Posted at 10:37 PM in Anti-Aging, Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Often, bottlenecks can appear across many areas of technology and are apparently resolved by a transformative technique or process. The latest achievement may overcome the obstacles researchers face inserting foreign elements into cells. Through the use of nanowires, scientists at Harvard University have systematised this difficulty:
[Hongkun] Park's lab recently discovered that cells can be grown on beds of vertical silicon nanowires without apparent damage to the cells. The cells sink into the nanowires and within an hour are impaled by the tiny spikes. Even resting on this bed of needles, cells continue to grow and divide normally. This setup makes it possible to directly interface with the cell's interior through the nanowires.
Early days, but a good sign that cell manipulation could become far easier in a few years.
Posted at 10:42 PM in Science - Biotech, Science - Nanotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
IBM aims to develop a chip that can sequence your genetic structure and bring portable, personalized medicine to the marketplace. The device is designated as a genome reader:
The genome reader is being designed as a silicon chip in which DNA is threaded through a pore in the chip and its characteristics are read out sequentially. The chip has tiny electrodes to produce electrical fields that can trap negatively charged DNA molecules, after which the chip will measure and sequence the DNA. Components integrated into the chip include chemical, physical and atomic layers that aid in evaluating the molecules and sequencing the genetic composition. A microprocessor, most likely residing outside the chip, would also be needed for DNA sequencing.
The DNA-reading chip might also be used for other biotechnology applications that involve sequencing human, animal, bacterial and vegetable DNA, Stolovitzky said.
I hate to use a cliché, but a step nearer Star Trek.
Posted at 06:18 AM in Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
If you are rich enough, you will be able to circumvent the prohibition and obtain the right to select the sex of your child. The Human Fertilisation and Embryological Authority bans the practice here, though their grounds are weak:
Britain’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority remains cautious, citing public opposition to sex selection. “In the US there is no official regulator to monitor clinics and no legal obligation to offer the counselling that is an important part of treatment,” a spokesman said. “Those who choose to go overseas for their treatment should make themselves aware of the laws and consider what impact there may be on any child that is subsequently born.”Public opposition is cited, alongside a nannyish presumption of in loco parentis. Public opposition is not a sufficient reason for curbing reproductive freedoms and gives a veto to lobbies who invoke the 'yuck' factor. The HFEA model of regulation never succeeded and medical practices should be allowed, except in cases of safety.
If Parliament wishes to outlaw a reproductive technology,then let it do so: otherwise, the presumption of freedom should prevail.
Posted at 08:58 AM in HFEA, Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: HFEA, reproductive freedom, sex selection
It is beginning to appear as if expenses without receipts is an addictive disease, since the continued contempt for the hand that feeds them can only be interpreted as a psychological disorder. When the old subsistence claim was scrapped, the Commons Estimates Committee passed a new benefit that was even more egregious than the old one. This does not fit with the rhetoric of a 'clean up'. But, knowing that this might be unpopular, they sneaked it out:
But the members estimate committee – including Harriet Harman, the Leader of
the House, – had drawn up rules that allowed MPs to claim £25 for each
night spent away from their designated main home, without needing to prove
where they were or what food they bought. The wording of the Green Book
makes clear: “No receipts are necessary for this claim to be made.”
Politicians were allowed to start claiming the new subsistence allowance
from the start of the financial year in April.
...
But the members estimate committee chose not to change the subsistence
arrangements and they were confirmed in a revised edition of the Green Book
slipped out quietly on July 13. Sir Christopher is likely to propose
scrapping the £25-a-night flat rate for subsistence when he reports in
October, or at least demand that receipts are produced for every single cup
of coffee or sandwich.
The expense will now be scrapped or brought in line with the demand for audited receipts. The last gasp of the incumbents, clawing for cash, is an unedifying sight, and the role of Harriet Harman at sleaze central, does Brown's administration no favours. How ironic that the Tories were downed with cash for questions and Labour are being done down by cash without question. Different avenue, same problem .
Posted at 10:59 PM in Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
You can sieve for nuggets of gold on occasion, but the quest for publicity, fortune and finance creates its own pecking order of scientific press releases. No doubt, some professional ethics still draws upon the disdain of the last century but we have seen two distinct breakthroughs enter the mainstream press today. One was the creation of artificial sperm using stem cells. I use the term artificial advisedly as these cells were created, not born:
The medical breakthrough, which is reported in the respected journal Stem Cells and Development, is the latest from the institute, which is made up of the Newcastle and Durham Universities along with the Newcastle NHS Foundation.
