The coral reefs of the world are in serious danger. A recent scientific report on corals in the Caribbean Sea, for instance, found that coral cover declined from 34.8 percent to 16.3 percent from 1970 to 2012.

One of the chief threats to corals is climate change. Not only do warmer waters stress the species, leading to bleaching events like the one pictured above. Climate change provides a double blow to corals because it also brings on ocean acidification, driven by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (caused by the burning of fossil fuels) dissolved in seawater. As sea waters acidify, corals have a harder time producing calcium carbonate, which is crucial to reef formation.

Thats why, in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology now tentatively propose something that they admit is extremely novel in conservation circles. Namely, they suggest that humans may need to intervene in the breeding of corals so as to assist their evolution.

Such anthropogenically enhanced corals may survive better, the researchers suggest, in a world of warming and acidifying seas. Moreover, this environmental engineering may be necessary as a last-ditch effort since, to be blunt, climate change is proceeding so fast with so much change already locked in that there may be no other choice.

So what are they planning to do? This isgenetic alteration, to be sure evolution always is but it isnot what we typically think of as genetic engineering.Although the development of GMO corals might be contemplated in extremis at a future time, we advocate less drastic approaches, notes the study.

Theyre not proposing Frankenstein coral, stressesNancy Knowlton, a marine scientist at the Smithsonian Institution who edited the paper.

Rather, assisted evolution entails a series of strategies that are perhaps best likened to the domestic breeding of anything from dogs to cows to pigeons to change their attributes. Charles Darwin called it artificial selection, as opposed to natural selection, which usually plays out over much longer periods of time.

For corals, heres how it might work. The researchers propose a number of strategies,some affecting corals and some affecting the communities of microbes that live with them in a symbiotic relationship.

For instance, scientists might identify strains of the appropriately namedSymbiodinium tiny microbes that live inside corals and are essentialto reef growth that are more resistant to temperatures. Then they could introduce this strain into corals in the wild that are struggling.

Yet anotherproposal, meanwhile, is actually guiding the evolution of Symbiodinium in the lab by using x-rays or chemicals that would lead the organisms to evolve and adapt more quickly.

Continued here:

Coral reefs are in such bad shape that scientists may have to speed up their evolution

The coral reefs of the world are in serious danger. A recent scientific report on corals in the Caribbean Sea, for instance, found that coral cover declined from 34.8 percent to 16.3 percent from 1970 to 2012.

One of the chief threats to corals is climate change. Not only do warmer waters stress the species, leading to bleaching events like the one pictured above. Climate change provides a double blow to corals because it also brings on ocean acidification, driven by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (caused by the burning of fossil fuels) dissolved in seawater. As sea waters acidify, corals have a harder time producing calcium carbonate, which is crucial to reef formation.

Thats why, in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology now tentatively propose something that they admit is extremely novel in conservation circles. Namely, they suggest that humans may need to intervene in the breeding of corals so as to assist their evolution.

Such anthropogenically enhanced corals may survive better, the researchers suggest, in a world of warming and acidifying seas. Moreover, this environmental engineering may be necessary as a last-ditch effort since, to be blunt, climate change is proceeding so fast with so much change already locked in that there may be no other choice.

So what are they planning to do? This isgenetic alteration, to be sure evolution always is but it isnot what we typically think of as genetic engineering.Although the development of GMO corals might be contemplated in extremis at a future time, we advocate less drastic approaches, notes the study.

Theyre not proposing Frankenstein coral, stressesNancy Knowlton, a marine scientist at the Smithsonian Institution who edited the paper.

Rather, assisted evolution entails a series of strategies that are perhaps best likened to the domestic breeding of anything from dogs to cows to pigeons to change their attributes. Charles Darwin called it artificial selection, as opposed to natural selection, which usually plays out over much longer periods of time.

For corals, heres how it might work. The researchers propose a number of strategies,some affecting corals and some affecting the communities of microbes that live with them in a symbiotic relationship.

For instance, scientists might identify strains of the appropriately namedSymbiodinium tiny microbes that live inside corals and are essentialto reef growth that are more resistant to temperatures. Then they could introduce this strain into corals in the wild that are struggling.

Yet anotherproposal, meanwhile, is actually guiding the evolution of Symbiodinium in the lab by using x-rays or chemicals that would lead the organisms to evolve and adapt more quickly.

See original here:

Coral reefs are in such bad shape that scientists may have to take control of their evolution

All life processes depend on genes turning on and off. Cornell scientists have created a new on switch to control gene expression a breakthrough that could revolutionize genetic engineering.

