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Biomedical engineers at Duke University, North Carolina, have developed a method for improving the accuracy of CRISPR genome editing by an average of 50-fold. They believe it can be easily translated to any of the technology’s continually expanding formats.

The approach adds a short tail to the guide RNA which is used to identify a sequence of DNA for editing. This added tail folds back and binds onto itself, creating a “lock” that can only be undone by the targeted DNA sequence.

“CRISPR is generally incredibly accurate, but there are examples that have shown off-target activity, so there’s been broad interest across the field in increasing specificity,” said Charles Gersbach, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke. “But the solutions proposed thus far cannot be easily translated between different CRISPR systems.”

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New work raises the estimated diversity of viruses in the seas more than twelvefold and lays the groundwork for a better understanding of their impact on global.

The eyes of the world turned to Messier 87 earlier this month when scientists released the first ever image of a black hole. And this image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope shows more about the giant galaxy in which the now-famous black hole resides.

The imaged black hole was truly gargantuan, with a mass equivalent to 6.5 billion times that of our Sun. And the galaxy surrounding it, Messier 87, is equally huge. Known as a supergiant elliptical galaxy, it is one of the most massive galaxies in the universe and hosts a large number of globular clusters.

The image captured by Spitzer shows the galaxy in infrared, as opposed to the radio wavelengths used to capture the black hole image. The infrared light coming from the galaxy at wavelengths of 3.6 and 4.5 microns is shown in blue and green, which is what marks the stars in the image. The areas of red are dust features which glow with a wavelength of 8.0 microns.

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To understand them well, look to the past.

Chinese scientists have developed a new heat-resistant material for hypersonic aircraft, as it can endure over 3,000 C from friction caused by a Mach 5–20 flight within the atmosphere.

A lead scientist said the material outperforms all similar foreign-made ones with its high melting point, low density and high malleability.

The new material enables a hypersonic aircraft to fly at Mach 5–20 within the atmosphere for several hours, as the high heat resulting from the friction between the aircraft and the air reaches between 2,000 C to 3,000 C, a temperature normal metal would not be able to endure.

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A ground-breaking fusion reactor built by Chinese scientists is underscoring Beijing’s determination to be at the core of clean energy technology, as it eyes a fully-functioning plant by 2050.

ALLENDALE, Mich. (WOOD) — West Michigan scouts gathered Saturday at the Consumers Energy’s Solar Garden in Allendale to learn about sustainability and how they can be good stewards of the earth.

At the event, the scouts learned how their choices have an impact on the environment.

“The sustainability merit badge is actually quite a tough one to do, it requires a lot of thinking, a lot of planning,” said John Miller, Western Michigan University professor and merit badge counselor. “That’s part of what scouting is about is having the youth learn that they can effect change.”

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Achieving these goals for the science division will be challenging. The WHO has a surprisingly small budget for its outsized role, and must work hard to secure consensus and cooperation from funders and member countries. However, all agree on the urgency of these tasks, and the need to come together and realize them. Greater coordination of science activities within the WHO will help to make that happen.

Soumya Swaminathan explains how the World Health Organization’s new science division can promote universal health coverage in all countries.

The AeroGarden Harvest is intuitive and easy to use, and being able to say you grew the herbs or tomatoes in your dishes is pretty cool.