Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

If the Human Genome Project (HGP) was an actual human, he or she would be a revolutionary whiz kid. A prodigy in the vein of Mozart. One who changed the biomedical universe forever as a teenager, but ultimately has much more to offer in the way of transforming mankind.

Its been 20 years since scientists published the first draft of the human genome. Since its launch in the 90s, the HGP fundamentally altered how we understand our genetic blueprint, our evolution, and the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. It spawned famous offspring, including gene therapy, mRNA vaccines, and CRISPR. Its the parent to HGP-Write, a global consortium that seeks to rewrite life.

Yet as genome sequencing costs and time continue to dive, the question remains: what have we actually learned from the HGP? After two decades, is it becoming obsolete, with a new generation of genomic data in the making? And with controversial uses such as designer babies, human-animal chimeras, organs-in-a-tube, and shaky genetic privacy, how is the legacy of the HGP guiding the future of humanity?

In a special issue of Science, scientists across the globe took a deep dive into the lessons learned from the worlds first biomedical moonshot. Although some hoped having the human genome in hand would let us sprint to medical miracles, the field is more an ongoing relay race of contributions from genomic studies, wrote Science senior editor Laura Zahn.

Decoding, reworking, and potentially one day augmenting the human genome is an ultramarathon, buoyed by potential medical miracles and fraught with possible abuses.

As genomic data and its uses continue to balloon, it will be critical to curb potential abuse and ensure that the legacy of the HGP contributes to the betterment of all human lives, wrote Drs. Jennifer Rood and Aviv Regev at Genentech in a perspectives article for the issue.

Big data projects are a dime a dozen these days. A global effort to solve the brain? Yup. Scouring centenarians genes to find those that lead to longevity? Sure! Spitting in a tube to find out your ancestry and potential disease risksthe kits are on sale for the holidays! Genetically engineering anythingfrom yeast that brew insulin to an organism entirely new to Earthbeen there, done that!

These massive international collaborations and sci-fi stretch goals that we now take for granted owe their success to the HGP. Its had a profound effect on biomedical research, said Rood and Regev.

Flashback to the 1990s. Pulp Fiction played in theaters, Michael Jordan owned the NBA, and an international team decided to crack the base code of human life.

The study arose from years of frustration that genetic mapping tools needed better resolution. Scientists could roughly track down a gene related to certain types of genetic disorders, like Huntingtons disease, which is due to a single gene mutation. But it soon became clear that most of our toughest medical foes, such as cancer, often have multiple genetic hiccups. With the tools that were available at the time, solving these disorders was similar to debugging thousands of lines of code through a fogged-up lens.

Ultimately, the pioneers realized we needed an infinitely dense map of the genome to really begin decoding, said the authors. Meaning, we needed a whole picture of the human genome, at high resolution, and the tools to get it. Before the HGP, we were peeking at our genome through consumer binoculars. After it, we got the James Webb space telescope to look into our inner genetic universe.

The result was a human reference genome, a mold that nearly all biomedical studies map onto, from synthetic biology to chasing disease-causing mutants to the creation of CRISPR. Massive global consortiums, including the 1000 Genomes Project, the Cancer Genome Atlas, the BRAIN Initiative, and the Human Cell Atlas have all followed in HGPs steps. As a first big data approach to medicine, before the internet was ubiquitous, HGP laid out a new vision for collaborative science by openly sharing data from labs across the globesomething Covid-19 vaccines have benefited from.

Yet as with AOL, CDs, and Microsoft FrontPage, HGP may be a legacy product from a bygone era.

The first relatively finished reference genome was published in 2003. Yet two core questions at the heart of the HGP remain. One, what exactly should be considered a complete reference? Two, how can it be decoded to benefit humans?

Reference is an ambiguous idea in the age of increasingly cheaper genome sequencing. The original reference was what science considered an average human. It wasnt, but the reference genome did focus on mapping the most common variants in a gene. Yet its increasingly obvious that humans are wildly diverse in our genetic differences, which couldfor examplehave a say in our longevity.

Capturing the ever-growing genetic diversity of humans requires profiling a more diverse set of genomes, said the authors. Ultimately, although highly useful, a single reference genome is inherently biased. Your genealogy results from consumer kits, for example, could be on point or off base, depending on your race and the genetic background of their reference samples. For now, its mostly people with European ancestry.

The HGP and its legacy must serve humanity as a whole, not neglecting those who are currently underrepresented in biological research, the team said.

Then theres making sense of it. The HGP itself decoded the genome but didnt provide an understanding of itsuch as what genetic elements actually do, how they work together, and how they contribute to health and disease.

Were getting there, but slowly. Weve found genes that protect against Alzheimers, and genes that contribute to cancer and muscle disorders. Using a popular method called GWAS (genome-wide association study), scientists are increasingly capable of fishing out gene variantsoften hundreds at a timethat play a role in more complex disorders such as autism. But teasing out how bucketloads of genes affect any disease remains difficult. With the rise of machine learning and AI, however, the authors said, we have a powerful tool to begin unpacking its secrets to affect health.

Whats next? Thanks to ongoing massive whole genome sequencing projects, we could be shedding the veil of HGPs average human and entering a new era of multiple reference genomesor even personalized ones. With this would come massive concerns around privacy. The Golden State Killer case, though it had a happy ending in that it was ultimately solved, relied on a free and public genealogy database that people may not have knowingly agreed to partake in. Unexpected findings related to long-lost relatives, a high risk of serious diseases, or our own heritage, especially if shared with third parties, could damage relationships or even overthrow our sense of self.

