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Sep 29, 2018
Molecular switches are not just ‘on’ or ‘off’
Posted by Xavier Rosseel in categories: biological, genetics
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The GTPases constitute a very large protein family, whose members are involved in the control of cell growth, transport of molecules, synthesis of other proteins, etc. Despite the many functions of the GTPases, they follow a common cyclic pattern (Figure 1). The activity of the GTPases is regulated by factors that control their ability to bind and hydrolyse guanosine triphosphate (GTP) to guanosine diphosphate (GDP). So far, it has been the general assumption that a GTPase is active or “on” when it is bound to GTP and inactive or “off” in complex with GDP. The GTPases are therefore sometimes referred to as molecular “switches.”
The bacterial translational elongation factor EF-Tu is a GTPase, which plays a crucial role during the synthesis of proteins in bacteria, as the factor transports the amino acids that build up a cell’s proteins to the cellular protein synthesis factory, the ribosome. Previous structural studies using X-ray crystallography have shown that EF-Tu occurs in two markedly different three-dimensional shapes depending on whether the factor is “on” (i.e. bound to GTP) or “off” (i.e. bound to GDP) (Figure 2). The binding of GTP/GDP have therefore always been thought to be decisive for the factor’s structural conformation.
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Sep 29, 2018
In the Face of High Costs, DIYers Hope to Brew Their Own Insulin
Posted by Xavier Rosseel in category: biotech/medical
Home kits could one day allow diabetes patients to make their own insulin — potentially saving them thousands of dollars a year.
Sep 29, 2018
Gut sense: Neural superhighway conveys messages from gut to brain in milliseconds
Posted by Xavier Rosseel in category: neuroscience
Searching for a more direct connection between the gut and the brain, researchers were shocked to see that distance spanned by a single synapse, relaying the signal in less than 100 milliseconds, less than the blink of an eye. The finding has profound implications for the understanding of appetite and appetite suppressants, most of which target slow-acting hormones rather than fast-acting synapses.
Sep 29, 2018
Hundreds of academics at top UK universities accused of bullying
Posted by Steve Nichols in category: food
Is it time for cosy agricultural era universtites to be seriously disrupted with physical campuses abolished in this modern age when we are all Professor Googles, and when knowledge evolves faster than courses? Why pay rip off fees for information that is out of date before the end of three years?
Senior professors among 300 people alleged to have bullied students and colleagues.
Sep 29, 2018
A solid industrial perspective in the Geo-Lunar space
Posted by Adriano Autino in categories: 3D printing, habitats, satellites
Some industrial activities can give a ROI in a reasonable times. Recovery and reuse of space debris and wreckages, at least in its recovery part, is very much needed, for orbital safety. With proper orbital infrastructures, to capture debris, the logical next step will be to re-process them, getting powders for 3D printing, a platform for orbital ISRU, very first bricks of orbital factories. Assembly of satellites and vehicles in orbit is a large industrial perspective, that will decrease the cost of design, construction and launch: a first step towards a self sustaining space industrial development. There’s a number of in-orbit operations: transport and maintenance of satellites in orbit, refuelling stations, repair shops, orbital sites, orbital yards, spaceports, habitats. All the activities tied to space tourism, such as hotels and lodging facilities, passengers transportation systems (Earth-Orbit, inter-orbit, Earth-Moon). Products from zero gravity, asteroid and lunar mining are other very promising industrial activities, on which several startups were already born.
Priority to enabling technologies.
Sep 29, 2018
How to know if you’re affected by Facebook’s massive data breach
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: cybercrime/malcode, law enforcement
Answer: Quite possibly because Facebook’s already forced you to log out and back into your account today.
The news: Facebook said hackers exploited a software flaw to access the records of almost 50 million customers. The firm said it had fixed the vulnerability and reported the breach to law enforcement.
The hack: The company said that the hackers had exploited a coding glitch that affected the service’s “View As” feature, which lets people see what their own profile looks like when someone else takes a look at it online. This allowed them to get hold of digital “tokens,” which are software keys that let people access their account without having to log back in every time.
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Sep 29, 2018
‘I want to learn Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Where can I start?’
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: robotics/AI
I was working at the Apple Store and I wanted a change. To start building the tech I was servicing.
I began looking into Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
There’s so much going on in the field.
Sep 29, 2018
Meet the B.C. man who implants technology to increase his physical capabilities News
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, cryonics, cyborgs, mobile phones, robotics/AI, supercomputing, transhumanism
But where advocates like Foxx mostly see the benefits of transhumanism, some critics say it raises ethical concerns in terms of risk, and others point out its potential to exacerbate social inequality.
Foxx says humans have long used technology to make up for physical limitations — think of prosthetics, hearing aids, or even telephones. More controversial technology aimed to enhance or even extend life, like cryogenic freezing, is also charted terrain.
The transhumanist movement isn’t large, but Foxx says there is a growing awareness and interest in technology used to enhance or supplement physical capability.
Sep 28, 2018
People Who Give Up on Life Can Die From “Psychogenic Death,” Say Scientists
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
In a paper published in Medical Hypotheses a scientist at the University of Portsmouth in England has identified a syndrome called give-up-itis. Also called psychogenic death, he believes that this syndrome plagued prisoners of war in Korea for years.