Monthly Archives: March 2022

Hank the Tank is "our big bear friend who has adopted the Tahoe Keys neighborhood as his residential area," police in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., say. Officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife say that DNA samples show that at least two other large bears have broken into nearly two dozen homes. Bear League hide caption

Hank the Tank is "our big bear friend who has adopted the Tahoe Keys neighborhood as his residential area," police in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., say. Officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife say that DNA samples show that at least two other large bears have broken into nearly two dozen homes.

Turns out, Hank the Tank wasn't on a one-bear crime spree he had accomplices.

And thanks to DNA evidence clearing his name, Hank won't be killed or moved to a sanctuary.

Earlier, officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said that the 500-pound bear was the culprit in more than two dozen home break-ins around South Lake Tahoe, Calif., adding that he was responsible for "152 reports of conflict behavior."

On Thursday, however, they said Hank wasn't the only one responsible for the crimes.

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, DNA samples show that at least two other bears have broken into area homes.

"Identifying bears simply by their visible, physical characteristics can lead to misidentifying bears and therefore confusing management efforts," CDFW officials said in a statement. "The genetic information gleaned from our effort in the South Lake Tahoe area will assist CDFW by expanding its database of bear genetics and hopefully preventing future misidentification of bears."

Given the new evidence, officials say they are no longer planning to euthanize Hank if captured. Instead, wildlife experts say their plan is to "trap, tag and work to relocate habituated bears."

"All of these efforts are focused on keeping residents safe, and enabling safe and healthy conditions for these bears," the agency said.

Hank is a "severely food-habituated bear," the CDFW said, explaining that the term simply means that Hank has "lost its fear of people and is associating people with access to food."

Hank's fame quickly increased as his story was shared across dozens of news outlets over the last few days. And South Lake Tahoe police are fed up with residents calling the department about Hank sharing their opinions on how officials should handle him, according to San Francisco TV station ABC 7.

On Wednesday, the department posted a message to residents on Facebook urging them to stop calling the department about the bear.

"It's time to talk. Please stop calling South Lake Tahoe Police to give your opinions about Hank," the department wrote. "The SLTPD does not have a say in where Hank lands. Our local wildlife agencies are working together to find the best option for Hank."

The Bear League, a local nonprofit that aims to protect bears, expressed its relief of Hank not being euthanized on Facebook.

"Hank no longer has a death sentence hanging over him and he is no longer going to have his freedom taken away from him by sending him to a sanctuary," the nonprofit wrote in a post.

"We fully support this decision and are grateful for the investigation into the truth that was taken seriously by the experts within our CA DFW," the post adds.

The bear "has used its immense size and strength to break in and through front doors and garage doors" over roughly the past seven months, the agency said.

NPR's Bill Chappell contributed to this report.

Read more:
Hank the Tank: Massive bear avoids death and relocation thanks to DNA evidence - NPR

A high-profile court case where one rapper stands accused of shooting another is the subject of social media speculation.

A viral Feb. 23 post on Facebook says, "It was revealed in court a few moments ago that Tory Lanez DNA WAS NOT found on the weapon in the Meg Thee Stallion case." The post is a screenshot of a Feb. 23 tweet by DJ Akademiks, which has since been deleted from Twitter.

The post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

At a Feb. 23 pre-trial hearing for Lanez charged in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion no one said that his DNA was not found on the weapon.

A transcript from the hearing indicates that Lanezs attorney said, "We are in the process of actually retaining an expert with respect to DNA," according to a tweet by Rolling Stone reporter Nancy Dillon. "It is our hope that we will be able to review and confirm the (Los Angeles Police Departments) analysis, which from our standpoint was favorable."

But the "precise nature" of the LAPD analysis and its results were not disclosed or described, Dillon wrote in a follow-up tweet. "There is a discovery protective order on this case, so it's not public."

The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office told a news organization, "We believe the evidence substantially supports the charges and allegations and that evidence will be borne out in court."

Lanez is charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic handgun and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.

