Biobrick. Lab. Bio. Artificial womb allows embryos to grow outside the body ... Doctors are developing artificial wombs in which embryos can grow outside a woman's body. The work has been hailed as a breakthrough in treating the childless. Scientists have created prototypes made out of cells extracted from women's bodies. Embryos successfully attached themselves to the walls of these laboratory wombs and began to grow. However, experiments had to be terminated after a few days to comply with in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) regulations. 'We hope to create complete artificial wombs using these techniques in a few years,' said Dr Hung-Ching Liu of Cornell University's Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility. The pace of progress in the field has startled experts. 'There are going to be real problems,' said organiser Dr Scott Gelfand, of Oklahoma State University.
Liu's work involves removing cells from the endometrium, the lining of the womb. 'Finally, we took embryos left over from IVF programmes and put these into our laboratory engineered tissue. Classic 'life chemistry' experiment still excites. 22 March 2011Last updated at 17:25 By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News The sensitivity of modern analytical tools is providing new insight on famous experiments Foul-smelling hydrogen sulphide may have been an important precursor in the chemistry that eventually led to life on Earth, a new study suggests. Modern analyses of samples archived from 1950s experiments indicate the gas can, under the right conditions, play a role in reactions that produce some of the building blocks of biology - amino acids, which combine to make proteins. The findings are based on the work of Stanley Miller who famously tried to replicate the chemical "primordial soup" from which life may have emerged.
Miller's seminal experiments, first conducted in 1953, put an electric discharge across a chamber containing a mixture of water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen. When his experiments resulted in the production of amino acids, it was a startling discovery. Modern tools Continue reading the main story. Do It Yourself DNA: Amateurs Trying Genetic Engineering At Home. SAN FRANCISCO — The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic building blocks of life itself. Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms through genetic engineering _ a field long dominated by Ph.D.s toiling in university and corporate laboratories. In her San Francisco dining room lab, for example, 31-year-old computer programmer Meredith L.
"People can really work on projects for the good of humanity while learning about something they want to learn about in the process," she said. So far, no major gene-splicing discoveries have come out anybody's kitchen or garage. But critics of the movement worry that these amateurs could one day unleash an environmental or medical disaster. Cowell said such unfettered creativity could produce important discoveries. Lesson: Do It Yourself DNA. 1. ENGAGE: Have at least one model of DNA to show, and possibly some pictures to post on your bulletin board and/or to project on your screen. Engage your students by asking what they know or have heard about DNA (and record their responses on the board). When they seem to have exhausted their combined knowledge, present some of the current and likely future benefits of our knowledge of DNA, items that they probably did not mention. [Do some Google searching and/or reading beforehand to prepare yourself for this.
If not satisfied with what you find, contact the webmaster.] You may need to point out to them that people are being required more and more to understand various medical conditions that they mey develop, so they can work more effectively with their doctors to maintain or improve their health. Doctors can't do it all. 2. 3. 4. Life blog. Biohacking, à l'école des apprentis sorciers " InternetActu.net. Par Rémi Sussan le 15/10/08 | 17 commentaires | 17,088 lectures | Impression La nouvelle ère biotechnologique qui s’ouvre sera-t-elle dominée par de gigantesques corporations sans âme, motivées uniquement par l’appât du gain, et dont Monsanto apparait dans l’esprit du public comme l’archétype ? Ou au contraire, la biologie va-t-elle connaitre l’équivalent de la révolution micro-informatique, et tombera-t-elle entre les mains du grand public, pour le meilleur et, peut-être aussi pour le pire ?
En tout cas, dès aujourd’hui, à l’ombre des grosses sociétés pharmaceutiques ou agroalimentaires, un nouvel “underground” s’active : biopunk, biologie de garage , DIYbio (DIY pour do it yourself, c’est-à-dire “faites le vous-même”), biohacking, peu importe le nom qu’on lui donne, tout un courant de docteurs Frankenstein en herbe s’active pour battre les grands laboratoires à leur propre jeu à l’aide d’outils à peine plus complexes que des ustensiles de cuisine.
Biologie pour hackers. Garage biotech: Life hackers. The Science Creative Quarterly " THE MACGYVER PROJECT ... Abstract:DNA extraction and separation by agarose gel electrophoresis is a simple and exciting process that anyone can perform. However, the high cost of specialized equipment and chemicals often hinder such an experiment from being carried by members of the high school community. Here, we describe a cost effective way of extracting and electrophoresing DNA under a prescribed MacGyver limitation – that is using only materials available from a grocery store or shopping mall. In order to carry out this project, we decided to first divide the procedure into three specific sections, each to be addressed individually. Doing this, you find that the following challenges are present. They are: (i) extraction of DNA, (ii) gel electrophoresis of DNA and (iii) visualization of DNA.
Extraction of DNA in a Research Setting: In a conventional research setting, the first step in extracting DNA involves breaking open the cell’s membrane by using physical or chemical means. GENERAL PROTOCOL 1.