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The personal genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe is perhaps best known for its home DNA testing kits, whereby consumers can learn about their genetic make-up or ancestry.

However, after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic, the company switched gears and looked to see how their gene testing services could offer a helping hand in understanding the disease’s pathophysiology.

One aspect of COVID-19 that has puzzled scientists and clinicians alike is why, when infected with SARS-CoV-2, do some patients display mild to moderate symptoms (or no symptoms at all), whereas other patients develop severe symptoms that can prove fatal?

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Their new approach to 3D bioprinting and allows for non-invasive tissue growth and wound healing. It works through injecting bioink cells, the additive material traditionally used in 3D bioprinting, under the skin and using near-infrared light to penetrate the tissue and transfer customizable building designs — like an ear or an abstract shape — to newly injected cells.

The ear began to form in just 20 seconds.

Using a new approach to 3D bioprinting researchers have designed a way to non-invasively grow a wide range of customizable tissue under living skin.

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Everyone knows that the great and power omnipresent mushroom that lives across the universe able to survive even in space.

Researchers have elucidated the molecular mechanism of the fungus that turns ants into living zombies. The fungus specifically affects the ants’ neurobiology, odor perception and biological clock. The Utrecht microbiologist Robin Ohm publishes this, together with American and German colleagues, in G3.

The Ophiocordyceps camponoti-floridani can infect and manipulate their in a way that is beneficial for fungus growth and transmission. These infected ants are called “zombie ants.” Influenced by the fungus, the ants climb to a high point and bite into a branch, attaching themselves until death. The fungus then digests the ant and forms a fruitbody with which the fungus spreads its spores. The behind this behavioral modification are still largely unknown, as in similar parasitic interactions in which the behavior of a host is manipulated.

“We can realistically recreate this interaction between the fungus and the ant in the lab. We have sequenced the genome of the fungus and determined all its . This gives us an important tool with which we can examine this system in detail,” says fungal researcher Robin Ohm of Utrecht University. “We then looked at the expression of all genes in the fungus and the ant during the behavioral modification. In this way, you get a good picture of the genes of both the fungus and the ant that may be involved in the behavioral modification.”

Continue reading “How a fungus turns ants into zombies” | >

In May, NASA announced its intent to “establish a common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space” referred to as the Artemis Accords.[1,2] The Accords were released initially as draft principles, to be developed and implemented through a series of bilateral agreements with international partners.

The Accords offer the possibility to advance practical implementations of long-held principles in the Outer Space Treaty (OST). They raise a rich set of policy questions as we begin to take the law into new levels of resolution. This bold pursuit of uncharted territories is to be applauded, and yet, there is also the risk of diverging from 53 years of international law.

One the ten principles is focused on Deconfliction of Activities, with “safety zones” named as a specific mechanism of implementation:

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Imagine working in the hot streets of Manila in the early 1990s. You are a butcher, slaving away in a loud, humid market for long hours. You only make several dollars a day to support a large family.

One evening, you are holding a Pepsi bottle cap in your hand. On it is a number. You bought several of these sodas in hopes of winning a big $40,000 giveaway at the end of the promotion. This money could change your family’s life. It is a mountain of earnings in a world of limited opportunities. You watch as Pepsi begins reading off the winners on TV.

Suddenly, you realize you’ve won. Incredulous, you quadruple check your numbers. The number is accurate. Your heart begins racing as you rush to call your wife and kids. However, you, and many winners like you, will never see that money. But at least you won’t lose your life, like some.

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Guessing things are about to get dicey.

Texas reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Monday as the governor plans to reopen more businesses and double capacity.

Texas Department of State Health Services figures show 1,935 people were admitted as hospital patients for coronavirus-related treatment. That is up from a previous record of 1,888 on May 5.

The department’s new figures were released as Gov. Greg Abbott moves forward with a plan to open bars, restaurants, amusement parks and other businesses to 50% capacity.

Continue reading “Texas Reports Record-Breaking COVID-19 Hospitalizations As State Reopens” | >