Amazing Universe - Random Knowledge

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...

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...

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...