Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

Researchers have utilized in-cell engineering to produce hybrid solid catalysts for artificial photosynthesis using protein crystals. These catalysts, created through genetically modified bacteria, are highly active, durable, and eco-friendly, paving the way for a novel approach in enzyme immobilization.

Researchers at Tokyo Tech have demonstrated that in-cell engineering is an effective method for creating functional protein crystals with promising catalytic properties. By harnessing genetically altered bacteria as a green synthesis platform, the researchers produced hybrid solid catalysts for artificial photosynthesis. These catalysts exhibit high activity, stability, and durability, highlighting the potential of the proposed innovative approach.

Protein crystals, like regular crystals, are well-ordered molecular structures with diverse properties and a huge potential for customization. They can assemble naturally from materials found within cells, which not only greatly reduces the synthesis costs but also lessens their environmental impact.

Although protein crystals are promising as catalysts because they can host various functional molecules, current techniques only enable the attachment of small molecules and simple proteins. Thus, it is imperative to find ways to produce protein crystals bearing both natural enzymes and synthetic functional molecules to tap their full potential for enzyme immobilization.

Against this backdrop, a team of researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) led by Professor Takafumi Ueno has developed an innovative strategy to produce hybrid solid catalysts based on protein crystals. As explained in their paperpublished inNano Letterson 12 July 2023, their approach combines in-cell engineering and a simplein vitroprocess to produce catalysts for artificial photosynthesis.

Graphic explaining the research. Credit: Professor Takafumi Ueno, Tokyo Institute of Technology

The building block of the hybrid catalyst is a protein monomer derived from a virus that infects theBombyx morisilkworm. The researchers introduced the gene that codes for this protein intoEscherichia colibacteria, where the produced monomers formed trimers that, in turn, spontaneously assembled into stable polyhedra crystals (PhCs) by binding to each other through their N-terminal -helix (H1). Additionally, the researchers introduced a modified version of the formate dehydrogenase (FDH) gene from a species of yeast into theE. coligenome. This gene caused the bacteria to produce FDH enzymes with H1 terminals, leading to the formation of hybrid H1-FDH@PhC crystals within the cells.

The team extracted the hybrid crystals out of theE. coli bacteria through sonication and gradient centrifugation and soaked them in a solution containing an artificial photosensitizer called eosin Y (EY). As a result, the protein monomers, which had been genetically modified such that their central channel could host an eosin Y molecule, facilitated the stable binding of EY to the hybrid crystal in large quantities.

Through this ingenious process, the team managed to produce highly active, recyclable, and thermally stable EYH1-FDH@PhC catalysts that can convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into formate (HCOO) upon exposure to light, mimicking photosynthesis. In addition, they maintained 94.4% of their catalytic activity after immobilization compared to that of the free enzyme. The conversion efficiency of the proposed hybrid crystal was an order of magnitude higher than that of previously reported compounds for enzymatic artificial photosynthesis based on FDH, highlights Prof. Ueno. Moreover, the hybrid PhC remained in the solid protein assembly state after enduring bothin vivoandin vitroengineering processes, demonstrating the remarkable crystallizing capacity and strong plasticity of PhCs as encapsulating scaffolds.

Overall, this study showcases the potential of bioengineering in facilitating the synthesis of complex functional materials. The combination ofin vivoandin vitrotechniques for the encapsulation of protein crystals will likely provide an effective and environmentally friendly strategy for research in the areas of nanomaterials and artificial photosynthesis, concludes Prof. Ueno.

And we sure hope that these efforts will lead us to a greener future!

Reference: In-Cell Engineering of Protein Crystals into Hybrid Solid Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis by Tiezheng Pan, Basudev Maity, Satoshi Abe, Taiki Morita and Takafumi Ueno, 12 July 2023, Nano Letters. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02355

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Artificial Photosynthesis Breakthrough Researchers Produce ... - SciTechDaily

The European Patent Office (EPO) has rejected an opposition filed against a BASF (Nunhems) patent on watermelons with bushy growth habit (EP2814316). No Patents on Seeds! filed the opposition because the patent is not inventive and patents on conventionally-bred plant varieties are prohibited.

The bushy growth of the plants was a random occurrence and, according to the patent description, the plants were simply a discovery in a home-garden. Their advantage: less land is needed for cultivation. The EPO granted the patent in 2021 as the patent holder had applied an additional well-established method (for generating triploid plants) to reduce the number of kernels. Clearly, neither the applied method nor the detection of the bushy growth habit is based on an invention.

