DNA nanobots deliver drugs in living cockroaches - health - 08 April 2014 It's a computer – inside a cockroach. Nano-sized entities made of DNA that are able to perform the same kind of logic operations as a silicon-based computer have been introduced into a living animal. The DNA computers – known as origami robots because they work by folding and unfolding strands of DNA – travel around the insect's body and interact with each other, as well as the insect's cells. When they uncurl, they can dispense drugs carried in their folds. "DNA nanorobots could potentially carry out complex programs that could one day be used to diagnose or treat diseases with unprecedented sophistication," says Daniel Levner, a bioengineer at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. Levner and his colleagues at Bar Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, made the nanobots by exploiting the binding properties of DNA. A bug's life The team has now injected various kinds of nanobots into cockroaches. Commodore cockroach Journal reference: Nature Nanotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2014.58
Tiny particles may pose big risk | MIT News Office Thousands of consumer products — including cosmetics, sunscreens, and clothing — contain nanoparticles added by manufacturers to improve texture, kill microbes, or enhance shelf life, among other purposes. However, several studies have shown that some of these engineered nanoparticles can be toxic to cells. A new study from MIT and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that certain nanoparticles can also harm DNA. The researchers found that zinc oxide nanoparticles, often used in sunscreen to block ultraviolet rays, significantly damage DNA. The findings, published in a recent issue of the journal ACS Nano, relied on a high-speed screening technology to analyze DNA damage. The Food and Drug Administration does not require manufacturers to test nanoscale additives for a given material if the bulk material has already been shown to be safe. “The problem is that if a nanoparticle is made out of something that’s deemed a safe material, it’s typically considered safe.
Captured: The Acrobatics of a Fruit Fly in Flight At breakneck speed, a fruit fly veers off course and rolls into a precise bank. As the fly dips and dives around a miniature arena inside a laboratory in Seattle, three high-speed cameras shooting at 7500 frames per second capture its every twist and turn. Michael Dickinson, biologist and fruit fly expert at the University of Washington, has spent years studying insect flight, and converting static images into dynamic models. "I'm obsessed with flies and how they work," he says. Now, Dickinson and his team have revealed the physics behind how a fruit fly escapes from threats, be they predators or rolled-up newspapers. "The results were very exhilarating," Dickinson says. The Neuroscience of Flight Dickinson wondered how flies, despite their small brains, manage to dip and dive with such precision and speed. "This means that the fly's brain and skeletal system have the ability to create extraordinarily subtle changes," Dickinson says. Mega Robo-Flies Microrobotics Robert J. Flying Onward
Self-healing engineered muscle grown in ‘bionic mouse’ Engineered muscle fiber stained to observe growth after implantation into a mouse (credit: Duke University) Duke University biomedical engineers have grown living skeletal muscle that resembles the real thing. It contracts powerfully and rapidly, integrates into mice quickly, and for the first time, demonstrates the ability to heal itself both inside the laboratory and inside an animal. The researchers watched the muscle growth in real time through a window on the back of a living, walking mouse. Both the lab-grown muscle and experimental techniques are important steps toward growing viable muscle for studying diseases and treating injuries, said Nenad Bursac, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duke. The results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition March 31. “The muscle we have made represents an important advance for the field,” Bursac said. “Simply implanting satellite cells or less-developed muscle doesn’t work as well,” said Juhas.
Five wonder materials that could change the world | Science "The history of materials is a history of mistakes," says Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist at University College London, who traces his own fascination with materials to the moment he was stabbed in the back with a razor while ambling to school one day. The remark is spot on. Over the centuries, scientists have been as likely to stumble on the next wonder material during a botched experiment as to create it from scratch on purpose. The tradition continues today: more than one material tipped to revolutionise the world, or at least give us better gadgets, came about through serendipity, if not outright blunders. But the chance discovery of useful materials might not carry on for much longer. Scientists are now turning to computers to design materials and work out their properties before going anywhere near a laboratory or workshop. The materials here are so new that their ultimate applications are still tentative – or not even being guessed at. Graphene And all for good reason. Shrilk
Resources Erasing A Genetic Mutation CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Using a new gene-editing system based on bacterial proteins, MIT researchers have cured mice of a rare liver disorder caused by a single genetic mutation. The findings, described in the March 30 issue of Nature Biotechnology, offer the first evidence that this gene-editing technique, known as CRISPR, can reverse disease symptoms in living animals. CRISPR, which offers an easy way to snip out mutated DNA and replace it with the correct sequence, holds potential for treating many genetic disorders, according to the research team. "What's exciting about this approach is that we can actually correct a defective gene in a living adult animal," says Daniel Anderson, the Samuel A. Goldblith Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and the senior author of the paper. The recently developed CRISPR system relies on cellular machinery that bacteria use to defend themselves from viral infection.
Project Plans Brain-Control Exoskeleton Kickoff for the 2014 World Cup In less than 60 days, Brazil will begin hosting soccer’s 2014 World Cup, even though workers are still hurrying to pour concrete at three unfinished stadiums. At a laboratory in São Paulo, a Duke University neuroscientist is in his own race with the World Cup clock. He is rushing to finish work on a mind-controlled exoskeleton that he says a paralyzed Brazilian volunteer will don, navigate across a soccer pitch using his or her thoughts, and use to make the ceremonial opening kick of the tournament on June 12. The project, called Walk Again, is led by Miguel Nicolelis, a 53-year-old native of Brazil and one of the biggest names in neuroscience. If it goes as planned, the kick will be a highly public display of research into brain-machine interfaces, a technology that aims to help paralyzed people control machines with their thoughts and restore their ability to get around. But the Walk Again project is drawing doubters. But there are practical limits.
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