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Category Archives: Transhuman News

Buzz Aldrin: It’s Time for Humans to Start Looking at Other Planets to Live On – Futurism

Posted: July 19, 2017 at 3:48 am

Chasing the Unknown

Buzz Aldrin is an acclaimed astronaut, engineer, and (of course) the second human being to ever walk on the Moon. Over the years, he has inspired entire generations to look beyond the bounds of Earth and pursue the unknown. As Aldrin previously noted, human beings are meant to be inquisitive. Were meant to be achievers. And to this end, Aldrin has dedicated his life to advancing humanity through discovery, creating explorers and scientists alike in the process.

Most recently, Aldrin helped to create a virtual reality (VR) experience that allows people to travel to Mars. As one of the few individuals who has ever had the privilege of stepping onto an astronomical body besides Earth, Aldrin is able to expertly assist in conveying the experience of space travel to the everyday individual and, in so doing, take people (virtually) farther than they have ever gone before.

In a recent interview with Futurism,Aldrin weighed in on just how important it is for us, as humans, to take this next step in journeying into the final frontier, One of the things that makes space exploration so exciting is that the possibilities are endless. Mars is the next actionable step for us we have never been closer to knowing and exploring another planet. Plus, I believe that Mars has realistic potential for colonization.

Aldrin continued by noting that, in order to make humanitys future on Mars a reality, we will need to start garnering interest and making plans for tomorrow today: Now is the time to start thinking seriously about what life on Mars might look like in the future. I believe we can have the first Human Martians at Mars by 2040.

Obviously, a virtual journey to Mars isnt exactly the same as a real Martian excursion; however, such technologies can, in some small way, help bring people to the stars who otherwise might not ever have the opportunity. In this respect, the VR experience is truly valuable. As Aldrinnotes, We have a long way to go before trips to space are widely affordable for everyone. Luckily AR/VR technology is here now.

Aldrin continued by asserting that, more than just showing people what the voyage to Mars will be like,this type of experience is an integral part of encouragingpeople to get excited about science and exploration. And in todays society, where denialism and sensationalism dominate many conversations, a genuine interest in science is more crucial than ever. Aldrin believes that exploring the vast recesses of space can help in this regard because, as he asserts, space travel is a great unifierit captures our collective imagination, encourages our curiosity, and inspires our creativity.

To this end, Aldrin thinks that it is through these small pushes in the right direction that humans will finally make it to other worlds. Because we are, at the end of the day, wanderers: It is in our nature to explore. We, as a species, are curious and want to see whats over the next hill, see how fast we can go. It was only 66 years from the point that the Wright brothers flew to us flying rockets to the Moon.

If this VR voyage sounds like something that would interest you,Aldrinand Terry Virts,the former commander of the ISS, are teaming up withOmaze, a donation-based experience platform, to offer one winner (and a friend) a chance to celebrate the Apollo 11 anniversary as VIPs at the ShareSpace gala. You will get to hang out with the pair and experience Aldrins virtual Mars experience. Best of all, this effort supports The ShareSpace Foundation, which is a nonprofit dedicated togetting kids involved with STEM.

In the words of the Carl Sagan,Human beings are a curious, inquisitive, exploratory species. I think that has been the secret of our success as a species. Aldrin embodies this exploratory quest and, through AR and VR, he wants to spark that curiosity and need to explore in all.

Of course, no one is positive when the first human footsteps will leave their mark on the Martian surface, but the quest to get us there is how we will continue to advance as a species.and it isnt just astronauts and rocket scientists who can (and should) participate in this great journey. Whether virtually or through other means of education and involvement,it is now possible for us all to engage our minds, hearts, and exploratory imaginations. Its a race we must run together.

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Buzz Aldrin: It's Time for Humans to Start Looking at Other Planets to Live On - Futurism

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Jeff Bezos outlines vision of colonizing the solar system – The Space Reporter

Posted: at 3:48 am

At a celebration commemorating the 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos argued for permanent settlements on the Moon and advocated colonization of the solar system as a means of making room for up to one trillion people.