In July 2020, Megan, whose real name is Megan Pete, attended a party at Kylie Jenners house with Lanez, and later that night, Megan was shot. Initial reports indicated conflicting information about what had unfolded.

"The Los Angeles police have not named a suspect or explained her injuries in detail," the New York Times reported in late July 2020. "The police would not even confirm whether the injuries were gunshot wounds." In October 2020, Lanez was charged in connection with the shooting.

Our ruling

A Facebook post says, "It was revealed in court" on Feb. 23, 2022"that Tory Lanez DNA WAS NOT found on the weapon in the Meg Thee Stallion case."

At a Feb. 23 pre-trial hearing for Lanez no one said that his DNA was not found on the weapon.

Lanezs attorney said they were in the process of retaining a DNA expert, and that the LAPD had done a DNA analysis. The nature and results of that analysis were not disclosed.

We rate this claim False.

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Hearing did not include DNA evidence to vindicate rapper charged in Megan Thee Stallion shooting - PolitiFact

A friend recently brought home her new pup. She bought it from a breeder who insisted the dog was a pure-bred Golden Retriever. Being a first-time pet owner she wasnt particularly familiar with what the breed should look like, but when she brought her furbaby to puppy training she realized that the dog really didnt look like the other Goldens that were there. While that didnt make her love her dog any less, she was interested to know what breed he actually was. Her solution? Test his DNA.

Besides satisfying curiosity, testing your dogs DNA can have a series of benefits. Knowing your pups breed can explain some of his quirky behaviors, like his chewing, his herding tendencies, his overwhelming desire to chase squirrels or burrow under the fence. With this knowledge, you can adjust your training style to help ensure that you are giving your pup his best chance for success. Dogs by nature are people-pleasers, so when they do well, and youre happy, its a win-win situation all around. Beyond that it can help you understand what kind of genetic health risks your dog may be prone to, as well as helping to determine how large your dog might become and his average lifespan.

The DNA My Dog Breed Identification Test Kit is fast, easy and painless. Simply swab your pets cheeks, send in the sample and the results will be emailed back to you within two weeks. You will not only receive a breakdown of the breeds identified in your dogs DNA, but a report on the associated personality traits and potential health concerns.

Recipient of the Leaders in Ethical Canine Genetic Testing award at the 2020 GHP Biotechnology Awards, DNA My Dog Breed is normally valued at $79, but is now being offered for only $59.99, a 24% discount. A satisfied customer lauds, To find out [her dogs] DNA has been the coolest experience! The description of the levels was most helpful. SO GLAD I DID THIS!!" Get yours, and see if you dont agree.

Oh and my friends dog? Turns out there was barely a drop of Golden Retriever in him.

Prices subject to change.

Sponsor content: This article is written in partnership with StackCommerce.

Link:
The Reasons For Your Dog's Behavior Could Lie In His DNA - IFLScience

In 2016, a rape survivor voluntarily provided her DNA to San Francisco law enforcement officers so that her attacker might be brought to justice. Five years later, the sample she provided led police to connect her to an unrelated burglary, according to San Francisco district attorney Chesa Boudin. The woman faced a felony property charge, but Boudin dropped the case, saying the use of her DNA was a violation of her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The incident could deter survivors of sexual assault from coming forward if they think their DNA could be used to implicate them in a future crime. It also raises legal and ethical questions about the broader law enforcement use of genetic evidence. We should encourage survivors to come forwardnot collect evidence to use against them in the future. This practice treats victims like evidence, not human beings, Boudin said in a February 14 statement.

More than 300,000 people were raped or sexually assaulted in 2020, according to the Department of Justices 2020 Criminal Victimization Report. Yet less than 23 percent of those assaults were reported to police, down nearly 34 percent from 2019. Many survivors are also reluctant to undergo a forensic exam, also known as a rape kit, out of fear or shame. During the exam, a nurse collects biological evidence that may contain DNA from the assailant, such as blood, hair, saliva, and skin cells. Survivors may also be asked to provide a sample of their own DNA as a reference to determine if genetic material found at the crime scene belongs to them or someone else.