From the idea of a reference genome to a smorgasbord of genetic tools, HGPs legacy is here to stay. As we move towards a more snowflake era of genomicsone that stresses individuality either for mixed-and-matched groups or individualsthe original goal remains the same.

The project left us with a major mission, still relevant even 20 years later, the authors said. We need to better understand how to wield our genetic blueprints, both common and rare, to promote human health and treat diseasefor all of humanity.

Image Credit: Thor DeichmannfromPixabay

Excerpt from:
Scientists Completed the First Human Genome 20 Years Ago. How Far Have We Come, and What's Next? - Singularity Hub

What we need tofightclimate change is woolly mammoths said no climate scientist, ever.

But thats not deterring a hotshot bioscience start-up from peddling its genetic tinkering as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On its slick website, newly-formed Colossal Laboratories prominently states that its top core goal is to decelerate melting of the arctic permafrost. Melting permafrost releases immense quantities of methane into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.

To achieve their stated goal, the founders plan to genetically engineer a hybrid of the Asian elephant and the extinct woolly mammoth, which lastlived about 4,000 years ago. If you dont immediately see how that relates to the climate crisis, hang on.

The pitch goes like this. First, the gene-splicing wizards will synthesize some carefully chosen woolly mammoth genes the animal'scomplete genetic sequence has been known since 2015 and implant them in an egg cell from an Asian elephant. Egg harvesting is hugely complex with elephants, and the Asian elephant is endangered. (Colossals fallback strategy is to make an embryo from stem cells.)

'What we need to fightclimate change is woolly mammoths' said no climate scientist, ever.

Next, theyll fertilize the egg and implant the modified embryo in an artificial womb. Actually, theres one step before that: inventing an artificial womb that can gestate a200-poundfetus for almost two years. Some preliminary experimental work with mice has been conducted, but that research utilized an embryo taken from a healthy mother mouse.

Once the baby mammoth-elephant emerges from the artificial womb, theyll need to raise it to maturity. That assumes that they figure out how to recreate the nurturing environment of an intensely social and highly intelligent species. And theyll need a lot of these babies to create a viable herd. Were finally getting to the climate part.

The next step is to relocate the herd to Siberia because thats where the permafrost is. According to Sergey Zimov, a Russian geophysicist who also does work in paleoecology, the introduction of the mammoth-elephants into the wet mossy tundra should induce the emergence of dry grasslands as they existed in the Late Pleistocene, roughly 10,00015,000 years ago.

This transformation of the arctic ecosystem, says Zimov, has multiple climate benefits. Grasslands will sequester more carbon in their root systems, and theyll reflect more sunlight, which reduces atmospheric heating.

And the big win is that when the mighty herds of mammoth-elephants trample insulating layers of snow, it will allow the frigid arctic air to chill the permafrost and thereby retain the ancient methane held within. Goal achieved.

Their disingenuous posturing debases the public discourse around climate change, which remains the planets most pressing issue.

But it doesnt pencil out. Suppose, optimistically, Colossal raises 100 healthy adult mammoth-elephants by 2040, and they double in population every 20 years. By 2200, they would have about 25,000 animals. Assuming you need a density of one beast per 10 square kilometers to have any ecological impact, those 25,000 would inhabit about one percent of Earths 22.8 million square kilometers of vulnerable permafrost.

So even if Colossal overcame the numerous formidable technological hurdles of creating hybrids of endangered elephants and an extinct relative, andthe company wasable to establish self-sustaining herds, and Zimovs fuzzy speculations about the effect of large herbivores on the tundra proved correct, the impact would be negligible even in 2200, a century after the climate crisis will likely be resolved, one way or the other.

The smart people at Colossal know this, so why are they selling us their bioscience venture as a climate change solution?

To answer that question, its helpful to look at the people involved. Lead scientist George Church of Harvard has been a disruptive rockstar in the genetics world for three decades. The business guy is whiz-kid serial entrepreneur Ben Lamm, who has already built a portfolio of successful high-tech start-ups.

And then there are the money guys.

Among the investors are the Winkelvoss twins, who made billions in Bitcoin after successfully suing Mark Zuckerberg for stealing the idea for Facebook. When asked how Colossal would make money, Cameron Winkelvoss suggested, there could be a lot of economic opportunity over time, which might include television or even parks for extinct animals, like"Jurassic Park.

The lead investor is billionaire movie producer Thomas Tull, founder of Legendary Entertainment, the company that co-produced the movie Jurassic World.

The prevalence of media executives and high-tech finance types in the Colossal boardroom makes you wonder if the companys ostensible environmental goals are secondary to a different agenda. There are zero climate scientists on their scientific advisory board. It seems likely that the true purpose of the ecosystems-cum-permafrost narrative is to leverage the virtuous cachet of fighting climate change and deflect ethical concerns around engineering transgenic species.

The financial backers will deem the company a success if it spins out some valuable genetic engineering tools or opens up new areas in the bioscience market, such as the artificial womb.

The woolly mammoth, the permafrost and the saving-the-planet facade are for creating headlines and media buzz, which wouldnt be so objectionable if climate change werent such a grave and urgent threat to the planets biosphere.

You can embrace the brilliant work Colossal is doing in genetics while rejecting the crass promotion of de-extinction as a meaningful climate measure. Their disingenuous posturing debases the public discourse around climate change, which remains the planets most pressing issue.

The crisis is escalating. Using climate advocacy as a phony marketing tool is a distraction we can ill afford.

