Category Archives: Transhuman News

Forensic Files 02x04 Sex Lies And DNA
No vloging space !!! series. 1996 series. 1996 series.

By: alskoratein20

Continue reading here:
Forensic Files 02x04 Sex Lies And DNA - Video

March 24, 2015

Credit: Thinkstock

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com @BednarChuck

DNA from mammoths found in Arctic permafrost has been inserted into the genes of modern-day elephants, bringing the extinct mammal one step closer to roaming the Earth once again.

According to The Sunday Times, Harvard University genetics professor George Church and his colleagues took 14 genes from a well-preserved mammoth specimen and integrated them into an elephant, where they functioned as normal DNA.

Those genes, which were for traits that separated mammoths and elephants (such as hair and ear size) were replicated and inserted into the elephant using a precision-editing technique known as Crispr, which allowed them to replace sections of elephant DNA with mammoth genes.

[STORY: Dogs may have helped early man hunt mammoths]

We prioritized genes associated with cold resistance including hairiness, ear size, subcutaneous fat and, especially, hemoglobin [the blood molecule that carries oxygen around the body], he explained. We now have functioning elephant cells with mammoth DNA in them. We have not published it in a scientific journal because there is more work to do, but we plan to do so.

Im bringing mammoths backyeah.

Mammoths are closely related to Asian elephants, but the species died out during the last Ice Age, with the final members of the species surviving on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until roughly 3,300 years ago, according to The Telegraph. The DNA used by the Churchs team and was obtained from these carcasses, which were well preserved by the permafrost.

More here:
FINALLY: Mammoth genes inserted into elephant DNA

Italian Supreme Court about to rule on guilt orinnocenceof Knox, 27, and her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for murder of Meredith Kercher Professor Peter Gill has analyzed the disputed evidence - DNA found on a kitchen knife and on Kercher's bra clasp 'The evidence is weak. What I'm saying is there are possibilities of transfers, of contamination,' the professor tells Daily Mail Online His book 'Misleading DNA Evidence: Reasons For Miscarriages Of Justice' has been used by Sollecito's legal team in the latest appeal Knox denies murdering Kercher, a British exchange student in Perugia, in what prosecutors say was a sex game gone wrong

By Chris White For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:18 EST, 24 March 2015 | Updated: 04:30 EST, 25 March 2015

311 shares

677

View comments

One of the worlds leading DNA experts, who has extensively investigated the murder of Meredith Kutcher, has claimed the forensic evidence against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito is incredulous and made up by prosecutors.'

Knox, 27, and Sollecito, 30, stand accused of killing the British student in Perugia and, on Wednesday, the Italian Supreme Court will either uphold or quash their convictions.

Professor Peter Gill, a lecturer of Forensic Genetics at Oslo University, Norway, looked in-depth at the DNA results from the crime scene using the originally analysis by the Italian Police Scientific Department and also a second independent analysis ordered by the judge in the first appeal.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Professor Gill admits that the evidence against Knox and Sollecito is very weak and and compares it to something out of the fictional CSI TV series.

See more here:
Amanda Knox DNA evidence is 'like a fictional CSI TV show' says world's leading forensic profiler

A group of researchers are getting closer to bringing the extinct woolly mammoth back to life. Geneticist George Churchs lab at Harvard University successfully copied genes from frozen woolly mammoths and pasted them into the genome of an Asian elephant.

Using a DNA editing tool called CRISPR, the scientists spliced genes for the mammoths small ears, subcutaneous fat, and hair length and color into the DNA of elephant skin cells. The tissue cultures represent the first time woolly mammoth genes have been functional since the species went extinct around 4,000 years ago.

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal because there is more work to do, Church told the U.K.s Sunday Times, but we plan to do so.

The work is part of an effort to bring extinct species back from the dead, a process called de-extinction. The recent breakthrough shows that one proposed de-extinction method--which involves splicing genes from extinct animals into the genomes of their living relatives--just might work. But don't believe the headlines suggesting woolly mammoth cloning is just around the corner. Church explained to Popular Science that theres a lot more research to be done.

Just making a DNA change isnt that meaningful, says Church. We want to read out the phenotypes. To do that, the team needs to figure out how to take the flat hybrid cells from a petri dish and coax them into becoming specialized tissues--such as blood cells or liver organoids--then test to see if they behave properly. For example, do the mammoth hair genes lead to hair that's the right color, length, and woolliness?

If those tests go well, the team hopes to turn the elephant/mammoth skin cells into hybrid embryos that can be grown in artificial wombs, devices that allow for pregnancies outside of an animal's uterus. Artificial wombs are pretty speculative at this point, but the alternative--implanting the hybrids into the wombs of female elephants--is unsavory to animal rights activists as well as geneticists. Its going to be more humane and easier if we can set up hundreds of [embryos] in an incubator and run tests, says Church.