Sexual assault victims subject themselves to this very invasive exam for one purpose, and that is to identify their assailant, says Camille Cooper, vice president of public policy at RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a nonprofit that aims to prevent sexual assault and help survivors. Any use of their DNA for any other purpose is wholly inappropriate and unethical.

And yet, theres currently no uniform practice regarding what crime labs do with reference DNA samples after testing. Federal law does prohibit police from uploading victims DNA profiles to a national database known as the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, which is maintained by the FBI. CODIS is used to link violent crimes like homicides and sexual assaults to known offenders and has strict rules for what kind of profiles can be submitted. It contains DNA collected from crime scenes, from people arrested for or convicted of felonies, and to a lesser extent, from unidentified remains. People who are released from custody or found not guilty can petition to have their information removed from CODIS.

But some local police departments operate their own DNA databases outside the purview of CODIS. Most states dont have laws limiting the kinds of DNA samples that can be stored in them. Police departments around the country have, over time, developed these separate databases that are largely unregulated, says Andrea Roth, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley who specializes in forensic science and has researched these databases.

Link:
A Rape Survivor Gave Police Her DNA. They Linked Her to Another Crime - WIRED

For the first time, researchers successfully disabled a gene in human patients by treating them with CRISPR gene editing technology, clearing patients blood of a toxic protein for some patients by as much as 93 percent up to six months after the initial treatment. The researchers detailed the findings in a press release, a phase 1 clinical trial update, and data slides yesterday (March 1).

It is quite remarkable that this first [intravenous] CRISPR-based gene-editing effort has been so successful, gene therapy researcher Terence Flotte of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who was not involved with the study, tellsScience. This demonstrates great potential for the power of this platform clinically.

The 15 patients, who are enrolled in a clinical trial conducted by the pharmaceutical companies Intellia Therapeutics and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, have an inherited gene mutation called transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis, a progressive neurological disease that causes numbness, nerve pain, and heart failure. The mutation causes the liver to produce a misfolded version of the protein transthyretin that clumps together into insoluble amyloid fibrils that the body cannot clear. These build up in the heart, muscles, internal organs, and nerves, causing damage and preventing normal function. Healthy transthyretin helps transport vitamin A (retinol) throughout the body but has a limited and specific normal function, which means that knocking it out has limited physiological effects, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that served as the basis for the clinical trial.

The researchers behind the trial tell Science that they hope their CRISPR-based treatment will be the first single-dose treatment for TTR and confer long-lasting benefits. By contrast, existing treatments must be administered regularly. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Onpattro must be administered once every three weeks to provide therapeutic benefits. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Tegsedi must be administered every week.

Last year, Intellia and Regeneron started injecting patients with a CRISPR-Cas9 system, encased in fat droplets, that contained genetic instructions to remove the dysfunctional TTR gene from cells, reports Science. The droplets contain a guide RNA that targets the gene that produces TTR, and another RNA strand that guides the gene-cleaving Cas9 to liver cells. After the Cas9 protein cuts the portion of DNA that encodes TTR, the body's native gene repair system glues the DNA back together, but it does so imperfectly, truncating and disabling theTTR gene.

At that time, the pharmaceutical companies reported that the blood levels of the protein dropped dramatically in six patients one month after injection. However, there was no documented improvement in the patients symptoms.

Since publishing the initial report, the researchers have added nine more participants to their ongoing clinical trial. Patients received one of four doses of the treatment. The researchers now report that TTR levels in patients who receive a single treatment remained stableat 7 to 59 percent of pretrial levels 2 to 12 months after treatmentwith individual patients varying depending on which doses of the CRISPR treatment they received. The patients that received the highest dose saw a 93 percent reduction in TTR levels one month after treatment, which remained stable at least six months after treatment. The researchers reported that patients that received the lowest dose, the six patients in the initial cohort, initially saw a 52 percent reduction in protein levels, but this number dropped to 41 percent after a year. The researchers also reported no severe side effects with any doses. However, The Washington Post reports that more data are needed to show that the treatment will not have any dangerous side effects or cause off-target DNA damage down the road.