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Original post:
Dont Count On Woolly Mammoths To Save The Planet - WBUR

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Guest editorial: Engineering the return of wooly mammoths? - Charleston Gazette-Mail

COVID appears to have been "tailor made for carnage" and may have escaped from the Wuhan lab after a scientist was bitten by an infected monkey, a bombshell new book has claimed.

Scientists have uncovered evidence that Covid was "exquisitely matched", "completely pre-adapted" and "supercharged" for humans when it first emerged in December 31.

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It is suggested it had been meddled with and souped by in Frankenvirus experiments at the Wuhan lab at the eye of the storm over the origins of the pandemic.

And it is theorised this new virus - tampered with and ready to infect humans - may have leaked from the lab and gone on to kill 4.7million people worldwide.

Investigative journalist Sharri Markson's What really happened in Wuhan has uncovered a string of evidence pointing to the fact Covid could have been "genetically engineered" by the Wuhan Institute of Virology to make it more lethal.

For years, Markson said, Shi Zhengli - dubbed "batwoman" - has been manipulating viruses and inserting spike protein genes into coronaviruses to make them more infectious in humans.

The lab has a history of using techniques which can hide any traces of genetic engineering, and scientists have noted how Covid has highly unusual features - which point to a lab origin.

Markson said the answers to the origins of the pandemic lies in the unique genome of the virus.

Exclusive

"Its unique properties reveal so much about its likely origins as scientists, investigators and intelligence analysts seek to unravel its moment of inception," she said.

"This incredibly devastating virus is like no other, despite sharing properties with its SARS cousins. In character and behaviour it gives the impression it is purpose built to infect humans.

"It acts as if it's tailor made for human carnage, almost unstoppable in its capacity to ravage the human respiratory system.

"The millions dead all over the world attest to that."

It was completely pre-adapted to humans

And in one of the most sensational claims in the new book, former Donald Trump administration official David Asher revealed a whistleblower told him the virus may have escaped in an infected lab monkey biting a technician.

Asher was put in a touch with someone who claimed to have worked with Dr Shi Zhengli, China's so-called "Bat Woman".

The source told him "all hell had broken loose" at the lab with workers falling in around October 2019 - two months before China warned the world about Covid.

The scientist claimed the lab had been encouraged to do "hazardous" research by the Chinese military, which was later backed up by a second source.

And the lab worker claimed the outbreak had started from a monkey bite - with numerous labs in Wuhan known to have kept the animals.

However, Asher noted while he took the information seriously - he could not independently verify the claims and feared they could have been red herrings to throw the US of the scent in the hunt for the virus' origins.

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Dr Steven Quay said the Wuhan lab has a history of making viruses "more virulent, more transmissible and more lethal"

He said Covid was "exquisitely matched" to humans, pointing to a possible lab origin.

"It was completely pre-adapted to humans," he told Markson. "This is the first virus from nature that has strong human-to-human transfer right from the beginning."

Dr Quay said the end result is always "supercharged" viruses.

And while examining the genome sequence of Covid, scientists found the genetic code for what is known as a "furin cleavage site".

Professor Richard Ebright said this is a "noteworthy" as it has never be seen before in coronaviruses, and it appears in the exact spot where scientists genetically tweak viruses to make them more infectious to humans.

In other words, a "furin cleavage site" boosts the ability of a virus to jump between species, and can also make it more transmissible within a species.

Nikolai Petrovsky, one of the scientists behind the development of the Covid vaccine, told Markson: "The issue is that the Covid-19 has a furin cleavage site whereas neither the bat virus that is its closest relative nor SARS have it.

"A question then is, where did Covid-19 get its furin cleavage site from?"

Petrovsky said the findings all point to a manmade virus - but the evidence was deemed "political dynamite" and scientific journals refused to the publish any papers on the clues.

"The virus spike protein looked like it couldn't have been better designed to fit the human," he said.

"The SARS-Cov-2 spike protein had uniquely evolved to bind and infect humans."

US physicist Richard Muller said the unique make-up of Covid is a "fingerprint of genetic manipulation".

"It's like finding a fingerprint at a crime scene," he said. "If you pick up a gun at a crime scene and find a fingerprint, this is not circumstantial evidence.

"This is the smoking gun.

"The furin cleavage site... the sequences that they splice in if you're really trying to attack humans, this is the fingerprint."

What Really Happened inWuhanby Sharri Markson is published by HarperCollins and out now, 20 (Hardback)

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Covid was engineered by scientists for carnage and may have infected Patient Zero after MONKEY BITE, boo... - The US Sun

Investing in the stock market is more of an art than science. There is no single strategy that can guarantee success to investors. For instance, some investors prefer buying on dips, while some bet on the best-performing stocks. Both of these strategies are useful and may lead to returns as well, but it's important that investors need to be comfortable with the stock and the valuations. Thus, to help investors who are planning to invest in the best performing stocks, detailed below are the ten best performing stocks in September.

Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

We have used the past one month return data (from finviz.com) to rank the ten best performing stocks in September. For our list, we have only considered stocks with more than $10 billion in market cap. Following are the ten best performing stocks in September:

Founded in 1971, this company explores, develops and produces oil and natural gas properties. Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) develops and operates Barnett Shale, Heavy Oil, and more. The stock has returned more than 120% YTD and over 19% in the last three months. Devon Energy reported revenue of over $4.6 billion in 2020, down from over $6.3 billion in 2019. It is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

Founded in 1881, this company develops, produces and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLS), and natural gas in Canada. The stock has returned more than 65% YTD and over 1% in the last three months. Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) reported revenue of over $13.2 billion in 2020, down from over $20.1 billion in 2019. It is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Founded in 2008, it is a biotech company. Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SRNG) specializes in the use of genetic engineering to produce bacteria with industrial applications. Earlier this month, Soaring Eagle announced the transfer of listing to the NYSE in connection with its proposed business combination with Ginkgo. The stock has returned more than 22% in the last three months. Ginkgo Bioworks reported revenue of over $9.9 billion in 2020, down from over $17 billion in 2019. It is headquartered in Boston.