If they can get the hybrid creatures to survive, the project's first goal will be to engineer an elephant that can survive in cold temperatures. The team thinks that expanding the elephants range into colder climates could help keep it away from humans and the conflicts that are threatening to make Asian and African elephants extinct. Later, after the engineered elephants gain a foothold, Church says the team will try to revive the mammoths by integrating higher amounts of mammoth DNA into the hybrids.

Of course, it's possible the mammoth genome will never be completely reconstructed, and the creatures will only remain elephant/mammoth hybrids. But if it looks like a mammoth and fulfills the same ecological functions as a mammoth, is it a mammoth? What even is a mammoth, anyway?

The rest is here:
Woolly Mammoth DNA Successfully Spliced Into Elephant Cells

A day after dna reported how the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) goofed up the Common Entrance Test (CET) question paper for post-graduate students, medical education minister Vinod Tawde has ordered a detailed probe into the matter.

A day after dna reported how the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) goofed up the Common Entrance Test (CET) question paper for post-graduate students, medical education minister Vinod Tawde has ordered a detailed probe into the matter.

"We are taking cognizance of the dna report and I have asked for a detailed probe. We will ensure that students will not suffer," Tawde told dna.

The CET exam, held on January 4, was for MD and MS admissions. For 792 seats, 9,815 candidates appeared.

The medical fraternity, too, has reacted on the incident. Health experts feel it is high time the government changed the method of setting question papers.

"Instead of multiple-choice questions, they should include theory and viva voce tests," Dr Sangeeta Pikale, President, Association of Medical Consultant, said.

Experts also suggested a system to re-check question papers after they are set, so that there is not a single mistake, and a separate agency to hold the CET.

Dr Anil Pachnekar, chairman, action committee, IMA, Maharashtra, echoed the view. DMER has decided to blacklist those who set the questions for a stipulated period. The blunder resulted in candidates being gifted 43 marks.

More here:
dna Impact: Education minister orders probe on medical entrance goof-up

It appears its becoming more popular to catch your neighbors not scooping up their dogs poop.

The Rotonda, a condo complex in Tysons Corner, is the latest to jump on the bandwagon.

The huge condo facility just off Route 7 said it plans to implement PooPrints, a database that tracks the DNA of dogs and matches it to steamy messes left behind, according to its March newsletter.

The association for the condo said it is updating its regulations on pets, otherwise known as Policy Resolution 22. Now dogs will have to be registered with the association and their DNA will be collected via a swab of the dogs mouth. If the pets owner doesnt clean up its waste, it will be matched to the animal.

It is not the first condo association to take a firm stand against poop left behind.

In Northern Virginia, the Midtown Alexandria Station condos last year hired a service to track and match the DNA of dogs there. The Chase in Bethesda made a similar effort.

[Using DNA to catch canine culprits and their owners]

Many condo associations often use PooPrints, a product of BioPet Vet Lab in Knoxville, Tenn. The company started in late 2010 and said it has the DNA of more than 30,000 dogs from 45 states and Canada.

Environmental and health officials have put out warnings about the risks of owners not picking up poop.

At times, a pets poop can create a rift between neighbors. In Fairfax County, two neighbors disputed whether the owner of Baxter a white, fluffy Westie-bichon frise mix had failed to pick up his poop.

The rest is here:
Huge condo complex in Tysons Corner orders residents to pick up pets poop

Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Turin are using DNA extracted from herring sperm cells to develop new types of flame retardant materials They found DNA forms a protective coating when heated that resists fire The DNA breaks down into a foam that chars into a ceramic-like material Scientists believe it could create environmentally-friendly flame retardants These could be used to protect fabrics, furniture and plastics from fire

By Richard Gray for MailOnline

Published: 07:31 EST, 25 March 2015 | Updated: 08:57 EST, 25 March 2015

DNA molecules extracted from fish sperm is being used to develop new types of flame retardant materials.

Scientists recently discovered that DNA is highly resistant to fire.

And in a series of experiments, the researchers coated cloth in the DNA from herring sperm cells and found it converts to a ceramic-like material when exposed to extreme heat.

Cotton layered with DNA molecules resists burning as the genetic material forms a ceramic-like coating over the fabric, shown in the bottom image in the photograph above, while untreated cotton will burn readily (top)

This char-like foam then helps to prevent the flames from catching alight on the material.

Researchers behind the work believe DNA could provide a natural and environmentally-friendly way of protecting fabrics from fire.

DNA was thought to be a delicate and easily damaged material.

Visit link:
How SPERM could protect your home from fire: Scientists use DNA from herring to develop new flame retardants