Based on preclinical trials in mice and monkeys, the researchers expected protein levels to remain low in humans. However, liver cells are replaced every 200 to 300 days, so theres a chance that the patients livers once more begin producing misfolded TTR.

The researchers are unsure whether the treatment will improve symptoms or simply halt disease progression. So far, none of the patients, who were already experiencing pain and numbness throughout the body before treatment, have reported improvement in their neurological symptoms one year after treatment. However, the researchers remain optimistic, as the drugs currently in use for TTR amyloidosis do improve symptoms despite only decreasing blood TTR levels to 80 percent of normal.

Read the original here:
CRISPR-Based Treatment Successfully Lowers Toxic Protein Levels - The Scientist

Clockwise from top left: Kalia Johnson, Delaney Lewis, Isabella LoConte, Jacquelin Merino Rojas

Born in London on July 25, 1920, chemist Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a woman of many talents, the most prominent of which was her talent for scientific discovery. From a young age, Franklin was encouraged by her parents to pursue her interest in science, to speak out about issues she considered important, and to persevere despite the opinions of her peers (Famous Scientists). This advice serve her well into her adult life as she went on to accomplish many feats as a Jewish woman in science. In 1938, after completing her studies at St. Pauls School for Girls a school that prepared young women to be career-ready rather than marriage-ready, Franklin set off to study physical chemistry at Newnham College, a womens college within Cambridge University (NIH). Much of her work as an undergraduate was influenced by World War II. Many of her professors and mentors were obligated to do scientific work for the war. Many French war refugees accepted positions at the university, including Adrienne Weil, who eventually became Rosalinds friend and mentor during such troubling times (NIH).

At the conclusion of her undergraduate work, Franklin had to decide whether to work as part of the war effort or pursue a Ph.D. in her specialty. She chose to pursue graduate training in chemistry. By the end of her graduate training, Franklin had earned a Ph.D. and published five research papers, all while living off an extremely small salary (Glynn 7). During her search for new work, Franklin got involved in the research occurring within Jacque Merings lab at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimique de l'Etat, located in Paris. There she learned to analyze carbons using X-ray crystallography, a process also known as X-ray diffraction. In addition, to publishing twenty-one papers on carbon structures and nineteen papers on viruses, Franklin is most well known for her discovery of the double helix that makes up DNA and the five publications she authored with her student, R.G. Gosling, on DNA structure (NIH). Despite being a woman in a mans world, Franklin persevered and was able to make massive historical breakthroughs with her work (Glynn 13).

Advances in x-ray crystallography that began with German physicist Max Von Laues discovery and tuse of x-ray diffraction in 1912 continued throughout Franklins graduate training and early career, and she mastered crystallography not only as a concept, but as a process; her experience using the machinery and interpreting the images that were produced would prove invaluable in her own research years in the future. While she was at Jacque Murings lab in Paris, she used crystallography to study the atomic structure of coal. Findings from Franklins coal research enabled people to produce and use coal more efficiently all across the world (Famous Scientists). Following her important findings about coal, she was asked to participate in a fellowship with Maurice Wilkins and John Randall, two researchers who were studying DNA proteins at Kings College in London (Uberoi). Wilkins obtained a clean sample of DNA, which was perfect for the study as it was free of variables that could make the image blurred or confusing (Famous Scientists). This was the sample that Franklin researched for the next three years.

It is important to note that a graduate student named Raymond Gosling had used a different sample of DNA roughly a year prior and already found out that it had a helical structure. Unlike Franklins however, his sample wasnt singled out and the resulting pictures were too blurry to be able to definitively tell its shape (Famous Scientists). This uncertainty about the structure is where Rosalind Franklin came in to help after skillfully taking pictures of DNA, utilizing the techniques she perfected in Murings lab, and studying the images, she made several crucial discoveries about DNA. She confirmed that it had a helical structure and was able to get a clear photo to prove it. She also realized that there is a significant difference in DNAs structure when the sample is exposed to moisture in contrast to when it is dried out (Famous Scientists; Gibbons). Franklin was particularly curious about why this was, so she paused her research on the structure of DNA and began to figure out why there was a difference when DNA was in different environments. She also took this time to double-check her own findings to make sure they were perfect. While in this process, Wilkins sent her images to two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, without her knowledge or permission (Gibbons). The two had been trying to make models of DNA for a while but didnt have any reference for it. Now with the pictures, they jumped at the opportunity and began to discover many of the things about DNAs structure that we know today (Famous Scientists). After building their model, they published a paper about it without giving credit to Franklin for her very crucial contributions to their findings (Famous Scientists, Gibbons).