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Founded in 1985, this company explores, develops, produces and markets crude oil and natural gas. The stock has returned over 65% YTD, but is down more than 3% in the last three months. EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG) reported revenue of over $9.9 billion in 2020, down from over $17 billion in 2019. It is headquartered in Houston.

Founded in 2007, it is an independent oil and natural gas company. Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG) acquires, develops, explores and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves. The stock has returned over 95% YTD, but is down more than 3% in the last three months. Diamondback Energy reported revenue of over $2.8 billion in 2020, down from over $3.9 billion in 2019. It is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

Founded in 1946, this firm makes and distributes nitrogen fertilizer. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) owns and operates nitrogen plants, and serves agricultural and industrial customers. The stock has returned over 45% YTD and more than 7% in the last three months. CF Industries reported revenue of over $4.12 billion in 2020, down from over $4.59 billion in 2019. It is headquartered in Deerfield, Ill.

Founded in 2007, this company claims to be the pioneer in medical education. Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) works to enhance patients lives through healthcare communication. The stock has returned over 160% YTD, but is down more than 5% in the last three months. It is headquartered in London.

Founded in 2003, it is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. The stock has returned over 35% YTD and more than 36% in the last three months. Acceleron Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:XLRN) reported revenue of over $92 million in 2020, an increase from over $73 million in 2019. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

Founded in 2008, this company develops a work management platform that allows teams to collaborate for routine tasks, as well as for specific projects. The stock has returned over 240% YTD and more than 60% in the last three months. Asana Inc (NYSE:ASAN) reported revenue of over $227 million in 2020, an increase from over $142 million in 2019. It is headquartered in San Francisco.

Founded in 2013, it is a cloud-based artificial intelligence lending platform. Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) primarily aggregates consumer demand for loans and then uses AI to connect them with its bank partners. The stock has returned over 600% YTD and more than 150% in the last three months. Upstart Holdings reported revenue of over $233 million in 2020, an increase from over $164 million in 2019. It is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif.

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These Are The Ten Best Performing Stocks In September - Yahoo Finance

REHOVOT, Israel, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CollPlantBiotechnologies (NASDAQ: CLGN),a regenerative and aesthetics medicine company developing innovative technologies and products for tissue regeneration and organ manufacturing, has been invited to present at the Fall Harvest Best Ideas from the Buy-Side conference, which is being held virtually on October 5th 8th, 2021. Mr. Yehiel Tal, CollPlant's Chief Executive Officer, will present at the conference.

CollPlant is scheduled to present on October 5, 2021 at 8:30 AM-8:55 AM ET. Management will be available for one-on-one meetings to be held throughout the conference. The presentation will be webcast live and available for replay at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2800/42994

To receive additional information, request an invitation or to schedule a one-on-one meeting, please email [emailprotected].

Investors can register here.

About the MicroCap Rodeo Summer Solstice Best Ideas ConferenceThe MicroCap Rodeo is back with its fourth "Best Ideas" conference. This conference is a virtual conference that brings you the top 35 best ideas from the buy side. Qualified institutional investors recommended each of the 35 companies represented as one of their best ideas. Those of you who attended the 2019 MicroCap Rodeo in Austin, Texas, know that we're focused on alpha.

About CollPlant

CollPlant is a regenerative and aesthetic medicine company focused on 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs, and medical aesthetics. The Company's products are based on its recombinant human collagen produced with CollPlant's proprietary plant based genetic engineering technology. These products address indications for the diverse fields of tissue repair, aesthetics, and organ manufacturing, and are ushering in a new era in regenerative and aesthetic medicine.

CollPlant recently entered a development and global commercialization agreement for dermal and soft tissue fillers with Allergan, an AbbVie company, the global leader in the dermal filler market. Later in 2021, CollPlant entered a strategic co-development agreement with 3D Systems for a 3D bioprinted regenerative soft tissue matrix for use in breast reconstruction procedures in combination with an implant.

For more information, visithttp://www.collplant.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to CollPlant's objectives plans and strategies, as well as statements, other than historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that CollPlant intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are often characterized by terminology such as "believes," "hopes," "may," "anticipates," "should," "intends," "plans," "will," "expects," "estimates," "projects," "positioned," "strategy" and similar expressions and are based on assumptions and assessments made in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors believed to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Many factors could cause CollPlant's actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the Company's history of significant losses, its ability to continue as a going concern, and its need to raise additional capital and its inability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the Company's expectations regarding the timing and cost of commencing clinical trials with respect to tissues and organs which are based on its rhCollagen based BioInk and products for medical aesthetics; the Company's ability to obtain favorable pre-clinical and clinical trial results; regulatory action with respect to rhCollagen based BioInk and medical aesthetics products including but not limited to acceptance of an application for marketing authorization review and approval of such application, and, if approved, the scope of the approved indication and labeling; commercial success and market acceptance of the Company's rhCollagen based products in 3D Bioprinting and medical aesthetics; the Company's ability to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties and its reliance on third party distributors and resellers; the Company's ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships and other corporate collaborations; the Company's reliance on third parties to conduct some or all aspects of its product manufacturing; the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights and the Company's ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; the overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies; general market, political, and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the Company's strategy; and litigation and regulatory proceedings. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting CollPlant is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" included in CollPlant's most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC, and in other filings that CollPlant has made and may make with the SEC in the future. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and reflect CollPlant's current views with respect to future events, and CollPlant does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact at CollPlant:Eran RotemDeputy CEO & Chief Financial OfficerTel: + 972-73-2325600/631Email:[emailprotected]

