Life Sciences December 2023

    Articles on protists, half-synthetic yeast, transposons, spinal implant


     
     

     
     

     
     

     

  • Protists are organisms that have frequent changes to the genetic code

    Protists, organisms that are neither animals, plants nor fungi, have frequent changes to the genetic code, reassigning one or more stop codons — the TAA, TAG and TGA codons. In the protist Oligohymenophorea sp. PL0344, only TGA functions as a stop codon. Instead, TAA specifies lysine and TAG specifies glutamic acid.

     

     

    A yeast produced with 50% synthetic DNA

    Biologists have produced a strain of yeast whose genome is more than 50% synthetic DNA. The cells that ended up with the 7.5 chromosomes survived and could replicate.

     

     

    Controlling transposons and extending lifespan

    Transposons, “jumping” genes, have the ability to move autonomously, on one strand of DNA or on another strand, contributing to aging. Scientists have succeeded in identifying the process for controlling these transposons, called “Piwi-piRNA” (“RNA interacting with Piwi”), which can extend lifespan in a remarkable way.

     

     

    Casgevy’s therapeutic process

    The UK medicines regulator recently approved the use of Casgevy, an innovative treatment for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, using CRISPR gene editing. Casgevy’s therapeutic process is based on the patient’s own stem cells, which are extracted and then modified in the laboratory using CRISPR technology and then reintroduced into the patient’s body.

     

     

    Spinal implant helps restore mobility

    A spinal implant helps restore mobility in individuals with Parkinson’s. The device is made up of electrodes implanted directly on the spinal cord and an electrical pulse generator under the skin of the abdomen. The implant emits electrical impulses that mimic the signals the brain would normally send to initiate and control walking.

     

     

    World-First Human Brain Atlas Reveals New Cell Types

    A scientific team observed variations in the connections between the 3,000 types of human brain cells identified. Although we all share a blueprint and set of basic structures, their properties and the way they are put together make us unique as individuals.

     

     

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    (78aH*) : August 6th is the anniversary of the atomic bomb explosion on Hiroshima in 1945.
    This date represents the entrance of Humanity into the age of Revelation (Apocalypsis).
    Thus, since August 6, 2023, we are in 78 aH, (meanning 78 after Hiroshima).
    It is also an “atheist” and universal calendar to replace the existing “monotheist”, religious and non universal calendars.