Dec 4, 2015
Human gene editing gets green light
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: biotech/medical
Gene editing research can move forward, but not for reproductive purposes, international summit committee says.
Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 2666
Dec 3, 2015
Antidepressant may help prevent memory loss, dementia
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
The prescription antidepressant escitalopram (trademarked as Lexapro) shows promise as a deterrent to dementia.
Dec 3, 2015
Risks of mass toying with genes addressed at Cambridge conference
Posted by Valentina Lencautan in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, evolution, robotics/AI
While the global academic discussion focuses on the coverage of existential risks associated with the rise of a Skynet equivalent artificial intelligence; it is worth mentioning that there are divergent advances in biotech whichare as alarming and urgent as the rise of an all omnipotent and omnipresent AI. Those issues should be directed and scanned under a microscope because they are at our doorstep. We should note that the application of “wind tunnelling” towards new technologies is necessary to prepare for the future, and subsequently, we should mitigate the risks and anticipate the greatest threats associated with technology XYZ as well as the biggest opportunities.
If we recall the year 2011, virologist Ron Fouchier presented his enhanced version of the H5N1 which could create a pandemic of massive impact wiping out half the world population if not more. Fouchier was experimenting with the avian flu virus searching for virulence enhancing evolution paths. What he did is spread the virus throughout a population of ferrets, and it reproduced with an increase in its ability to adapt at each transformation; in ten generations, the airborne version gained so much in virility that it had the potential power to kill half of the human population.
A year after that, in 2012, CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering/editing tool was first shown to work in human cell culture. It allows scientists to edit genomes which binds and splices DNA at specific locations. The complex can be programmed to target a problematic gene, which is then replaced or repaired by another molecule introduced at the same time. A highly precise method. In the past years there has been much researchwere many researches conducted, e.g. the first monkeys with targeted mutations were born, and even editing methods for preventing HIV-1 infection in humans. What this means is the introduction of a complex randomness factor. If in the past a handful of people had access to genomic iterations and experimentation; now this fact is about to be change, releasing the proverbial genie from the bottle, with little ability to control it.
Dec 2, 2015
The Quest to Make CRISPR Even More Precise
Posted by Montie Adkins in category: biotech/medical
The new sexy beast on the block.
To fulfill its revolutionary promise, the gene-editing technique will need to be edited.
Dec 2, 2015
A Harvard professor says he can cure aging, but is that a good idea?
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: biotech/medical, life extension
Dec 2, 2015
MIT, Broad scientists overcome key CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing hurdle
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: biotech/medical
Researchers at MIT have engineered changes to the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system that significantly reduce “off-target” editing errors. In addition, a new enzyme, eSpCas9, will be useful for DNA editing requiring a high level of specificity.
Dec 2, 2015
The Chinese scientist behind the world’s biggest cloning factory believes he can replicate humans
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: biotech/medical
But cattle are only the beginning of chief executive Xu Xiaochun’s ambitions.
In the factory pipeline are also thoroughbred racehorses, as well as pet and police dogs, specialised in searching and sniffing.
Boyalife is already working with its South Korean partner Sooam and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to improve primate cloning capacity to create better test animals for disease research.
Dec 1, 2015
New AI ‘Gabriel’ wants to whisper instructions in your ear
Posted by Phillipe Bojorquez in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience, robotics/AI
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are building an AI platform that will “whisper” instructions in your ear to provide cognitive assistance. Named after Gabriel, the biblical messenger of God, the whispering robo-assistant can already guide you through the process of building a basic Lego object. But, the ultimate goal is to provide wearable cognitive assistance to millions of people who live with Alzheimer’s, brain injuries or other neurodegenerative conditions. For instance, if a patient forgets the name of a relative, Gabriel could whisper the name in their ear. It could also be programmed to help patients through everyday tasks that will decrease their dependence on caregivers.
For the software to exist as a working wearable assistant, it will need a head-mounted device to latch onto. For now, the team is using Google Glass for demos like a ping pong assistant, where the programs tells the user to hit the ball to the right or left depending on the position of the ball in relation to the opponent. In the video below, when the user follows the guidance it makes it harder for the opponent to defend the ball in the game.
Dec 1, 2015
Gene Editing: What Is It Good For?
Posted by Phillipe Bojorquez in categories: biotech/medical, food
The explosion of gene-editing methods is transforming medicine, agriculture, and possibly the future of the human species.
Dec 1, 2015
Biologists induce flatworms to grow heads and brains of other species
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience
Tufts biologists induced one species of flatworm —- G. dorotocephala, top left — to grow heads and brains characteristic of other species of flatworm, top row, without altering genomic sequence. Examples of the outcomes can be seen in the bottom row of the image. (credit: Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University.)
Tufts University biologists have electrically modified flatworms to grow heads and brains characteristic of another species of flatworm — without altering their genomic sequence. This suggests bioelectrical networks as a new kind of epigenetics (information existing outside of a genomic sequence) to determine large-scale anatomy.
Besides the overall shape of the head, the changes included the shape of the brain and the distribution of the worm’s adult stem cells.