SOURCE CollPlant

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CollPlant to Present at Fall Harvest - Best Ideas from the Buy-Side on October 5, 2021 - PRNewswire

The resurrection of the wooly mammoth feels both dystopian and unattainable. But that is what our current science is, producing dystopian-like research to find what seems like unattainable findings. Its strange to think about. Which animal, who has been dead for thousands of years, gets the chance to come alive again-where do you draw the line? Is it unethical to release such a creature without knowing the implications it will have on our earth? While the resurrection will positively impact global warming, it will change the ecosystems and economics of the Siberian tundra forever. With all the unknowns, bringing back the wooly mammoth-or any extinct animal- is outside the ethics of scientific discovery.

Audrey, Glenbard West High School

Although I am full of excitement and hope to see the resurrected ancient species, I think genetic engineering is still a field that has not seen its full potential yet, and such innovative milestone will gather more attention and fund to more of these genetic projects. But when will we know how to stop is the issue. How will be able to say resurrecting a mammoth is right, while designing a baby to eliminate congenital disease is unethical. What is the rules we have for the field of DNA modification. Its best, I believe, to make proper rules even before this ancient beast is brought back to this world.

Noah, Japan

[W]e cant disregard the fact that this project, if it proves to be a success, would open up a gateway through our current bioethical barriers. Whats to stop someone from trying to replicate dead humans, when you could make the argument that it benefits us in some way? Animals go extinct for a reason, whether it be because they cant adapt, or because they are wiped out by some natural disaster, and bringing them back into an entirely different world is unpredictable, and not worth the risks that it poses; not when there are other, more plausible solutions to the problem.

Anna, Glenbard West High School

Scientists are only predicting and not analyzing what Wooly Mammoths could do for the environment. Because of how speculative it is, its potential dangers are almost innumerable. Take the Burmese Python as an example for invasive species. It was accidentally released into Florida and ran uncontrollably rampant all over the Everglades region, now threatening many of the local species. It is still a pressing issue today, showing how even with our technology, controlling disasters like these is near impossible.

Gilbert, Kempner High School

Although there might be some short term benefit to nature, the true result is very unpredictable and wont really go the way that the researchers expect it to go. In an ecosystem, each organism has its own niche or role, and is related to another organism in the food cycle, which is basically how the whole ecosystem regulates and maintains its structure. Any disruption to this food cycle, will just end up causing long term issues to the ecosystem, as it alter the lives of all the other organisms in a fashion that we cannot predict, as they will be exposed to this completely new creature.

Loken, Farmington High School

In a sentence: Not Yet. Keeping personal beliefs on the morality and ethics of such efforts aside, let us consider the practical consequences of this issue. Potentially reintroducing a long-extinct species into our world current ecosystem would undoubtably impact all living organisms on earth in a manner we cannot predict. On one hand, it could be argued that the purpose of science is to continually expand our understanding of the world and what possible in it. Overall, giving back life to species is not a decision that can be taken back, Unless we have a solid reasoning for why genetically resurrecting species would be in our best interests, it would be better to wait. Jurassic Park said it best, Just because we can, doesnt mean we should.

Ananya, Farmington High School

No, we should not bring animals back from extinction. We should be more focused on saving the ones about to go extinct rather than the ones that already are. Most animals went extinct because of climate change. Thanks to humans not working to correct the problem with climate change but making it worse, we are slowly killing everything and everyone. Those animals that have gone extinct have served their time and purpose on earth. Therefore, we should spend our time and resources focusing on those that are about to go extinct. We are about to lose Lemurs, polar bears, gorillas, etcetera. Humans should be figuring out a way to save their habitats, preserve their food sources, and do whatever else it takes to keep these animals, along with others from, becoming extinct.

Tevana, Cary, NC

Excerpt from:
What Students Are Saying About Teaching Race in Schools, Reviving Extinct Animals and Live Sports - The New York Times

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SAN DIEGO, Oct. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for patients with cancer, today announced that one oral and four poster presentations for the Companys induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform were accepted for presentation at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) being held November 10-14, 2021.

The oral presentation will highlight preclinical data for FT536, the Companys off-the-shelf, multiplexed-engineered, iPSC-derived, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK cell product candidate that uniquely targets the 3 domain of the MHC class I related proteins A (MICA) and B (MICB). In a recent publication in Cancer Immunology Research (DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-19-0483), Kai W. Wucherpfennig, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center, demonstrated that cancers with loss of MHC Class I expression can be effectively targeted with MICA/B 3 domain-specific antibodies to restore NK cell-mediated immunity against solid tumors. The FT536 program is supported by an exclusive license from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to intellectual property covering novel antibody fragments binding MICA/B for iPSC-derived cellular therapeutics. The Company expects to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for FT536 in the fourth quarter of 2021 for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, including in combination with monoclonal antibody therapy.

