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Daily Archives: September 20, 2021
Synthetic DNA used to catch alleged jewelry thief in Albany – Times Union
Posted: September 20, 2021 at 9:26 am
ALBANY Back in April, a local man made off with more than $4,000 in jewelry he allegedly stole from a downtown Albany store.
The evidence was right there for all to see. The suspect, who lives in Albany County and has previous arrests, was filmed by a security camera reaching over the counter at Truman Jewelers on North Pearl Street and taking items out of the glass casewhile a store employee was in the back.
A month later, Albany police nabbed the suspect, whose identity is being withheld by the Times Union so as not to unfairly influence his pending criminal case.
But it was not just the video that led to the suspect being arrested and charged with larceny. It was also synthetic DNA that helped police nab him.
Synthetic DNA?
It's not Frankenstein. And it's not human DNA.
A Florida company called CSI Protect makes the product, called SelectaDNA, using the components that comprise DNA: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. By putting those substances in special combinations, CSI Protect is able to create unique DNA codes that can be encased in liquid "micro-dots" that are either sprayed on or made to stick to a burglar when a crime happens.
The DNA-filled micro-dots identify a particular store or high-value item, making them highly effective in helping police match a suspect with a particular crime. The technology has been used in the United Kingdom for years, but is only recently being adopted in the United States, mostly by jewelry stores and high-end retailers.
The store can "mark" suspects either through a special mist that can be sprayed on a suspect or intruder or it can be applied to items in the store with a special adhesive so it sticks to a suspect.
The micro-dots contain a tracer material that allows them to be detected with an ultra-violet light. They also contain a special DNA strand that gives them a unique identification.
Potential criminals are also warned with signs that if they try to steal something, they will be tagged for police, just like bank robbers who can be are sprayed with a special dye pack that explodes when they open a wad of stolen bills.
Truman Jewelers participated in a pilot program to test SelectaDNA that had the support of several law enforcement organizations, including the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, which believes the technology could lead to more arrests and prosecutions of thieves.
SelectaDNA says stores that use the DNA marking system have been able to reduce thefts by 40 to 86 percent as criminals are deterred when seeing a sign that says the system is in use. The spray is water-based and non-toxic. The special code can remain on a suspect's skin and clothing for a month-and-a-half, giving police and prosecutors plenty of time to investigate and arrest them.
Although some retailers have used the technology in the New York City area, company officials say this is the first time that a suspect has been arrested and charged after getting sprayed with the DNA. The system was installed at Truman Jewelers last year as part of a program used to test its effectiveness.
This pilot project was designed to demonstrate the value of forensic marking technology in combating and deterring crime, and assisting with the apprehension of criminals," said Patrick Phelan, executive director of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. "Today, we can say definitively that it works.
Video of the theft provided to the news media shows the suspect, whose face is blurred to protect his identity, quickly reaching into a glass case at Truman Jewelers while the employee in charge is in the back. Although the theft appears to be aided by an extreme lack of attention by the employee running the store, Albany police insisted that the theft was not encouraged or set up by CSI Project hoping to prove its product's effectiveness.
The suspect was charged with third-degree grand larceny, Albany Police spokesman Steve Smith said. Conviction on such a felony can result in a sentence of several years in prison if the accused has a history of criminal activity.
In this case, when Albany Police nabbed the suspect, they were easily able to identify that he was sprayed with the SelectaDNA using a UV light.
Although the use of such DNA markers to gain convictions has not yet gained traction in U.S. courts, it providesstore owners like Paul Crabbe, who owns Truman Jewelers, with a sophisticated way to track alleged thieves without disrupting the store's operations.
As a downtown business owner for over three decades, Im committed to creating a safe and secure environment in which my customers can shop and my staff can work with peace of mind, Crabbe said. This technology provides an added layer of protection, and combined with our proactive policies and the professional work of our law enforcement agencies, ensures we can focus on doing business and contributing to our community.
Shepherd Communication & Security of Albany installed the system at Truman Jewelers about a year ago.
Forensic marking technology is poised to revolutionize the way business owners protect their employees, customers, workplaces and assets, said Richard Ruzzo, managing partner of Shepherd Communication & Security.
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A New Company Wants To Resurrect The Woolly Mammoth Using DNA Splicing – NPR
Posted: at 9:26 am
An artist's impression of a woolly mammoth in a snow-covered environment. Leonello Calvetti/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images/Stocktrek Images hide caption
An artist's impression of a woolly mammoth in a snow-covered environment.
Using recovered DNA to "genetically resurrect" an extinct species the central idea behind the Jurassic Park films may be moving closer to reality with the creation this week of a new company that aims to bring back woolly mammoths thousands of years after the last of the giants disappeared from the Arctic tundra.
Flush with a $15 million infusion of funding, Harvard University genetics professor George Church, known for his pioneering work in genome sequencing and gene splicing, hopes the company can usher in an era when mammoths "walk the Arctic tundra again." He and other researchers also hope that a revived species can play a role in combating climate change.
"We are working towards bringing back species who left an ecological void as they went extinct," the company, Colossal, said in answer to questions emailed by NPR. "As Colossal actively pursues the conservation and preservation of endangered species, we are identifying species that can be given a new set of tools from their extinct relatives to survive in new environments that desperately need them."
To be sure, what's being proposed is actually a hybrid created using a gene-editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9 to splice bits of DNA recovered from frozen mammoth specimens into that of an Asian elephant, the mammoth's closest living relative. The resulting animal known as a "mammophant" would look, and presumably behave, much like a woolly mammoth.
