Uncategorized Tuesday, 2015/08/25
Caution urged over editing DNA in wildlife (intentionally or not) A work describing the use of a gene-editing technique to insert a mutation into fruit files that would be passed on to almost all of its offspring has brought the concern about bioengineering in to a more fierce debate. A lot of scientists feel uneasy about this study: what if the engineered creature escaped from the lab? The mutation might spread quickly through a wild population and the effect would be far beyond imagination. Scientists are trying to develop a system that could make it easier to study genetic changes in organisms that are difficult to breed in the lab. But questions concerned these preparations also aroused: how can we test such a system? How can we do it safely?
Octopus genome holds clues to uncanny intelligence The octopus genome helps explain how a mere mollusc evolved into an otherworldly being. It’s the first sequenced genome from octopus, something like an alien. The work was carried out by researchers from couples of universities like the University of Chicago. The scientists investigated gene expression in twelve different types of octopus tissue in the meantime. It turns out that the octopus genome is almost as large as a human’s. Scientists identified six genes for proteins called reflectins. These alter the way light reflects from the octopus, allowing the appearance to change color-one of the several ways adopted by octopus to disguise itself. Another discovery gave a suggest that the genome contains systems that can allow tissues to rapidly modify proteins to change their functions.
Nanotube implants show diagnostic potential Nowadays, scientists are trying to develop tiny devices made from carbon nanotubes to detect biologically important compounds like insulin, the blood-clotting protein fibrinogen and nitric oxide. Tested in mice, the devices were proved to be safe for the introduction in to the bloodstream or implant under skin. The nanotube-polymer complex could measure levels of large molecules, which, however, is difficult for current technologies. In the aim of developing a sensing platform that can monitor a whole range of molecules, and doing it in the long term, scientists made great effort. But further studies are still needed for the actual application.