During the week of June 5, 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned the occurrence of an acute lung infection in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Between October 1980 and May 1981, five Los Angeles-based gay men had sought medical attention for a variety of symptoms including fever, oral fungal inflammation
In December 2014, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, was linked to a widespread measles outbreak, reported NBC News. The outbreak swept through the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Over 300 individuals contracted the measles as a result. This event encapsulated a troubling trend: the reemergence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Call it a comebackOver the past eight years, a number of
In November researchers for the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, a University of Mexico program for tracking the Bolivian indigenous group the Tsimane, discovered that helminths or parasitic roundworms may help women conceive, reported Stat. Roundworms prompt an anti-inflammatory response in humans. This reaction modulates the immune system and enables women with conception issues
While most geneticists pontificate on the ethical and technical implications of the latest gene-editing technology, others are busy perfecting preexisting techniques. Recently, DNA sequencing, a decades-old methodology, underwent democratization. A handful of enterprising companies revolutionized the technique, producing DNA-sequencing technology that cuts costs and production times. Out with the old order An industry-standard DNA-synthesis machine
Over the past year, researchers have made startling advances in the area of gene-editing, reported the MIT Technology Review. Using a new genetic engineering methodology called Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR, scientists have modified human embryos, increased muscle mass in dogs and produced horn-less dairy cows. However, these achievements haven’t come without controversy.
With the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and diseases like the Ebola virus, biological laboratories across the globe have intensified their research efforts. Lab work, which often requires technicians to handle caustic chemicals and deadly pathogens, endangers not only lab employees but also the general population, as one mishandled sample could cause a pandemic. As a
The ability to express and purify human proteins is essential to scientific research. However, challenges can arise when switching between systems that are not essentially the same. Here are some tips for recombinant protein expression in E. coli: Codon Optimization Different organisms often show particular preferences for one of the several codons that encode the
In early December world leaders and scientists convened in Paris for the Conference of the Parties on the U.N. Convention on Climate Change, reported The New York Times. During the two-week event, attendees discussed rising global temperatures and the associated environmental fallout. While presidents and prime ministers pitched industrial strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions,
On December 3rd, a group of scientists from leading research organizations met in Washington, DC to discuss a controversial topic, editing the human germline. Changing these genes would result in heritable changes to the human genome – changes that could be passed on from parents to their children. Convened by the Institute of Medicine, the
The VSV delta G system, like many other expression vectors, is leading the way in how scientists safely learn about a collection of viruses. Expression vectors are plasmids or viruses used for protein expression in cells. These plasmids or viruses are specifically developed so that they can introduce a certain gene to a target cell.