A group of scientists has grown mini brains that have something their real counterparts do not: a set of eye-like structures called “optic cups” that give rise to the retina.
Inspiration4 is preparing for liftoff.
The all-civilian mission is not only the first of its kind in history. It also marks a milestone for Musk’s company, which hopes to one day help humans live across the galaxy.
This is a huge, fairly sci-fi goal, but the trailblazing Inspiration4 crew could help the general public believe in it. And a Netflix documentary certainly doesn’t hurt.
I am pleased to announce that my lead-author review paper has been published in ACS Nano! If you are interested in learning about the convergence of synthetic biology and adenoviral gene therapy, I encourage you to check out my paper.
If you cannot access the full text, I have also posted a local copy at the following link: https://logancollinsblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/synthet…s-2021.pdf.
#ACS #ACSNano #SyntheticBiology #GeneTherapy #Biology #Biotech #Science #Biotechnology #Nanotechnology #Adenovirus #Engineering #Virology
Many drugs show promising results in laboratory research but eventually fail clinical trials. We hypothesize that one main reason for this translational gap is that current cancer models are inadequate. Most models lack the tumor-stroma interactions, which are essential for proper representation of cancer complexed biology. Therefore, we recapitulated the tumor heterogenic microenvironment by creating fibrin glioblastoma bioink consisting of patient-derived glioblastoma cells, astrocytes, and microglia. In addition, perfusable blood vessels were created using a sacrificial bioink coated with brain pericytes and endothelial cells. We observed similar growth curves, drug response, and genetic signature of glioblastoma cells grown in our 3D-bioink platform and in orthotopic cancer mouse models as opposed to 2D culture on rigid plastic plates. Our 3D-bioprinted model could be the basis for potentially replacing cell cultures and animal models as a powerful platform for rapid, reproducible, and robust target discovery; personalized therapy screening; and drug development.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. It is estimated that around 30 to 40% of patients with cancer are being treated with ineffective drugs ; therefore, preclinical drug screening platforms attempt to overcome this challenge. Several approaches, such as whole-exome or RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), aim to identify druggable, known mutations or overexpressed genes that may be exploited as a therapeutic target for personalized therapy. More advanced approaches offer to assess the efficacy of a drug or combinations of drugs in patient-derived tumor xenograft models or in vitro three-dimensional (3D) organoids. Unfortunately, most of the existing methods face unmet challenges, which limit their efficacy. For instance, cells can become quiescent or acquire somatic mutations while growing many generations on plastic under the influence of static mechanical forces and in the absence of functional vasculature.
Wed, Aug 25 at 9 AM PDT.
Please join us for a new episode with Dr. Alfonso Davila, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center! His research focuses on the biological and biosignature potential of terrestrial environments considered to be analogous to extraterrestrial environments, and using that knowledge to develop strategies to search for evidence of life beyond Earth.
This program is an interactive talk show where our guest will answer questions from our host, Dr. Graham Lau, as well as questions submitted via Twitter, Facebook, and SAGANet chat. For more information, visit the official website of Ask An Astrobiologist at astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist.
On Thursday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Bot, which runs on the same AI used in Tesla’s autonomous vehicles. This surprise reveal was shared at the end of Tesla’s AI Day presentation. Musk revealed very few details about the humanoid robot besides the fact that it is 5″ 8′ and weighs 125 pounds.
The Tesla Bot is to be built from lightweight materials, and its head will be fitted with the autopilot cameras used by Tesla’s vehicles for sensing the environment. The Bot will be operated by Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) computer.
Continue reading “Elon Musk Unveils Tesla Bot a humanoid robot set to debut in 2022” »
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California has achieved a major breakthrough in the quest to develop nuclear fusion power.
The NIF is the world’s largest inertial confinement fusion (ICF) device and contains the world’s largest laser. Its 192 beams are housed in a 10-story building the size of three football fields. When combined, these can generate over a million joules of energy, or about 0.1% the amount of a lightning bolt.
Scientists have been using the immense power of this laser to heat small capsules of deuterium and tritium (isotopes of hydrogen) in an effort to reach “ignition” and kickstart thermonuclear fusion. This process, the same reaction that powers our Sun, could one day provide a limitless source of clean energy.
The effects of fracking on nearby water sources may be worse than previously thought, according to a new study that found hydraulic fracturing can alter the composition of surface water and not just groundwater.
The study, published Thursday in Science, is the first to link fracking to small increases in salt concentrations in surface water, particularly during the early stages of production. While the highest salt levels were well below what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers harmful, researchers identified a robust association between new wells and water quality changes, triggering public health concerns.
“Our work provides the first large-scale sample evidence showing that hydraulic fracturing is related to the quality of nearby surface waters for several U.S. shales,” Christian Leuz, co-author of the study and a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, said in a news release.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and existing gene therapies, including those built with the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, are delivered into cells with viral vectors or lipid nanoparticles. A research team led by CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang, Ph.D., of the Broad Institute has developed a new mRNA delivery system that harnesses a human protein.
The system, dubbed SEND, leverages the ability of a human protein called PEG10 to bind to its own mRNA and form a protective capsule around it. In a new study published in Science, Zhang and colleagues engineered PEG10 to take on RNA cargoes of their choice and successfully delivered the system to mouse and human cells.
The findings support SEND as an efficient delivery platform for RNA-based gene therapies that can be repeatedly dosed, the researchers suggested. Because SEND uses a protein that’s produced naturally in the body, it may not trigger immune responses that can render gene therapies ineffective, the team said.
This study illustrates how complex the relationship between genes and the environment is. Although our study uses genetic methods, it provides strong evidence that, as well as genetics, the environment really matters when we talk about education.
A child’s educational success depends on the genes that they haven’t inherited from their parents, as well as the genes they have, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the study confirms that genes a person inherits directly are most likely to contribute to their achievements in education. But parent genes that aren’t directly inherited, yet have still shaped parents’ own education levels and subsequently influenced the lifestyle and family environment they provide for their children, are also important and can affect how well a person does at school and beyond.
Continue reading “A parent’s genes can influence a child’s educational success, inherited or not” »