Christoph Then, coordinator at No Patents on Seeds! the international coalition that filed the opposition: The EPO decision is in direct contradiction to the law and to the basic principles of the patent system. No one can claim an invention if a discovery is combined with well-known methods and the results are not surprising. The prohibitions in regard to patentability of conventional bred plants are severely violated. This decision is setting an extreme precedence in regard to life patents.

Patents can only be granted if the plant characteristics are obtained from genetic engineering

According to European patent law, patents on plant varieties are generally prohibited. Patents can only be granted if the plant characteristics are obtained from genetic engineering.

In Europe, the plant variety protection (PVP) law guarantees that breeders can use all conventionally-bred varieties to breed and market improved varieties. In contrast, patents can be used to hamper or block access to biodiversity needed by all breeders. If such patents are granted, only big companies can survive in the long-term, and they will then decide what is grown and harvested, as well as what food is marketed at which price.

No Patents on Seeds! plans to appeal the EPO decision and is demanding that politicians take their responsibility seriously and finally implement the existing prohibitions in patent law. Patents on conventionally-bred plants and animals have to be stopped. The Austrian government has already decided to amend national patent laws as a first step, other European countries may follow soon.

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Analysts are concerned that a lack of skilled labor in the space industry "could impact aerospace's growth in recent years, putting key projects on hold or preventing space startups from gaining traction," reports ExtremeTech. From the report: According to the Space Foundation's annual Space Report, job opportunities within the U.S. space industry have grown 18% over the past five years. Meanwhile, American colleges saw a decline in engineering students across the same period, prompting the industry to wonder whether the workforce could keep up with demand. Indeed, the Space Foundation says only 17% of NASA's workforce is under 35; not only does the agency tend to hire workers who have accumulated a lot of experience, but there aren't as many young professionals under consideration as there could be.

The industry isn't just short on engineers, though. Although STEM degrees requiring an intimate familiarity with astronomy, physics, robotics, computing, mathematics, and other technical topics are certainly one path toward space, the industry relies on workers proficient in a much wider range of skills. Welders, electricians, crane operators, and other blue-collar workers are essential to manufacturing and ground operations. In contrast, marketers, PR representatives, bookkeepers, lawyers, and other office workers keep things running in the background. In fact, as of writing, SpaceX is even hiring a barista.

As Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor put it in the nonprofit's Q1 2023 report, the space industry might benefit from informing the public of the benefits of space exploration. These benefits are apparent to some, but others find space exploration nonessential or frivolous. Other people interested in the space industry might be scared off from pursuing it as a career, thanks to its reputation for requiring advanced degrees and mathematical prowess. From the Space Foundation's own educational projects to those run by The Planetary Society and Space for Humanity, public outreach could be the key to bolstering industry engagement. The report notes that the "space economy" has ballooned to $464 billion (up 159% from 2010) and is predicted to reach a $1 trillion valuation by 2030, according to some analysts.

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Space Industry Is Growing Faster Than Its Workforce, Analysts Say - Slashdot

This week saw an announcement from the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. A new type of vaccine "has shown in the lab setting that it can completely reverse autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes all without shutting down the rest of the immune system." A typical vaccine teaches the human immune system to recognize a virus or bacteria as an enemy that should be attacked. The new "inverse vaccine" does just the opposite: it removes the immune system's memory of one molecule. While such immune memory erasure would be unwanted for infectious diseases, it can stop autoimmune reactions like those seen in multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks a person's healthy tissues. The inverse vaccine, described in Nature Biomedical Engineering, takes advantage of how the liver naturally marks molecules from broken-down cells with "do not attack" flags to prevent autoimmune reactions to cells that die by natural processes. Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering researchers coupled an antigen a molecule being attacked by the immune system with a molecule resembling a fragment of an aged cell that the liver would recognize as friend, rather than foe. The team showed how the vaccine could successfully stop the autoimmune reaction associated with a multiple-sclerosis-like disease...

Jeffrey Hubbell [lead author of the new paper] and his colleagues knew that the body has a mechanism for ensuring that immune reactions don't occur in response to every damaged cell in the body a phenomenon known as peripheral immune tolerance, which is carried out in the liver. They discovered in recent years that tagging molecules with a sugar known as N-acetylgalactosamine (pGal) could mimic this process, sending the molecules to the liver where tolerance to them develops. "The idea is that we can attach any molecule we want to pGal and it will teach the immune system to tolerate it," explained Hubbell. "Rather than rev up immunity as with a vaccine, we can tamp it down in a very specific way with an inverse vaccine."

