Lifeboat Foundation

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Who needs a mate? Certainly not a female Komodo dragon at a Tennessee zoo.

Researchers have recently discovered two of the genes that govern this weird-looking salamander’s ability to regenerate limbs, eyes, and even its brain.

(TT) — Psilocybin, the active ingredient in the most commonly used psychedelic mushrooms, is coming closer to becoming a mainstream treatment for depression.

Everybody feels negative emotions once in a while, but these emotions have a stronger effect on your health than you may realize. Every time you think about regrets, experience resentment or replay bad memories in your head, your body suffers just as much as your mind. That’s why harboring negative emotions can lead to devastating long-term disease.

But there is one simple solution: forgiveness. Trouble is, our culture seems to perceive forgiveness as a sign of weakness, submission, or both. This makes it harder to actually do the work to forgive people who’ve done you harm.

Synthetic biology researchers at Northwestern University have developed a system that can rapidly create cell-free ribosomes in a test tube, then select the ribosome that can perform a certain function.

The system, called ribosome synthesis and evolution (RISE), is an important step toward using ribosomes beyond their natural capabilities. The key feature of RISE is the ability to evolve ribosomes without cell viability constraints. The result could be new ways to synthesize materials, like nylon, or therapies, like new antibiotics that could address rising antibiotic resistance.

“Ribosomes have an extraordinary capability as the protein synthesis machinery of the cell,” said Michael Jewett, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and director of the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, who led the research. “But to synthesize proteins beyond those found in nature, we have to design and modify the ribosome to work with non-natural substrates. Developing ribosomes in vitro is an important part of that system, and we are very excited to have this new capability.”

Authorities in China step up surveillance and roll out new artificial intelligence tools to fight deadly epidemic.

Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2005;287:1–30.

In addition to the SARS coronavirus (treated separately elsewhere in this volume), the complete genome sequences of six species in the coronavirus genus of the coronavirus family [avian infectious bronchitis virus-Beaudette strain (IBV-Beaudette), bovine coronavirus-ENT strain (BCoV-ENT), human coronavirus-229E strain (HCoV-229E), murine hepatitis virus-A59 strain (MHV-A59), porcine transmissible gastroenteritis-Purdue 115 strain (TGEV-Purdue 115), and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus-CV777 strain (PEDV-CV777)] have now been reported. Their lengths range from 27,317 nt for HCoV-229E to 31,357 nt for the murine hepatitis virus-A59, establishing the coronavirus genome as the largest known among RNA viruses.

Cells can both survive and multiply under more stress than previously thought, shows research from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

This was found by inhibiting the essential gene DNA polymerase alpha, or POLA1, which initiates DNA replication during cell division.

The discovery gives researchers new insights into DNA replication and may potentially be used for a new type of cancer treatment. Research Leader and Associate Professor Luis Toledo of the Center for Chromosome Stability at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine states as follows:

I think so.

A handful of clinical trials are underway to find out whether drugs that target senescent cells can slow the ravages of old age.