Church and others believe that resurrecting the mammoth would plug a hole in the ecosystem left by their decline about 10,000 years ago (although some isolated populations are thought to have remained in Siberia until about 1,700 B.C.). The largest mammoths stood more than 10 feet at the shoulder and are believed to have weighed as much as 15 tons.
Mammoths once scraped away layers of snow so that cold air could reach the soil and maintain the permafrost. After they disappeared, the accumulated snow, with its insulating properties, meant the permafrost began to warm, releasing greenhouse gases, Church and others contend. They argue that returning mammoths or at least hybrids that would fill the same ecological niche to the Arctic could reverse that trend.
"With the reintroduction of the woolly mammoth ... we believe our work will restore this degraded ecosystem to a richer one, similar to the tundra that existed as recently as 10,000 years ago," the company says.
Love Daln, a professor in evolutionary genetics at the Stockholm-based Centre for Palaeogenetics, is skeptical of that claim.
"I personally do not think that this will have any impact, any measurable impact, on the rate of climate change in the future, even if it were to succeed," he tells NPR. "There is virtually no evidence in support of the hypothesis that trampling of a very large number of mammoths would have any impact on climate change, and it could equally well, in my view, have a negative effect on temperatures."
The body of Lyuba, a baby woolly mammoth who lived about 42,000 years ago on the Yamal Peninsula of Siberia, is exhibited in Hong Kong. South China Morning Post/South China Morning Post via Getty Images hide caption
The body of Lyuba, a baby woolly mammoth who lived about 42,000 years ago on the Yamal Peninsula of Siberia, is exhibited in Hong Kong.
But even if the researchers at Colossal can bring back mammoths and that is not certain the obvious question is, should they?
"I can see some reasons to do the first steps where you are tinkering with cell lines and editing the genomes," Daln says. "I think there is a lot of technological development that can be done [and] we can learn a lot about how to edit genomes, and that could be really useful for endangered species today."
Joseph Frederickson, a vertebrate paleontologist and director of the Weis Earth Science Museum in Menasha, Wis., was inspired as a child by the original Jurassic Park movie. But even he thinks that the more important goal should be preventing extinction rather than reversing it.
"If you can create a mammoth or at least an elephant that looks like a good copy of a mammoth that could survive in Siberia, you could do quite a bit for the white rhino or the giant panda," he tells NPR.
Especially for animals that have "dwindling genetic diversity," Frederickson says, adding older genes from the fossil record or entirely new genes could increase the health of those populations.
Speaking with NPR in 2015, Beth Shapiro, a paleogeneticist at the University of California, Santa Cruz and author of How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction, said emphatically, "I don't want to see mammoths come back."
"It's never going to be possible to create a species that is 100% identical," she said. "But what if we could use this technology not to bring back mammoths but to save elephants?"
Colossal's expressed aim also brings up another ethical concern: Although the extinction of the mammoth thousands of years ago left a gap in the ecosystem, that ecosystem has presumably now adapted, at least imperfectly, to their absence.
"There is a new normal that has existed for thousands of years that has adapted to the continually changing climate," Frederickson says. "Bringing back something that has all the characteristics that would have thrived in the Pleistocene doesn't necessarily mean it's going to survive today, especially when you're mixing in the unknowns of other genes that are acting in a warm-weather tropical animal and then trying to move it to a new environment."
"There were plants and animals that were living alongside the mammoth that are now long gone or have drastically shrunk in their range, and just bringing back the mammoth won't bring those back," he says.
Colossal says it's not trying to bring back an invasive species but instead wants to "enrich an ecosystem that has been, and continues to be, steadily degrading without its presence."
In yet a different sense, there's the question of how mammoths might fit in.
"The proposed 'de-extinction' of mammoths raises a massive ethical issue. The mammoth was not simply a set of genes it was a social animal, as is the modern Asian elephant," Matthew Cobb, a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, told The Guardian, in 2017. "What will happen when the elephant-mammoth hybrid is born? How will it be greeted by elephants?"
All of this, of course, assumes that producing a mammophant is even possible. Colossal says it hopes to produce an embryo in six years. But with an estimated 1.4 million individual genetic mutations separating the ancient creatures from Asian elephants, the task of gene splicing could prove a mammoth undertaking.
Perhaps an even bigger obstacle might be developing an artificial uterus for gestating the embryos. Even Church acknowledges that this might not be so easy. Among other things, the company plans to create "a pumping system for exchange of gas, nutrient and waste metabolites, and umbilical blood supply with the goal of carrying a woolly mammoth embryo to term in vitro." Researchers have been working on just such a device, but technical hurdles remain.
"Is this going to happen anytime soon? The answer is absolutely not," says Frederickson.
Daln agrees that the six-year timeline is "exceptionally short." "It seems pretty ambitious," he says.
But Church and his colleagues aren't alone in their ambition. The idea of mammoth de-extinction has been around for some time, and other groups, such as the California-based nonprofit Revive & Restore, which last year managed the first-ever clone of an endangered species, the black-footed ferret, have also been working on a mammoth-elephant hybrid.
The traditional scientific view is that our ancestors hunted the mammoth to extinction, while more recent theories point to habitat destruction at the end of the last ice age as the biggest factor, but with humans still copping part of the blame.
Frederickson thinks that's one of the reasons that the question of de-extinction fueled by pop culture and real-world advances in science is raised so frequently by the patrons at the museum he heads. "I think, as humans, we have a little bit of guilt in us, still knowing that we almost certainly contributed to that extinction event."
"This may be a way of getting that burden off of our backs," he says.