In the new study, the researchers focused on a multiple-sclerosis-like disease in which the immune system attacks myelin, leading to weakness and numbness, loss of vision and, eventually mobility problems and paralysis. The team linked myelin proteins to pGal and tested the effect of the new inverse vaccine. The immune system, they found, stopped attacking myelin, allowing nerves to function correctly again and reversing symptoms of disease in animals. In a series of other experiments, the scientists showed that the same approach worked to minimize other ongoing immune reactions...

Initial phase I safety trials of a glycosylation-modified antigen therapy based on this preclinical work have already been carried out in people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that is associated with eating wheat, barley and rye, and phase I safety trials are under way in multiple sclerosis. Those trials are conducted by the pharmaceutical company Anokion SA, which helped fund the new work and which Hubbell cofounded and is a consultant, board member, and equity holder. The Alper Family Foundation also helped fund the research.

"There are no clinically approved inverse vaccines yet, but we're incredibly excited about moving this technology forward," says Hubbell. Thanks to Slashdot reader laughingskeptic for sharing the news.

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New 'Inverse Vaccine' Shows Potential to Treat MS and Other ... - Slashdot

A novel new technique combining DNA from three different people has reportedly been used as a way to prevent the generational transmission of certain rare genetic diseases.

The process, called mitochondrial donation, uses genetic material from a mother and father and a third donor, in an attempt to drastically reduce or eliminate the exchange of mitochondrial diseases such as muscular dystrophy, hearing and vision disorders, epilepsy, heart conditions, learning disabilities, and even potentially neurodegenerative diseases.

Mitochondria are often called the powerhouses of the cell, and in the cases of mitochondrial diseases, they stop being able to power certain functions as well as they would if they were healthy. That includes the most energy-intensive cells, such as nerves and heart muscle cells.

These babies have genomes derived from their biological father and mother just like any other babies but only had their mitochondria replaced with the ones coming from the donor, said Dr. Steven Kim, a researcher in aging and cancer at the Coriell Institute of Medical Research in New Jersey and a medical content advisor at Breakout.

The practitioners did so by transferring the nucleus of the original egg (mother) to a new, unfertilized egg (donor), he explained to Medical News Today. This will theoretically eliminate the mitochondrial disorders but not without limitations since some residual mitochondria can still be present in the egg and later develop problems.

The process has been approved for use in the United Kingdom under the auspices of the countrys Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates fertility clinics and their operations.

Hopeful parents are eligible for this procedure only if they are at a very high risk of passing a serious mitochondrial disease onto their children, according to the authoritys website.

Mitochondrial diseases can be quite severe, Dr. Shvetha Murthy Zarek, a reproductive endocrinologist and the Medical and Practice IVF Director at Oma Fertility in St. Louis, told Medical News Today. Curative therapies for mitochondrial diseases have proven to be challenging and this technique is promising.

So far, fewer than five babies have been born using this procedure, although 32 have been approved to do so, the HFEA says.

Mitochondrial donation treatment offers families with severe inherited mitochondrial illness the possibility of a healthy child. The HFEA oversees a robust framework which ensures that mitochondrial donation is provided in a safe and ethical manner, they wrote in a statement. These are still early days for mitochondrial donation treatment and the HFEA continues to review clinical and scientific developments.

While the program is an experimental procedure, its success has raised concerns about using genetic techniques to alter babies before birth in ways outside of the scope of rare genetic diseases.

Before its widespread adoption, there will inevitably be some form of ethical scrutiny and debate in the scientific and healthcare communities, and the regulatory authorities will intervene and provide guidance in the near future, Kim said.

But in the case of this particular method, experts say the potential for it to be exploited for other means is low.

This may be seen as a form of genetic engineering, but this form of Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART) does not lead to intentional modifications in a childs physical features, Dr. Karenne Fru, a fertility specialist at Oma Fertility in Atlanta, told Medical News Today. There is limited utility for this form of ART in individuals without mitochondrial disease. As we gather more data on feasibility and long-term effects, it is possible that more couples choose to proceed with this route.

Fru said there was the potential for all genetic mitochondrial disorders to be cured in this fashion since all of a babys mitochondria are passed down through the mother.

Beyond that, she said the ethics were similar to those involved with any in vitro fertilizations involving donors.