Unlike other advocates for colonizing solar system worlds, Bezos does not base his position on the notion that humans need a new planet because Earth will someday be destroyed.

Instead, he sees it as a next step important to life on Earth.

We can harvest resources from asteroids, from Near-Earth Objects, and harvest solar energy from a much broader surface areaand continue to do amazing things. I want my grandchildrens grandchildren to be in a world of pioneering, exploration, and expansion throughout the solar system, he said.

Colonizing the solar system will free humanity from population concerns and open up resources capable of meeting up to one trillion peoples needs, Bezos emphasized.

Reusable rockets are the key to bringing down the expense of space travel and are a goal toward which Blue Origin is working, he noted.

An important step toward the larger goal of solar system colonization is returning to the Moon and establishing settlements on its poles to obtain water and gain access to solar power.

Its time for America to go back to the Moon, this time to stay. We know things about the Moon we didnt know back in the 1960s and 1970s, and with reusable rockets, we can do it affordably. We can get that done today, Bezos stated.

He also said he wants Blue Origin to operate a cargo service named Blue Moon, which would transport the supplies necessary for robots to build a human habitat on the Moon.

Blue Origin plans to take tourists to suborbital space with its New Shepard rocket but is also developing rockets capable of reaching orbit.

Bezos, who spoke on a stage at Cape Canaveral in front of the huge Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, was awarded the first annual Buzz Aldrin Innovation Award by Aldrins ShareSpace Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring and educating people about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

Laurel Kornfeld is a freelance writer and amateur astronomer from Highland Park, NJ, who enjoys writing about astronomy and planetary science. She studied journalism at Douglass College, Rutgers University, and earned a Graduate Certificate of Science in astronomy from Swinburne Universitys Astronomy Online program.

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Jeff Bezos outlines vision of colonizing the solar system - The Space Reporter

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Starship Congress presentations make the case for permanent moon colonization – Next Big Future

Posted: at 3:48 am

1. Damien Turchi is a graduate of Drexel University in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, founder and former president of the Icarus Interstellar Drexel University Student Chapter and lead coordinator of the first Interstellar Hackathon at Starship Congress 2015 at Drexel University, PA. He is currently a director of Icarus Interstellar.

On the Development of a Permanent Lunar Settlement: A Micro-Literature Review and Suggested Action

Since the 1960s, humanity seriously discusses the idea of a permanent lunar settlement. In both academic and professional literature, many designs for an initial settlement are proposed to varying fidelity. NASA published a comprehensive review of the most promising designs in the 1990s. Recent literature is not as detailed in its scope.

This study analyzes the designs NASA considered to be of significance in the 90s and discusses the benefits and cons of each. In addition, several recent works are assessed. From this review, the author concludes that an initial lunar settlement is possible through further development of existing design work, but that a superior option is neither immediate nor obvious.

Selecting a single framework (or a specific hybrid of several) is critical to best funnel capital into the most promising technologies. An action path is proposed that leverages consideration of permanence and significance as feedback to clearly characterize the best design choice for initial funding. Permanence seeks to answer, How can we ensure that the construction of the first lunar base is able to expand into the foreseeable future in both population and space?, while significance seeks to answer, How can we ensure that the consequences of operating the settlement are economically beneficial to society? There is not much literature to answer these questions, despite the importance of the answers.

The solutions will no doubt be a culturally diverse response, considering the needs of society as a whole to serve as a safeguard for the temporal success of a permanent lunar settlement.

2. Haym Benaroya is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers University. His research interests are focused on the conceptualization and analysis of structures placed in challenging environments. These include offshore drilling structures and lunar surface structures for manned habitation. Often, the characterization of the environment is the primary challenge, as with problems of flow-induced vibration.