Synthetic biologists led by Julius Lucks, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, have created a new genetic control mechanism made exclusively of ribonucleic acids (RNA). They call their engineered RNAs STARS Small Transcription Activating RNAs described online in Nature Chemical Biology, Feb. 2.

Weve created a whole new toolset of regulation, said Lucks, who describes RNA as the most engineerable molecule on the planet.

RNA is a single-stranded version of its close cousin, DNA, which makes up the double-stranded genome of all living organisms. While DNA acts as natures hard drive, storing the genes that make up our genome, RNA is part of the cellular computer that activates the hard drive by helping the cell tune the expression of specific genes, Lucks says. While RNA is known to do this in many ways, one thing it cant do in nature is start the process by turning on, or activating, transcription the first step in gene expression, and the core of many cellular programs.

In the lab, Lucks and colleagues have assigned RNA this new role. Theyve engineered an RNA system that acts like a genetic switch, in which RNA tells the cell to activate the transcription of a specific gene. The STAR system involves placing a special RNA sequence upstream of a target gene that acts as a blockade and prevents the cell from transcribing that gene. When the STAR is present, it removes this blockade, turning on the downstream gene by allowing transcription to take place. The effect is like a lock-and-key system for turning genes on, with STARs acting as a set of genetic keys for unlocking cellular genetic programs.

RNA is like a molecular puzzle, a crazy Rubiks cube that has to be unlocked in order to do different things, Lucks said. Weve figured out how to design another RNA that unlocks part of that puzzle. The STAR is the key to that lock.

RNA is Lucks favorite molecule because its simple much simpler than a protein and its function can be engineered by designing its structure. In fact, new experimental and computational technologies, some developed by Lucks lab, are now giving quick access to their structures and functions, enabling a new era of biomolecular design that is much more difficult to do with proteins.

Lucks envisions RNA-only, LEGO-like genetic circuits that can act as cellular computers. RNA-engineered gene networks could also offer diagnostic capabilities, as similar RNA circuits have been shown to activate a gene only if, for example, a certain virus is present.

This is going to open up a whole set of possibilities for us, because RNA molecules make decisions and compute information really well, and they detect things really well, Lucks said.

The paper is called Creating Small Transcription Activating RNAs, and its co-authors are postdoctoral associate James Chappell and graduate student Melissa Takahashi. Supporters include the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research.

See the original post here:
A STAR is born: Engineers devise genetic 'on' switch

13 hours ago

All life processes depend on genes turning on and off. Cornell University scientists have created a new "on" switch to control gene expression - a breakthrough that could revolutionize genetic engineering.

Synthetic biologists led by Julius Lucks, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, have created a new genetic control mechanism made exclusively of ribonucleic acids (RNA). They call their engineered RNAs STARS - Small Transcription Activating RNAs - described online in Nature Chemical Biology, Feb. 2.

"We've created a whole new toolset of regulation," said Lucks, who describes RNA as "the most engineerable molecule on the planet."

RNA is a single-stranded version of its close cousin, DNA, which makes up the double-stranded genome of all living organisms. While DNA acts as nature's hard drive, storing the genes that make up our genome, RNA is part of the cellular computer that activates the hard drive by helping the cell tune the expression of specific genes, Lucks says. While RNA is known to do this in many ways, one thing it can't do in nature is start the process by turning on, or activating, transcription - the first step in gene expression, and the core of many cellular programs.

In the lab, Lucks and colleagues have assigned RNA this new role. They've engineered an RNA system that acts like a genetic switch, in which RNA tells the cell to activate the transcription of a specific gene. The STAR system involves placing a special RNA sequence upstream of a target gene that acts as a blockade and prevents the cell from transcribing that gene. When the STAR is present, it removes this blockade, turning on the downstream gene by allowing transcription to take place. The effect is like a lock-and-key system for turning genes on, with STARs acting as a set of genetic keys for unlocking cellular genetic programs.

"RNA is like a molecular puzzle, a crazy Rubik's cube that has to be unlocked in order to do different things," Lucks said. "We've figured out how to design another RNA that unlocks part of that puzzle. The STAR is the key to that lock."

RNA is Lucks' favorite molecule because it's simple - much simpler than a protein - and its function can be engineered by designing its structure. In fact, new experimental and computational technologies, some developed by Lucks' lab, are now giving quick access to their structures and functions, enabling a new era of biomolecular design that is much more difficult to do with proteins.

Lucks envisions RNA-only, LEGO-like genetic circuits that can act as cellular computers. RNA-engineered gene networks could also offer diagnostic capabilities, as similar RNA circuits have been shown to activate a gene only if, for example, a certain virus is present.

"This is going to open up a whole set of possibilities for us, because RNA molecules make decisions and compute information really well, and they detect things really well," Lucks said.