There needs to be clear counseling and communication [to kids] about their origins in a supportive manner to avoid any crisis of identity later on, Fru said. Simply put, it took both parents and a generous, healthy donor for them to exist.

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Gene therapy: Donor DNA may protect babies from certain disorders - Medical News Today

A genetically modified rice variety could save the lives of thousands of children. But nowGreenpeacehas prevented the sowing because of alleged health risks. Typical: The eco-activists care neither about science nor about the common good. Your agenda is completely different.

This rice could save the lives of millions of children every year, said the American news magazine Time jubilantly 23 years ago about the successful production of golden rice. Using genetic engineering, biochemists had succeeded in developing the rice variety with increased amounts of a vitamin A precursor. Hundreds of thousands of children go blind every year from vitamin A deficiency, about half of them die. Golden rice could prevent misery.

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But the project is faltering becauseGreenpeaceand other so-called environmental organizations are torpedoing the Golden Rice with lawsuits in court over alleged risks of the genetically modified seeds despite criticism from experts. A study in the journal Environment and Development Economics nine years ago came to the conclusion that delaying the use of golden rice could have cost one and a half million years of life unnecessarily even then.

[Editors note: This article was originally published in German and has been translated and edited for clarity.]

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here

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Scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys and the Chinese University of Hong Kong say they have developed a computational approach to predict whether a person with type 2 diabetes will develop kidney disease. Their results, DNA methylation markers for kidney function and progression of diabetic kidney disease, published in Nature Communications, could help doctors prevent or better manage kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

This study provides a glimpse into the powerful future of predictive diagnostics, notes co-senior author Kevin Yip, PhD, a professor and director of bioinformatics at Sanford Burnham Prebys. Our team has demonstrated that by combining clinical data with cutting-edge technology, its possible to develop computational models to help clinicians optimize the treatment of type 2 diabetes to prevent kidney disease.

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide. In the U.S., 44% of cases of end-stage kidney disease and dialysis are due to diabetes. In Asia, this number is 50%.

There has been significant progress developing treatments for kidney disease in people with diabetes, adds co-senior author Ronald Ma, a professor in the department of medicine and therapeutics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. However, it can be difficult to assess an individual patients risk for developing kidney disease based on clinical factors alone, so determining who is at greatest risk of developing diabetic kidney disease is an important clinical need.

Epigenetic markers are potential biomarkers for diabetes and related complications. Using a prospective cohort from the Hong Kong Diabetes Register, we perform two independent epigenome-wide association studies to identify methylation markers associated with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and subsequent decline in kidney function (eGFR slope), respectively, in 1,271 type 2 diabetes subjects, write the investigators.

Here we show 40 (30 previously unidentified) and eight (all previously unidentified) CpG sites individually reach epigenome-wide significance for baseline eGFR and eGFR slope, respectively. We also developed a multisite analysis method, which selects 64 and 37 CpG sites for baseline eGFR and eGFR slope, respectively. These models are validated in an independent cohort of Native Americans with type 2 diabetes. Our identified CpG sites are near genes enriched for functional roles in kidney diseases, and some show association with renal damage.

This study highlights the potential of methylation markers in risk stratification of kidney disease among type 2 diabetes individuals.

The new algorithm depends on DNA methylation, which occurs when subtle changes accumulate in our DNA. DNA methylation can encode important information about which genes are being turned on and off, and it can be easily measured through blood tests.

Our computational model can use methylation markers from a blood sample to predict both current kidney function and how the kidneys will function years in the future, which means it could be easily implemented alongside current methods for evaluating a patients risk for kidney disease, says Yip.

The researchers developed their model using detailed data from more than 1,200 patients with type 2 diabetes in the Hong Kong Diabetes Register. They also tested their model on a separate group of 326 Native Americans with type 2 diabetes, which helped ensure that their approach could predict kidney disease in different populations.

This study highlights the unique strength of the Hong Kong Diabetes Register and its huge potential to fuel further discoveries to improve our understanding of diabetes and its complications, points out says study co-author Julianna Chan, MD, a professor in the department of medicine and therapeutics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who established the Hong Kong Diabetes Register more than two decades ago.

The Hong Kong Diabetes Register is a scientific treasure, adds first author Kelly Yichen Li, PhD, a postdoctoral scientist at Sanford Burnham Prebys. They follow up with patients for many years, which gives us a full picture of how human health can change over decades in people with diabetes.

The researchers are currently working to further refine their model. They are also expanding the application of their approach to look at other questions about human health and diseasesuch as determining why some people with cancer dont respond well to certain treatments.