The Moon as the Site for Humanitys Expansion into the Solar System and Beyond

The Moon offers numerous advantages, providing a foothold for humanity as it struggles to escape Earths gravity well to become a spacefaring civilization. While the battle for most has been between the Moon and Mars, the vision of the Starship Congress is beyond those, even beyond the Solar System. Here, our goal is the next star system, with a sophisticated exploration of the technologies that are needed to send a precursor robotic ship many light years from Earth.

Even with such a long-‐term mission, the Moon remains the ideal spot to develop technologies, understand the low and microgravity space environment, assess the effects of radiation on our machines and structures, and learn how to build these so that they can self-‐repair and be reliable in this way for decades.

We will provide a background to current thinking and the engineering and other issues regarding the Moon as a viable place for humans to begin the long journey into space.

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Starship Congress presentations make the case for permanent moon colonization - Next Big Future

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What makes cancer gene therapy so groundbreaking? – News@Northeastern

Posted: at 3:47 am

On July 12, a Food and Drug Administration panel unanimously recommended approval for the first-ever gene therapy treatment for cancer. The treatment, known as CTL019, is a T-cell therapy developed by the pharmaceutical company Novartis. It is tailored for each individual patient and has already been proven effective for treating a type of childhood leukemia. The New York Times reports that in a study of 63 patients, 52 of them went into remission after receiving the treatment.

Researchers have long been working to perfect gene therapy for a variety of cancers, but CTL019 will be the first to reach the market. If the FDA moves to approve CTL019, the decision could open the door for more gene therapy treatments for other diseases.

Mansoor Amiji is University Distinguished Professor inthe Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Northeastern. His research focuses on the development of targeted therapies, including gene therapy, for treatment of the most lethal cancers, such as pancreatic, lung, ovarian, and brain tumors, as well as other chronic diseases. For one project, Amijis lab is interested in reprograming immune cells through genetic engineering to become more effective in treating cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Here, Amiji explains more about gene therapy treatment and why the approval of CTL019 would be so significant.

It is still very early to suggest that cancer immunotherapy will lead to the ultimate cure or even long-term control of cancer, says distinguished professor Mansoor Amiji. But the opportunity to use the bodys own defenses to eradicate cancer cells is truly groundbreaking. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

CAR-T cell, or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, is one of the newer treatment options for cancer. Its based on the patients own immune system. In this approach, the patients T-cells are harvested and then genetically modified outside the body to produce engineered cells. The cells are then re-administered and can destroy the tumor. There have been studies conducted at various medical centers over the past several years, but this is the first time that the FDA committee is allowing a commercial pharmaceutical company to continue with the program, in this case for treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Yes, cancer immunotherapy treatments, including CAR-T cell therapy, have been very successful in cancer treatment. More than 85 percent of patients treated with genetically engineered CAR-T cells are under remission, and that is unprecedented for cancer treatment options. However, it is still very early to suggest that cancer immunotherapy will lead to the ultimate cure or even long-term control of cancer and change it from a death sentence to a treatable chronic disease. But the opportunity to use the bodys own defenses to eradicate cancer cells is truly groundbreaking.

Genetic engineering focuses on using modified cells as drugs. In this approach, the cells are either removed from the body and genetically manipulated outside, such as in CAR-T cell therapy, or genetic constructs are delivered into specific cells in the body. For the latter, the genetic construct has to be packaged in a delivery vehiclenanoparticles, for exampleand be targeted to the right cell in the body. Conventional drugs work by inhibiting a specific molecular target, like a receptor on a cell or an enzyme involved in disease progression. Genetic therapies like CAR-T cell therapy are focused more on the treatment at the DNA or RNA level where the original defects reside. Thats why they can be significantly more effective than conventional therapies, and they also promise to be a lot safer.