Poster presentations at SITC will include preclinical data on new functional elements that the Company is evaluating for incorporation into its iPSC-derived cell product candidates for solid tumors. These synthetic features include engineered chemokine receptors, which the Company has demonstrated can enhance the trafficking and homing of iPSC-derived CAR T cells to tumors, and synthetic TGF re-direct receptors, which the Company has shown can exploit immuno-suppressive cytokines found in the tumor microenvironment to potentiate iPSC-derived CAR T cells and improve anti-tumor activity.

Oral Presentation

Poster Presentation

About MICA and MICB ProteinsThe major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I related proteins A (MICA) and B (MICB) are induced by cellular stress, damage or transformation, and the expression of MICA and MICB proteins has been reported for many tumor types. Cytotoxic lymphocytes, such as NK cells and CD8+ T cells, can detect and bind the membrane-distal 1 and 2 domains of MICA/B, activating a potent cytotoxic response. However, cancer cells frequently evade immune cell recognition by proteolytic shedding of the 1 and 2 domains of MICA/B. The clinical importance of proteolytic shedding is reflected in the association of high serum concentrations of shed MICA/B with disease progression in many solid tumors. Several recent publications have shown that therapeutic antibodies targeting the membrane-proximal 3 domain strongly inhibited MICA/B shedding, resulting in a substantial increase in the cell surface density of MICA/B and restoration of NK cell-mediated tumor immunity (DOI:10.1126/science.aao0505). Therapeutic approaches aimed at targeting the 3 domain of MICA/B therefore represent a potentially promising novel strategy to overcome this prominent evasion mechanism as a means of restoring anti-tumor immunity.

About Fate Therapeutics iPSC Product PlatformThe Companys proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform enables mass production of off-the-shelf, engineered, homogeneous cell products that can be administered with multiple doses to deliver more effective pharmacologic activity, including in combination with other cancer treatments. Human iPSCs possess the unique dual properties of unlimited self-renewal and differentiation potential into all cell types of the body. The Companys first-of-kind approach involves engineering human iPSCs in a one-time genetic modification event and selecting a single engineered iPSC for maintenance as a clonal master iPSC line. Analogous to master cell lines used to manufacture biopharmaceutical drug products such as monoclonal antibodies, clonal master iPSC lines are a renewable source for manufacturing cell therapy products which are well-defined and uniform in composition, can be mass produced at significant scale in a cost-effective manner, and can be delivered off-the-shelf for patient treatment. As a result, the Companys platform is uniquely capable of overcoming numerous limitations associated with the production of cell therapies using patient- or donor-sourced cells, which is logistically complex and expensive and is subject to batch-to-batch and cell-to-cell variability that can affect clinical safety and efficacy. Fate Therapeutics iPSC product platform is supported by an intellectual property portfolio of over 350 issued patents and 150 pending patent applications.

About Fate Therapeutics, Inc.Fate Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of first-in-class cellular immunotherapies for patients with cancer. The Company has established a leadership position in the clinical development and manufacture of universal, off-the-shelf cell products using its proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform. The Companys immuno-oncology pipeline includes off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived natural killer (NK) cell and T-cell product candidates, which are designed to synergize with well-established cancer therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, and to target tumor-associated antigens using chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Fate Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit http://www.fatetherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements regarding the Companys clinical studies and preclinical research and development programs, its ongoing and planned clinical studies, and the safety and therapeutic potential of the Companys product candidates. These and any other forward-looking statements in this release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that the Companys product candidates may not demonstrate the requisite safety or efficacy to achieve regulatory approval or to warrant further development, the risk that results observed in prior studies of the Companys product candidates, including preclinical studies and clinical trials of any of its product candidates, will not be observed in ongoing or future studies involving these product candidates, the risk of a delay or difficulties in the manufacturing of the Companys product candidates or in the initiation of, or enrollment of patients in, any clinical studies, the risk that the Company may cease or delay preclinical or clinical development of any of its product candidates for a variety of reasons (including requirements that may be imposed by regulatory authorities on the initiation or conduct of clinical trials, the amount and type of data to be generated, or otherwise to support regulatory approval, difficulties or delays in patient enrollment and continuation in the Companys ongoing and planned clinical trials, difficulties in manufacturing or supplying the Companys product candidates for clinical testing, and any adverse events or other negative results that may be observed during preclinical or clinical development), and the risk that its product candidates may not produce therapeutic benefits or may cause other unanticipated adverse effects. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause the Companys actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Companys most recently filed periodic report, and from time to time in the Companys press releases and other investor communications.Fate Therapeutics is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:Christina TartagliaStern Investor Relations, Inc.212.362.1200christina@sternir.com

More here:
Fate Therapeutics Announces Presentations at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2021 Annual Meeting - StreetInsider.com

As always, Hal Fabers newsreel wants to focus on the details: the Sunday newsreel is commentary, outlook and analysis. It is both a retrospective and a preview at the same time.