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Predicting Diabetic Kidney Disease with the Use of a Novel Algorithm - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Imagine using your cellphone to control the activity of your own cells to treat injuries and disease. It sounds like something from the imagination of an overly optimistic science fiction writer. But this may one day be a possibility through the emerging field of quantum biology.

Over the past few decades, scientists have made incredible progress in understanding and manipulating biological systems at increasingly small scales, from protein folding to genetic engineering. And yet, the extent to which quantum effects influence living systems remains barely understood.

Quantum effects are phenomena that occur between atoms and molecules that cant be explained by classical physics. It has been known for more than a century that the rules of classical mechanics, like Newtons laws of motion, break down at atomic scales. Instead, tiny objects behave according to a different set of laws known as quantum mechanics.

For humans, who can only perceive the macroscopic world, or whats visible to the naked eye, quantum mechanics can seem counterintuitive and somewhat magical. Things you might not expect happen in the quantum world, like electrons tunneling through tiny energy barriers and appearing on the other side unscathed, or being in two different places at the same time in a phenomenon called superposition.

I am trained as a quantum engineer. Research in quantum mechanics is usually geared toward technology. However, and somewhat surprisingly, there is increasing evidence that nature an engineer with billions of years of practice has learned how to use quantum mechanics to function optimally. If this is indeed true, it means that our understanding of biology is radically incomplete. It also means that we could possibly control physiological processes by using the quantum properties of biological matter.

Researchers can manipulate quantum phenomena to build better technology. In fact, you already live in a quantum-powered world: from laser pointers to GPS, magnetic resonance imaging and the transistors in your computer all these technologies rely on quantum effects.

In general, quantum effects only manifest at very small length and mass scales, or when temperatures approach absolute zero. This is because quantum objects like atoms and molecules lose their quantumness when they uncontrollably interact with each other and their environment. In other words, a macroscopic collection of quantum objects is better described by the laws of classical mechanics. Everything that starts quantum dies classical. For example, an electron can be manipulated to be in two places at the same time, but it will end up in only one place after a short while exactly what would be expected classically.

In a complicated, noisy biological system, it is thus expected that most quantum effects will rapidly disappear, washed out in what the physicist Erwin Schrdinger called the warm, wet environment of the cell. To most physicists, the fact that the living world operates at elevated temperatures and in complex environments implies that biology can be adequately and fully described by classical physics: no funky barrier crossing, no being in multiple locations simultaneously.

Chemists, however, have for a long time begged to differ. Research on basic chemical reactions at room temperature unambiguously shows that processes occurring within biomolecules like proteins and genetic material are the result of quantum effects. Importantly, such nanoscopic, short-lived quantum effects are consistent with driving some macroscopic physiological processes that biologists have measured in living cells and organisms. Research suggests that quantum effects influence biological functions, including regulating enzyme activity, sensing magnetic fields, cell metabolism and electron transport in biomolecules.

The tantalizing possibility that subtle quantum effects can tweak biological processes presents both an exciting frontier and a challenge to scientists. Studying quantum mechanical effects in biology requires tools that can measure the short time scales, small length scales and subtle differences in quantum states that give rise to physiological changes all integrated within a traditional wet lab environment.

In my work, I build instruments to study and control the quantum properties of small things like electrons. In the same way that electrons have mass and charge, they also have a quantum property called spin. Spin defines how the electrons interact with a magnetic field, in the same way that charge defines how electrons interact with an electric field. The quantum experiments I have been building since graduate school, and now in my own lab, aim to apply tailored magnetic fields to change the spins of particular electrons.

Research has demonstrated that many physiological processes are influenced by weak magnetic fields. These processes include stem cell development and maturation, cell proliferation rates, genetic material repair and countless others. These physiological responses to magnetic fields are consistent with chemical reactions that depend on the spin of particular electrons within molecules. Applying a weak magnetic field to change electron spins can thus effectively control a chemical reactions final products, with important physiological consequences.

Currently, a lack of understanding of how such processes work at the nanoscale level prevents researchers from determining exactly what strength and frequency of magnetic fields cause specific chemical reactions in cells. Current cellphone, wearable and miniaturization technologies are already sufficient to produce tailored, weak magnetic fields that change physiology, both for good and for bad. The missing piece of the puzzle is, hence, a deterministic codebook of how to map quantum causes to physiological outcomes.