The drug development process starts from preclinical discovery and then moves into the clinical phase where patients are treated with experimental methods. Typically, it takes about 10 to 15 years for a drug to go from early discovery up to the approval stage. However, there are exceptions when compelling early-stage clinical results are obtained that encourage the FDA to approve the treatment a lot faster. Also, once a trail-blazing concept like CAR-T cell therapy is approved, there are many other companies that are following behind with their own version of the treatment. Their products will be coming to the marketplace soon as well.

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What makes cancer gene therapy so groundbreaking? - News@Northeastern

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Rare genetic diseases can arise from unsuspecting carriers – Genetic Literacy Project

Posted: at 3:47 am

When two peoplewith a rare form of deafnessmate, the genetic combination can yieldan unusual syndrome in which the child hasfragile bones, deafness, blindness and albinism. Therecently-discovered syndrome is known as COMMAD, for coloboma (ocular holes), osteopetrosis (note the suffix dense bones), microphtalmia (small eyes), macrocephaly (large head), albinism, and deafness.

This new discovery was made by Aman George and colleagues at the Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch of theNational Eye Institute. Theydemonstrated that with a combinatorial effect of certain genotypes from both parents, this exceedingly rare set of occurrences in the child is one possible outcome. Of course, as with any mating event, there are many possible outcomes.

The disorder is an example of a raredisease passedon by parents who do notexhibit the condition. It occursthrough genetic combination and mathematical permutation (as autosomal recessive inheritance). Two children were identified with the COMMAD syndrome, and each has two different recessive mutations of the gene that codes for microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). The research report was published inthe American Journal of Human Genetics.

What had been previously known about MITF was limited, but that mice with two recessive mutations in the MITF gene had impairments in their osteoclasts (bone degradation cells), mast cells (a type of immune cell), retinal pigment, and melanocytes (pigment-producing cells of the skin). Beyond the mice research, human cases were unknown prior to this work and these two cases. In vitro cell experiments (within flasks) using zebrafish embryos showed that the abnormal MITF protein could not enter cell nuclei or bind DNA, and it impaired melanocyte migration, differentiation, and survivability which is a strong supportive causal factorfor the albinism seen in the two human cases. Similarly, the eye abnormalities also could occur because of the MITF mutations on the retinal pigment epithelium, causing ophthalmic disorder. This is due in large part because of the powerful role the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) plays in eyehealth and maintenance.

The retinal pigment epithelium is a single layer of cells overlying the retina, just underneath the photoreceptive layer of cells. The RPE expresses certain proteins that regulate the transport of nutrients (to) and waste (away from) the retina. It also helps to continuously renew ocular precision by ingesting and degrading the worn out terminal ends of the photoreceptor outer pieces, keeping vision sharp.It also acts as a physical barrier to the retina against high-energy light as well as oxygen reactive species created from photodegradation of molecules. MITF mutations leading to RPE abnormalities can significantly compromise these structures required for proper function and homeostasis within the eye.

In order to mitigate future occurrences of this particular spectrum of rare diseases, the researchers advise genetic testing in particular cases with couples where Waardenburg syndrome type 2A (WS2A) or Tietz syndrome may be present (and/or if both parents have partial albinism and hearing loss, which could be an indicator), as well as genetic counseling about the risks to offspring if it is indeed a potential factor.Waardenburg syndrome type 2 is usually inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.This means that having a mutation in only one copy of the responsible gene in each cell is enough to cause features of the condition.

When a person with a mutation that causes an autosomal dominant condition has children, each child has a 50% (1 in 2) chance to inherit that mutation. In other cases, the mutation occurs for the first time in a person with no family history of the condition. This is called a de novomutation.Whats interesting about COMMAD is that it is a disease associated with one gene, and it has a different mode of inheritance from both WS2A and Tietz syndrome, which are both autosomal dominant.Identifying the gene responsible for WS2 is necessary to determine the subtype that is present in a person or family.

