Page 8160
May 17, 2019
Scientists Created This Organism’s DNA From Scratch
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
For the first time, scientists have created life with genetic code that was developed from scratch.
A University of Cambridge team created living, reproducing E. coli bacteria with DNA coded entirely by humans, according to The New York Times. The new bacteria look a little wonky, but they behave more or less the same as natural E. coli. Learning to rebuild genomes from scratch could teach scientists how DNA originally came to be — and how we can manipulate it to create new life.
May 17, 2019
Researchers develop electric field-based dressing to help heal wound infections
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, life extension
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have found a way to charge up the fight against bacterial infections using electricity.
Work conducted in the laboratories of the Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, Chandan Sen, Ph.D. and Sashwati Roy, Ph.D. has led to the development of a dressing that uses an electric field to disrupt biofilm infection. Their findings were recently published in the high-impact journal Annals of Surgery.
Bacterial biofilms are thin, slimy films of bacteria that form on some wounds, including burns or post-surgical infections, as well as after a medical device, such as a catheter, is placed in the body. These bacteria generate their own electricity, using their own electric fields to communicate and form the biofilm, which makes them more hostile and difficult to treat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 65 percent of all infections are caused by bacteria with this biofilm phenotype, while the National Institutes of Health estimates that number is closer to 80 percent.
Continue reading “Researchers develop electric field-based dressing to help heal wound infections” »
May 17, 2019
Ancient Wads of ‘Chewing Gum’ Hold the Oldest Human DNA in Scandinavia
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: biotech/medical
Ancient “chewing gum” holds Scandinavia’s oldest-known human DNA, found at a site in western Sweden and dating to about 10,000 years ago.
May 17, 2019
Physicists Create Quantum-Scale “Mona Lisa,” Just for Funsies
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: quantum physics
May 17, 2019
NIST team demonstrates heart of next-generation chip-scale atomic clock
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: computing, particle physics, satellites
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and partners have demonstrated an experimental, next-generation atomic clock—ticking at high “optical” frequencies—that is much smaller than usual, made of just three small chips plus supporting electronics and optics.
Described in Optica, the chip-scale clock is based on the vibrations, or “ticks,” of rubidium atoms confined in a tiny glass container, called a vapor cell, on a chip. Two frequency combs on chips act like gears to link the atoms’ high-frequency optical ticks to a lower, widely used microwave frequency that can be used in applications.
The chip-based heart of the new clock requires very little power (just 275 milliwatts) and, with additional technology advances, could potentially be made small enough to be handheld. Chip-scale optical clocks like this could eventually replace traditional oscillators in applications such as navigation systems and telecommunications networks and serve as backup clocks on satellites.
Continue reading “NIST team demonstrates heart of next-generation chip-scale atomic clock” »
May 17, 2019
HP Enterprise is acquiring supercomputing giant Cray
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: business, government, supercomputing
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has a shiny new toy. The information technology firm announced today that is spending $1.3 billion to acquire supercomputer manufacturer Cray. HPE, which is a business-facing spin-off of the Hewlett Packard company, will instantly become a bigger presence in the world of academia and the federal government, where Cray has a number of significant contracts. It will also enable HPE to start selling supercomputer components to corporate clients and others.
May 17, 2019
Amazing Google AI Speaks Another Language In Your Voice
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: robotics/AI
May 17, 2019
Scientists find new type of cell that helps tadpoles’ tails regenerate
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: biotech/medical
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have uncovered a specialised population of skin cells that coordinate tail regeneration in frogs. These ‘Regeneration-Organizing Cells’ help to explain one of the great mysteries of nature and may offer clues about how this ability might be achieved in mammalian tissues.
It has long been known that some animals can regrow their tails following amputation—Aristotle observed this in the fourth century B.C. — but the mechanisms that support such regenerative potential remain poorly understood.
Using ‘single-cell genomics’, scientists at the Wellcome Trust/ Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge developed an ingenious strategy to uncover what happens in different tadpole cells when they regenerate their tails.
Continue reading “Scientists find new type of cell that helps tadpoles’ tails regenerate” »
May 17, 2019
AI-powered ‘knowledge engine’ a game-changer for antibiotic resistance
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, food, health, robotics/AI
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rozda1m1l1A
A groundbreaking project to tackle one of the world’s most pressing and complex health challenges—antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—has secured a $1 million boost. UTS will lead a consortium of 26 researchers from 14 organisations in the development of an AMR ‘knowledge engine’ capable of predicting outbreaks and informing interventions, supported by a grant from the Medical Research Future Fund.
“AMR is not a simple problem confined to health and hospital settings,” explains project Chief Investigator, UTS Professor of Infectious Disease Steven Djordjevic. “Our pets and livestock rely on many of these same medicines, so they find their way into the food chain and into the environment through animal faeces.”
Continue reading “AI-powered ‘knowledge engine’ a game-changer for antibiotic resistance” »