In the future, fine-tuning natures quantum properties could enable researchers to develop therapeutic devices that are noninvasive, remotely controlled and accessible with a mobile phone. Electromagnetic treatments could potentially be used to prevent and treat disease, such as brain tumors, as well as in biomanufacturing, such as increasing lab-grown meat production.

Quantum biology is one of the most interdisciplinary fields to ever emerge. How do you build community and train scientists to work in this area?

Since the pandemic, my lab at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Surreys Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre have organized Big Quantum Biology meetings to provide an informal weekly forum for researchers to meet and share their expertise in fields like mainstream quantum physics, biophysics, medicine, chemistry and biology.

Research with potentially transformative implications for biology, medicine and the physical sciences will require working within an equally transformative model of collaboration. Working in one unified lab would allow scientists from disciplines that take very different approaches to research to conduct experiments that meet the breadth of quantum biology from the quantum to the molecular, the cellular and the organismal.

The existence of quantum biology as a discipline implies that traditional understanding of life processes is incomplete. Further research will lead to new insights into the age-old question of what life is, how it can be controlled and how to learn with nature to build better quantum technologies.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Quantum biology on horizon? How futuristic physics theory could ... - Study Finds

A gene-editing startup wants to help you eat healthier salads. This month, North Carolinabased Pairwise is rolling out a new type of mustard greens engineered to be less bitter than the original plant. The vegetable is the first Crispr-edited food to hit the US market.

Mustard greens are packed with vitamins and minerals but have a strong peppery flavor when eaten raw. To make them more palatable, they're usually cooked. Pairwise wanted to retain the health benefits of mustard greens but make them tastier to the average shopper, so scientists at the company used the DNA-editing tool Crispr to remove a gene responsible for their pungency. The company hopes consumers will opt for its greens over less nutritious ones like iceberg and butter lettuce.

We basically created a new category of salad, says Tom Adams, cofounder and CEO of Pairwise. The greens will initially be available in select restaurants and other outlets in the MinneapolisSt. Paul region, St. Louis, and Springfield, Massachusetts. The company plans to start stocking the greens in grocery stores this summer, likely in the Pacific Northwest first.

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A naturally occurring part of bacterias immune system, Crispr was first harnessed as a gene-editing tool in 2012. Ever since, scientists have envisioned lofty uses for the technique. If you could tweak the genetic code of plants, you couldat least in theoryinstall any number of favorable traits into them. For instance, you could make crops that produce larger yields, resist pests and disease, or require less water. Crispr has yet to end world hunger, but in the short term, it may give consumers more variety in what they eat.

Pairwises goal is to make already healthy foods more convenient and enjoyable. Beyond mustard greens, the company is also trying to improve fruits. Its using Crispr to develop seedless blackberries and pitless cherries. Our lifestyle and needs are evolving and were becoming more aware of our nutrition deficit, says Haven Baker, cofounder and chief business officer at Pairwise. In 2019, only about one in 10 adults in the US met the daily recommended intake of 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Technically, the new mustard greens arent a genetically modified organism, or GMO. In agriculture, GMOs are those made by adding genetic material from a completely different species. These are crops that could not be produced through conventional selective breedingthat is, choosing parent plants with certain characteristics to produce offspring with more desirable traits.

Instead, Crispr involves tweaking an organisms own genes; no foreign DNA is added. One benefit of Crispr is that it can achieve new plant varieties in a fraction of the time it takes to produce a new one through traditional breeding. It took Pairwise just four years to bring its mustard greens to the market; it can take a decade or longer to bring out desired characteristics through the centuries-old practice of crossbreeding.

In the US, gene-edited foods arent subject to the same regulations as GMOs, so long as their genetic changes could have otherwise occurred through traditional breedingsuch as a simple gene deletion or swapping of some DNA letters. As a result, gene-edited foods dont have to be labeled as such. By contrast, GMOs need to be labeled as bioengineered or derived from bioengineering under new federal requirements, which went into effect at the beginning of 2022.

The US Department of Agriculture reviews applications for gene-edited foods to determine whether these altered plants could become a pest, and the Food and Drug Administration recommends that producers consult with the agency before bringing these new foods to market. In 2020, the USDA determined Pairwise's mustard greens were not plant pests. The company also met with the FDA prior to introducing its new greens.

The mustard greens arent the first Crispr food to be launched commercially. In 2021, a Tokyo firm introduced a Crispr-edited tomato in Japan that contains high amounts of y-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. A chemical messenger in the brain, GABA blocks impulses between nerve cells. The company behind the tomato, Sanatech Seeds, claims that eating GABA can help relieve stress and lower blood pressure.

