Biologist’s Mother’s Day Song
I’m just catching up on the DIY bio mailing list and saw this video. A great little tune that the scientifically-minded should like.
Self-replicating “artificial life” now possible
The J C Venter Institute announced today that they have finally managed to create self-replicating artificial life. Here is the full report. “This is the first time any synthetic DNA has been in complete control of a cell,” Dr Venter
Test started for cancer vaccine that can reverse malignant melanoma
I’m always a bit skeptical of such feel good articles when this is just an announcement about a test, but according to the UK’s Daily Mail, “The treatment, which will be tested on British patients over the next few months,
Found: Methuselah genes. Drugs to target them are next?
According to the UK Times: “Scientists have discovered the “Methuselah” genes whose lucky carriers have a much improved chance of living to 100 even if they indulge in an unhealthy lifestyle. The genes appear to protect people against the effects
Longevity pill in the near future?
Professor Nir Barzilai from New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine recently said that he thinks a longevity pill will be ready for testing in two years. He told London’s Sun newspaper that “Pharmaceutical companies are developing these drugs now.
DNA robots can walk and follow instructions
This is a great summary article on the newly announced “robots” made out of DNA. Until now, such experiments had yielded molecular novelties, from smiley faces so small that a billion can fit in a teaspoon to molecule-size boxes with
Galileo 2.0: Here Comes Another Apology
During his homily this Easter, Pope Benedict argued that medical science, in trying to defeat death, is leading humanity toward likely condemnation. It’s a position at odds with the value of life, one that the Church will likely revise years
94 years old and ready to graduate from college
What a great story in today’s SF Chronicle. Hazel Soares now 94, has been married twice, raised six kids, seen two economic depressions, 15 U.S. presidents and two world wars. She’s been a working single mother, a nurse, a concert
Worm’s regeneration ability unravelled by scientists
From the Telegraph: The research into how Planarian worms can regrow body parts – including a whole head and brain – could one day make it possible to regenerate old or damaged human organs and tissues, the University of Nottingham
Scientists edge closer to printing human tissue
This is a great article on organ printing by Cnet. Organovo is working on blood vessels before attempting to print larger organs since oxygen is an issue.
A gene that controls racism?
A gene that controls racism appears to exist. However, if you disable it, you get something called Williams syndrome, a disorder where people have problems identifying others with malevolent intentions. Here’s the story, which cites research from Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg of
Pope Benedict rejects life extension efforts
In his Easter homily, Pope Benedict argues that attempting to prolong life is not a goal worthy of our efforts. Here’s how he put it: Modern medical science strives, if not exactly to exclude death, at least to eliminate as
Life expectancy grows 6 hours each day
Interesting press release from Duke University: “Over the past 170 years, in the countries with the highest life expectancies, the average life span has grown at a rate of 2.5 years per decade, or about 6 hours per day….It is
Immortalizing cells at U Texas
From the WSJ: “Scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and others have shown they can keep certain types of cells living forever, including those from the breast, skin, retina and, recently, the colon, by adding
Using algae to produce human therapeutic proteins?
“That’s the conclusion of a study, published online this week in Plant Biotechnology Journal, which sought to determine whether seven diverse human therapeutic proteins could be produced in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green alga used widely in biology laboratories as a
Disease Cause Is Pinpointed With Genome
The NYT has a great story today about how the genome can be used to identify the cause of disease. Read more here.
Ever wondered what Singularity University is like?
Here is a fantastic article in CNET News today describing one student’s journey. The “student” in question is Rob Nail, an entrepreneur who “helped start Velocity11, which built robotics and automation equipment for cancer research and drug discovery, and as
New surgical bone screw biodegrades in two years
From CNET News: “This month, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen, Germany, are unveiling a new type of screw that not only biodegrades within two years but actually encourages bone growth
Organ printing industry moves forward
Scientists have been experimenting with “printing” various types of human tissue for years now, often using their own tricked-out devices. The Economist has a great article on a company that is now making printers specifically for this purpose. In addition,
DIY genetic engineering
Great article on the topic from the NYT. This sentence is of interest: Ideally you wouldn’t even need to know anything about DNA to manipulate it, just as a 5-year-old doesn’t need to understand the chemical composition of the plastic