Category Archives: Transhuman News

Wednesdaynights Crashing premiere at the Avalon in Hollywood, was like a comedy prom as part ofJudd Apatowspack gathered to celebrate the debut of Pete Holmes wry new show. Writing what he knew, the show is about Holmes breakup with his wife after she cheated on him while he struggled to be a successful comedian. In real life, Holmes is now happily engaged.

Holmes explained why Crashing is a good fit at HBO, It reminds me of Girls in the way were trying to take the biggest shortcomings and things that make my character gross and showcasing those. Thats something Lena [Dunham] is so good at: showing things people usually hide and bringing them onscreen for comedy.

Holmes also shows how his Christian religion affected his comedy journey in the story, I liked Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Regan, Ray Romano I really liked those guys and I was trying to be one of those guys and thats really what the show is about. [My character] is really burdened because he wants to be a good boy and he wants to be clean, but when you start in the clubs of New York, you follow five or six other comedians talking about sex and their genitalia. Thats part of the struggle were trying to show.

Apatow, executive producer of the series, talked about how his continuing creative relationship with HBO and Holmes made it a great fit for him.It seemed like a sad idea for a show, but a year later [Pete] said he wanted to talk about doing a personal TV show, and thats my favorite thing. Pain is the motive for comedy. Happy people are never funny.

Among those spotted in the premiere crowd were guest stars Artie Lange, T.J. Miller, Gina Gershon, Kristen SchaalandJermaine Fowler. After the screening, guests feasted on a comedy club-inspired menu of cheeseburgers, fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, four kinds of pizza, and a cereal bar and mini Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert.

Crashing premieres Sunday, Feb. 19 on HBO.

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Pete Holmes: HBO's 'Crashing' Shares Some 'Girls' DNA - Variety

A man has been arrested in connection with the 2001 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 14-year-old Northridge boy after DNA evidence gathered from an unrelated arrest linked him to the cold case, the Los Angeles Police Department announced.

LAPD released this photo of Mirek Voyt who was arrested on Feb. 14, 2017 in connection with the 2001 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy.

Mirek Voyt, 54, was arrested on Feb. 14 at his home in Hollywood and charged with kidnapping to commit sexual assault in connection with a crime that happened on June 22, 2001, LAPD Capt. William Hayes said at a news conference Thursday.

Police said about 9:45 a.m. that morning, two teenage boys were walking to school in the area of Vanalden Avenue and Chase Street in Northridge when they were allegedly approached by Voyt.

The suspect confronted the individuals with a handgun. One of the individuals was able to flee, but he unfortunately was able to kidnap one of the two young men who was 14, Hayes said. He took him to an undisclosed location where he sexually assaulted that young man and eventually after a period of time he released the young man.

Hayes said at the time of the crime, Voyt lived in close proximity to the school. The victim told police he had been blindfolded while he was kidnapped and sexually assaulted.

Investigators gathered evidence including a DNA profile which was uploaded into a DNA database, but no suspects met the profile at that time.

A break in the case came in late 2016 when Voyt was arrested on an unrelated grand theft charge.

Voyts DNA was put into a database as a result of his arrest, and there was a match linking him to the 2001 Northridge case involving the 14-year-old boy, Hayes said.

Hayes said investigatorsbelieve there may be more potential victims and encourage them to contact police.

Although hes remained off the radar in terms of other criminal activities, one would find it hard to believe that this was his only time, Hayes said.

Voyt was being held without bail.

Police said prior to his arrest, Voyt worked in a management position at a grocery store chain.

Anyone with information about this crime, or similar crimes, is asked to contact Det. Carla Zuniga at 213-486-6910. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call 800-222-8477.

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DNA From Grand Theft Arrest Links Suspect to Kidnapping and Sexual Assault of 14-Year-Old Northridge Boy in 2001 ... - KTLA

February 16, 2017 Credit: rost9 / fotolia.com

The evolution of cells and organisms is thought to have been preceded by a phase in which informational molecules like DNA could be replicated selectively. New work shows that hairpin structures make particularly effective DNA replicators.

In the metabolism of all living organisms there is a clear division of labor: Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) carry the information for the synthesis of proteins, and proteins provide the structural and executive functions required by cells, such as the controlled and specific catalysis of chemical reactions by enzymes. However, in recent decades, it has become clear that this distinction is by no means absolute. In particular RNA is capable of ignoring the boundary outlined above and is known to play a catalytic role in many important processes. For example, certain RNA molecules can catalyze the replication of other nucleic acids, and this versatility could help to explain how life originated on Earth.

Nucleic acid molecules are made up of subunits called nucleotides, which differ in their so-called bases. The bases found in RNA are referred to as A, C, G and U (DNA uses T in place of U). These bases fall into two complementary pairs, whose members specifically interact, A with T (or U) and G with C. This complementarity is what accounts for the stability of the DNA double helix, and enables single strands of RNA to fold into complex shapes.