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DNA shows teacher impregnated girl, 14 – The Voice Online
Posted: at 9:26 am
A teacher accused of defiling and impregnating a 14-year-old Standard 7 girl will have his fate decided by a Molepolole Magistrates Court on Thursday, September 19th.
51-year-old Letlhaetse Motshegare, a Standard 3 teacher at Ditshegwane Primary School in the Kweneng District appeared for continuation of trial before Magistrate Kaveri Kapeko last Wednesday.
Despite the overwhelming evidence against him which includes positive paternity test results, the teacher who gave sworn evidence in court, maintained he was innocent, but the court ruled that he has a case to answer.
In his testimony, Motshegare said on August 14th, 2020 at around 9am while sleeping he was awakened by a child telling him that he had visitors outside.
I found two police officers who requested me to accompany them to the victims place. They showed me some shoe prints and asked who the owner was. I told them they were mine since I went to pass urine by the log, explained Motshegare further saying the victims mother once had a misunderstanding with his girlfriend.
The victims mother told my girlfriend that mafura a a jang o tla a tsholola, she will spill the fat that she was enjoying. Later on, she further told me she is my brothers daughter and that I should take care of her daughter as she was my future wife. She said since the girl was still schooling I should assist in buying things for her. I realised the issue was going far and from then I tried to keep my distance from her, claimed Motshegare.
The teacher further revealed that the victim started bringing him food at his place and that his girlfriend started complaining about the unsolicited gestures.
He said when the school closed during the first national lockdown, the victim went to Kanye before she proceeded to Kotjwe where she came back pregnant.
However, in her testimony the distressed 39-year-old mother, told of how her detective work led to Motshegares arrest.
I found some footmarks outside the hut where my daughter sleeps. They showed that he removed his shoes, jumped over the fence and walked barefooted to the girls house. When he left, he jumped the fence again, put his shoes back on and returned to his house. Then I alerted my neighbours who confronted him, explained the mother of six, adding that she suspected Motshegare because the shoe marks matched the sneakers that she had always seen him wearing.
She told the court that after the matter was reported to the police upon questioning him, Motshegare never denied it was his footmarks rather claimed to have been visiting the student and ensuring she was preparing for the exam.
The mother also claimed to have caught Motshegare sometime in 2019 after his girlfriend alerted her that she saw him entering the traditional hut where the girl sleeps.
We went there and found Motshegare sleeping at my daughters feet. When I asked him why he was sleeping at the victims house, he told me he had a misunderstanding with his partner. I just took the matter lightly as I treated Motshegare like a parent, concluded the mother.
The court further heard that Motshegare gave the victim a black Hisence cellphone to communicate with him.
The cellphone and the victims birth certificate were also produced as exhibits before court.
The young girl who is now a mother of an 8-months-old girl is doing Form 1.
Meanwhile, the accused teacher popularly known as Chipo in the village has since been suspended from duty after the case was registered before court.
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Scientists at work: We use environmental DNA to monitor how human activities affect life in rivers and streams – The Conversation US
Posted: at 9:26 am
Rivers, lakes and wetlands cover just 1% of the Earths surface but are home to nearly 10% of all species, including fish, mammals, birds, insects and crustaceans. But these rich, diverse ecosystems are in free fall. Worldwide, species are declining faster now than at any other time in human history, and fresh waters are losing more species than land or ocean ecosystems.
Today about 1 in 4 freshwater creatures face extinction. Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. Across the globe, water quality is plummeting, polluted by plastic, sewage, mining sludge, industrial and agricultural chemicals and much more.
Its challenging to study how these stresses are affecting aquatic life. There are many diverse threats, and river networks cover broad geographic regions. Often they run through remote, nearly inaccessible areas. Current techniques for monitoring freshwater species are labor-intensive and costly.
In our work as researchers in ecology, we are testing a new method that can vastly expand biomonitoring: using environmental DNA, or eDNA, in rivers to catalog and count species. Federal and local agencies need this data to restore water quality and save dwindling species from extinction.
With traditional biomonitoring methods, scientists count individual species and their abundance at just a few sites. For example, one recent study of mountaintop mining impacts on fish in West Virginia sampled just four sites with a team of four researchers.
Collecting and identifying aquatic organisms requires highly skilled ecologists and taxonomists with expertise in a wide variety of freshwater species. For each sample of fish or invertebrates collected in the field, it takes from hours to weeks to identify all of the species. Only wealthy nations can afford this costly process.
Conserving threatened and endangered species and keeping river ecosystems healthy requires monitoring broad areas over time. Sensitive aquatic insects and fish species are the freshwater equivalent of the proverbial canary in a coal mine: If these species are absent, thats a strong indicator of water quality problems. The cause may be mining, agriculture, urbanization or other sources, as well as dams that block animals downstream movements.
Innovations in genetic technology have created a powerful, affordable new tool that we are now testing. The process involves extracting eDNA from genetic material floating in the water skin, scales, feces and single-celled organisms, such as bacteria.
By analyzing this genetic information, we can detect a wide range of species. We started considering using eDNA for our research in 2018, after several studies demonstrated its power to monitor single species of interest or groups of organisms in rivers and oceans.
Collecting eDNA is easy: One 4-ounce water sample can capture remnant DNA from thousands of aquatic species. Another benefit is that it doesnt require killing wildlife for identification.
In the lab, we analyze the DNA from different taxonomic groups one by one: bacteria, algae, fish and macroinvertebrates organisms that lack backbones and are large enough to see, such as snails, worms and beetles. Many researchers study just one group, but we assess all of them at the same time.
We then match our DNA sequences with freshwater species that are already catalogued in existing databases. In this way, we can chart the distribution and abundance of these organisms within and across rivers.
