Lifeboat Foundation

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most prevalent genetic disorders in humans. The use of new approaches in genetic engineering and nanotechnology methods in combination with natural cellular phenomenon can modify the disease in affected people. We consider two CRISPR/Cas9 systems to cut a specific region from short arm of the chromosome 21 (Chr21) and replace it with a novel designed DNA construct, containing the essential genes in chromatin remodeling for inactivating of an extra Chr21. This requires mimicking of the natural cellular pattern for inactivation of the extra X chromosome in females. By means of controlled dosage of an appropriate Nano-carrier (a surface engineered Poly D, L-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) for integrating the relevant construct in Trisomy21 brain cell culture media and then in DS mouse model, we would be able to evaluate the modification and the reduction of the active extra Chr21 and in turn reduce substantial adverse effects of the disease, like intellectual disabilities. The hypothesis and study seek new insights in Down syndrome modification.

Keywords: Down syndrome, CRISPR/Cas9, Designed DNA construct, Poly D L-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA), Nano-carrier, Chromosome 21 inactivation.

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Adopting electrostatic assembly processes where the nanoparticles attach themselves to an oppositely charged surface is a possible way out of this dilemma. Once a monolayer is formed, the nanoparticles self-limit further assembly by repelling other similarly charged nanoparticles away from the surface. Unfortunately, this process can be very time-consuming.

While artificial methods struggle with these drawbacks, underwater adhesion processes found in nature have evolved into unique strategies to overcome this problem. In this regard, a team of researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, led by Ph.D. student Doeun Kim (first author) and Assistant Professor Hyeon-Ho Jeong (corresponding author), developed a “mussel-inspired” one-shot nanoparticle assembly technique that transports materials from water in microscopic volumes to 2-in. wafers in 10 seconds, while enabling 2D mono-layered assembly with excellent surface coverage of around 40%. Their work was published in Advanced Materials on April 18, 2024, and highlighted as a frontispiece.

“Our key approach to overcome the existing challenge came from observing how mussels reach the target surface against water. We saw that mussels simultaneously radiate amino acids to dissociate water molecules on the surface, enabling swift attachment of the chemical adhesive on the target surface. We realized that an analogous situation where we introduce excess protons to remove hydroxyl groups from the target surface, thus increasing the electrostatic attraction force between the nanoparticles and the surface and accelerating the assembly process,” said Ms. Kim when asked about the motivation behind the unique nature-inspired approach.

Unlock the potential of nanotechnology. Explore breakthroughs and challenges in energy, biomedicine, and more in our executive summary.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanometer-scale structures with immense potential to improve different materials, but inconsistencies in their chemical and electrical properties, purity, cost, and concerns over possible toxicity present ongoing challenges. CNTs are a one-dimensional carbon allotrope made of an sp2 hybridized carbon lattice in a cylindrical shape. Single-walled CNTs are a simple tube, while multi-walled CNTs are nested concentrically or wrapped like a scroll (Figure 1).

These nanoscale materials feature a high Young’s modulus and tensile strength and can have either metallic or semiconducting electrical properties. Controlling their atomic arrangement (chirality) affects their conductivity, and because of this, researchers have been trying to understand how synthesis parameters can be used to generate CNTs with predictable electrical properties. The development of various chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-based recipes within the last 20 years to synthesize CNTs has improved this situation.

As we’ve seen in our analysis of the CAS Content Collection™, the world’s largest human-curated collection of published scientific information, the increase in patent activity indicates a high amount of interest in commercial applications for CNTs (Figure 2).

Discover the emerging landscape of single walled carbon nanotubes, the new applications and approaches across industries, and what future opportunities they offer.

Tumors that move to the brain are difficult to treat because of the brain-blood barrier that separates the brain from the rest of the body.

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have developed a nanoparticle that could one day be used to treat brain metastases.

Carbon nanotubes are one of the most elastically strong materials out there.

When I was a kid, I used to take allowance money and occasionally buy rubber-band-powered balsa wood airplanes at a local store. Maybe you’ve seen these. You wind up the rubber band, which stretches the elastomer and stores energy in the elastic strain of the polymer, as in Hooke’s Law (though I suspect the rubber band goes well beyond the linear regime when it’s really wound up, because of the higher order twisting that happens). Rhett Alain wrote about how well you can store energy like this. It turns out that the stored energy per mass of the rubber band can get pretty substantial.

Carbon nanotubes are one of the most elastically strong materials out there. A bit over a decade ago, a group at Michigan State did a serious theoretical analysis of how much energy you could store in a twisted yarn made from single-walled carbon nanotubes. They found that the specific energy storage could get as large as several MJ/kg, as much as four times what you get with lithium ion batteries!

Continue reading “Wind-up nanotechnology” »

“However, being an indirect semiconductor, its utilization in optoelectronics has been hindered by poor optical properties.”

“While silicon does not naturally emit light in its bulk form, porous and nanostructured silicon can produce detectable light after being exposed to visible radiation.”

Scientists have been aware of this phenomenon for decades, but the precise origins of the illumination have been the subject of debate.

Inside every plant, animal and human cell are billions of molecular machines. They’re made up of proteins, DNA and other molecules, but no single piece works on its own. Only by seeing how they interact together, across millions of types of combinations, can we start to truly understand life’s processes.

In a paper published in Nature, we introduce AlphaFold 3, a revolutionary model that can predict the structure and interactions of all life’s molecules with unprecedented accuracy. For the interactions of proteins with other molecule types we see at least a 50% improvement compared with existing prediction methods, and for some important categories of interaction we have doubled prediction accuracy.

We hope AlphaFold 3 will help transform our understanding of the biological world and drug discovery. Scientists can access the majority of its capabilities, for free, through our newly launched AlphaFold Server, an easy-to-use research tool. To build on AlphaFold 3’s potential for drug design, Isomorphic Labs is already collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to apply it to real-world drug design challenges and, ultimately, develop new life-changing treatments for patients.