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Tag Archives: genetic modification
Optogenetics: Controlling live neurons with light
“We can activate or inactivate individual neurons or muscle cells, essentially turning the worm into a virtual biorobot.” Dr. Aravinthan D. T. Samuel, professor of physics at Harvard Center for Brain Science (Massachusetts, USA) is talking about optogenetics, one of the newest fields in science. The pioneer work was done around 2002. The name, optogenetics, [...]
Posted in News: Neuroscience Also tagged biorobot, C. elegans, genetics, GM, laser, neuron, optical control, optics, optogenetics, photonics Leave a comment
Genetically modified yeast cells as electronic circuits
Circuit breakers, oscillators and sensors – familiar components for electronic circuits; made of yeast cells – not so familiar. That’s where the synthetic biology research at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) is heading. As described in a paper published in Nature [Distributed biological computation with multicellular engineered networks] an international team led Stefan Hohmann created [...]
Posted in News: Computer Power Also tagged biological computer, circuit, CPU, logic, molecular biology, synthetic biology, yeast Leave a comment
Sci-Fi movie review: Splice
[Splice. Directed by Vincenzo Natali. Released June, 2010. DVD/Blu-Ray released. As usual, the review contains many spoilers.] By the end it’s obvious Splice is a gothic horror movie. As science fiction it does have a modern biochemistry lab for a set, at least in the beginning; and the story is about gene splicing and synthetic [...]
Posted in Review Also tagged Frankenstein, gene splicing, genetics, science fiction, Splice, synthetic life Leave a comment
New technique: DNA transfer to overcome mitochondrial genetic diseases
Most of the time when something refers to genetics, it’s assumed this means the DNA found in the nucleus of cells. However, in one of the three domains of life, Eukarya (all plants and animals), DNA is also found in the mitochondria of cells. One or more mitochondria are found in all eukaryotic cells, where [...]
Posted in Impact: Genetic Modification Also tagged DNA, embryo, Eukarya, gene, genetics, mitochondria, mitochondrial myopathy Leave a comment
Oil production from living bacteria
In the attempt to find alternative sources of energy, scientists are probing possibilities in almost the entire world of life. This includes plant life, of course, with trees, corn (maize), switch grass, and other crops in the list. It also includes smaller forms of plant life, in particular algae. Even smaller forms of life and [...]
Posted in News: Alternative Energy Also tagged alternative energy, bioengineering, cyanobacteria, DNA, fatty acid, lipid, thioesterase Leave a comment
Finally(?)…artificially making blood stem cells in quantity
This story begins with an insight: The cells of a vascular system (veins, arteries, capillaries) – called endothelial cells – do more than make up the tissue that transports blood; they also play a role in maintaining blood (hematopoietic) stem cells by producing novel stem-cell-growth factors. A research team at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute [...]
Posted in News: Stem Cells Also tagged adult cells, endothelial cells, hematopoietic, stem cells, vascular Leave a comment
Can culture change the genome?
Almost from the beginning of our knowledge of genetics, it’s been asked, “Can the way we (humans) live change our genetics?” These days this is much the same as asking if culture can change the genome. It’s actually a relatively old question. The question got its biggest boost from one who is now a boogeyman [...]
Radical thinking in agriculture needed
A new report, published online in the journal Science, titled “Radically Rethinking Agriculture for the 21st Century” was prepared by sixteen top specialists in population, climate, agriculture, and food genetics. They represented a mixture of academics, corporations (Monsanto, DuPont), and government scientists. The report was first presented to the U.S. State Department in 2009. Three [...]
Posted in News: Genetic Modification Also tagged agriculture, climate change, food shortage, global warming, GM, overpopulation, USDA Leave a comment
Starting an open-source BIOFAB
Saying “We now need to move beyond Lego™ metaphors and genetic toys to professional technologies,” the realization of a common repository for biogenetic components – the stuff of which genetic modifications and synthetic biology are made – is launched. The name given to the International Open Facility Advancing Biotechnology is BIOFAB, the combination of biology [...]
Posted in News: Genetic Modification Also tagged bioengineering, BIOFAB, biotechnology, genes, synthetic biology Leave a comment
GM (Gene Modified) squash crops win some, lose some
It can be the biological equivalent of “whack-a-mole.” Use gene modification to produce crops that have resistance to one disease, and the modification creates crops more vulnerable to another disease. Here’s a specific example.
Nanoparticles boost plant growth
Nanotechnology used in agriculture – nano-agriculture. Now there’s another hyphenated word to consider. Perhaps it belongs in the same thought with genetic modification (GM), perhaps not. In any case, nano-agriculture is not a slow growth field of research. “Nanotechnology is predicted to transform the entire food industry, changing the way food is produced, processed, packaged, [...]
Reprogramming cells: The post stem cell future?