CRISPR DNA editing is allowing correction of many diseases. But many other diseases are linked to RNA. Biotech startup Locana is using the power of CRISPR to develop treatments for disease caused by RNA. They use a technique for tracking RNA in live cells called RNA-targeting Cas9 (RCas9). In a new study, published August 10 …
Gene-edited piglets have been cleaned of viruses that might cause disease in humans. There were 33,600 organ transplants last year in the USA, and 116,800 patients on waiting lists and there are around one billion pigs in the world. 100 million pigs are killed each year in the USA for food. A few tens of …
Ad Astra is working to boost the endurance of the Vasimr plasma rocket to 100 hours of continuous firing at a power level of 100 kilowatts, by 2018. Ad Astra Rocket Company has successfully completed all contract milestones and deliverables for the second of its three-year Next Space Technology Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) contract with NASA. …
A shot of klotho, a hormone associated with longevity, seems to make mice smarter. Klotho is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. More than two decades ago, Japanese researchers discovered that this hormone plays a role in aging. People with more klotho in their body, tend to live longer and to retain more of …
Patagotitan mayorum, the long-necked behemoth lived about 102 million years ago and was likely more than 120 feet long and weighed 69 tons, or about the same as 12 African elephants (the current largest land dweller). By those numbers, Patagotitan just edges out the previous “largest dinosaur ever,” another titanosaur called Dreadnoughtus. Researchers describes a …
Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), that can generate any cell type of interest for treatment within the patient’s own body. This technology may be used to repair injured tissue or restore function of aging tissue, including organs, blood vessels and nerve cells. “By using our novel nanochip technology, injured or compromised organs can be replaced. We have …
AquaBounty Technologies in Maynard, Massachusetts, announced last week that it has sold about 4.5 tonnes of GM salmon fillets to unnamed customers in Canada – where the authorities last year gave approval for the produce to be sold as food. Aquabounty received regulatory approval from Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last year, …
Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) has a cartful of equipment which they call a biological teleporter. The equipment can print out the entire DNA for a virus or a bacteria in a completely automated process. SGI’s BioXP 3200, a commercial DNA printer, forms the heart of the digital-to-biological converter. When Gibson, sitting in his office, sends …
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen to produce clean energy can be simplified with a single catalyst developed by scientists at Rice University and the University of Houston. The electrolytic film produced at Rice and tested at Houston is a three-layer structure of nickel, graphene and a compound of iron, manganese and phosphorus. The foamy …
The first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon. Three previous reports of editing human embryos were all published by scientists in China. The US work is believed to have broken new ground both in the number of …
Elon Musk says Mark Zuckerberg’s understanding of Artificial Intelligence is limited. Elon Musk has warned that there needed to be regulation on AI development before it’s too late. “I keep sounding the alarm bell, but until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don’t know how to react, because it seems so …