Visit link:
Engineers devise genetic 'on' switch made exclusively of RNA

All life processes depend on genes turning on and off. Cornell scientists have created a new on switch to control gene expression a breakthrough that could revolutionize genetic engineering.

Synthetic biologists led by Julius Lucks, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, have created a new genetic control mechanism made exclusively of ribonucleic acids (RNA). They call their engineered RNAs STARS Small Transcription Activating RNAs described online in Nature Chemical Biology, Feb. 2.

Weve created a whole new toolset of regulation, said Lucks, who describes RNA as the most engineerable molecule on the planet.

RNA is a single-stranded version of its close cousin, DNA, which makes up the double-stranded genome of all living organisms. While DNA acts as natures hard drive, storing the genes that make up our genome, RNA is part of the cellular computer that activates the hard drive by helping the cell tune the expression of specific genes, Lucks says. While RNA is known to do this in many ways, one thing it cant do in nature is start the process by turning on, or activating, transcription the first step in gene expression, and the core of many cellular programs.

In the lab, Lucks and colleagues have assigned RNA this new role. Theyve engineered an RNA system that acts like a genetic switch, in which RNA tells the cell to activate the transcription of a specific gene. The STAR system involves placing a special RNA sequence upstream of a target gene that acts as a blockade and prevents the cell from transcribing that gene. When the STAR is present, it removes this blockade, turning on the downstream gene by allowing transcription to take place. The effect is like a lock-and-key system for turning genes on, with STARs acting as a set of genetic keys for unlocking cellular genetic programs.

RNA is like a molecular puzzle, a crazy Rubiks cube that has to be unlocked in order to do different things, Lucks said. Weve figured out how to design another RNA that unlocks part of that puzzle. The STAR is the key to that lock.

RNA is Lucks favorite molecule because its simple much simpler than a protein and its function can be engineered by designing its structure. In fact, new experimental and computational technologies, some developed by Lucks lab, are now giving quick access to their structures and functions, enabling a new era of biomolecular design that is much more difficult to do with proteins.

Lucks envisions RNA-only, LEGO-like genetic circuits that can act as cellular computers. RNA-engineered gene networks could also offer diagnostic capabilities, as similar RNA circuits have been shown to activate a gene only if, for example, a certain virus is present.

This is going to open up a whole set of possibilities for us, because RNA molecules make decisions and compute information really well, and they detect things really well, Lucks said.

The paper is called Creating Small Transcription Activating RNAs, and its co-authors are postdoctoral associate James Chappell and graduate student Melissa Takahashi. Supporters include the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research.

Visit link:

A STAR is born: Engineers devise genetic 'on' switch

7 hours ago

All life processes depend on genes turning on and off. Cornell University scientists have created a new "on" switch to control gene expression - a breakthrough that could revolutionize genetic engineering.

Synthetic biologists led by Julius Lucks, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, have created a new genetic control mechanism made exclusively of ribonucleic acids (RNA). They call their engineered RNAs STARS - Small Transcription Activating RNAs - described online in Nature Chemical Biology, Feb. 2.

"We've created a whole new toolset of regulation," said Lucks, who describes RNA as "the most engineerable molecule on the planet."

RNA is a single-stranded version of its close cousin, DNA, which makes up the double-stranded genome of all living organisms. While DNA acts as nature's hard drive, storing the genes that make up our genome, RNA is part of the cellular computer that activates the hard drive by helping the cell tune the expression of specific genes, Lucks says. While RNA is known to do this in many ways, one thing it can't do in nature is start the process by turning on, or activating, transcription - the first step in gene expression, and the core of many cellular programs.

In the lab, Lucks and colleagues have assigned RNA this new role. They've engineered an RNA system that acts like a genetic switch, in which RNA tells the cell to activate the transcription of a specific gene. The STAR system involves placing a special RNA sequence upstream of a target gene that acts as a blockade and prevents the cell from transcribing that gene. When the STAR is present, it removes this blockade, turning on the downstream gene by allowing transcription to take place. The effect is like a lock-and-key system for turning genes on, with STARs acting as a set of genetic keys for unlocking cellular genetic programs.

"RNA is like a molecular puzzle, a crazy Rubik's cube that has to be unlocked in order to do different things," Lucks said. "We've figured out how to design another RNA that unlocks part of that puzzle. The STAR is the key to that lock."

RNA is Lucks' favorite molecule because it's simple - much simpler than a protein - and its function can be engineered by designing its structure. In fact, new experimental and computational technologies, some developed by Lucks' lab, are now giving quick access to their structures and functions, enabling a new era of biomolecular design that is much more difficult to do with proteins.