The children in the particular cases inherited different recessive mutations from each parent, yet the parents have the same autosomal dominant condition, but didnt know it. The parents and children in the two cases each have Waardenburg syndrome type 2A, with very white complexions, blue eyes, premature graying, and profound sensorineural hearing loss. Some of the siblings of the two cases are fair and deaf like the parents.In some instances, an affected person inherits the mutated gene from an affected parent.

People with questions about genetic risks or genetic testing for themselves or family members should speak with a genetics counselor about their options. Typical steps in the process are:

Ben Locwin is a behavioral neuroscientist and astrophysicist with a masters in business, and a researcher on the genetics of human disease. Follow him on Twitter @BenLocwin.

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Dog domestication happened just once, ancient DNA study suggests – Science News Magazine

Posted: at 3:47 am

People and pooches may have struck up a lasting friendship after just one try, a new genetic study suggests.

New data from ancient dogs indicates that dogs became distinct from wolves between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago, researchers report July 18 in Nature Communications. Dogs then formed genetically distinct eastern and western groups 17,000 to 24,000 years ago, the researchers calculate. That timing and other genetic data point to dogs being domesticated just once.

That idea contrasts with a hypothesis put forward last year that dogs were domesticated separately in Europe and East Asia, with the Asian dogs eventually replacing the European mutts (SN: 7/9/16, p. 15).

Scientists agree that dogs stem from wolves, but where, when and how many times dogs were domesticated passing down tameness and other traits over generations has been rethought many times in the last few years (SN: 7/8/17, p. 20).

The new study puts dog origins into one time and place again. Thats really important, says Peter Savolainen, an evolutionary geneticist at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm who was not involved in either study. These new data indicate theres a single origin, and it wasnt in Europe, says Savolainen, a proponent of an East Asian origin of dogs.

The new study examined the complete genetic blueprints, or genome, from a 7,000-year-old dog from Herxheim in Germany, and a 4,700-year-old dog from Cherry Tree Cave (also known as Kirshbaumhle) in Germany. The scientists also analyzed DNA data from a 4,800-year-old dog from Newgrange, Ireland, that had been described in the previous study positing two domestication events.

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A claim of multiple domestications for dogs requires extraordinary evidence, says study coauthor Krishna Veeramah, an evolutionary geneticist at Stony Brook University in New York. But complete genomes of the ancient dogs suggest a simpler story. We can explain all of our data just using one domestication event, Veeramah says.

Although Veeramah and colleagues see a split between eastern and western dogs, that split probably happened after domestication took place. Modern European dogs still share heritage with Stone Age canines on the continent, hinting that all the pups came from a common source rather than separately domesticated Asian dogs replacing their European counterparts.

These new data dont completely rule out multiple domestications (the single event is just the simpler explanation), nor do they indicate where humans and canines became BFFs, Veeramah says. A family tree constructed from the DNA data puts todays Southeast Asian breeds on the earliest branch, implying an origin in Asia. But a dog breeds present-day location may not reflect where dogs were actually domesticated more than 20,000 years ago, Veeramah says.

The team that proposed double domestication is not convinced of a single origin. The new study is based on genetic data alone and doesnt take archaeological evidence into account, says Greger Larson, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Oxford.

Theres no smoking gun here, and theres no direct contradiction, says Larson. Our hypothesis of a dual origin remains a possibility, as does a single origin. Researchers wont know for sure until theyve analyzed older dogs from multiple places.

The ancient doggy data also challenge a recently proposed idea that dogs were domesticated when early mongrels developed the ability to digest starch better than wolves could (SN Online: 1/23/13), allowing them to eat grains in early farmers trash heaps. A previous study found that todays dogs have many copies of the AMY2B gene, which produces an enzyme that helps break down starch, while wolves have only two copies.

The new study finds that both ancient German dogs had two copies of AMY2B, while the Newgrange dog had three. Since those dogs lived thousands of years after domestication, the findings suggest the first domesticated dogs were no better equipped to digest starch than wolves were. But the ancient dogs do have other genetic variants that made it possible for the amylase gene to be copied later, Veeramah says. Exactly when that happened isnt clear.