This process requires just a cheap filter, a syringe and vials, and anyone can do it. Commercial eDNA companies charge less than $200 to extract and sequence a sample.
Using this method, we extensively surveyed 93 rivers in West Virginia looking at the entire tree of life, from the tiniest bacteria to fish in two days with a four-person team.
The Appalachian rivers that we study teem with life. These are some of the worlds most biologically diverse temperate freshwater ecosystems, home to many fish species, as well as salamanders, crayfish, mussels and aquatic insects. Many are found nowhere else. We tallied more than 10,000 different species in those 93 waterways.
The area where we worked is an intensive coal mining region, which heavily affects waterways. Liquids draining from mines are acidic, but in this region they react with limestone rock, so the net effect is to make local streams alkaline. Mine drainage also increases streams salinity and concentrations of sulfate and other contaminants. Our research revealed that mined watersheds held 40% fewer species than areas without mining operations, and the organisms we detected were less abundant than in unaffected rivers.
We believe this new approach represents a revolution for biomonitoring, expanding our ability to quantify and study freshwater life. Its also an important new conservation tool, allowing scientists to track changes in populations of endangered or invasive species. Researchers also can use eDNA to monitor biodiversity or discover new species in oceans or soils.
This open-science method makes all DNA data widely available, with nearly all sequences placed in public repositories. Moving forward, we expect that it will aid many types of research, as well as state and local monitoring and conservation programs. Investments in collecting eDNA and identifying organisms and analyzing their genetic signatures will continue to make it a more effective tool.
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Efforts are underway to better target various individual species, focusing on those that are endangered, invasives that damage ecosystems and sensitive species that serve as indicators of river health. Scientists are freezing eDNA samples at -112 degrees F (-80 C) in expectation that technological advances may yield more information in the future.
Traditional monitoring approaches remain valuable, but eDNA adds an important new tool to the toolkit. Together, these approaches can begin to answer many questions about food webs, the conservation status of species, reproduction rates, species interactions, organisms health, disease and more.
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Slain teen known for 45 years as Woodlawn Jane Doe identified by DNA testing – MassLive.com
Posted: at 9:26 am
After almost 45 years to the day that police found her body dumped near a cemetery, Baltimore County Police said Wednesday detectives identified a girl known as Woodlawn Jane Doe thanks to new DNA testing.
The young woman who turned out to be 16 years old when she was killed was identified by police as Margaret Fetterolf from Alexandria, Virginia. Family members told detectives that the teen went missing in 1975, one year before she was found strangled, with her body wrapped in a white sheet and her hands bound behind her back near Lorraine Park Cemetery.
In a video provided by county police, Cpl. Dona L. Carter, who works with the criminal investigations unit, said this is significant development in the case that could help catch the people involved in the murder.
This is a really big break in the case, she said in the video. Because without knowing who she is or where she came from, we really dont have too much to go on. We need to know who she may have been with to get some leads for this case.
Carter said the department plans to head to Alexandria to try to drum up any leads in the area, including talking with and visiting the Hayfield Secondary School, where Fetterolf attended at the time she went missing. Detectives are also interested in talking with any friends or former classmates.
For years police believed Fetterolf hailed from the Boston area after testing pollen particles that clung to her clothing in 2016. Authorities said the blend of cedar and mountain hemlock pollen, identified by a scientist with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, was a combination only found at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston or the New York Botanical Garden.
Clues found at the scene had long pointed to Massachusetts. The type of cloth seed bag pulled over Fetterolfs head was sold only in Massachusetts. A key in her pocket was made by ILCO in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. A crude tattoo of the letters JP could signify the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain.
Police said Wednesday its unclear when or if Fetterolf was ever in Boston.
It was only recently Virginia became an area of interest, police spokeswoman Joy Stewart said.
One year after the pollen discovery, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a new facial reconstruction image of Fetterolf.
Then, police say their big break came earlier this year.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which has assisted county police with the investigation along with Bode Technology, one of the largest private forensic DNA laboratories in the United States, more DNA testing was done. Those results were crucial in helping identify Fetterolf, authorities said.
A woman on her way to church on Sept. 12, 1976, spotted a van near the Lorraine Park Cemetery. Officers found Fetterolf wearing beige jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt and a rawhide necklace. Police previously thought she was in her late teens or 20s. she was about 5-foot-8, weighed 159 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. Tips initially poured in but waned as the years passed.
At about 5-foot-8 and 159 pounds, the brown eyed and brown haired girl was also believed to have been sexually assaulted. The drug chlorpromazine, an anti-psychotic medication, was found in her system.
Anyone who might have information in this case is asked to contact Baltimore County detectives at 410-307-2020.
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Introduction of New Research Equipment In The European Healthcare Industry, High-Fidelity DNA Polymerase Holds Maximum Revenue Share – BioSpace
Posted: at 9:26 am
The new report on the DNA Polymerase Market provides estimations of the size of the global market and share and size of key regional markets during the historical period of20192029. The study provides projections of the opportunities and shares, both vis--vis value and volume, of various segments in the DNA Polymerase Market during the forecast period of 2019 2029. The business intelligence study offers readers a granular assessment of key growth dynamics, promising avenues, and the competitive landscape of the DNA Polymerase Market.2019is considered as the baseyear and 2029 as the estimation year.
Request For Brochure -https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=4707
While there will be uncertainties, stakeholders can navigate them by factoring in historic and current drivers of change when strategizing for 2020 and beyond. Among these drivers are a growing and aging population, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, infrastructure investments, technological advancements, evolving care models, higher labor costs amidst workforce shortages, and the expansion of health care systems in developing markets. Health care systems need to work toward a future in which the collective focus shifts away from treatment, to prevention and early intervention.