Lucks envisions RNA-only, LEGO-like genetic circuits that can act as cellular computers. RNA-engineered gene networks could also offer diagnostic capabilities, as similar RNA circuits have been shown to activate a gene only if, for example, a certain virus is present.

"This is going to open up a whole set of possibilities for us, because RNA molecules make decisions and compute information really well, and they detect things really well," Lucks said.

Excerpt from:

Engineers devise genetic 'on' switch made exclusively of RNA

To retain and attract top talent, a quarter of UK businesses would extend health screening into genetic testing but fear of legal repercussions is an inhibiting factor for 76% of employers

With the price of full DNA testing plummeting, and in anticipation of personalised medicines fine-tuned to a patient's genetic make-up, one in four (24%) UK businesses say that they are likely to extend health screening into genetic testing as they strive to retain and attract top talent, a new survey has found.

UK businesses could soon offer employees a complete readout of their genetic blueprint, and hence unprecedented insight into their current and future health, but, amidst all the excitement, Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, Vice President of the Patients Association and former Chair of the Human Genetics Committee, urges businesses to consider the wider implications, suggesting that genetic screening of employees may be more of a Pandoras box than a panacea.

More than 600 UK business leaders were questioned for the Astellas Innovation DebateTM 2015, which on Thursday 29th January brings together a panel of world-renowned experts at The Royal Institution of Great Britain to discuss the implications of the revolutions in DNA and data for our health.1

Currently, one in four (24%) business leaders say they would offer full genetic screening to their employees though this rises to nearly a third (29%) in the IT and banking sectors, where talent often seems in short supply. But most employers (76%) the fear of legal repercussions is an inhibiting factor.

Of employers who said that their business would be unlikely to offer genetic screening to employees, 43% said they might reconsider their view in the future if better legislation were introduced to protect the rights of employers (19%) and employees (24%). 16% said they would re-consider their view if the results of genetic testing could serve to reduce the cost of key person insurance, while a further 16% said that businesses would need access to advice on dealing with employees found to be at higher genetic risk of developing serious illness. Only 5% said they might choose to offer genetic screening if their business could access genetic data from test results.

European legislation prohibits businesses from gaining access to their employees genetic data, and most businesses (72%) support this principle. Despite that, one in five bosses (22%) admitted that an employee who revealed his/her greater genetic risk of serious illness would consequently also run a greater risk of redundancy and become less eligible for promotion.

Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, a panellist at the Astellas Innovation Debate Vice President of the Patients Association, and former Chair of the Human Genetics Commission, where she successfully pushed for a moratorium on access to genetic records for insurance companies and persuaded the Government to make it a criminal offence to test DNA without an individuals consent, commented:

Of course its a testament to mankinds ingenuity that genetics and technology are combining to bring the prospect of personalised medicine much closer. But knowing the facts about our genes can also bring challenges. For example, our genetic information could be misused by insurers, who could over-interpret the information in our genes, wrongly suspect we are susceptible to some disease, and so not provide us with the kind of insurance we need. Similarly, if an employee shared some genetic information with his or her boss that indicated a higher risk of, say, cancer or a neurological disease, as this survey shows the employee would be at higher risk of discrimination in the workplace in the form of redundancy or being passed over for promotion. This in turn leaves the employer vulnerable to accusations of discrimination. And then, on a personal level, employees might well need professional support if they become distressed at the prospect of a disease that they might or might not develop.

Some US technology companies are offering employees DNA screening to identify the risk of cancers, and holding out the promise of personalised treatment based on their genetic make-up should they need it. However, I would urge UK businesses not to follow suit certainly not without thinking very carefully about the wider implications to them and their employees. It is not just a matter of potential discrimination and lawsuits, but also of the health benefits to those being tested. Of course, we all recognise the importance of screening people with a family history of certain diseases and rare genetic disorders as the 100,000 Genomes Project is currently doing but there is little benefit to widespread genetic testing if it cant tell you when or even if you will develop the disease.

See the original post here:

Genetic screening for workers: A panacea or a pandora's box?

To retain and attract top talent, a quarter of UK businesses would extend health screening into genetic testing but fear of legal repercussions is an inhibiting factor for 76% of employers

With the price of full DNA testing plummeting, and in anticipation of personalised medicines fine-tuned to a patient's genetic make-up, one in four (24%) UK businesses say that they are likely to extend health screening into genetic testing as they strive to retain and attract top talent, a new survey has found.

UK businesses could soon offer employees a complete readout of their genetic blueprint, and hence unprecedented insight into their current and future health, but, amidst all the excitement, Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, Vice President of the Patients Association and former Chair of the Human Genetics Committee, urges businesses to consider the wider implications, suggesting that genetic screening of employees may be more of a Pandoras box than a panacea.