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Dog domestication happened just once, ancient DNA study suggests - Science News Magazine

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Didn’t Reveal DNA Results On ‘L&HH’Reunion – Hollywood Life

Posted: at 3:47 am

Viewers lost their minds when Kirk Frost didnt come clean with the results of the DNA test on the finale reunion episode of L&HH! Now our insider has the EXCLUSIVE details on Jasmine Washingtons fiery response!

Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta fans might be scattered far and wide but we can all agree on one thing: Kirk Frost, 48, flat blew it on the final reunion episode! After an entire season of hyping the paternity test and waiting to discover if, in fact, he is the father of Jasmine Washingtons sonwe got a big fat nothing! Nothing! The episode ended and fans were ready to revolt! But heres the thing: viewers arent the only ones up in arms over the disappointing finale! Jasmine herself is seething over Kirks decision and, thanks to a source, weve got her side of the story! Take a peek at pics of the stunning reality star here!

Jasmine is bitter and hurt that she did not get redemption with the release of the DNA tests during the LHH reunion special, an insider shared with HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. She is waiting like the rest of the world even though she knows Kirk is the father, she just wants the truth to come out. She needs child support and the court has ordered a DNA test. If the network producers cant get Kirk to take responsibility, Jasmine is hoping the good courts of Georgia can. Yes, girl!

HollywoodLifers, are you anxiously awaiting the DNA test results? Let us know below!

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Ultrasensitive DNA quantification by light scattering – Phys.Org

Posted: at 3:47 am

July 18, 2017 Credit: Wiley

Traces of biomolecules such as DNA can be detected with a new "dynamic" technique based on the observation of association and dissociation events of gold nanoparticles. If the desired DNA sequence is present, it can reversibly bind two nanoparticles together. This can be detected in real time through a change in light scattering. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this method differentiates true signals from noise and can detect deviations of individual bases.

Detecting and quantifying biomolecules at extremely small concentrations is increasingly important for applications such as early and precise diagnosis, monitoring cancer treatment, forensic investigations, and highly sensitive tests for biological weapons. The current method of choice is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is based on the enzymatic replication of DNA. The disadvantage of this method is the false positives that may result from the tiniest amounts of impurity.

Scientists working with Jwa-Min Nam at Seoul National University (South Korea) have now developed a new method for detecting extremely small amounts of DNAwithout replication, signal amplification, or false positive results. Their method is based on the detection of individual binding events. Because the binding partners continuously separate and then bind again, the number of detectable results is multiplied and unspecific signals are minimized. This associating and dissociating nanodimer analysis (ADNA) is based on the measurement of light scattering by gold nanoparticles using dark-field microscopy.

The sample and two types of gold nanoparticles are placed onto a glass slide coated in a lipid double layer. One type of nanoparticle has binding sites on the surface that anchor to the lipid layer. The other type reversibly binds to the lipid layer, remaining mobile. Both nanoparticles have short single-stranded DNA segments that are complementary to two different sequences in the target DNA so that they can bind it. When a mobile nanoparticle comes very close to an immobilized one, the target DNA can bind them into a dimer.

When two nanoparticles are bound, their vibrations (plasmons) are coupled. This changes the intensity and color of scattered light, which can be detected in real time. The dynamic analysis of dimers that dissociated during observation is the key to the clear differentiation between the presence and absence of the target DNA. The kinetics of the dissociation are significantly different for DNA that is a perfect match and DNA with a single altered base.

Even in the presence of other DNA, such as in a sample of human blood serum, it was possible to selectively detect and reliably quantify ultra-low concentrations of the target DNA. Under the test conditions used, the detection limit was about 46 DNA copies.