Scientists are using Crispr in an attempt to improve other crops, such as boosting the number of kernels on ears of corn or breeding cacao trees with enhanced resistance to disease. And last year, the US approved Crispr-edited cattle for use in meat production. Minnesota company Acceligen used the gene-editing tool to give cows a short, slick-hair coat. Cattle with this trait may be able to better withstand hot temperatures. Beef from these cows hasnt come onto the market yet.

Another Minnesota firm, Calyxt, came out with a gene-edited soybean oil in 2019 thats free of trans fats, but the product uses an older form of gene editing known as TALENs.

Some question the value of using Crispr to make less bitter greens. People who dont eat enough vegetables are unlikely to change their habits just because a new salad alternative is available, says Peter Lurie, president and executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, DCbased nonprofit that advocates for safer and healthier foods. I dont think this is likely to be the answer to any nutritional problems, he says, adding that a staple crop like fortified rice would likely have a much bigger nutritional impact.

When genetic engineering was first introduced to agriculture in the 1990s, proponents touted the potential consumer benefits of GMOs, such as healthier or fortified foods. In reality, most of the GMOs on the market today were developed to help farmers prevent crop loss and increase yield. That may be starting to change. Last year, a GMO purple tomato was introduced in the US with consumers in mind. Its engineered to contain more antioxidants than the regular red variety of tomato, and its shelf life is also twice as long.

Gene-edited foods like the new mustard greens may offer similar consumer benefits without the baggage of the GMO label. Despite decades of evidence showing that GMOs are safe, many Americans are still wary of these foods. In a 2019 poll by the Pew Research Center, about 51 percent of respondents thought GMOs were worse for peoples health than those with no genetically modified ingredients.

However, gene-edited foods could still face obstacles with public acceptance, says Christopher Cummings, a senior research fellow at North Carolina State University and Iowa State University. Most people have not made up their minds about whether they would actively avoid or eat them, according to a 2022 study that Cummings conducted. Respondents who indicated a willingness to eat them tended to be under 30 with higher levels of education and household income, and many expressed a preference for transparency around gene-edited foods. Almost 75 percent of those surveyed wanted gene-edited foods to be labeled as such.

People want to know how their food is made. They dont want to feel duped, Cummings says. He thinks developers of these products should be transparent about the technology they use to avoid future backlash.

As for wider acceptance of gene-edited foods, developers need to learn lessons from GMOs. One reason consumers have a negative or ambivalent view of GMOs is because they dont often benefit directly from these foods. The direct-to-consumer benefit has not manifested in many technological food products in the past 30 years, says Cummings. If gene-edited foods are really going to take off, they need to provide a clear and direct benefit to people that helps them financially or nutritionally.

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The First Crispr-Edited Salad Is Here - WIRED

Imagine strolling along a beach, splashing in the ocean, or even floating through the air. Now, imagine that youre leaving traces of your DNA behind everywhere you go. As unlikely as it sounds, a new study from the University of Florida suggests thats exactly whats happening.

Everywhere we go, from a muggy day in Florida to the chilly climes of Ireland, were shedding our DNA. Were coughing it, spitting it, and even flushing it into countless environments. Its not just in the obvious places like the beach or the ocean, either.

This human genetic material can be found in riverways, in the air, and in almost every corner of the globe, excluding only the most isolated islands and remote mountaintops.

The researchers found our DNAs ubiquity to be both a scientific gift and an ethical conundrum.

They sequenced this widespread DNA and found it of such high quality that they could identify disease-associated mutations and determine the genetic ancestry of nearby populations. In some cases, they could even match genetic information to individual participants who had voluntarily offered their DNA for recovery.

Professor David Duffy, who spearheaded the project, believes that these environmental DNA samples, if handled ethically, could yield significant benefits for various fields from medicine and environmental science to archaeology and criminal forensics.

Researchers could track cancer mutations from wastewater or uncover hidden archaeological sites by looking for human DNA, Duffy suggested. He added that detectives could even identify suspects from the DNA floating in the air at a crime scene.

But the extraction of this level of personal information requires extreme caution. Scientists and regulators are now facing the ethical dilemmas associated with inadvertently, or intentionally, gathering human genetic information from unexpected sources like sand, water, or even a persons breath.

The teams paper, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, highlights the ease with which they collected human DNA from almost every location they explored.