Life is thought to have emerged from a process of chemical evolution in which nucleic acid sequences could be selectively replicated. Thus, in prebiotic systems certain molecular "species" that carried information were reproduced at the expense of others. In biological systems, such selectivity is normally mediated by so-called primersstrands of nucleic acid that pair (as described above) with part of the molecule to be replicated, to form a short double helix. The primer provides a starting point for the extension of the double-stranded region to form a new daughter strand. Moreover, this process can be reconstructed in the test-tube.

The pros and cons of hairpin replicators

Georg Urtel and Thomas Rind, who are members of the research group led by Dieter Braun (Professor of Systems Biophysics at LMU), have used such a system to identify properties the might favor the selective replication of DNA molecules. For their experiments, they chose a single-stranded DNA sequence that adopts a so-called hairpin structure. In these molecules, the base sequences at either end are complementary to each other, as are short stretches of sequence within the rest of the molecule. This distribution of complementary sequences causes such a strand to fold into a hairpin-like conformation.

Thanks to the pairing rules outlined above, replication of a single strand of DNA produces a second strand whose sequence differs from that of the first. Each strand of a non-hairpin structure therefore needs its own primer for replication. But with hairpins, one primer suffices to prime synthesis of both the original and its complementary strand. "This means that hairpins are relatively simple replicators," Georg Urtel points out. The downside is that the hairpin structure makes primer binding more difficult, and this in turn limits their replication rate. Molecular species that are devoid of hairpin structures don't have this problem.

Cooperation beats competition

In subsequent experiments the researchers discovered that two simple hairpin species could cooperate to give rise to a much more efficient replicator, which requires two primers for its amplification. The two hairpin species selected each required a different primer, but their sequences were in part identical. The switch to cooperative replication occurs when replication of one of the hairpins stalls. "As a rule, replication processes in nature are never perfect," says Dieter Braun. "Such a premature halt is not something that one needs to design into the system. It happens stochastically and we make use of it in our experiments." The partially replicated hairpin can, however, bind to a molecule of the second species, and serves as a primer that can be further elongated. Moreover, the resulting product no longer forms a hairpin. In other words, it represents a new molecular species.

Saved from extinction

Such so-called 'crossbreeds' need two primers for their replication, but can nevertheless be replicated significantly faster than either of their hairpin progenitors For further experiments showed that, upon serial dilution of the population, the hairpin DNAs soon become extinct. However, the sequence information they contained survives in the crossbreeds and can be replicated further.

The converse experiment confirmed that information is indeed conserved: If crossbreeds are supplied with only one primer, the corresponding progenitor hairpin species can still be replicated by the kind of switching process mentioned above. But, in the absence of the second primer, the crossbreed dies out. "Thus, the crossbreeding process not only provides for the transition from 'simple and slow' replicators to more rapid replicators, it also makes it possible for the system to adapt to the prevailing conditions," Urtel explains. "It also suggests how early replicators could have cooperated with each other under prebiotic conditions prior to the origin of living systems."

Explore further: Genetic switch regulates transcription and replication in human mitochondria

More information: Georg C. Urtel et al. Reversible Switching of Cooperating Replicators, Physical Review Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.078102

(Phys.org)The majority of the human genome is located within the nucleus. However, there is a small but important portion of DNA located within the mitochondria. This mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has received much attention ...

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Michigan have produced the first image of an important human protein as it binds with ribonucleic acid (RNA), a discovery that could offer clues to how ...

MIT scientists have found a new way that DNA can carry out its work that is about as surprising as discovering that a mold used to cast a metal tool can also serve as a tool itself, with two complementary shapes each showing ...

DNA lesions are really common about one million individual molecular lesions per cell per day because its long strands usually have one missing base or are damaged. These lesions can stall the DNA replication process, ...

The original recipe for gene soup may have been simplerain, a jumble of common molecules, warm sunshine, and nighttime cooling. Then add a pinch of thickener.

UV light damages DNA. But LMU researchers now show that it can also mediate non-enzymatic repair of one type of damage, albeit in a specific context. This effect may have played vital role in early evolution of living systems.

Research led by ANU on the use of magnets to steer light has opened the door to new communications systems which could be smaller, cheaper and more agile than fibre optics.

University of Toronto (U of T) researchers have demonstrated a way to increase the resolution of microscopes and telescopes beyond long-accepted limitations by tapping into previously neglected properties of light. The method ...

The demand for faster computers is growing rapidly and the rise of big data demands novel solutions be explored to deliver quicker results.

Although scientists have been able to levitate specific types of material, a pair of UChicago undergraduate physics students helped take the science to a new level.

Experiments at ANSTO have provided supporting evidence of unexpected enhancement of water solubility of biomolecules in an aqueous solution of divalent transition-metal cations.

A detection device designed and built at Yale is narrowing the search for dark matter in the form of axions, a theorized subatomic particle that may make up as much as 80% of the matter in the universe.

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Molecular hairpin structures make effective DNA replicators - Phys.Org

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - A day before the second anniversary of Allison Feldman's unsolved murder, Scottsdale police officers were out canvassing nearby neighborhoods and asking residents for DNA samples.

The mysterious murder of the 31-year-old woman found dead in her home has generated national headlines and several leads but no arrests.