More than 600 UK business leaders were questioned for the Astellas Innovation DebateTM 2015, which on Thursday 29th January brings together a panel of world-renowned experts at The Royal Institution of Great Britain to discuss the implications of the revolutions in DNA and data for our health.1

Currently, one in four (24%) business leaders say they would offer full genetic screening to their employees though this rises to nearly a third (29%) in the IT and banking sectors, where talent often seems in short supply. But most employers (76%) the fear of legal repercussions is an inhibiting factor.

Of employers who said that their business would be unlikely to offer genetic screening to employees, 43% said they might reconsider their view in the future if better legislation were introduced to protect the rights of employers (19%) and employees (24%). 16% said they would re-consider their view if the results of genetic testing could serve to reduce the cost of key person insurance, while a further 16% said that businesses would need access to advice on dealing with employees found to be at higher genetic risk of developing serious illness. Only 5% said they might choose to offer genetic screening if their business could access genetic data from test results.

European legislation prohibits businesses from gaining access to their employees genetic data, and most businesses (72%) support this principle. Despite that, one in five bosses (22%) admitted that an employee who revealed his/her greater genetic risk of serious illness would consequently also run a greater risk of redundancy and become less eligible for promotion.

Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, a panellist at the Astellas Innovation Debate Vice President of the Patients Association, and former Chair of the Human Genetics Commission, where she successfully pushed for a moratorium on access to genetic records for insurance companies and persuaded the Government to make it a criminal offence to test DNA without an individuals consent, commented:

Of course its a testament to mankinds ingenuity that genetics and technology are combining to bring the prospect of personalised medicine much closer. But knowing the facts about our genes can also bring challenges. For example, our genetic information could be misused by insurers, who could over-interpret the information in our genes, wrongly suspect we are susceptible to some disease, and so not provide us with the kind of insurance we need. Similarly, if an employee shared some genetic information with his or her boss that indicated a higher risk of, say, cancer or a neurological disease, as this survey shows the employee would be at higher risk of discrimination in the workplace in the form of redundancy or being passed over for promotion. This in turn leaves the employer vulnerable to accusations of discrimination. And then, on a personal level, employees might well need professional support if they become distressed at the prospect of a disease that they might or might not develop.

Some US technology companies are offering employees DNA screening to identify the risk of cancers, and holding out the promise of personalised treatment based on their genetic make-up should they need it. However, I would urge UK businesses not to follow suit certainly not without thinking very carefully about the wider implications to them and their employees. It is not just a matter of potential discrimination and lawsuits, but also of the health benefits to those being tested. Of course, we all recognise the importance of screening people with a family history of certain diseases and rare genetic disorders as the 100,000 Genomes Project is currently doing but there is little benefit to widespread genetic testing if it cant tell you when or even if you will develop the disease.

Read more:
Genetic screening for workers: A panacea or a pandora's box?

Genetic Engineering for Mining Water Filtering
This is a biotech company video made to show the process of genetically modifying bacteria used for filtering mining water-- Created using PowToon -- Free si...

By: shchang18

View post:
Genetic Engineering for Mining Water Filtering - Video

[Cross-posted from our new Energy and Environment blog.]

One of the strange things about being human beings is that we are highly conscious of our surroundings, yet are oblivious to the molecular machinations within our own bodies. Sure, we monitor ourselves were hungry, were tired, were squirrelly, weve got the sewing-machine leg, we shoulda tried the decaf. Those of us who focus on our breathing can find our psychic zone of serenity, where we can feel superior to other people who breathe less immaculately and more clumsily. But whatever: Were not aware of whats happening at the cellular level, down there where the ribosomes are taking information from DNA and manufacturing proteins that somehow serve specific functions simply through their three-dimensional structure.

We certainly dont pause to consider that, thanks to the trillions of bacteria we host, most of the genetic information in our bodies is not actually human. Were a composite organism. Life is basically the weirdest and most astonishing thing ever.

And now, increasingly, human beings are at the controls through genetic engineering and other advanced laboratory technologies. This is the age of synthetic life.

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are a source of enduring controversy, and its not simply a matter of science. There are economic and political issues here, with huge corporations like Monsanto looming over a discussion that touches on ownership of novel species and the question of who, exactly, will benefit from these technologies.

But lets cut to a basic question: Are GMOs safe?

Nothing controversial there! Seriously, you can answer this question round or square depending on which experts and activists you contact. Generally, though, scientists hold that food containing GMOs are just as safe to consume as food that comes from crops modified through traditional breeding techniques. Just because it comes out of a lab doesnt make it dangerous. The American Association for the Advancement of Science opposed the 2012 Proposition 37 California referendum that would have required GMO labeling. The AAAS board of directors said this would unnecessarily alarm consumers.

