Biologically Inspired Engineering, synbio, synthetic biology, crispr
One problem with CRISPR technology to date has been unwanted off-target edits. Even the best CRISPR tool, SpCas9, can only bind to about one in 16 locations along DNA, leaving many genetic mutations out of reach. Now, researchers have designed a more precise and versatile genome editing system, named prime editing, that harnesses the power … Read more
Quantgene started in 2015 in a small UC Berkeley Lab under the leadership of Jo Bhakdi and Dr. Monika Hagen. Their theory was that most disease can be detected far earlier by introducing quantitative science and a new level of precision into medical practice. Since then, the Quangene team has spent over 4 years building … Read more
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarding Genomic Innovator Awards to nine institutions to support the research of 12 early career scientists in the field of genomics. The awards total up to $27 million over five years, subject to the availability of funds. The Genomic Innovator … Read more
I interviewed Dr Nina Pollak via Zoom to discuss her research interests and career aspirations. She is presently a CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellow at the Molecular Engineering Group led by A/Prof Macdonald at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Originally from Austria, Dr. Pollak has completed a number of international research projects … Read more
Geneticists use indexing and maps to describe the location of a particular gene on a chromosome. One type of map uses the cytogenetic location to describe a gene’s position. The cytogenetic location is based on a distinctive pattern of bands created when chromosomes are stained with certain chemicals. Another type of map uses the molecular … Read more
An international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.’s Royal Society has published a report suggesting human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably without introducing undesired … Read more
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Innovation Unit is bringing together the best of commercially available artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the DOD’s vast cache of archived medical data to teach computers how to identify cancers and other medical irregularities. The result will be new tools medical professionals can use to more accurately and more … Read more
54gene was founded in 2019 by Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong to address a large gap in the global genomics market: nearly 90% of genetic material used in pharmaceutical research is Caucasian. African genetics data represents a tiny fraction of genomics data – despite the fact that Africans and people of African ancestry are more genetically diverse … Read more
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a farm tool called … Read more
One of the many shock waves created in COVID-19’s wake is a flood of companies employing artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly develop a safe and effective vaccine. AI is a broad term that encompasses many technologies. The AI subfield that holds the most promise for vaccine development is machine learning (ML). ML is an AI … Read more