For years, financial challenges have shadowed the worlds public and private health systems to varying degrees, and we expect the situation to persist in 2020. This will make value a watchword in health care payment reform. The entry of non-traditional players in the health care sector have the potential to both support and suppress incumbents efforts to grow revenue. Digital giants and digital-first health solution disruptors are demonstrating that there could be an easier and more user-friendly way to conduct health care transactions.
To offer a comprehensive assessment of opportunities, the study makes a scrutiny of growth prospects in various regions. The key regions comprise the following geographical segments:
North America (U.S., Canada)
Latin America ( Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Rest of LATAM)
Europe (Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, France, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Rep, Rest of Europe)
Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (India, Australia & New Zealand, Greater China, S. Korea, ASEAN Countries, Rest of APEJ)
Japan
CIS & Russia
Middle East and Africa (GCC, Turkey, Iran, Israel, South Africa, Rest Of MEA)
The detailed assessments focus on, inter alia, on the regulatory and macroeconomic frameworks, prevailing pricing structure, imminent investment pockets, and emerging application areas. Taking the analysis further, the study helps readers get a better understanding of the trends characteristics of the emerging markets, including government regulations crucial to growth of such markets. Shares of major regional markets are also presented in the analysis.
The study provides detailed profile of key players and their offering in the DNA Polymerase Market which include
ThermoFisher Scientific
Bio-Rad Laboratories
MerckKGaA,
Jena Bioscience GmbH
Agilent Technologies
New EnglandBiolabs
The report offers insight into the competitive dynamic in the DNA Polymerase Market which has shaped the major strategies of each player. It also covers recent moves such as partnerships and collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, diversification and research investments, of each prominent player. The key factors that shape the entry barrier and intensity of competition in the DNA Polymerase Market are presented in the analysis. Further, the study provides PESTLE analyses of numerous players and an evaluation of how the competitive landscape will evolve over the forecast period.
Tentatively, the global high-fidelity DNA polymerase market can be segmented on the basis of the application type, end user and geography.
Based on the application, the global high-fidelity DNA polymerase market is segmented as:
DNA Cloning
SNP Analysis
Next Generation Sequencing Applications
Other Applications
Based on the end user, the global High-fidelity DNA polymerase market is segmented as:
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Introduction of New Research Equipment In The European Healthcare Industry, High-Fidelity DNA Polymerase Holds Maximum Revenue Share - BioSpace
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DNA Vibe Jazz Band Vibe review – Light therapy device – The Gadgeteer
Posted: at 9:25 am
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REVIEW Aches and pains, we all have them or will have them at some point in our lives. Whether these pains come as a result of epic workouts or from arthritis and other chronic medical conditions, finding a way to alleviate inflammation and pain without drugs can be a struggle. Thats where the DNA Vibe Jazz Band Vibe is supposed to help. No, it isnt a musical instrument, its a light therapy device. Lets take a look.
The DNA Vibe Jazz Band is a therapy device that has been designed to reduce pain, enhance performance, and allow for faster recovery of aching joints and muscles using red and near infrared light, magnets, and micro vibration. It can be used on ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, shoulders, necks, backs, and more.
Power output 2 Watts (Optimized for minimum output)Power density 6 mW/cm^2Red light 650 nm 675 nm 10 emitters, the exact wavelength is proprietaryNear-infrared 825 nm 850 nm, 18 emitters, the exact wavelength is proprietaryMagnetic 45-55 micro Tesla, 1 emitter, 6-10 Hz pulsed (intensity is comparable to earths naturally occurring magnetic field)Micro-vibration 225 Hz, Controllable on/off, pulse pattern & periodicity selectableDimensions 5 x 11.25
The DNA Vibe Jazz Band Vibe is an oval-shaped device that is housed in a neoprene cover. The Vibe has a short power cable with a magnetic connector attached to it. The connector reminds me of an Apple MagSafe cable that we used to have on MacBooks. It provides a quick connect and disconnect of the power adapter cable which plugs into your wall. That means that youll always be tethered when youre using this device. If you want to use the Vibe wirelessly, you can check out the Cordless Power Pack.
If you flip the band over, youll see that theres a mesh cover.
The Jazz Band Vibe feels like a thick slab of solid gel. But when you plug it in, 10 large LED glow red and the Vibe vibrates with short bursts.
To control the DNA Vibe Jazz Band Vibe Light Therapy Device, youll need to download the DNA Vibe app for your phone. I did all my testing with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. Bluetooth pairing of the Vibe with my phone was quick and simple and the app itself is also just as simple to use.
The app has one main screen (shown above) that lets you set a timer for the therapy session and adjust the red light, near infrared light, magnetics, and toggle the micro vibration feature. It is suggested that you use the device twice a day for 20-30 minutes to achieve results. What kind of results? According to DNA Vibe, you should see:
Basically, you just wrap the Vibe around the body part that needs therapy and use one of the straps to keep it in place. That sounds easy but it can be a bit awkward when youre trying to place the Vibe around your own hand, arm, elbow, or shoulder. You should also know that the body part needs to be bare and the Vibe needs to be positioned against the area that needs help.
