Lifeboat Foundation

Flaw was exploited when government officials clicked on links in LinkedIn messages.

In this podcast we chat about a new biography of Stephen Hawking and catch up with the director of Latin America’s only synchrotron light source.

That said, the Borgs do clearly contain metabolic genes, which might be able to boost the energy metabolisms of Methanoperedens that host them. If so, these unique genetic elements could provide new insights into reducing methane emissions, which is a major aim for climate change mitigation plans.

These ‘Borg’ elements assimilated genes from other organisms, and could be used to help fight climate change.

Summary: Aromatic turmerone, a compound derived from turmeric essential oil, and its derivatives directly affect dopamine neurons to generate neuroprotective properties in tissue culture models of Parkinson’s disease.

Source: Kumamoto University.

Researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan have found that a component derived from turmeric essential oil, aromatic turmerone (ar-turmerone), and its derivatives act directly on dopaminergic nerves to create a neuroprotective effect on tissue cultures of a Parkinson’s disease model.

In a medical first, researchers harnessed the brainwaves of a paralyzed man unable to speak and turned what he intended to say into sentences on a computer screen.

Study marks important step toward restoring more natural communication for people who can’t talk.

Summary: Using human stem cells to develop a brain organoid model, researchers were able to show exposure to a common pesticide synergizes with an autism-linked gene mutation. The study provides clear evidence that genetics and environment may combine to disrupt neurodevelopment.

Source: Johns Hopkins University.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have shown in a brain organoid study that exposure to a common pesticide synergizes with a frequent autism-linked gene mutation.

University of California San Diego scientists have now developed several genetic editing tools that help pave the way to an eventual gene drive designed to stop Culex mosquitoes from spreading disease. Gene drives are designed to spread modified genes, in this case those that disable the ability to transmit pathogens, throughout the targeted wild population.

Genetics toolkit targets less researched Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and avian malaria.

Continue reading “Researchers Create New CRISPR Genetic Tools to Help Contain Mosquito Disease Transmission” »

Once studied by Charles Darwin, the Venus flytrap is perhaps the most famous plant that moves at high speed. But as Daniel Rayneau-Kirkhope explains, researchers are still unearthing new scientific insights into plant motion, which could lead to novel, bio-inspired robotic structures.

“In the absence of any other proof,” Isaac Newton is once said to have proclaimed, “the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.” With 29 bones, 123 ligaments and 34 muscles pulling the strings, the human hand is indeed a feat of nature’s engineering. It lets us write, touch, hold, feel and interact in exquisite detail with the world around us.

Continue reading “Replicating how plants move” »

Timestamps:

0:00 How the Rose lab more than doubled the lifespan of Drosophila.
17:20 Use of machine learning (ML) and multi-‘omics to characterize aging, and use of ML to develop interventions.
37:04 Adherence to an ancestral diet in Drosophila extends healthspan relative to their evolutionary recent diet.
40:35 The importance of measuring objective markers of health to determine if one’s diet is best for them.
44:04 Does aging stop, and use of biomarker testing to help decipher/optimize that.
53:33 The importance of characterizing aging for both Drosophila and its co-associated microbiome.
1:00:35 Why a massive, wide-scale, Manhattan-project approach for increasing human lifespan is necessary.