Despite this theft of her intellectual property and the failure to recognize her contributions, Rosalind Franklin's discovery of the structure of DNA remains vitally relevant to this day; not only is her signature double-helix model sketched by every second grader in America, but her work has proved to be the fundamental foundation for virtually all modern genetic, microbiological, and biochemical research. It is by elaborating on her research that modern scientists working in this field have been able to accomplish what they have. Recently, scientists have discovered a new DNA structure within human cells. Described as a twisted knot, this variant structure occurs naturally within the human genome and had previously only ever been observed in vitro (Dockrill). In the fall of 2018, however, scientists were able to identify the structure in living cells as well and have since been researching what complex biological systems would require a unique structure to encode. One scientist involved was quoted saying how, "When most of us think of DNA, we think of the double helix... This new research reminds us that totally different DNA structures exist and could well be important for our cells." This makes clear that Franklin's work in discovering the structure of DNA is invaluable and serves as an foundation for all other work with DNA.

A review of Rosalind Franklins professional accomplishments makes clear that she was a master chemist, invaluable even in her own time for the work she did with coal in World War II. Through her work with DNA, she can be considered to have changed life science forever. A glimpse into the more personal aspects of Franklins life reveals that she had a zest for living, hunger for knowledge, and a commitment to doing good for all humanity that go beyond her 37 lived years. This is captured best by a quote from Franklin in which she proclaims that science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated. Science, for me, gives a partial explanation of life. In so far as it goes, it is based on fact, experience and experiment.

Works cited

The Doc. Rosalind Franklin. Famous Scientists. Accessed 04 November 2021.

Dockrill, Peter. Scientists Have Confirmed a New DNA Structure Inside Human Cells. ScienceAlert, 3 November 2018. Accessed 8 November 2021.

Gibbons, Michelle G. Reassessing Discovery: Rosalind Franklin, Scientific Visualization, and the Structure of DNA. Chicago Journals, June 2011. Accessed 3 November 2021.

Girolami, Gregory S. X-ray crystallography. University Science Books, 1953. Accessed 10 November 2021.

Glynn, Jennifer. My Sister Rosalind Franklin. New York, Oxford University Press Inc., 2012.

Klug, A. Rosalind Franklin and the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. Nature, vol. 219, 1968, 808-810, 843-844. Nature. Accessed 04 November 2021.

Max von Laue - Facts - NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize. Accessed 10 November 2021.

NIH. Rosalind Franklin. U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH. Accessed 04 November 2021.

Smith, Ms, and JH Martin. x Ray crystallography. NCBI, Feburary 2000. Accessed 09 November 2021.

Uberoi C. Rosalind Franklin: The Woman Scientist of DNA. Resonance, Springer India, March 2004. Accessed 1 November 2021.

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Rosalind Franklin's discovery of the double helix - Nevada Today

(123rf)

After swabbing Ums DNA from his mouth, the company plans to seal it in a capsule and send it to space by the end of this year.

Along with other world renowned celebrities, Um will be the first Korean celebrity to have his DNA sent to space. It is meaningful in the sense that their DNA will permanently float in deep space, said an official from Space Star.

The celebrities DNA capsules will be loaded in a rocket launched by United Launch Alliance, a joint company between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp., the company said.

The spacecraft called Enterprise Mission, also carries capsules filled with memory chips containing messages from Star Trek fans, according to the official.

Space Star plans to begin services to launch a portion of local celebrities cremated remains into outer space as well.

Launched in 2021, Space Star provides outer-space experiences with Celestis, the US based outer-spatial funerary company.

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)

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Startup Space Star to send mountaineers DNA to space - The Korea Herald