*** All of Germany voted.

All of Germany? No, a small, strange village called Berlin rolled the estimated dice and added something together and at the same time that whole IT reorganized. Simply clever, as the government of this cluster of villages is, you have it Berlin marathon with 25,000 runners on election day and drawn the running route across Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. It is clear that there were no ballot papers in this part of the village and the votes could only be estimated. An SPD candidate promptly won, while the Green Kaas Elias won the regular recount. The trendy Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg neighborhood had it better. Here you could count off the running track because only 50 percent of the residents are eligible to vote. All these foreigners made it very easy. Thanks or not for? We would like to point out the doubly positive aspects of the Berlin election: an AfD that almost halved itself, an animal welfare party that made it into four district parliaments. Berlin-Dogopolis, todays world capital of dog owners, appreciates that. Incidentally, the left has almost held up in Berlin, especially at the district level, there is one Splitter like Sahra Wagenknecht just far away. Also noteworthy is the approval of 56.4 percent for an appeal to the Berlin Senate, but please write a law that allows the expropriation of the housing stocks of large companies. Since fewer and fewer Berliners can afford to live in Berlin, which can also be seen from the fact that the daily newspaper their thick Berlin part hires on the weekend. Incidentally, it started 9 years ago with the lead story Bullerb is everywhere and asked whether Berlin wasnt more of a collection of villages. At least that has now been clarified. It is so.

*** Everyone and their dog knows Heinz Erhardts poem about them sweet lemonswho would rather be blue and big as melons. So now they are looking for a drinkable green lemonade recipe, the greens and the yellows, while Olaf Scholz is getting ready to give the Joe Biden of German politics. There is a hint of hope that things will get a little better with this newly shaken Bundestag Digital competence of the politicians represented in it and their many helpers. It doesnt have to be this maximum requirement of a good digital life: Whoever e-mails via the Tor network, encrypts all correspondence in private, consistently uses NoScript or at least uBlock Origin in the browser, googles the smartphone, completely eludes the Microsoft monoculture in the office environment or privately? A little more than the shocking naivety with which the digital drivers license started, stopped and with in the Federal Chancellery broken blockchain again approached should be, it can be. The digitization specialists Dorothee Br and Andreas Scheuer recently advertised the virtual rag, and Armin Laschet will be leaving the Digi stage for the time being (as soon as he takes off the weird VR glasses that he seems to be wearing these days). For the greens, the yellows and the reds there is meanwhile eleven suggestions of digital courage, everything that could be tackled. But there is also something going on apart from digital issues. So the discussion takes on Limit Time gaining momentum, including the production of carbon dioxide-neutral aviation fuel for Green flying is started. With one of the last video messages from Angela Merkel. Will she still give the New Years address?

*** Unsafe September and its Chaos nights are over. October is here, this one Cyber Security Action Monthwhere everyone is taking courageous actions to transform the gloomy cyberspace into a safe digi-bullerboard. All with brave actions? But not, because someone is braver than all the others, fighting against biological weapons of mass destruction in the form of treacherous nanobots. Of course were talking about the new Bond, who lasts two hours and 43 minutes Story of a nanobot project tells of little DNA killers that spread like a virus through contact and can be programmed in such a way that they are only fatal for James Bond, his beloved or just for everyone. Is such a biochemical weapon of mass destruction possible or do we not already have it in the form of the various corona variants? That is even that Science papers no matter who wish this instance of 007 a peaceful end. As is well known, this last James Bond with Daniel Craig is supposed to save the deranged cinema year. The idea that the Football coach Jrgen Klopp Could be the next Bond is amusing, but like the nanobots, it is more like science fiction. That would be as unlikely as a 007 as a woman and then as a black woman.

Science fiction? But hello: Ethical questions about the use of biotechnology and genetic engineering are just as central as climate-friendly geoengineering, dangerous hyperoptimization or the classic encounters with extraterrestrial civilizations. Reflecting on these speculative futures gives new impulses for the foresight process. In addition, critical reflection processes are supposed to are triggered by images of the future that have not been taken into account in the future discourse Our Ministry of Education and Research fables the online event All just science fiction! Or not?that takes place after the sleepy day of German unity. Then lets get started with the foresight process. With the university pact devised by the ministry and the digital pact with schools, things didnt quite work out with the foresight and visions of the digital classroom.

It takes less than five minutes to connect your own brain to the laptop. A headband clamps a biscuit-sized plastic disc to the back of the head. It contains sensors. Nothing now separates man and machine. No key is pressed, no word is spoken into a microphone, only the gaze wanders over the screen. The device does what the brain commands. The brain waves zap through video channels. The author is enthusiastic about Nextmind. He finally knows what comes after the cell phone. The Enlightenment he tells the readers the Sddeutsche Zeitung with, because enlightenment is not everything. After all, its also about promoting Every to make the next book by Dave Eggers. In the book, Facebook and Amazon merge into a company that has nothing more in mind than absolute world domination. If you believe the praise, Eggers is the star fortune-teller of our century, because already be Circle is said to have become largely true in the meantime. Every is even more all-encompassing, as the giant occupies every imaginable aspect of life. And so the Andrian Kreye celebrates the wonderful future with reference to the intellectual Kevin Kellyfor which technical progress has an inherent will of its own that we humans simply cannot (yet) recognize. The wayforward machine is also still imperfect. Even the hackers from the Chaos Computer Club, who can fully understand any technology if the source code is available cannot keep up. They have resigned theirs Congress in Leipzig canceled. For this, all visitors now have to read Every and experience the absolute dark copy The toilet door wont open again until youve washed your hands. Is it really going to be that bad?

For my part, I prefer Philip K. Dick, who in his novel Ubik (in German with an afterword by Stanislaw Lem) left us with this wonderful dialogue with an apartment door.

The door wouldnt open. Instead, a voice rang out: Five cents, please. Chip rummaged through his pockets again. Not a single coin, nothing. Ill pay tomorrow, he said to the door. He turned the handle again, but the lock stayed closed. What Im paying you is actually a tip. I dont have to pay you. I see it differently, replied the voice. Please take a look at the terms and conditions that you agreed to when you bought the apartment.He found the terms and conditions in a desk drawer. Quite clearly: a fee was mandatory for opening and closing the door. No tip. You can see that Im right, the voice said smugly. Chip took a stainless knife from the shelf next to the sink and began to unscrew the lock on the money-devouring apartment door. Ill sue you, said the voice as the first screw loosened. Ive never been sued by an apartment door before, Chip replied.