Explore further: Nanoparticles offer insights into interactions between single-stranded DNA and their binding proteins

More information: Keunsuk Kim et al. Associating and Dissociating Nanodimer Analysis for Quantifying Ultrasmall Amounts of DNA, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2017). DOI: 10.1002/anie.201705330

Double-stranded DNA must disentangle itself into single strands during replication or repair to allow functional molecules to bind and perform their various operations. Cellular proteins specifically bind to single-stranded ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- Mention of arsenic poisoning usually brings to mind underhanded murder. However, the danger of arsenic poisoning from contaminated drinking water is far greater. Low concentrations of arsenic are found in ...

The INM Leibniz Institute for New Materials has joined forces with a manufacturer of analytical equipment to reduce particles losses and avoid false negatives.

Five years of hard work and a little "cosmic luck" led Rice University researchers to a new method to obtain structural details on molecules in biomembranes.

Medical diagnostics is searching for substances capable of documenting early on whether a serious disease is developing or what its course will be. In many cases, the treacherous molecules are present only in trace amounts ...

Infectious diseases such as malaria and syphilis can be diagnosed rapidly and reliably in the field by using a simple test developed by Canadian scientists. The test is based on the use of DNAzymes and gold nanoparticles. ...

Material scientists and physicists from Heidelberg University (Germany) and the University of St Andrews (Scotland) have demonstrated electrical generation of hybrid light-matter particles, so-called exciton-polaritons, by ...

An exotic interaction between light and metal can be harnessed to make chemical reactions more sustainable, but the physics behind it has been widely debated in the field.

A hypoallergenic electronic sensor can be worn on the skin continuously for a week without discomfort, and is so light and thin that users forget they even have it on, says a Japanese group of scientists. The elastic electrode ...

A Rice University professor's method to "upconvert" light could make solar cells more efficient and disease-targeting nanoparticles more effective.

Scientists from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the University of Basel have succeeded in coupling an extremely small quantum dot with 1,000 times larger trumpet-shaped nanowire. The movement of the nanowire can be detected ...

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Kirk Frost Refuses to Reveal His DNA Test Results and Fans Are Salty AF – In Touch Weekly

Posted: at 3:47 am

Another day, another Twitter rant! Part two of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta's reunion special aired last night and fans were finally ready to get some answers. The only problem? Well, nothing was answered. During last week's first installment, Kirk Frost, 48, shockingly confessed the details of his affair with Jasmine Washington, 27, while his wife Rasheeda, 35, listened.

Unfortunately, fans waited 17 episodes for an answer that would never come and they're PISSED. "VH1 made us wait 17 episodes to not get Kirk's DNA test?!?!" one Twitter user ranted. "Love & Hip Hop season finale just pissed me TF off. They need to stop playing and release Kirk Frost DNA test result," another chimed in. "Can we please get Maury to give Kirk Frost a DNA test and find Rasheeda a backbone and a new storyline?" a third added.

MORE: Karen "KK" King Stirs up a Whole Mess of Drama With Tommie Lee on the 'Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta' Reunion!

Kirk's mistress didn't participate in either part of the reunion, but while last week's episode aired, she took to Instagram to vent in posts that have since been deleted. She said, "Only posting this [because] this man continues to drag my name through the mud and LIE about EVERYTHING. He's gone too far with the lies & defamation.. so I will go just as far with the truth. If I'm a scammer so are you [Kirk]. For you slow pokes, my son was born in 2016. So yes the messages are from then and before." Yikes!

Take a look below at the most hilarious and straight-up ruthless posts from Twitter!

MORE: Joseline Hernandez Comes for Stevie J's Teenage Daughter and Mimi Faust Is Not Having It!