I tested the DNA Vibe Jazz Band Vibe Light Therapy device with my elbow and my hand. Once in a while, Ill give myself a mild case of tendonitis from leaning on my elbow too much while Im sitting at my desk. I had noticed lately that my elbow is achy so I used the Vibe to see if it could relieve the inflammation and mild pain. I was very much surprised when one 30 minute session with the Vibe made the pain go away. I considered that a fluke and decided to give the Vibe something difficult to fix my hand. My right hand has the beginning of arthritis or some type of inflammation problem in the thumb near the wrist. So used the Vibe as suggested, 20-30 minutes once a day for 2 weeks. Here are before pictures comparing my left hand and my right hand so you can better see how the right hand is slightly swollen.
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DNA Vibe Jazz Band Vibe review - Light therapy device - The Gadgeteer
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Man cuts parents out of his life after they secretly DNA tested his new baby – indy100
Posted: at 9:25 am
While its unsurprisingly common for in-laws to fret over their sons new partner, some just dont know when to stop the phrase no one is good enough for your son comes to mind.
For one Redditor, his parents committed a stunning form of betrayal after they pulled a Maury-style DNA test on their grandson to confirm the baby was, in fact, his.
Subsequently, the man and his wife of two years cut his parents out of their lives, and he has now turned to Reddit for much-needed reassurance that he did not overreact by doing so.
The man explained how he had met his wife, Sonya, in a restaurant where she worked as a waitress. Instantly, his parents disapproved as they believed she was using [him] to achieve her American dream. Naturally, the man was offended by their assumption and slammed his parents for being racist.
Circumstances worsened after the pair were due to wed when he turned to his parents for their blessing to which they declined. Because of this, we decided to elope and only invited my brother and Sonyas best friends to be our witnesses, he wrote.
Two years on, the happy couple welcomed their first child, Garreth, which prompted the parents to reach out in hopes of being a part of their grandsons life. Mykindhearted wife didnt think twice to welcome my parents into our lives, the Reddit user said. She let themmeet our baby two days after being dischargedfrom the hospital.
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The relationship between the foursome appeared to be heading in a progressive direction that was until the Reddit user overheard his mom say to his son, Arent you the cutest baby ever? I am so glad to confirm you are indeed my grandson.
After a back and forth between the pair, his mom finally caved and told him the truth. They had baby Garreth DNA tested to make sure that he was their biological relation.
The man turned to Reddit for much-needed reassurance
I wasspeechlessfor a moment, and before Iblew up from anger, he wrote, I tolddad to give me my son and they better leave before I lose whatever respect I had left for them.
My mom was veryapologeticand said its because theydont trust my wife and that our son looks nothing like me.
It wasnt until two weeks later when the Redditor finally told his wife about the incident after she was questioning why his parents hadnt been visiting. She started crying and it broke my heart, he said, especially after she attempted to win their approval.
The pair collectively decided to no longer let his parents into the childs life. When mom called to ask when they can visit again, I told them they are no longer welcome in our sons life.Mom called my dad and I told him the same thing, he said.
He waslivid, he called me ungrateful and cruel.
He also said afew choice words about my wife which angered me more. I didnt even hear the rest because I just hung up.
Fellow Reddit users flocked to the thread to jump to the mans defence.
This right here, I dont even know why its up for debate. One wrote. Literally a no brainer. Like who they f**k are they to go behind your back and do that and still have the fkn audacity to bad mouth OPs wife. Im so mad and I dont even know these people!
Another sent out a clear message to those saying he shouldnt deprive the child of a relationship with his grandparents. They are openly racist towards his wife/ the mother of this child. They will make remarks about that, they will make him feel bad about his heritage and will talk badly about his mother even when he is there. Don't let them into your life, stay your ground.
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Immunocore (IMCR) presents data at ESMO demonstrating reduction in circulating tumor DNA while on tebentafusp is associated with OS in the Phase 2…
Posted: at 9:25 am
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PRESS RELEASE
Immunocore presents data at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2021 demonstrating a reduction in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) while on tebentafusp is associated with overall survival in the Phase 2 clinical trial
Linear correlation between the magnitude of ctDNA reduction on tebentafusp and improved overall survival
70% of evaluable patients had any ctDNA reduction and 14% had ctDNA clearance
Immunocore Holdings Plc (Nasdaq: IMCR), a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of T cell receptor (TCR) bispecific immunotherapies designed to treat a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious and autoimmune disease, presented new data from the Companys lead program, tebentafusp (IMCgp100), at an oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress.
The findings presented by Alexander N. Shoushtari MD, medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, demonstrated that reduction by Week 9 in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) while on tebentafusp is strongly associated with overall survival (OS). A majority (70%) of evaluable patients had any ctDNA reduction while 5% of patients had radiographic response per the RECISTv1.1 criteria. In addition, 14% of patients had complete ctDNA clearance and long OS; this included some patients with best response of stable or progressive disease. The analysis was based on the phase 2 trial of tebentafusp in HLA-A*02:01 positive, previously treated patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) (IMCgp100-102).
Uveal melanoma is characterized by a defined set of unique mutations that can be measured in the blood as free circulating tumor DNA, said David Berman, Immunocores Head of Research and Development, We found that the degree of ctDNA reduction from tebentafusp was strikingly correlated with overall survival. This association was observed even in patients whose tumor lesions appeared radiographically stable or progressing and suggests that clinical benefit from tebentafusp may occur even in patients who did not have a RECIST response.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the United Kingdoms Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have each accepted applications seeking the approval of tebentafusp for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with metastatic uveal melanoma based on the primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) from the Phase 3 study IMCgp100-202.
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The Slow Death of Artistic Freedom in India – Slate
Posted: at 9:22 am
This article is part of the Free Speech Project, a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.
