A startup out of San Francisco, based around the âcustomâ manipulation of DNA, is apparently aiming to take its current business to the predictable next-step of allowing customers to create âcustomâ animals, plants, etc, according to recent reports. Said company â Austen Heinzâs Cambrian Genomics â currently creates custom DNA for âmajorâ pharmaceutical companies, universities,
Hereâs a rather nauseating, if not scary, tidbit about an artificial sweetener beloved to humankind. And also to Monsanto. Aspartame. The second most used artificial sweetener in the world, next to saccharine. Every time you pour those little flecks of NutraSweetÂŽ or EqualÂŽ into your coffee cup, youâre getting ready to swallow the feces of
 Researchers have recently developed a technique to build complex nano-structures out of short synthetic strands of DNA. Referred to as single-stranded tiles (SST), the short strands of DNA are interlocking building blocks similar to LEGOsŽ. They can be programmed to arrange themselves in very precisely designed shapes, such as numbers, letters, and shapes. The
In what could lead to a milestone in genetic âengineeringâ in the wild, a microbiologist and her team is trying to help stressed coral reefs adapt to climate change and pollution by promoting âbeneficial bacteria growthâ. To do this, researches are experimenting with a form of gene therapy. Corals offer several important ecosystem services. Corals
The human genome is comprised of some 3 billion nucleotide bases (of which there are four, represented by the four letters A, T, C, G) which pair up and comprise our DNA, which in turn is spread out amongst 23 chromosomes located in every cell in our bodies (note: our sex cells have only half
A transgenic chicken has been developed that blocks transmission of the avian flu to other chickens. The new technique â some aspects of which are not clear even to the geneticists developing it â holds out great promise for preventing human illness as well as unnecessary animal deaths. But nothing is quite that simple when
It seems we always take the most basic things for granted. With regards to adequate water, air, and soil (things we assume will always be there) we are gradually becoming more mindful of them, and their limits. But how many of us are worried about phosphorus (P) running out? Well, lately, more and more agricultural
Genetic barcoding is a technique that involves identifying segments of animal DNA (genomes) that are unique to each species. These unique genetic sequences are preserved in a database (the iBOL library) that anyone can access for free.
Eight years after starting their efforts, scientists in India still believe they will be able to resurrect the long-extinct Indian Cheetah if they can acquire the cell line of the closely related Asiatic Cheetah, which lives in Iran. âIf a cell line made from the Cheetah was available, it would have been possible to resurrect