But what about the environment? Do GMOs pose an ecological risk?

The answer to that is controversial, said David Guston, a professor of politics and global studies and co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. He noted a much-publicized case where superweeds had developed a resistance to the herbicide Roundup as a result of heavy Roundup use on genetically modified, Roundup-resistant crops.

Any particular change is part of a larger system. You can say that the Roundup-resistant weeds, the superweeds, arent a direct effect of the genetic modification of the BT-resistant corn, but theyre a consequences of the agricultural practices that surround the Roundup-ready crop, Guston said. Some of this is foreseeable, and some of this is not foreseeable.

Read more here:
Achenbach: Welcome to Science Tuesday Mid-Afternoon: Should we be worried about synthetic organisms cooked up in ...

[Cross-posted from our new Energy and Environment blog.]

One of the strange things about being human beings is that we are highly conscious of our surroundings, yet are oblivious to the molecular machinations within our own bodies. Sure, we monitor ourselves were hungry, were tired, were squirrelly, weve got the sewing-machine leg, we shoulda tried the decaf. Those of us who focus on our breathing can find our psychic zone of serenity, where we can feel superior to other people who breathe less immaculately and more clumsily. But whatever: Were not aware of whats happening at the cellular level, down there where the ribosomes are taking information from DNA and manufacturing proteins that somehow serve specific functions simply through their three-dimensional structure.

We certainly dont pause to consider that, thanks to the trillions of bacteria we host, most of the genetic information in our bodies is not actually human. Were a composite organism. Life is basically the weirdest and most astonishing thing ever.

And now, increasingly, human beings are at the controls through genetic engineering and other advanced laboratory technologies. This is the age of synthetic life.

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are a source of enduring controversy, and its not simply a matter of science. There are economic and political issues here, with huge corporations like Monsanto looming over a discussion that touches on ownership of novel species and the question of who, exactly, will benefit from these technologies.

But lets cut to a basic question: Are GMOs safe?

Nothing controversial there! Seriously, you can answer this question round or square depending on which experts and activists you contact. Generally, though, scientists hold that food containing GMOs are just as safe to consume as food that comes from crops modified through traditional breeding techniques. Just because it comes out of a lab doesnt make it dangerous. The American Association for the Advancement of Science opposed the 2012 Proposition 37 California referendum that would have required GMO labeling. The AAAS board of directors said this would unnecessarily alarm consumers.

But what about the environment? Do GMOs pose an ecological risk?

The answer to that is controversial, said David Guston, a professor of politics and global studies and co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. He noted a much-publicized case where superweeds had developed a resistance to the herbicide Roundup as a result of heavy Roundup use on genetically modified, Roundup-resistant crops.

Any particular change is part of a larger system. You can say that the Roundup-resistant weeds, the superweeds, arent a direct effect of the genetic modification of the BT-resistant corn, but theyre a consequences of the agricultural practices that surround the Roundup-ready crop, Guston said. Some of this is foreseeable, and some of this is not foreseeable.

Read more:
Welcome to Science Tuesday Mid-Afternoon: Should we be worried about synthetic organisms cooked up in laboratories?

One of the strange things about being human beings is that we are highly conscious of our surroundings, yet are oblivious to the molecular machinations within our own bodies. Sure, we monitor ourselves were hungry, were tired, were squirrelly, weve got the sewing-machine leg, we shoulda tried the decaf. Those of us who focus on our breathing can find our psychic zone of serenity, where we can feel superior to other people who breathe less immaculately and more clumsily. But whatever: Were not aware of whats happening at the cellular level, down there where the ribosomes are taking information from DNA and manufacturing proteins that somehow serve specific functions simply through their three-dimensional structure.

We certainly dont pause to consider that, thanks to the trillions of bacteria we host, most of the genetic information in our bodies is not actually human. Were a composite organism. Life is basically the weirdest and most astonishing thing ever.

And now, increasingly, human beings are at the controls through genetic engineering and other advanced laboratory technologies. This is the age of synthetic life.

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are a source of enduring controversy, and its not simply a matter of science. There are economic and political issues here, with huge corporations like Monsanto looming over a discussion that touches on ownership of novel species and the question of who, exactly, will benefit from these technologies.

But lets cut to a basic question: Are GMOs safe?

Nothing controversial there! Seriously, you can answer this question round or square depending on which experts and activists you contact. Generally, though, scientists hold that food containing GMOs are just as safe to consume as food that comes from crops modified through traditional breeding techniques. Just because it comes out of a lab doesnt make it dangerous. The American Association for the Advancement of Science opposed the 2012 Proposition 37 California referendum that would have required GMO labeling. The AAAS board of directors said this would unnecessarily alarm consumers.

