, scientists have created large-scale databases documenting RNA editing sites in various human tissues. These databases serve as useful platforms for identifying potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets from the RNA editome, which encompasses all edited RNA molecules in a given cell or tissue.

Unfortunately, there are currently no databases for RNA editing in hematopoietic cells. The hematopoietic cells are unique in that they can develop into all types of blood cells including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

The images shed light on how electrons form superconducting pairs that glide through materials without friction.

When your laptop or smartphone heats up, it’s due to energy that’s lost in translation. The same goes for power lines that transmit electricity between cities. In fact, around 10 percent of the generated energy is lost in the transmission of electricity. That’s because the electrons that carry electric charge do so as free agents, bumping and grazing against other electrons as they move collectively through power cords and transmission lines. All this jostling generates friction, and, ultimately, heat.

But when electrons pair up, they can rise above the fray and glide through a material without friction. This “superconducting” behavior occurs in a range of materials, though at ultracold temperatures. If these materials can be made to superconduct closer to room temperature, they could pave the way for zero-loss devices, such as heat-free laptops and phones, and ultra-efficient power lines. But first, scientists will have to understand how electrons pair up in the first place.

Apple’s Vision Pro headset will use a new type of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, that has been custom designed to support Apple’s R1 input processing chip, reports The Korea Herald.

Apple Vision Pro is powered by a pair of chips. The main processor is the M2, which is responsible for processing content, running the visionOS operating system, executing computer vision algorithms, and providing graphical content.

A huge solar power station in China is generating clean energy, producing salt from sunlight, and serving as a shrimp-breeding site.

State-owned China Huadian Corporation said the 1-gigawatt (GW) Huadian Tianjin Haijing power station will generate 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year – enough to power around 1.5 million households in China.

Continue reading “This 1 GW solar + salt + shrimp farm is a 3-in-1 power station” »

Like its viral cousins, a somewhat parasitic DNA sequence called a retrotransposon has been found borrowing the cell’s own machinery to achieve its goals.

In a new work appearing online Wednesday in the journal Nature, a Duke University team has determined that retrotransposons hijack a little-known piece of the cell’s DNA repair function to close themselves into a ring-like shape and then create a matching double strand.

The finding upends 40 years of conventional wisdom saying these rings were just a useless by-product of bad gene copying. It may also offer new insights into cancer, viral infections and immune responses.

For cellular agriculture—a technique that grows meat in bioreactors—to successfully feed millions, numerous technological hurdles must be conquered. The production of muscle cells from sources such as chicken, fish, cows, and more will need to increase to the point where millions of metric tons are yielded annually.

Researchers at the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) have made strides toward this objective by developing immortalized bovine muscle stem cells (iBSCs). These cells possess a rapid growth rate and the ability to divide hundreds of times, potentially even indefinitely, furthering the potential for large-scale meat production.

This advance, described in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology, means that researchers and companies around the globe can have access to and develop new products without having to source cells repeatedly from farm animal biopsies.