(jk)

Disclaimer: This article is generated from the feed and not edited by our team.

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What was. What will. After the election is before Every - Market Research Telecast

three hours ago

Woolly mammoths have been extinct for millennia, but with 21st century genetic engineering techniques, scientists want to bring them back to Earth.

Woolly mammoths could come back to life on Earth if they depend on a group of scientists and entrepreneurs who have already received US$15 million (about R$78 million) from sponsors for it.

The amount allocated to the Colossal company will help in the development of genetic engineering technologies that will enable a mammoth hybrid with an Asian elephant to be as close to the mammoth that has ever lived on the planet. Having achieved this goal, the next step would be to fill parts of Siberia with these animals, demanding environmental rebalancing.

It will make all the difference in the world, George Church, a biologist at Harvard University Medical School in the United States, said in an interview with the American newspaper The New York Times.

For the past eight years, Church has spent much of its time managing the project along with other enthusiasts of the idea. The starting point of the work will be genetic material from frozen remains of mammoths that died several millennia ago.

Credit, Getty Images

Asian elephants are close relatives of extinct woolly mammoths

But there are those who oppose the idea, citing ethical problems in saving giant animals from extinction. It is also unlikely to know how these mammoths would behave on Earth today. There are so many problems that will get in everyones way, Beth Shapiro, a paleontologist at the University of California, also told The New York Times.

The idea of bringing back the woolly mammoth was first expressed by the church in 2013. At the time, researchers were studying DNA fragments found in fossils in an attempt to reassemble the genomes of extinct species.

Church, who studies new ways to read and edit DNA, wondered: Is it possible to bring an extinct species back to life by adapting the genome of a relative that exists today?

Mammoths seem like the best candidates to you because they are a close ancestor of todays Asian elephants: they share a common ancestor that lived about 6 million years ago. In addition, mammoth DNA can be easily found in Siberia.

Biologists say the mammoths may also help restore ecological balance: Global warming has increased temperatures in the tundra of Siberia and North America, leading to an accelerated release and large amounts of carbon dioxide.

Credit, PA Media

giant fossils in the laboratory; There are many well-preserved remains of these animals in Siberia.

Much of it in todays tundra is moss, but used to be pasture in the times of mammoths. Biologists believe that the mammoth acted as a protector of this ecosystem, maintaining pasture by clearing moss, plucking trees and releasing abundant excrement that fertilized the soil. With the return of these animals, all of this could be recovered and carbon dioxide emissions decreased.

The scientists early ideas attracted the attention of journalists, but not investors: he only managed to raise US$100,000 (R$520,000) for his research. Honestly, I intended to go slow, Church said.

However, in 2019, he met Ben Lam, the founder of Texas AI Hypergiant Company, who, after reading news about the project, showed interest in helping this rescue of the giant animal. After a day in the lab and spending a lot of time with George, we were so excited, said Lam, who then began founding the company Colossal.

Credit, Getty Images

For scientists, the giant had a role in maintaining pastures and fertilizing soil.

Extinct animals can be brought back in two ways: cloning and genetic engineering. The first method is known for the example of Dolly the sheep, which was cloned in 1997. In this procedure, DNA from one animal is injected into a fertilized egg from another donor animal, and the egg is then implanted into a surrogate mother.

This method has already been tried with the bucardo, or Pyrenean ibex, which was officially declared extinct in 2000. Three years after its disappearance from the face of the earth, its DNA was extracted and cloned from the frozen skin of the animal. A surrogate mother goat gave birth to an ibexthe first time an extinct species has been revived.

Unfortunately, this was also the first case of double extinction, as the chick only lived for seven minutes.

There are many well-preserved remains of mammoths in permafrost from Siberia, but its DNA is usually damaged by prolonged freezing. Scientists have already understood the genome of the mammoth, but have not been able to obtain the complete genetic chain as it existed for the animal.

This is where a second resequencing method can come in handy, the so-called CRISPR gene-editing technique. In it, specific genes that allow mammoths to survive at high latitudes are inserted into the genome of their closest living relative, the Asian elephant.

Then, the modified genome is implanted into a fertilized elephant egg, which is then transplanted into an elephant surrogate mother. From there a hybrid of elephant and mammoth is expected to be born.

Of course, there are bigger difficulties, such as scientists dont know exactly which genes are needed to survive in the Arctic. They know that the animal must be covered with fur, have an oval skull and a thick layer of subcutaneous fat but everything else is still a question.

Credit, Getty Images

giant bone; Colossal Company wants to use giants of these extinct animals as starting points for their projects

Today, about 1 million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction. According to Lamm, if the giant project is successful, it will pave the way for the genetic liberation of various creatures.

The term refers to the process of increasing the genetic diversity of endangered species through cloning or genetic engineering. Lam says the huge project is a trial balloon of sorts.

Even if this giant is not brought back to Earth as well, technologies will be developed that could prevent the species from extinction and can be licensed or sold after all, the company is commercial and not charitable.

So the project to resurrect mammoths can be seen as a kind of incubator for the development of genetic engineering and intellectual property, which may be easier to breed than live woolly mammoths.

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Is it possible to 'revive' mammoths to fight climate change? - Sprout Wired