Fan fiction isnt big in India, so it was surprising to see the collective imagination of the country go into overdrive in November 2015. The subject of the frenzy was Sam Mendes James Bond film Spectre, thanks to reports that the Central Board of Film Certification, Indias censor board, had shortened a kissing scene between actors Daniel Craig and Monica Bellucci by half. In no time, there were memes about sanskari Bond. Sanskari could be loosely translated to being traditionally cultured, especially according to Hindu sensibilities. Twitter went to town about how sanskari Bond would prefer milk over a martini. Most of these jokes were aimed at thenCBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, a modest Bollywood producer from the 1990s whose appointment came only a few months after he produced multiple music video tributes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The debate between what is appropriate for Indian societyand with that, a tendency to rein in filmmakers rights to free speechhas existed as long as the independent Indian state. However, things have taken a turn for the worse since the right-wing, nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Modi, came to power in 2014.
While the censorship in Spectre was mocked, it was soon followed by two instances that proved to be flashpoints for the discourse about free speech in India. In 2017, the title of filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharans Sexy Durga was denounced for denigrating the name of a Hindu goddess and became the topic of prime-time debate for a few months. Any film exhibited in a public space in India needs to be certified by the CBFC, and Sexy Durgas release was held up for a few months. During that period, Sasidharan appeared at a leading news channels annual conclave, where an anchor claiming to play the devils advocate asked him, Why not make a film called Sexy Fatima or Sexy Mary? He went on to add, Theres a sense that because Hindus are more liberal, you can take liberties with Hindu sensibilities. But nobody would dare mess with Muslim and Christian sensibilities.
Sexy Durga was finally given a U/A certificate (equivalent of a PG-13) on the condition that Sasidharan agree to call the film S Durga. The director bowed. However, that didnt stop the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from dropping it from that years International Film Festival of India lineup.
Around the same time, director Sanjay Leela Bhansalis (erstwhile named) Padmavati was in the crosshairs of a fringe group called Karni Sena. Founded with the purpose to protect the pride of the Rajputs, a community belonging to the state of Rajasthan, the Karni Sena assaulted Bhansali for a rumored dream romantic sequence between Rani Padmini (a goddess for the Rajput community) and the films Muslim antagonist, Alauddin Khalji, an emperor from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Leaders of Karni Sena issued death threats to the films actors, which were amplified by state-level BJP ministers using sensationalist bounties. The film was eventually cleared for release after filmmakers agreed to the censor boards five suggested changes, including changing the title from Padmavati to Padmaavat, the original title of the 16th-century poem the film was based on.
The censorship was no longer about nudity, gore, or promiscuity. It had firmly set its sights on whether the films narrative matched the right-wing Hindu nationalists narrative. Was it boosting the popular Hindu pride sentiment based on which the BJP was elected? Or was it critiquing it?
The sheer number of cases might hint at a coordinated campaign to intimidate streaming platforms into treading cautiously.
In the past six years India has fallen from 27th to 53rd on the Democracy Index, published by the Economic Intelligence Unit. During this period India also slid from 133 (in 2016) to 142 (in 2021) in press freedom rankings, and was labelled a partly free state by Freedom House. This downslide might be an indicator for how artistic expression has been stifled in the last few years.
And the worst could be yet to come. On June 18, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021, which could prove to be the knockout punch for artistic freedom in India. One of the proposed amendments grants revisionary powers to the central government even for films already certified, based on complaints relating to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency, morality, or anything involving defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite commission of any offence.
This proposed amendment is only the latest in a series of steps taken by the establishment to control free speech. One of the first signs of the new era of censorship in Indian cinema came with the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan (best known for appearing in the 1988 TV show Mahabharat) to run the countrys premier film institute, Film and Television Institute of India, which is government-funded. Outraged that his connections to the BJP seemed to be his biggest qualification for the job, FTII students went on strike for 139 days, but it didnt change anything. Chauhan held the position till March 2017, and during his tenure the campus witnessed some alarming shifts. Filmmaker Prateek Vats, a student during Chauhans era, told me there were strict rules about what movies could be screened for students, and sometimes police were deployed to make sure the content was appropriate. According to Vats, some workshops were canceled because the adjunct faculty running them were deemed problematic. Chauhan later resigned, but his successor, Anupam Kher, also has ties to the BJP government. His wife, Kirron Kher, is a BJP member of Parliament, and he has repeatedly endorsed Modi on his Twitter handle. Kher served as the FTII chairperson till October 2018.
Meanwhile, former Central Board of Film Certification chief Leela Samson tendered her resignation in January 2015, after a tenure of nearly four years, as protest against political interference in the censor boards inner workings. Samson was replaced by Pahlaj Nihalani, who was responsible for the cutting of the Spectre kissing scene. Soon after, the board proposed 89 cuts for filmmaker Abhishek Chaubeys Udta Punjab (2016). The case was argued in front of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, a body set up to hear filmmakers aggrieved by the rulings of the CBFC, and the film was finally passed with just one cut.
Nihalanis tenure peaked with Alankrita Shrivastavas Lipstick Under My Burkha, which was initially denied a certificate for, in the words of a letter from the CBFC to the films producer, being too lady-oriented and for its contentious sexual scenes. Following overwhelming support on social media, Shrivastavas film was presented before the FCAT, which cleared it for release with an A (or 18-plus) certificate.
Nihalani was replaced in August 2017 by famous lyricist and ad filmmaker Prasoon Joshi. Only a few months after his appointment as CBFC chief, Joshi went on to interview Modi at a widely televised town hall event in London, where his poetry on the prime ministers fakiri (an ascetic whos given up material pleasures) became the stuff of legends. And memes.
