Neumann et al. demonstrate that aging renders adult oligodendrocyte progenitor cells unresponsive to pro-differentiation factors, which can be reversed both in vitro and in vivo by calorie restriction (CR) and the CR mimetic metformin.
Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski
Posted in biotech/medical, innovation
The Burzynski Patient Group mission is to raise public awareness of Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski’s breakthrough treatment for cancer using Antineoplastons and gene-targeted therapy.
Genetic differences in the immune system shape the collections of bacteria that colonize the digestive system, according to new research by scientists at the University of Chicago.
In carefully controlled experiments using germ-free mice populated with microbes from conventionally raised mice, the researchers showed that while the makeup of the microbial input largely determined the resulting microbiome of the recipients, genetic differences between strains of mice played a role as well.
“When the input is standardized, you can compare mice of different genetic strains and see what these genetics do to the microbiome in recipient mice,” said microbiome researcher Alexander Chervonsky, MD, Ph.D., a senior author of the new study, published in Cell Reports. “This approach allowed us to tell whether there was a genetic influence, and indeed there is. So, the next question was what mechanisms are involved?”
Video: Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Designed To Halt Malaria Transmission : Goats and Soda NPR was the only news organization allowed into the lab to witness the moment the releases began this year. The goal is to create a powerful new weapon in the fight against malaria.
Virgin Galactic lifted the curtain Wednesday (Oct 16) on its new line of Under Amour “spacewear” for passengers on suborbital trips aboard its SpaceShipTwo vehicles.
Preserving Maya Heritage
Posted in futurism
As investors await results from the first U.S. clinical trials of the gene-editing system known as Crispr, scientists are focused on finding ways to administer it directly into humans, according to the technology’s co-inventor, Jennifer Doudna.
Right now, in studies using Crispr that have treated patients, researchers have had to extract their cells to be able to make edits to faulty DNA before infusing them back into the body for treatment. Being able to do precise edits directly inside humans, animals or plants could open the door to new applications, Doudna said.
Squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, amphibians, and chameleon lizards are among the animals that can change the color of their skin in a blink of an eye. They have photoreceptors in their skin that operate independently of their brain. The photoreceptors are part of a family of proteins known as opsins.
Mammals have opsins, too. They are the most abundant proteins in the retina. These light-sensing photopigments are responsible for color vision (cone opsins) and vision in dim light (rhodopsin). While previous studies have suggested that mammals might express opsin proteins outside the eye, there was little information on what functions they might influence.
A study published Oct. 10 in Current Biology has now found that a type of opsin known as neuropsin is expressed in the hair follicles of mice and synchronize the skin’s circadian clock to the light-dark cycle, independent of the eyes or brain.
Outfield Technologies is a Cambridge-based agri-tech start-up company which uses drones and artificial intelligence, to help fruit growers maximise their harvest from orchard crops.
Outfield Technologies’ founders Jim McDougall and Oli Hilbourne have been working with Ph.D. student Tom Roddick from the Department’s Machine Intelligence Laboratory to develop their technology capabilities to be able to count the blossoms and apples on a tree via drones surveying enormous apple orchards.
“An accurate assessment of the blossom or estimation of the harvest allows growers to be more productive, sustainable and environmentally friendly”, explains Outfield’s commercial director Jim McDougall.