Led by the leading stem cell biologist Professor Karim Nayernia, the team has already used the technique in mice which have then gone on to produce offspring.
Professor Nayernia, who is calling for a debate on the use of his breakthrough, said the sperm created was not perfect but had all the essential qualities for creating life.
He said: "This is very amazing and very exciting. They have heads, they have tails and they move. The shape is not quite normal nor the movement, but they contain the proteins for egg activation."
Cue ethical arguments! the second breakthrough was an artifical chip that could replicate a neuronal cell. This concept could prove invaluable for a new paradigm for developing 'cognitive crutches' for those whose aging has impaired their senses:
Nerve cells in the brain release and use neurotransmitters, or chemicals that to talk to each other.
The new artificial cells can do the same, opening up potential treatments, the researchers claim.
Prof Agneta Richter-Dahlfors, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who led the research, said: "The ability to deliver exact doses of neurotransmitters opens completely new possibilities for correcting the signalling systems that are faulty in a number of neurological diseases."
This is good news, better than they preach from the pulpit.
Posted at 10:51 PM in Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Another example of early experiments, where stem cells are beginning to demonstrate some of their early promise:
In a three-stage procedure, the researchers used gene therapy to fix the faulty DNA in the cells they had taken from patients. Next, they used a technique called cell reprogramming to convert these cells into healthy stem cells, which are unique in being able to grow into any kind of tissue in the body.
In the final stage of the process, the researchers grew the stem cells in petri dishes into early stage bone marrow cells, which in principle could be injected into patients to treat their condition.
The problems of immune system rejection by using stem cells from another donor has been avoided, and the bottleneck remains a safe avenue of delivery before the therapeutic effects of this approach can be realised.
Posted at 06:23 AM in Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
A breakthrough in nanotech sequencing gives hope for cheap and reliable gene profiling. Oxford Nanopores have published their new technique in Nature Nanotechnology which will replace cumbersome methods using fluorescent labeling. The result will be productive:
"The science of nanopore DNA sensing is now accurate and reliable
enough to support a breakthrough industrial technology," said Professor
Hagan Bayley, founder of Oxford Nanopore and an author of the paper.
"The simplicity and versatility of nanopores as a sensing system has
intrigued academic researchers for nearly two decades. We anticipate
that with the fast pace of the science, nanopore devices will soon be
used for the measurement of DNA and many other molecules." The paper
does not describe a prototype device to carry out this new form of
sequencing.
Posted at 10:51 PM in Science - Biotech, Science - Nanotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child has taken its usual obstructionist stance to the decision that stem cells are to be used in the rehabilitation of stroke victims. The clinical trials that take place in Glasgow may result in genuine relief for the disabled and, if successful, promise the first step in regenerative medicine. The crowing over this advance in terms of a national context, drawing research to Britain and Europe is unnecessary.
The trials are being funded by ReNeuron, a stem cell research company based in Guildford, Surrey. It applied to begin trials two years ago in the United States but could not secure permission from the US Food and Drug Administration. However, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency has given its approval for trials in Britain.
Dr John Sinden, ReNeuron's chief scientific officer, predicted that the decision, coupled with the recent transplant in Spain, would encourage other research firms to seek permission for trials in the UK and Europe rather than the United States. "Europe is going to be the centre in stem cells and regenerative medicine and that is very exciting," he said.
The more countries that are involved in this research and share their results, the faster that we can save and improve the health expectancy of the elderly, the sick and the disabled. Faster, please.
Posted at 10:46 PM in Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This was a regulatory rather than a scientific breakthrough. Using preimplantation-genetic diagnosis, the parents were able to choose an embryo that did not carry the BRCA gene, with an 80% chance of ensuing breast cancer. Whilst this does not cure or enhance the life of the gentically afflicted, this furthers the power of parents to use whatever medical technologies are available in safety and without too much oversight from the state.
Concerns about designer babies appear a shibboleth at this juncture.
Posted at 06:15 AM in Designer Babies, HFEA, Science - Biotech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)