Vats tells me that the FTII machinerys (under Chauhan) intent to curb free speech always hid under jargon like disciplining or streamlining of resources. Internationally renowned filmmaker Anand Patwardhan reaffirms Vats theory about how bureaucracy helps sidestep the need to actively censor films by placing its own people in key administrative positions. Patwardhan told me how the Mumbai International Film Festival introduced the requirement of a censor certificate in 2003, a year after deadly riots in the state of Gujarat, where Modi was then chief minister. Modi was the subject of intense criticism, including in many films (such as Rakesh Sharmas Final Solution) that would normally have appeared at the festival. When Patwardhan and his colleagues protested and organized a successful rival festival, the government had to withdraw its rule.
Technically the MIFF doesnt have a censor clause anymore, but Patwardhan explains how by cherry-picking the people in the selection panel for the festival, the government keeps out films even remotely critical of the establishment. They no longer have to give a reason as to why a certain film cant play at the festival. They did that to my film Reason, which won Best Film at IDFA [in Amsterdam], says Patwardhan.
In recent years, filmmakers realized that they could be less restrained with their critique of political or religious ideologies on streaming platforms. Shows like Sacred Games, on Netflix, didnt come under the ambit of Cinematograph Act, and thus the censor board couldnt dictate terms. But the critics soon realized it, too. After Sacred Games was rebuked for an unflattering reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the streaming services took it as a warning and agreed to self-censor. In the coming months, BJP affiliates on Twitter criticized shows like Leila (on Netflix) and Pataal Lok (on Amazon Prime) for depicting Hindus and Sikhs in poor light. An Hindu nationalistaffiliated magazine filed a case against The Family Man (on Amazon Prime) for creating sympathy for terrorists. There was outrage over filmmaker Mira Nairs BBC adaptation of A Suitable Boy (on Netflix), which showed a Hindu woman kissing a Muslim man with a temple in the backdrop.
Things reached a boiling point with Amazon Primes Tandav in 2020. The show, created by director Ali Abbas Zafar, was flayed on social media for its insensitive depiction of Hindu gods, who are seen satirizing social media in one scene. Multiple police complaints were filed against makers, Amazon Prime, and even individual actors across several states. Amazon Prime and Zafar issued an immediate apology, along with the assurance that the offensive scenes had been removed. The head of Amazon Prime (India Originals), Aparna Purohit, was denied anticipatory bail (a preventive version of bail for someone anticipating arrest following a police complaint) from the Allahabad High Court citing how filmmakers ridicule Hindu Gods and Goddesses. A week later, Purohit was granted anticipatory bail by the Supreme Court. Ultimately, no one was arrested and most of the noise around the complaints died down a few weeks later. The sheer number of cases might hint at a coordinated campaign to intimidate streaming platforms into treading cautiously.
Only a few days after the Tandav controversy, the MIB unveiled the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (which I will call the Intermediary Guidelines). In addition to social media platforms, the Intermediary Guidelines extend to digital news publications as well as streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime, among others. DigiPub News India Foundation, a body of digital media organizations that works to ensure a robust news ecosystem, called the rules a strike on democracy. According to the guidelines, any complaint against a streaming show could result in the platform being warned/censured/admonished/reprimanded, required to apologize, or asked to modify content if it was found violating the code of ethics. As we saw in the case of Tandav, the code of ethics could have broad implications.
Lawyer Devdutta Mukhopadhyay, who has worked on digital rights issues in India, called the guidelines deeply worrying, particularly because the legislative branch was not consulted at all.
Barely a month after enacting the Intermediary Guidelines, it was reported that the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal and several tribunals had been abolished. Established in 1983 as a last resort for filmmakers to appeal against any grievances they might have against CBFC, the FCAT will have its now instead directed to a high court or the Supreme Court.
Vats says the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, might be the death knell for artistic freedom in India: How do businesses work? When one isnt sure about anything, theyd rather not do it, right? So, the self-censorship will begin, and youll see a spurt of patriotic films, mindless comedies. Any random body could raise an objection tomorrow. Any local bureaucrat could have an issue with a filmthe traffic police could say our profession hasnt been depicted properly. When you open it up like this, when does a film get finished?
Patwardhan fears he might be one of the governments primary targets if the bill gets enacted. The most frightening and preposterous thing is that theyre giving themselves the power to withdraw certificates issued under previous governments. All my films have run into censor trouble. Previously, he said, CBFC certificates had been my shield of armor in many cases, because right-wing mobs have attacked screenings of my films on multiple occasions. But because the film had a censor certificate they couldnt do it legally. For instance, at Ambedkar University in 2019, a screening of Ram Ke Naam (1992) was disrupted by members of ABVP, the student wing of the RSS. But after the enactment of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the government might put all of Patwardhans (heavily anti-establishment) films through the censor process again and officially cancel all his censor certificates if he refuses to comply with the suggested changes.
The good news is that this hasnt happened yet. According to a circular dated July 26, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has stated that the proposal to amend the Cinematograph Act is still in a consultation stage. Vats and Patwardhan are optimistic that the legislation wont stand in court, given there are many precedents that have upheld an artists right to freedom of expression.
Advocate Ashim Sood called the proposed amendments a serious concern. Sood notes, Weve seen how the police file sedition cases based on Facebook posts. Similarly a complaint could possibly reverse a censor certificate. He thinks it will be particularly damaging to independent filmmakers. Like a good fascist power, [the government] want[s] to stifle dissident voices. My hope is that people will stand up against it. The moment they try to pass this bill in the parliament, well have to challenge it in court and Im sure well win, Patwardhan says.
Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
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