Lifeboat Foundation

Study explores perspectives on the applications of somatic genome editing.

DNA sequencing technology, i.e., determining the order of nucleotide bases in a DNA molecule, is central to personalized medicine and disease diagnostics, yet even the fastest technologies require hours, or days, to read a complete sequence. Now, a multi-institutional research team led by The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (SANKEN) at Osaka University, has developed a technique that could lead to a new paradigm for genomic analysis.

DNA sequences are sequential arrangements of the nucleotide bases, i.e., the four letters that encode information invaluable to the proper functioning of an organism. For example, changing the identity of just one nucleotide out of the several billion nucleotide pairs in the human genome can lead to a serious medical condition. The ability to read DNA sequences quickly and reliably is thus essential to some urgent point-of-care decisions, such as how to proceed with a particular chemotherapy treatment.

Unfortunately, genome analysis remains challenging for classical computers, and it’s in this context that quantum computers show promise. Quantum computers use quantum bits instead of the zeroes and ones of classical computers, facilitating an exponential increase in computational speed.

A new study reports conclusive evidence for the breakdown of standard gravity in the low acceleration limit from a verifiable analysis of the orbital motions of long-period, widely separated, binary stars, usually referred to as wide binaries in astronomy and astrophysics.

The study carried out by Kyu-Hyun Chae, professor of physics and astronomy at Sejong University in Seoul, used up to 26,500 wide binaries within 650 light years (LY) observed by European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope. The study was published in the 1 August 2023 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

For a key improvement over other studies Chae’s study focused on calculating gravitational accelerations experienced by binary stars as a function of their separation or, equivalently the orbital period, by a Monte Carlo deprojection of observed sky-projected motions to the three-dimensional space.

In 1929, astronomers discovered that galaxies are streaming away from us and each other. They interpreted this observation that the universe is expanding. However, when they measured how fast it is expanding, they got different answers using different methods. The difference continues to be a thorn in their description of the expanding universe.

A potential solution has been proposed by a research team headed by Souvik Jana from the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences in Bengaluru. Their paper, recently published in the Physical Review Letters.

Physical Review Letters (PRL) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Physical Society. It is one of the most prestigious and influential journals in physics, with a high impact factor and a reputation for publishing groundbreaking research in all areas of physics, from particle physics to condensed matter physics and beyond. PRL is known for its rigorous standards and short article format, with a maximum length of four pages, making it an important venue for rapid communication of new findings and ideas in the physics community.

Immune system changes in the pregnant body that protect the fetus appear to extend to the brain, where a decrease in immune cells late in gestation may factor into the onset of maternal behavior, new research in rats suggests.

In adult female rats that had never given birth—which typically don’t like being around babies—depletion of these cells sped up their care for rat newborns that were placed in their cage.

The loss of these cells, called microglia, and the related uptick in motherly attentiveness were also associated with changes to neuron activity in several regions of the rat brain, suggesting shifts in immune function have a role in regulating maternal behavior.

However, there are no drugs that specifically block MAPK4 that could be tested to reduce tumor growth. Instead, Yang and his colleagues explored an alternative approach.

We showed that blocking both AKT and PDK1 effectively repressed MAPK4-induced cancer cell growth, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy to treat MAPK4-dependent cancers, such as a subset of TNBC, prostate and lung cancer.

“In this study we have not only advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the tumor-promoting activity of MAPK4, we also have found a potential novel therapeutic approach for human cancers,” Yang said.

© 2023 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. All Rights Reserved.

Can AI capture the emotion that a singer today can convey, or dupe us into believing they’re not human? Can Ronnie James Dio’s voice be brought back from the dead? In this episode of The Singing Hole, we explore where AI’s technology is today, how creators are harnessing the technology and how we can better prepare for the eventual future with music.

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Zach Kirkhorn’s replacement, Delhi-trained accountant Vaibhav Taneja, has kept a low profile since joining Tesla in 2016—a very low profile.