But what about the environment? Do GMOs pose an ecological risk?

The answer to that is controversial, said David Guston, a professor of politics and global studies and co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. He noted a much-publicized case where superweeds had developed a resistance to the herbicide Roundup as a result of heavy Roundup use on genetically modified, Roundup-resistant crops.

Any particular change is part of a larger system. You can say that the Roundup-resistant weeds, the superweeds, arent a direct effect of the genetic modification of the BT-resistant corn, but theyre a consequences of the agricultural practices that surround the Roundup-ready crop, Guston said. Some of this is foreseeable, and some of this is not foreseeable.

In their 2012 statement, the AAAS board of directors offered a much stronger endorsement of GMO crops:

Read the original:
Scientists are actually creating microscopic life in laboratories. Should you worry?

IMAGE:Big Data, published quarterly in print and online, facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, analysts, statisticians, business leaders, and policymakers to improve operations, profitability, and communications within... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, January 28, 2015 - EMBERS is a large-scale big data analytics system designed to use publically available data to predict population-level societal events such as civil unrest or disease outbreaks. The usefulness of this predictive artificial intelligence system over the past 2 years is reviewed in an article in Big Data, the highly innovative, peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Big Data website.

In the article "Forecasting Significant Societal Events Using the EMBERS Streaming Predictive Analytics System," Andy Doyle and coauthors, CACI, Inc. (Lanham, MD), Virginia Tech (Arlington, VA), and BASIS Technology (Herndon, VA), describe the structure and function of the Early Model Based Event Recognition using Surrogates (EMBERS) system. They describe EMBERS as a working example of a big data streaming architecture that processes large volumes of social media data and uses a variety of modeling approaches to make predictions.

"EMBERS represents a significant advance in our ability to make sense of large amounts of unstructured data in an automated manner," says Big Data Editor-in-Chief Vasant Dhar, Co-Director, Center for Business Analytics, Stern School of Business, New York University. "The authors present an architecture that provides a scalable method for dealing with large streams of social media data emanating from Twitter. Although the focus of the paper is on predicting social unrest globally, the methods should be usable for processing these type of data for a variety of applications."

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About the Journal

Big Data, published quarterly in print and online, facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, analysts, statisticians, business leaders, and policymakers to improve operations, profitability, and communications within their organizations. Spanning a broad array of disciplines focusing on novel big data technologies, policies, and innovations, the Journal brings together the community to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends living within this information. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Big Data website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, Journal of Computational Biology, New Space, and 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's more than 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Large-scale analytics system for predicting major societal events described in Big Data Journal

IMAGE:Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that focuses on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 27, 2015--Therapeutic oligonucleotide analogs represent a new and promising family of drugs that act on nucleic acid targets such as RNA or DNA; however, their effectiveness has been limited due to difficulty crossing the cell membrane. A new delivery approach based on cell-penetrating peptide nanoparticles can efficiently transport charge-neutral oligonucleotide analogs into cells, as reported in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website.

In the article, "Peptide Nanoparticle Delivery of Charge-Neutral Splice-Switching Morpholino Oligonucleotides," Peter Jrver and coauthors, Cambridge Biomedical Campus (U.K.), Karolinska University Hospital (Huddinge, Sweden), Stockholm University (Sweden), Alexandria University (Egypt), and University of Oxford (U.K.), note that while delivery systems exist to facilitate cell entry of negatively charged oligonucleotide drugs, these approaches are not effective for charge-neutral oligonucleotide analogs. The authors describe lipid-functionalized peptides that form a complex with charge-neutral morpholino oligonucleotides, enabling them to cross into cells and retain their biological activity.

"The exploitation of phosphorodiamidate morpholinos represents an exciting approach to treating a number of therapeutic targets," says Executive Editor Graham C. Parker, PhD, The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI. "This paper suggests an intriguing but practical approach to solving the lack of a convenient non-covalent delivery system."

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Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is under the editorial leadership of Editor-in-Chief Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Duke Translational Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and Executive Editor Graham C. Parker, PhD.

About the Journal

Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that focuses on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids or related compounds to alter gene expression. Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is the official journal of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website.

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Nanoparticles that deliver oligonucleotide drugs into cells described in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics

IMAGE:BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD.... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 26, 2015--The promise for using mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to repair cartilage damage caused by osteoarthritis depends on the MSC being able to attach efficiently to the defective cartilage. A novel laboratory model in which artificially created cartilage lesions and labeled MSC were used to test factors that might improve MSC binding and the effectiveness of future MSC-based therapies is described in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

In the article "1 Integrins Mediate Attachment of Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Cartilage Lesions," D. Zwolanek, PhD, and coauthors, University of Veterinary Medicine (Vienna, Austria), University of Cologne Medical Faculty (Germany), University Medical Center Rotterdam (The Netherlands) present the results of experiments using a combination of ex vivo and in vivo model systems of defective cartilage. They studied the effects of serum, plasma hyaluronic acid, and various cell adhesion-related proteins such as integrins on the attachment of MSC to the extracellular matrix of the cartilage.

