Lifeboat Foundation

The photos look like space art, but they’re 100% real.

Next Generation Biomanufacturing Technologies — Dr. Leonard Tender, Ph.D. — Biological Technologies Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — DARPA

Dr. Leonard Tender, Ph.D. is a Program Manager in the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA (https://www.darpa.mil/staff/dr-leonar…) where his research interests include developing new methods for user-defined control of biological processes, and climate and supply chain resilience.

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A nice study by Hoffmann et al. where nanobodies were inserted into various locations on adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids. The authors also ablated hepatocyte tropism by mutating the heparan binding domain of the AAVs. These strategies greatly enhanced cell type specific targeting (in vitro).

Abstract. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has been remarkably successful in the clinic, but its broad tropism is a practical limitation of precision gene therapy. A promising path to engineer AAV tropism is the addition of binding domains to the AAV capsid that recognize cell surface markers present on a targeted cell type. We have recently identified two previously unexplored capsid regions near the 2/5-fold wall and 5-fold pore of the AAV capsid that are amenable to insertion of larger protein domains, including nanobodies. Here, we demonstrate that these hotspots facilitate AAV tropism switching through simple nanobody replacement without extensive optimization in both VP1 and VP2. Our data suggest that engineering VP2 is the preferred path for maintaining both virus production yield and infectivity. We demonstrate highly specific targeting of human cancer cells expressing fibroblast activating protein (FAP). Furthermore, we found that the combination of FAP nanobody insertion plus ablation of the heparin binding domain can reduce off-target infection to a minimum, while maintaining a strong infection of FAP receptor-positive cells. Taken together, our study shows that nanobody swapping at multiple capsid locations is a viable strategy for nanobody-directed cell-specific AAV targeting.

The solutions to these long-standing problems could further enhance our understanding of symmetries of structures and objects in nature and science, and of long-term behavior of various random processes arising in fields ranging from chemistry and physics to engineering, computer science and economics.

A Rutgers University-New Brunswick professor who has devoted his career to resolving the mysteries of higher mathematics has solved two separate, fundamental problems that have perplexed mathematicians for decades.

New research from North Carolina State University shows that unique materials with distinct properties akin to those of gecko feet – the ability to stick to just about any surface – can be created by harnessing liquid-driven chaos to produce soft polymer microparticles with hierarchical branching on the micro-and nanoscale.

The findings, published today (October 14, 2019) in the journal Nature Materials, hold the potential for advances in gels, pastes, foods, nonwovens, and coatings, among other formulations.

The soft dendritic particle materials with unique adhesive and structure-building properties can be created from a variety of polymers precipitated from solutions under special conditions, says Orlin Velev, S. Frank and Doris Culberson Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the paper.

The pace of engineering and science is speeding up, rapidly leading us toward a “Technological Singularity” — a point in time when superintelligent machines achieve and improve so much so fast, traditional humans can no longer operate at the forefront. However, if all goes well, human beings may still flourish greatly in their own ways in this unprecedented era.

If humanity is going to not only survive but prosper as the Singularity unfolds, we will need to understand that the Technological Singularity is an Experiential Singularity as well, and rapidly evolve not only our technology but our level of compassion, ethics and consciousness.

The aim of The Consciousness Explosion is to help curious and open-minded readers wrap their brains around these dramatic emerging changes– and empower readers with tools to cope and thrive as they unfold.

To realize the full potential of DNA nanotechnology in nanoelectronics applications requires addressing a number of scientific and engineering challenges: how to create and manipulate DNA nanostructures? How to use them for surface patterning and integrating heterogeneous materials at the nanoscale? And how to use these processes to produce electronic devices at lower cost and with better performance? These topics are the focus of a recent reviewarticle.

Part of the delight in reading science fiction is seeing how real science can be extrapolated to envision future technologies, whether here on Earth or in extraterrestrial environments. Starships are a ubiquitous presence in science fiction and a prototypical example of technology that can stimulate the imagination of future scientists and engineers. As a materials scientist, I am particularly intrigued by the role of various materials (metals, ceramics, glasses, polymers, nanomaterials, etc.) in building the starships of tomorrow.

The purpose of this science-meets-science fiction initiative, which we are calling Project Starship, is to deepen the connection between the scientific and science fiction communities, helping to stimulate new interest in both fields. To kick off this series of articles, Grimdark Magazine reached out to three leading voices in dark science fiction to explore the materials required for designing the starships from within their fictional universes. First up is Graham McNeill, a British novelist best known for his Warhammer 40k novels, including Nightbringer. Next is Richard Swan, critically acclaimed author of the dark science fiction trilogy, The Art of War. Finally, Essa Hansen is author of the dark science fiction series, The Graven, which begins with the critically acclaimed Nophek Gloss.

The Anatomy of a Starship.

Next-generation technologies, such as leading-edge memory storage solutions and brain-inspired neuromorphic computing systems, could touch nearly every aspect of our lives — from the gadgets we use daily to the solutions for major global challenges. These advances rely on specialized materials, including ferroelectrics — materials with switchable electric properties that enhance performance and energy efficiency.

A research team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a novel technique for creating precise atomic arrangements in ferroelectrics, establishing a robust framework for advancing powerful new technologies. The findings are published in Nature Nanotechnology (“On-demand nanoengineering of in-plane ferroelectric topologies”).

“Local modification of the atoms and electric dipoles that form these materials is crucial for new information storage, alternative computation methodologies or devices that convert signals at high frequencies,” said ORNL’s Marti Checa, the project’s lead researcher. “Our approach fosters innovations by facilitating the on-demand rearrangement of atomic orientations into specific configurations known as topological polarization structures that may not naturally occur.” In this context, polarization refers to the orientation of small, internal permanent electric fields in the material that are known as ferroelectric dipoles.