Professor Duffy expressed his surprise at the amount and quality of human DNA they discovered. In most cases, the quality is almost equivalent to if you took a sample from a person.

The potential to identify individuals through these means underlines the need for ethical safeguards in this area of research. This study had the approval of the University of Floridas institutional review board, which ensures that research adheres to ethical guidelines.

Its standard in science to make these sequences publicly available. But that also means if you dont screen out human information, anyone can come along and harvest this information, said Professor Duffy.

Do you need to get consent to take those samples? Or institute some controls to remove human information?

The team has successfully applied environmental DNA, or eDNA, to study endangered sea turtles and their susceptibility to viral cancers at UFs Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and Sea Turtle Hospital. They retrieved useful DNA from turtle tracks in the sand, a technique that greatly expedited their research.

The researchers expected to find human eDNA in their turtle samples and many other places they explored. With modern genetic sequencing technology, its now relatively easy to sequence the DNA of every organism in an environmental sample.

The question was, how much human DNA would be present, and would it be intact enough to yield useful information?

Their research took them to the ocean and rivers near the Whitney Lab, sand from isolated beaches, and even a remote island where people had never set foot. In a test conducted in collaboration with the National Park Service, they were able to retrieve DNA from the footprints of voluntary participants in the sand and sequence parts of their genomes, all with their consent.

Professor Duffy also tested the technique in his native Ireland. Along a river that meanders through a town and out to sea, he discovered human DNA at every point, except for the remote mountain stream where the river originates, far from human settlement.

The research wasnt limited to outdoor locations. They also collected air samples from a veterinary hospital, managing to recover DNA matching the staff, the animal patient, and even common animal viruses.

The evidence is clear: human eDNA can be easily sampled from a multitude of environments. Duffy believes its now time for policymakers and the scientific community to address issues of consent and privacy, and weigh them against the potential benefits of studying this unintentional DNA trail.

Any time we make a technological advance, there are beneficial things that the technology can be used for and concerning things that the technology can be used for. Its no different here, Duffy said. He wants to bring these issues to light early, giving policymakers and society the time they need to develop appropriate regulations.

This groundbreaking research from the University of Florida has illuminated the potential of environmental DNA as a tool for scientific discovery.

However, as we leave traces of ourselves in the sand, the water, and even the air, the question of how to protect our genetic privacy becomes increasingly pertinent. As we move forward, the balance between scientific progress and ethical responsibility will be crucial.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. Heres a more in-depth look at its various characteristics and importance:

DNA is made up of two long, twisted strands that form a double helix structure. Each strand is composed of repeating units called nucleotides. Every nucleotide is made up of three parts: a sugar molecule (deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G).

In the DNA double helix, the two strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between the bases. Adenine always pairs with thymine, and cytosine always pairs with guanine. This complementary base pairing enables the base pairs to be copied accurately during DNA replication.

DNA replication is the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division. The double helix is unwound by enzymes, and each strand of the original DNA molecule serves as a template for the production of the complementary strand. This replication process allows genetic information to be passed from cell to cell and from parents to offspring.

DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes. Humans typically have 46 chromosomes (23 from each parent) in each cell. Segments within these chromosomes are known as genes. Each gene serves as a blueprint for making a specific protein. Proteins, in turn, perform a vast array of functions within the organism, from catalyzing metabolic reactions to responding to stimuli to providing structure to cells and organisms.

The precise order of the bases in a stretch of DNA known as the DNA sequence forms the genetic code, which carries the instructions for building an organisms cells and for running those cells. The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, sequenced the entire human genome for the first time, revealing around 20,500 genes.

One of the key roles of DNA is in heredity. Offspring inherit their DNA from their parents. This inheritance is why offspring resemble their parents, both in physical traits and in susceptibility to certain diseases. But DNA also allows for variation, through mutations (changes in the DNA sequence). While many mutations are harmful, some can be beneficial, driving evolution and species diversity.

DNA technology has a wide range of applications. In medicine, its used for genetic testing and personalized treatment. In forensics, DNA fingerprinting can identify individuals. In biotechnology, genetic engineering can modify organisms DNA to produce desirable traits.

The use of DNA technology raises various ethical considerations. Issues include privacy (in terms of DNA data), consent (for genetic testing), and potential misuse of genetic engineering (such as in creating designer babies).

In summary, DNA is a complex molecule that plays a central role in life as we know it. It carries the instructions for building and maintaining organisms, and its study has revolutionized fields from medicine to ecology.

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