Step one in any project involving genetic modification is to get the genes you want into the cells you want changed. Traditionally, this meant shooting microscopic DNA-coated bullets at the cells and hoping the DNA got inside without blowing the cells to smithereens. It sounds messy, and it is. Now, researchers in South Korea have devised a super-precise method for inserting DNA into cells, and it’s powered by lasers.
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Scientists have managed to sequence the genome of a 700,000-year-old horse—in the process generating the oldest complete DNA sequence yet.
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In a plot twist straight out of Orphan Black, the Supreme Court has ruled that naturally occurring DNA cannot be patented, but synthetic biological material is fair game. The case involved Myriad Genetics, a company specializing in molecular testing, after it tried to patent two genes — BRCA1 and BRCA2 — that are often linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The Association for Molecular Pathology filed the suit, arguing that the patent would place undue restrictions on research since only Myriad would be allowed to tinker with those genes. The ruling established that isolating naturally occurring genetic material — as Myriad did — wasn’t enough to justify legal ownership, but so-called complementary DNA (meaning it’s man-made) would be eligible for patenting. Myriad had no comment at the time of this writing, but Sandra Park, an attorney with the ACLU Women’s Rights Project said, “Myriad did not invent the BRCA genes and should not control them. Because of this ruling, patients will have greater access to genetic testing and scientists can engage in research on these genes without fear of being sued.”
Via: CNN
Jolla recently revealed its first phone, and now Finland-based carrier DNA has confirmed it will be the first operator in the world to offer the self-titled handset. Running the Sailfish operating system, these devices continue on a path blazed by Meego while also promising Android app compatibility out of the box. The Jolla phone features 4.5-inch “HD” display, dual-core CPU, 16GB storage with microSD expansion slot, LTE and an 8MP rear camera. Our hands-on demo should reveal a bit more about what it’s bringing to the table (including an interesting split design that could allow future hardware augmentation), interested local residents can hit the source link to pre-order one now.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: DNA
3D printing has certainly taken off in the past couple of months as we’ve seen it produce some amazing products such as designer eyewear, a bionic ear and even a kidney. But this latest feat of 3D printing is both amazing and creepy at the same time as an artist has used DNA to print 3D portraits of people.
Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborb retrieves the DNA from her subjects by stumbling onto them during her travels through a number of ways such as picking up a dropped piece of gum or discarded cigarette butt, which is then analyzed and has its DNA mined to retrieve information such as the gender, ethnicity, and eye color of the person. The DNA is then fed into a custom computer program the translates the information into a 3D model of the person’s face.
The result of the 3D printed disembodied faces isn’t an exact replica of the person, but instead, is described by Dewey-Hagborg as being more of a “family resemblance” of the actual person. Either way, we’ll be mindful of what DNA we leave out in public as we would rather not become the subject of this kind of project.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: This Dance Floor Can Generate Electricity From Your Cool Moves, Foxconn Shifting Strategies To End Reliance On Apple, 
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Panasonic, together with the Belgium-based research institution IMEC, has developed a DNA testing chip that automates all stages of obtaining genetic information, including preprocessing.
This development is expected to enable personalized, tailor-made therapy to become widespread.
“This is the chip we’ve actually developed. As you can see, it’s less than half the size of a business card. It contains everything needed for testing DNA. Once a drop of blood is inserted, the chip completes the entire process, up to SNP detection.”
SNPs are variations in a single DNA base among individuals.
Detecting SNPs makes it possible to check whether genetically transmitted diseases are present, evaluate future risks, and identify genes related to illness.
“By investigating SNPs, we can determine that this drug will work for this person, or this drug will have severe side-effects on that person. Investigating SNPs enables tailor-made therapy. But with the current method, it has to be done in a specialized lab, so it actually takes three to four days. In the worst case, it takes a week from sending the sample to getting the result. Our equipment can determine a patient’s SNPs in just an hour after receiving the blood.”
Testing is done simply by injecting the blood and a chemical into the chip, and setting it in the testing system.
First of all, the blood and chemical are mixed. DNA is then extracted from the mixed solution. The regions containing SNPs are then cut out and amplified. DNA amplification uses technology called PCR, which cuts out the desired sections by varying the temperature. With the conventional method, this process took two hours.
“Through careful attention to thermal separation design, we’ve achieved high-speed PCR, where 30 temperature cycles are completed in nine minutes. We think this is one of the fastest PCR systems in the world.”
The amplified DNA is then sent through a micropump to a DNA filter. Here, the DNA is separated for each section length. Then, a newly developed electrochemical sensor identifies SNPs while the DNA is dissolved in the chemical.
“To implement this system on one chip, and make detection easy, the first thing we focused on was the actuators. This system requires a very small, powerful pump. In our case, we used a conductive polymer for the actuators. A feature of these actuators is they’re powerful, yet extremely compact. They can exert a pressure of up to 30MPa.”
“Ultimately, we’d like to make this system battery-powered. We think that would enable genetically modified foods to be tested while still in the warehouse.”
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Yesterday, we saw a precocious teenager come up with a DIY DNA testing machine, simply as part of an effort to make sure that the world will no longer tease he and his brother that they have a different father each, but the fact that his younger brother’s curly red hair is due to genetic mutation. Well, here is something else to do with DNA, where Panasonic has come up with a new kind of small chip which has also been touted to be the fastest and smallest DNA testing lab in the world.
In fact, it is said that with this new DNA testing lab from Panasonic, work that normally require a whole lot of time has been successfully reduced to mere minutes. The “blood lab”, as one might call it, is no larger than the quarter jingling in your pocket with the rest of your loose change, and all it needs is a single drop of blood onto some chemical mixture, and the chip will get to work right away, extracting DNA from the blood before coming up with the relevant results.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: NEXThaler Dry Powder Asthma Inhaler, ‘Airwriting’ Glove Converts Arm Gestures Into Text Messages, 
Just how much genius is there in the world? There will always be prodigies in our midst, and the Fred and Gus Turner brothers are lumped under that specially gifted group. After all, 17-year-old Fred with straight brown hair and 14-year-old brother Gus who is the proud owner of curly red hair, were teased often enough that they have different fathers, leaving Fred to make use of the situation by building a DNA testing machine, now how about that?
Fred relied on different bits as well as parts from a host of household devices, including a video player. In a nutshell, Fred Turner has successfully constructed a polymerase chain reaction machine, where it is capable of magnifying DNA strands for lab analysis purposes, with the main goal of . His goal of proving that Gus was the beneficiary of genetic mutation which resulted in his curly red hair. Of course, the efforts of Fred proved to be fruitful and accurate, they both of them come from the same father, and along the way, he picked up the gong of being the UK’s Young Engineering of the Year, in addition to earning a place to further his studies at Oxford, taking up the biochemistry course.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The BikeSpike Is A Tracking Device That Will Help Owners Locate Stolen Bikes, Taser Axon Flux Is Their Latest Policing Tool , 
We probably all vaguely assume that computers will overthrow us someday, which may be why it’s so unsettling to learn that computer code is evolving much like genetic code. By comparing bacterial genomes to Linux, researchers have found “survival of the fittest” acting in computer programming. More »
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