A Rough Portrait of Your Face, Painted by your DNA
A new study takes a crack at trying to predict someone’s face using just their DNA. Continue reading A Rough Portrait of Your Face, Painted by your DNA
Tag: dna
Artificial DNA can replace your thumb drive
Scientists at ETH Zurich recently developed a storage architecture using DNA, where they fused DNA into everyday objects in order to store data. Continue reading Artificial DNA can replace your thumb drive
Gene therapy that helps prevent heart disease in mice now in trial for dogs
Genes delivered by a virus successfully mitigated the effects of age-related diseases, such as heart and kidney disease, in a recent mouse study. Following this success, a similar gene therapy treatment is in trial to prevent a certain form of heart disease in dogs. Continue reading Gene therapy that helps prevent heart disease in mice now in trial for dogs
Individual Genetic Medicine Helps Treat Genetic Disease
Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital engineered a unique medicine to treat a young girl’s disease: they reverse engineered a blocker from her DNA to inhibit the gene causing the disease. Continue reading Individual Genetic Medicine Helps Treat Genetic Disease
From Genes to Disease: the release of the UK Biobank
by Layla Siraj figures by Rebecca Senft Imagine if you could tell, through some combination of your environment and your genetics, what illnesses you might develop. This could give you the ability to either prevent these illnesses before they even happen or catch and treat the illnesses early enough to prevent long-lasting effects. This reality is one step closer with the release of the UK … Continue reading From Genes to Disease: the release of the UK Biobank
Your DNA is only as old as it feels: epigenetic regulation of aging in roundworms
Shorter lifespan in worms is linked to changes in gene activity that in turn alter sugar metabolism. This highlights the importance of gene activity rather than DNA mutations as a driving force of aging. Continue reading Your DNA is only as old as it feels: epigenetic regulation of aging in roundworms
Six Ways Our Cells Can Turn Against Us
by Catherine Weiner figures by Elayne Fivenson Every cell in our bodies is constantly on the edge of danger. Our DNA, the molecular blueprints that tell our cells how to function, brought us to life. But it is also just one error away from catastrophe. Our cells are constantly fighting to preserve this fragile balance, for if they fail, they send us down a path … Continue reading Six Ways Our Cells Can Turn Against Us
Finding What Sticks
by Christopher Gerry Our DNA influences our height, eye color, affinity for sky diving and other extreme thrills, sleep habits, disease risk factors, and more. It’s no surprise, then, that scientists have found another job for our reliable genetic ledger: as a tool to aid the discovery of new medicines. The hope is that these DNA-based tools will enable researchers to find better starting points … Continue reading Finding What Sticks
The Computer Science behind DNA Sequencing
by Alex Cabral figures by Sean Wilson In 2003, with the completion of the Human Genome Project, the entire human genome was sequenced for the first time. The sequencing cost nearly $1 billion and took 13 years to complete. Today, the human genome can be sequenced for about $1000 in less than two days. Industry leaders hope to bring that cost down to just $100 within … Continue reading The Computer Science behind DNA Sequencing
Scientists create an expanded 8-letter DNA genetic code
Each cell in a living organism has an instruction manual known as the genome. These instructions are spelled out using letters, called bases, that pair with one another to form long double-stranded molecules of helical DNA. Life as we know it uses 4 bases called A, C, T, and G. Recently, scientists expanded this alphabet to include 8 bases – 4 natural and 4 artificial. … Continue reading Scientists create an expanded 8-letter DNA genetic code