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About the Journal

BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMed Central. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many areas of science and biomedical research, including DNA and Cell Biology, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, HGT Methods, and HGT Clinical Development, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Integrins are essential in stem cell binding to defective cartilage for joint regeneration

Indian discovery gives boost to hopes for Malaria vaccine
A stunning new discovery in India could in future lead to the development of a new vaccine against malaria. A team of scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the International...

By: NDTV

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Indian discovery gives boost to hopes for Malaria vaccine - Video

Scientists under Attack Genetic Engineering in the magnetic Field of Money TRAILER
Scientists under Attack Engineering Genetic in the magnetic Field of Money Money Bought Scientists GMO Foods GMO #39;s Science Professor Crops Genetically modified organisms Government foods...

By: Truth-worx Cornelia

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Scientists under Attack Genetic Engineering in the magnetic Field of Money TRAILER - Video

"Biotechnology promises the greatest revolution in human history. By the end of this decade, it will have outdistanced atomic power and computers in its effect on our everyday lives." Once upon a time, superheroes inevitably gained their superpowers from radiation, the latest and most mysterious-yet-powerful fad of the 50s and 60s. Technology Marches On, however, and gene splicing has replaced atom smashing as the most glamorous sciencey stuff: nowadays, many modern remakes of classic superheroes go with Genetic Engineering. Be it a bite from a genetically engineered spider, or exposure to it in a freak accident, genetically engineered origins are the Phlebotinum for the 21st century. Rarely are the effects of "genetic engineering" anything like those portrayed in adventure fiction however, it's a buzzword that everyone knows, and that the average public knows just enough about for it to seem powerful, without any inconvenient actual education getting in the road of the Phlebotinum at work. God only knows what superheroes will be getting their powers from twenty years from now - nanotechnology, perhaps? (It's certainly very fashionable in Cyber Punk these days.) Quantum mechanics is another good excuse - anything can happen because of quantum. Genetic Engineering also lends itself to being weaponized to do exactly the same thing as those ultracool nukes that kill people but leave buildings standing. Now that nuclear apocalypse is substantially less likely (or at least less likely to wipe us all out), and Chemical/Biological weapons just aren't destructive enough in terms of human life, Genetic Weapons make a nice scary (and vague) alternative. It's also interesting to note the other favourite sources of weirdness used by SF writers before the advent of nuclear physics.

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Main/Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke - Television ...

January 24, 2015

(GMO growing facility. Credit: Thinkstock)

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Two teams of US scientists are currently working on a way to produce safer genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that would be unable to spread in the wild, finding a potential solution to a primary concern to critics of genetic engineering research.

According to BBC News, the researchers have altered the genetic code of bacteria so that they can only use synthetic chemicals to grow. If they escaped into nature, they would simply die out, ideally alleviating some of the fears over GMOs and opening the door for their increased use in the fields of agriculture, medicine, and environmental clean-up.

As explained in the journal Nature, the bacteria relies upon an amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein) that does not occur in nature. While the microbes can thrive in the lab as long as they have access to the unnatural amino acid, none survived an experiment in which the artificial supplement was withheld.

Genetically engineered micro-organisms are currently used in the US, Europe, and China in order to produce drugs or fuels under contained industrial conditions, the BBC said. However, scientists are looking to develop internal fail-safe measures to help keep them from spreading if used in real-world conditions.

Re-writing the genetic code

What weve done is engineered organisms so that they require synthetic amino acids for survival or for life, Yale University professor Farren J. Isaacs, who led one of the two studies, told BBC News. What were seeing here is an important proof of concept that re-coding genomes and engineering dependence on synthetic amino acids is technically feasible in not just E coli but other micro-organisms and multicellular organisms such as plants.

Our strains, to the extent that we can test them, wont escape, added Daniel J. Mandell, a synthetic biologist at Harvard. The new bacteria is also unable to exchange their DNA with the natural versions of the same bacteria, since they no longer speak each others genetic language.

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Safer GMOs possible with spread-resistant bacteria

Genetic Engineering OMD Top of the Pops
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on Top of the Pops and doing Genetic Engineering. A amused audience with hats and balloons bouncing along!

By: Neil Taylor

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Genetic Engineering OMD Top of the Pops - Video