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Sheep-human hybrid : Birth of a new chimera organism.

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Researchers from University of California have been successful in producing  a chimera organism from DNA of sheep and human.The main purpose of this experiment was xenogenic generation of new organs. It is meant to change the future of organ donation- body parts synthesized from genetically modified sheep to save millions of lives waiting for organ donation. The process used here is by the infusion of  human DNA in host (here sheep) embryo.It is based on the interspecies blastocyst complementation. The chimera DNA molecule is prepared using the CRISPR- Cas9 mediated genome editing of the zygote to disable the genes that are responsible for the production of the particular organ and then infusing with the complementary genes(from human pluripotent stem cells(hPSCs)) responsible for formation of the organs in humans.It results in a hybrid creature that's more than 99 percent sheep – but also a tiny, little bit like you and me. The human portion of the embryos created in th...
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Visual impairment is still rather rampant, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) . Some 285 million people worldwide are considered visually impaired, and 39 million of them are blind. Thankfully, 80 percent of all visual impairment can now be treated or cured, except in cases of total loss of sight, particularly those due to severe retinal degeneration. But what if it's possible to restore visual function to blind patients? Laboratory tests in the University of Oxford demonstrate how this may be possible. In a study published in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) , the Oxford researchers led by Samantha de Silva showed how it's possible to restore the sight of people suffering from blindness previously considered untreatable. "Inherited retinal degenerations may result in blindness due to a progressive loss of photoreceptor cells," the researchers wrote. "We assess subretinal delivery of human melan...

A new bioglue that could seal wounds in 60 seconds

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Scientists have developed an elastic, adhesive surgical glue that could transform emergency treatments by sealing up critical wounds in the skin or the organs, without the need for staples or sutures.The gel is based on methacryloyl-substituted tropoelastin (MeTro for short), a hybrid elastic protein, and can be squirted onto internal and external wounds to seal them up and encourage healing.According to the international team of researchers behind the glue, it could quite literally be a lifesaver, sealing up wounds in 60 seconds without stopping the natural expanding and relaxing of the organ or the skin it's applied to.To be clear, for now the trials are limited to animal models. But human trials are in the works, and the results to date are incredibly promising. "The beauty of the MeTro formulation is that, as soon as it comes in contact with tissue surfaces, it solidifies into a gel-like phase without running away," says one of the team, Nasim Anna...

Base editor technique in treating beta-Thalassemia in Human Embryo

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A team of researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, used what's called a base editor technique to change a single G back to an A in the DNA code of an embryonic cell's HBB gene. The change might have been tiny, but in its mutated form HBB can't produce the protein beta-globin needed to build the oxygen-carrying haemoglobin for our red blood cells. A shortage of haemoglobin means a shortage of oxygen, impeding growth and development and leading to a lifetime of blood transfusions to treat anaemia – if the embryo survives at all. Beta-thalassaemia is usually a recessive condition, meaning both parents need to contribute a copy of the mutated gene for anaemia to develop in their child. Correcting the mutations in this gene could help parents carry an embryo to term, or remove the trait from family lines.   About 400 different kinds of code-corruptions can affect HBB.In this case, the researchers focussed on a single point-mutation that targ...

Icy materials in space could behave like liquids at low temperatures and under ultraviolet light, suggests new research

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" Interstellar ice is believed to be a cradle of complex organic compounds, commonly found within icy comets and interstellar clouds, in association with ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and subsequent warming. We found that UV-irradiated amorphous ices composed of H 2 O, CH 3 OH, and NH 3 and of pure H 2 O behave like liquids over the temperature ranges of 65 to 150 kelvin and 50 to 140 kelvin, respectively. This low-viscosity liquid-like ice may enhance the formation of organic compounds including prebiotic molecules and the accretion of icy dust to form icy planetesimals under certain interstellar conditions. " According to the researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan, when the deep space conditions are right, this particular type of ice can attract and hold dust and debris, starting off a chain reaction that ends up with something like Jupiter . "The liquid-like ice may help dust accrete to planets because liquid may act as a glue," says lea...

Echoclocation can be learnt and you can too,study says

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A new study presents the first detailed description of human echolocation, including the acoustic characteristics and spatial range of mouth clicks. The researchers used the results to develop synthetic mouth clicks, which could be used to learn more about this extraordinary skill.For bats, dolphins and some whale species, echolocation is an innate ability used for navigation and foraging for food in the dark. When an animal produces a call, they listen out for the echoes that bounce back from objects in their environment to detect their surroundings.While 'seeing' the world through sound isn't something humans have a natural skill for, studies have shown that vision-impaired people can develop bat-senses with practice. The most famous 'real-life bat-man' is Daniel Kish, who lost his sight at the age of one. Kish became an internet sensation, climbing mountains, riding bikes and living alone in the wilderness using mouth clicking skills to picture hi...

Real life spiderman webs!!

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Spider webs are already strong enough to restrain small insects unlucky enough to fly into them, and soon, they may be capable of carrying the weight of a person. In a new study published in 2D Materials , Nicola Pugno at the University of Trento in Italy and his team detail how they cranked arachnids' already impressive metabolic process up to 11 by adding graphene and carbon nanotubes to a spider's drinking water. Afterward, the spider produced silk as it normally would, but the silk was five times stronger, putting it on par with the likes of pure carbon fibres and Kevlar - the strongest materials on Earth. "We already know that there are biominerals present in the protein matrices and hard tissues of insects, which gives them high strength and hardness in their jaws, mandibles, and teeth, for example," Pugno told The Sydney Morning Herald . "So our study looked at whether spider silk's properties could be 'enhanced' by artificiall...