Family members told ABC15 they appreciate detectives' continued work to try and keep the case from growing cold.

"The police said they believed very early on that she was targeted and so do I," said Harley Feldman, Allison's father. "It's frustrating. We'd like it solved a long time ago. But I can't fault the effort (police) are putting in."

A Scottsdale police spokesman said expanding the original canvass area is common in complex investigations and the option for residents to provide DNA is voluntary.

ABC15 witnessed teams of officers walking door to door in the area near the crime.

"We document who we talk with and where, on each canvass contact," said spokesman Kevin Watts. "The DNA samples are what I stated earlier, voluntary. There is no action taken based on someone not providing a sample."

On Feb. 17, Allison Feldman was found dead in her home near 86th Street and Monterey Way.

Police said Feldman died of head trauma. According to court documents, she was found nude, and her body smelled of bleach. There was no sign of forced entry into her home, and it's believed that the person who attacked her suffered cuts to his or her hands.

Harley Feldman said the family is hosting a vigil Friday evening to keep Allison's crime in the public eye with the hope that someone with new information will come forward.

"I just want him caught and punished," he said.

The vigil will take place at 7 p.m. at Scottsdale Justice Center, near Osborn Road and Drinkwater Boulevard. Candles will be provided to those who attend.

"She was a very outgoing gentle person," Harley Feldman said. "Just the kindest person you could ever imagine.

"It's on our minds every day. It just never goes away," he said.

Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone who knows anything should contact 480-WITNESS.

Contact ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing at dbiscobing@abc15.com.

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Police taking DNA samples from neighbors of Scottsdale woman murdered 2 years ago - ABC15 Arizona

When the victim asked the defendant why he was doing this, he responded he had to do it and that he was going to kill her, according to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court.

DNA found on a shoelace used to choke a woman who was viciously beaten in Redmonds Marymoor Park in August has been matched to a 33-year-old transient who is a patient at a state mental hospital after an unrelated crime, according to King County prosecutors.

Charles Stockwell Jr. was charged Wednesday with first-degree assault in connection with the Aug. 5 attack on a 43-year-old Redmond woman who was walking her dog in the park.

Stockwell is accused of hiding out in bushes, then attacking the victim from behind. He threw her to the ground next to the trail and immediately began punching her in the face and head, and pushing his thumbs into her throat, according to charging papers.

When the victim asked the defendant why he was doing this, he responded he had to do it and that he was going to kill her. At that moment, the victim thought she was going to die, Senior Deputy Prosecutor William Doyle wrote in charging papers.

As the victim tried to fight back, Stockwell grabbed her arm and wrenched it behind her, causing her elbow to pop out of its socket, the charges say.

With the victim screaming on the ground in pain, the defendant took a shoelace out of one of his shoes, put it around the victims neck, and began strangling her with it, Doyle wrote.

As the woman began to lose consciousness, she used her fingers to pull the shoelace from her neck and screamed for help. A man walking in the area heard her screams, ran over and scared the attacker away, the charges say. The attacker fled, leaving behind a pair of white tennis shoes.

That night, a King County sheriffs sergeant went to Overlake Medical Center to interview the woman, who was being treated for her injuries, the papers say. During her medical exam, the shoelace was found in her hair.

The victim met with a police sketch artist, who came up with a sketch of the suspect, the charges say.

The victims DNA was found on the shoelace along with DNA from at least two others, but no matches were found.

Then in December, during a routine scheduled search, the DNA from the shoelace was run through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database of DNA profiles, and hit on Stockwell, the charges say.

Detectives learned Stockwell was in the Thurston County Jail after his arrest in connection with a residential burglary in Tumwater three days after the Marymoor Park attack, say the charges.

Detectives met with Stockwells parents, who said their son had been injured while working as a tree trimmer, then got addicted to pain pills before moving on to heroin and methamphetamine, the charges say. His mother told detectives Stockwell has a violent temper and both parents are afraid of him, say the charges.

The parents said Stockwell had shown up at their house the day before the Marymoor Park attack and his father gave him a pair of white tennis shoes, according to the charges. The father then drove Stockwell to the Port Orchard ferry and told detectives his son had then planned to take the Bremerton ferry to Seattle.

Stockwell called his parents on Aug. 8 from the Thurston County Jail, but they refused to bail him out, the charges say.

In September, Stockwell was sent to Western State Hospital for a competency evaluation and was found not competent to stand trial. In December, he was sent back to the hospital, where he remains.

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Transient charged after DNA on shoelace links him to Marymoor ... - The Seattle Times

MedCity News

Tumor mutation or DNA damage? New study calls genomic workflows into question MedCity News There are well-known limitations when it comes to sequencing old or previously frozen DNA samples. Damage inevitably occurs with age, handling and storage, decreasing the accuracy and sensitivity of the sequencing data. Fresh, high-quality samples, on ... New England Biolabs Study Highlights Extent of DNA Damage in Samples, Resulting Sequencing ErrorsGenomeWeb all 3 news articles »

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Tumor mutation or DNA damage? New study calls genomic workflows into question - MedCity News