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Feb 22, 2020

Are China’s Coronavirus Figures Reliable?

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Taken at face value, China’s coronavirus containment strategy appears to be working. But can the official figures be trusted?


China reports that new virus cases are declining, but the data may be tied to party politics.

Feb 22, 2020

Coronavirus: northern Italian towns close schools and businesses

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, education

Authorities act on cluster of infections in the Lombardy and Veneto regions.

Feb 22, 2020

Optimising gene editing for cancer therapy

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

Gene editing holds promise for the treatment of cancers that are driven by well-characterised molecular alterations. A study now provides a proof of concept for the feasibility of in vivo gene editing to correct TERT mutations in glioblastoma, providing a platform for the direct manipulation of genetic alterations to reduce tumour growth.

Feb 22, 2020

Getafix: How Facebook tools learn to fix bugs automatically

Posted by in category: futurism

Facebook has built a tool called Getafix that automatically finds fixes for bugs and offers them to engineers to approve. This allows engineers to work more effectively, and it promotes better overall code quality. We believe Getafix is the first tool of its kind to be deployed to production at Facebook scale, contributing to the …

Feb 22, 2020

New CRISPR tool could fix almost all disease-causing DNA glitches

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The tool can precisely change any of DNA’s “letters” into any other and insert or delete any stretch of DNA — all more efficiently than previous CRISPR.

Feb 22, 2020

More than 80 clinical trials launch to test coronavirus treatments

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

As HIV drugs, stem cells and traditional Chinese medicines vie for a chance to prove their worth, the World Health Organization attempts to bring order to the search.

Feb 22, 2020

EP0050523A2 — Electromagnetic transmission using a curl-free magnetic vector potential field

Posted by in category: materials

A system for transmission of information using a curl-free magnetic vector potential radiation field. The system includes current-carrying apparatus for generating a predominantly curl-free magnetic vector potential field coupled to apparatus for modulating the current applied to the field generating apparatus. Receiving apparatus includes a detector with observable properties that vary with the application of an applied curl-free magnetic vector potential field. Analyzing apparatus for determining the information content of modulation imposed on the curl-free vector potential field is coupled to the detector. The magnetic vector potential field can be established in materials that are not capable of transmitting more common electromagnetic radiation.

The receiver may detect changes of phase of the sine function which determines the Josephson junction current. The distance of the transmitter can be determined from the strength of the received signal. By generating a field of predetermined orientation and using a detector responsive to orientation, the direction of the transmitter may be determined. A rotating field may be used for this.

Feb 22, 2020

Biotech firm Kymab in battle over ‘human mice’ secrets

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, law

A Cambridge-based biotech company that is creating a colony of “human” mice is locked in a Tom and Jerry-style fight with a US pharmaceutical giant.

Kymab, which is backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and counts fund manager Neil Woodford among its investors, is seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court in a row over patents. It follows a ruling by the Court of Appeal earlier this year that Kymab infringed a patent belonging to US company Regeneron. A previous judgment ruled that Regeneron’s patent was insufficient.

The legal tussle relates to Kymab’s “Kymouse” work, in which it manipulates the genome of mice. Kymab removes the genes that make antibodies in mice and replaces them with human antibody genes. This means that.

Feb 22, 2020

Shipping Shutdown: Exporters Warn of Global Food Trade Collapse

Posted by in category: food

Global shipping has dropped off, and exporters are warning that refrigerated container (reefer) shortages pose major problems for food trade. Soil is even wetter than last year in US Midwest, presaging a difficult — and potentially catastrophic — 2020 season. UK is under water. China is shutdown. Australia reported record low crops. Grow food. Store it. Prepare for a limited collapse of our food system.

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Feb 22, 2020

By decoding the coronavirus genome, scientists seek the upper hand against COVID-19

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Today, when a deadly virus explodes out of nowhere, geneticists are indispensable players in the international game of whodunit. Here’s how they help.