'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists 20 May 2010Last updated at 23:51 By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News The synthetic cell looks identical to the 'wild type' Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. Some also suggest that the potential benefits of the technology have been over-stated. But the researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb greenhouse gases. The team was led by Dr Craig Venter of the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California. Craig Venter defends the synthetic living cell The researchers copied an existing bacterial genome.
Algenol Biofuels - Harnessing the Sun to Fuel the World New Brain Machine Improves Musical Creativity September 12, 2003 by Matt Brennan The Dominion - Yes, you read the headline correctly, and no, I can't believe it either, but apparently scientists have invented a brain machine that dramatically enhances musical performance, thus paving the way for a new race of highly skilled super-musicians. The brain machine was tested on 97 students at the Royal College of Music in London, UK, and the percentage scores refer to examinations conducted by professional adjudicators. Most musicians feel that their best performances are the ones where the music just pours out naturally, and such moments of effortless vitality are usually rooted in a clear state of mind. The brain activity of a healthy human being can be understood as a collection of brain waves which scientists have learned to identify and isolate. And so it is that machines have become far more effective than traditional human teachers in helping us to clear our minds and enhance our creative side.
Lab-Grown Lungs - The 50 Best Inventions of 2010 Growing new body parts has always been more science fiction than science reality, but that balance may quickly be shifting, at least in the lab. Relying on more sophisticated biosimulators that can better mimic body conditions, researchers have re-created the delicate architecture of a rat lung accurately enough for it to assume 95% of a normal lung's inhaling and exhaling functions. The key to their respiratory success was starting with a skeletal rat-lung template, including a matrix of blood vessels and collagen and other connective tissue, then seeding it with stem cells and nutrients to generate lifelike tissue that exchanged oxygen and carbon dioxide just like normal lung tissue. The ultimate goal is to replicate the feat on a larger scale: to replace enough human lung tissue to aid patients with emphysema or lung cancer. Next 3-D Bioprinter
Artificial blood vessels created on a 3D printer 16 September 2011Last updated at 11:49 By Katia Moskvitch Technology reporter, BBC News Artificial blood vessels could help those in urgent need of an organ transplant Artificial blood vessels made on a 3D printer may soon be used for transplants of lab-created organs. Until now, the stumbling block in tissue engineering has been supplying artificial tissue with nutrients that have to arrive via capillary vessels. A team at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has solved that problem using 3D printing and a technique called multiphoton polymerisation. The findings will be shown at the Biotechnica Fair in Germany in October. Out of thousands of patients in desperate need of an organ transplant there are inevitably some who do not get it in time. In Germany, for instance, more than 11,000 people have been put on an organ transplant waiting list in 2011 alone. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteDr Gunter TovarFraunhofer Institute, Germany Elastic biomaterials
IBM Chip ‘Senses’ Events to React Like Brain International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has developed a computer chip inspired by the human brain that may predict tsunamis and highlight risks in financial markets. The technology, called cognitive computing, is programmed to recognize patterns, make predictions and learn from mistakes, human-like capabilities not possible using today’s best computers. It’s a sharp departure from traditional chip design concepts, IBM said in a statement today. Systems built with the new chip can synthesize events currently occurring and make decisions in real time, the Armonk, New York-based company said. “We’re inventing a new system, changing the game,” Dharmendra Modha, the project’s leader, said in an interview. While current computers handle commands individually on a linear if/then basis, Modha said machines equipped with the new chips will “rewire themselves on the fly.” Reacting to Surroundings Potential Uses “The impact of this is inevitable, but the timing is unpredictable,” Modha said.
Evolution machine: Genetic engineering on fast forward - life - 27 June 2011 Read full article Continue reading page |1|2|3|4 Automated genetic tinkering is just the start – this machine could be used to rewrite the language of life and create new species of humans IT IS a strange combination of clumsiness and beauty. Say hello to the evolution machine. These days everything from your food and clothes to the medicines you take may well come from genetically modified plants or bacteria. Grand ambitions Yet changing even a handful of genes takes huge amounts of time and money. The task is so difficult and time-consuming because biological systems are so complex. Many biologists think the answer is to try to eliminate the guesswork. The basic idea is hardly original; various forms of directed evolution are already used to design things as diverse as proteins and boats. Of course, there are already plenty of ways to generate mutations in cells, from zapping them with radiation to exposing them to dangerous chemicals. New Scientist Not just a website! More from the web
Craig Venter creates synthetic life form | Science Scientists have created the world's first synthetic life form in a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organisms that are built rather than evolved. The controversial feat, which has occupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated cost of $40m, was described by one researcher as "a defining moment in biology". Craig Venter, the pioneering US geneticist behind the experiment, said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria that churn out biofuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines. However critics, including some religious groups, condemned the work, with one organisation warning that artificial organisms could escape into the wild and cause environmental havoc or be turned into biological weapons. "We were ecstatic when the cells booted up with all the watermarks in place," Dr Venter told the Guardian.
Digital Tattoo Gets Under Your Skin to Monitor Blood | Gadget Lab Bioengineering doctoral student Kate Balaconis shines the iPhone reader against her tattooless arm. Maybe tattoos aren’t just for Harley riders or rebellious teens after all. In a few years, diabetics might get inked up with digital tats that communicate with an iPhone to monitor their blood. Instead of the dye used for tribal arm bands and Chinese characters, these tattoos will contain nanosensors that read the wearer’s blood levels of sodium, glucose and even alcohol with the help of an iPhone 4 camera. Dr. “I had no idea how much to drink, or when,” said Clark, reflecting on her marathon run. Clark’s technology could spell out the eventual demise of the painful finger pricks required for blood tests — assuming users have an iPhone, which Northeastern bioengineering grad student Matt Dubach has customized to read light from the tiny sensors to collect and output data. Within the implant, certain nanoparticles will bind exclusively to specific blood contents, like sodium or glucose.
DNA circuits used to make neural network, store memories Even as some scientists and engineers develop improved versions of current computing technology, others are looking into drastically different approaches. DNA computing offers the potential of massively parallel calculations with low power consumption and at small sizes. Research in this area has been limited to relatively small systems, but a group from Caltech recently constructed DNA logic gates using over 130 different molecules and used the system to calculate the square roots of numbers. The artificial neural network approach taken here is based on the perceptron model, also known as a linear threshold gate. As we described in the last article on this approach to DNA computing, the authors represent their implementation with an abstraction called "seesaw" gates. In order to construct a linear threshold gate, three basic seesaw gates are needed to perform different operations. They played this game 27 total times, for a total of 81 possible question/answer combinations (34).
'Team Frankenstein' launch bid to build a human brain within a decade By Allan Hall Updated: 15:48 GMT, 16 May 2011 A team of scientists has assembled in Switzerland and Germany to pursue a unique goal - the building of a computer model of a human brain. Called the Human Brain Project - but perhaps inevitably dubbed 'Team Frankenstein' in the media - it is in discussion with the EU for a £1billion grant. Scientists claim success may lead to cures for various diseases like Parkinson's. Hope: Henry Markram, director of the Human Brain Project in Switzerland, leads of a team of scientist in a project that could lead to cures for various diseases It could also lead to intelligent robots and supercomputers which would dwarf those currently in existence. Henry Markram, a neuroscientist at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland, has assembled a team of nine top European scientists for the research effort. ‘This is one of the three grand challenges for humanity. Makram added: ‘It is not impossible to build a human brain.