Waiting for part 2 of the reunion . Hoping to find out the DNA results like ... #LHHATL #LHHATLREUNION pic.twitter.com/KAV12yK6os

Ok Mona it's now or never . Release the DNA results. And I don't want to wait for part 16 either . #LHHATL #LHHATLReunion pic.twitter.com/azqPPmgM1z

WAIT. Sooo they focused the entire season on Kirk's infidelity and we STILL don't know if the child is his!! I'm done. #LHHATLReunion pic.twitter.com/t0Ln5bAnAK

So they really not going to do the Kirk's DNA #LHHATLReunion pic.twitter.com/MlM1ztc4xG

Joseline Hernandez Leaves 'Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta' Amid Feud With Mona Scott-Young

Tommie Lee Fired From 'Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta' Find out Why She Was "Let Go" (REPORT)

'Love & Hip Hop' Star Kirk Frost Blames His Wife Rasheeda for His Latest Cheating Scandal

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Kirk Frost Refuses to Reveal His DNA Test Results and Fans Are Salty AF - In Touch Weekly

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New research suggests at least 75% of the human genome is junk … – ScienceAlert

Posted: at 3:46 am

At least three quarters of the human genome consists of non-functional, 'junk DNA', according to a new study, and the actual proportion is likely to be even greater than that.

Ever since Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA back in the 1950s, scientists have been debating what extent of the genome is responsible for making you you and now an evolutionary biologist says the answer to the riddle lies in some basic math.

Dan Graur from the University of Houston calculates that the functional portion of the human genome probably constitutes only about 10 to 15 percent of our overall DNA, with an upper limit of 25 percent.

The rest of our genome somewhere between around 75 to 90 percent of our DNA is what's called junk DNA: not necessarily harmful or toxic genetic matter, but useless, garbled nucleotide sequences that aren't functional in terms of encoding proteins that spur all the important chemical reactions going off inside our bodies.

The rationale for Graur's model is based on the way mutations creep into DNA, and how as a species we weed these mutations out for the benefit of all.

These kinds of genetic variants, called deleterious mutations, appear in our genome over time, subtly shifting or reordering the four chemical bases that make up DNA adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine in parts of our genetic code.

When mutations take place in junk DNA, they're considered neutral since that genetic code doesn't do anything, anyway but when mutations occur to our functional, defining DNA, they can often be harmful and even ultimately lethal, as they mess up the instructions that code for healthy tissue and biological processes.

On that basis, it's better for our evolutionary prospects if less of our DNA is functional, because less of it is then exposed to the risk of mutation and the increased chances of early death it invites.

In Graur's calculations, given the risk of deleterious mutations to the survival of the species on one hand and the known stability of population and reproduction rates throughout human history on the other the limit of functional DNA has to be very low.

Otherwise dangerous mutations would keep stacking up, meaning we'd have to produce impossibly huge numbers of offspring for the small percentage of healthy bubs to survive.

"Under the assumption of 100 percent functionality and the range of deleterious mutation rates used in this paper, maintaining a constant population size would necessitate that each couple on average produce a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 5 1053 children," he writes in his paper.

Of course, nobody really other than creationists is suggesting that we carry around zero junk DNA, but a huge 2012 study called the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project did claim that as much as 80 percent of human DNA was functional.

That study was controversial partly because many scientists claimed that the ENCODE definition of 'functional' was too broad.

In Graur's use of the term where functional DNA is code that's evolved to be useful in terms of its evolutionary effects the 80 percent figure just doesn't add up.

"For 80 percent of the human genome to be functional, each couple in the world would have to beget on average 15 children and all but two would have to die or fail to reproduce," he writes.

It's more likely then that only about 10 to 25 percent isn't junk DNA, Graur thinks.

While his is unlikely to be the last word on the subject the new results do coincide somewhat neatly with the findings of a separate 2014 study and could help focus vital scientific efforts on researching a smaller window of uncontested, 'functional' DNA.

"We need to know the functional fraction of the human genome in order to focus biomedical research on the parts that can be used to prevent and cure disease," Graur says.

"There is no need to sequence everything under the sun. We need only to sequence the sections we know are functional."

The findings are reported in Genome Biology and Evolution.

See more here:
New research suggests at least 75% of the human genome is junk ... - ScienceAlert

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