Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 2653
Jun 9, 2016
Physicists confirm there’s a second layer of information hidden in our DNA
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, physics
Theoretical physicists have confirmed that it’s not just the information coded into our DNA that shapes who we are — it’s also the way DNA folds itself that controls which genes are expressed inside our bodies.
That’s something biologists have known for years, and they’ve even been able to figure out some of the proteins responsible for folding up DNA. But now a group of physicists have been able to demonstrate for the first time through simulations how this hidden information controls our evolution.
Let’s back up for a second here, because although it’s not necessarily news to many scientists, this second level of DNA information might not be something you’re familiar with.
Continue reading “Physicists confirm there’s a second layer of information hidden in our DNA” »
Jun 9, 2016
Digital Currency Tech Will as Be Transformative as the Internet
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: biotech/medical, bitcoin, business, computing, cryptocurrencies, finance, health, internet
Exponential Finance celebrates the incredible opportunity at the intersection of technology and finance. Watch live as hundreds of the world’s leading investors, entrepreneurs and innovators gather in New York to define the future of the way we do business.
In Bitcoin’s early years computer scientists and early adopters were running the show. Now, a new community of academics, entrepreneurs, and economists, are working with cryptocurrencies and blockchain to bring the technology to a new set of diverse applications.
From building peer-to-peer networks for secure data computation and storage to decentralized content management systems that give patients access to health-care records across hospital databases, blockchain and digital currencies are starting to rewrite the rules of the 21st century transaction.
Continue reading “Digital Currency Tech Will as Be Transformative as the Internet” »
Jun 9, 2016
Engineered pathogen-binding protein enables rapid isolation of infectious bacteria from joint fluids
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics
Very cool.
Pinpointing the type of bacteria that are at the root of an infection in clinical samples removed from living tissues, such as blood, urine or joint fluids, to quickly identify the best anti-microbial therapy still poses a formidable challenge. The standard method of culturing can take days to reveal pathogens, and they often fail to bring them to light altogether.
A team lead by Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University now reports a method in PLoS, which enables the rapid isolation and concentration of infectious bacteria from complex clinical samples to help speed up bacterial identification, and it should be able to accelerate the determination of antibiotic susceptibilities as well.
Jun 9, 2016
This Man Wants to Treat Diseases with Grain-Size Implants
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology
Jun 9, 2016
Want To Stay Healthy? You’ll Need To Become A Human-Animal Hybrid
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, health
No thanks.
Biologists have been mixing the DNA of different animals since the 1970s, but the idea of injecting the genes of animals into humans remains taboo. Called transgenics, it’s a practice that could cure illness in the future — and eventually reshape our species. Here’s what you need to know about it.
Illustration by Jim Cooke.
Continue reading “Want To Stay Healthy? You’ll Need To Become A Human-Animal Hybrid” »
Jun 9, 2016
Living computers and nano-robots: what’s the future for DNA manipulation?
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, computing, nanotechnology, robotics/AI
Jun 9, 2016
Using Adenosine Triphosphate to Create Biological Super-Computers
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, computing, engineering, nanotechnology, sustainability
Machines running on human energy? Yes, it can happen, according to Dan Nicolau, Jr. from the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California. Nicolau and his colleagues successfully completed a proof-of-concept study of a book-sized computer that runs on adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a biochemical that releases energy in cells and aids in energy transfer.
The study results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), describe the combination of geometrical modeling and engineering as well as nanotechnology to create circuitry that uses 1.5 × 1.5 cm in area and the naturally occurring protein to operate.
A More Sustainable Option
Continue reading “Using Adenosine Triphosphate to Create Biological Super-Computers” »
Jun 9, 2016
Life Extension, Insilico Medicine team up to identify novel biomarkers of human aging
Posted by Bruno Henrique de Souza in categories: biotech/medical, health, information science, life extension
Jun 8, 2016
Air pollution can mess up your brain
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, health, life extension, neuroscience
I am not surprised at all by this finding given the other issues with pollution such as cancer from carcinogens, asthma, sinus infections, etc.
Air pollution is a known culprit in lung and heart disease. Fine particulate matter, tiny particles, 1/30th the width of a human hair, are released into the air by power plants, factories, cars and trucks. These fine particles somehow invade the body’s defenses and do the most damage. Air quality is worst in urban areas with increased traffic. New research points out that air pollution negatively affects brain and cognitive development in young children and teenagers.
Moreover, Jennifer Weuve, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Rush Medical College, found that older women who had been exposed to high levels of the pollution experienced greater cognitive decline compared with other women their age (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2012). Other studies cite black carbon in the form of soot as a cause of cognitive decline in an aging population for both men and women. Simply put: Dirty air messes up the brain.
