Category Archives: Transhuman News

Sunday 25 April is DNA Day, which celebrates the discovery of DNA and the scientific advances made possible by uncovering this building block of life.

DNA Day celebrates two dates that are so important in cancer research the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA by scientists including Francis Crick, James Watson, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin, which was published in the journal Nature on 25 April 1953, and the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003, after 13 years of research. This was the first time scientists had read the complete sequence of human DNA, paving the way for new discoveries about human biology.

Without understanding DNA, understanding cancer and developing new treatments for the disease would be nearly impossible. Genetics plays a huge role in treating cancer, and its crucial for the care of many patients with cancer to understand the genetics of their disease.

Cancer is ultimately a disease of DNA. Our cells are constantly exposed to factors that can damage DNA, but they have a remarkable ability to repair mistakes when they occur even putting cell division on hold until repairs are complete.

Cells use a complex network of signals called the DNA damage response to control the process of detecting and repairing damaged DNA. But as cancer develops, this response can become defective making cells genetically unstable and causing them to accumulate more and more cancerous mutations.

Although defects in the DNA damage response can help cancers develop, they are also key genetic weaknesses that could be exploited to treat the disease.

Professor Jessica Downs, Professor of Epigenetics and Genome Stability at the ICR, is one of a group of researchers who are investigating how the DNA damage response works in healthy cells and how it can become defective in cancer.

Cancer cells with defects in their DNA damage response become more reliant on other systems to repair their DNA. So they could be susceptible to drugs that block these systems. Understanding how cancer becomes reliant on these repair systems could also help researchers identify new vulnerabilities in cancer that could be targeted with new treatments.

Researchers at the ICR famously applied this principle, known as synthetic lethality, in the development of drugs called PARP inhibitors, which are now used as a treatment for cancers with mutations to the BRCA genes.

Now Professor Downs and her team are studying a substance in cells called chromatin a mixture of DNA and proteins that helps package DNA to prevent damage. She is interested in how the proteins within chromatin help to support DNA damage repair in healthy cells and what happens to chromatin during the development of cancer.

Her lab is studying a particular protein complex within chromatin called SWI/SNF. This complex plays a role in winding or unwinding DNA so it can be copied or repaired, which can go wrong in cancer.

Professor Downs explains: The winding and unwinding of DNA is a tightly regulated process in cells, and the proteins controlling it play an important role in preventing and repairing wear and tear to DNA. The SWI/SNF protein complex helps maintain DNA in cells but its inactivated in roughly 20 per cent of cancers. Our lab is trying to understand why this protein complex is so important in the DNA damage response network, and what goes wrong in cancer.

By studying the role SWI/SNF plays in our cells, Professor Downs and her team have started to identify potential weaknesses that might be targeted by new drugs.

She is now working with colleagues in our Cancer Therapeutics Unit to develop compounds to target these proteins to treat cancer.

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As well as designing drugs to target DNA repair mechanisms, researchers at the ICR are also interested in ways of triggering more DNA damage to kill cancer cells.

Radiotherapy and some chemotherapies work by causing so much genetic damage that cancer cells cannot survive, but cancers can become resistant to these treatments by finding ways of repairing their DNA.

Professor Downs is working with Dr Navita Somaiah, a clinician scientist at the ICR and an expert in radiotherapy, to understand how cells respond to DNA damage caused by radiotherapy.

They are investigating how radiation-induced damage is repaired in different genetic contexts. It is possible that drugs that block the DNA damage response could make cancer cells more sensitive to radiotherapy, by stopping them from repairing the damage it causes. That could in turn improve outcomes for patients.

Dr Somaiah says: Targeting the DNA damage response could re-sensitise cancer that has become resistant to radiotherapy, which would be of great benefit to patients.

By understanding and exploiting cancers dependency on DNA damage repair, our researchers are using their knowledge of DNA to turn a strength of cancer into a weakness, which could open up new avenues of treatment and give hope to many patients with the disease.

Read the rest here:
Science Talk - DNA Day: How we're turning the tables on cancer - The Institute of Cancer Research

Testing conducted by local conservation organization MountainTrue identified cattle and faulty or inadequate sewer, septic or water treatment infrastructure as the major sources of E. coli pollution in the French Broad River.

MountainTrues French Broad Riverkeeper conducts regular water quality monitoring of rivers and streams throughout the French Broad River Basin, including weekly testing of more than 30 recreation areas from May to September. After decades of slow but consistent improvement to the basins water quality, the organization has documented a sharp decline in water quality.

The difference over that past few years has been disturbing, explains French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson. Take Pearson Bridge in Ashevilles River Arts District: That site passed the EPAs safe threshold for swimming 81% of the time in 2016. Just four years later, that site failed 81% of the time in 2020. Or Mud Creek in Henderson County; that site passed 52% of the time in 2018, and now it fails 93% of our tests.

MountainTrues standard E. coli testing program measures the E. coli in the river. Levels in the French Broad have been high and rising year-over-year, but the nonprofit couldnt say for certain what the sources of the pollution were. Determining the major sources of E. coli required more expensive testing to look at the presence of DNA in the river.

The nonprofit says it approached Sen. Chuck Edwards, whose district includes Henderson and parts of Buncombe County, for help securing state funding to pay for sampling and lab costs. With that funding, MountainTrue looked at the DNA found in 55 water samples to look for genetic fingerprints of E. coli from people, cows, dogs, poultry, sheep and swine.

Of the 55 samples, 44 revealed DNA from cows. Human DNA was the second-most prevalent. The results vary, but at nearly every site the primary sources of pollution were cattle followed by human. Dog DNA also showed up as a moderate contributor to E. coli pollution at a few sample sites.

The French Broad has some clean and clear streams that run through protected public lands, but were seeing more and more problem sites that consistently fail the EPAs safe water standard for E. coli, says Carson. Until now, weve only had educated guesses about where the E. coli was coming from. With this testing, we have the data we need to make more informed decisions about how to clean up our rivers.

MountainTrue encourages the public to advocate for the adoption of a clean rivers policy agenda that includes funding to help farmers, property owners and local governments reduce water pollution.

The public can read about issues affecting water quality, and the policies and reforms MountainTrue says are needed to fix them at iloverivers.org.

Starting Friday, April 23, Asheville Hiking Tours will offer wildflower and birding walks guided by wildflower authority Scott Dean and wildlife biologist and birding expert Bill Sanderson. Guided wildflower or birding walks are $20 using the promo code OUTSIDE2021. Information and reservations are available at AshevilleHikingTours.com or 828-476-8687.

To reduce the number of birds that die each year as the result of window collisions, the Coalition for a Bird-friendly Asheville is advocating for bird-safe window treatments and a lights-out commitment during migration months.

The coalition is made up of students at UNC Asheville, members of the Blue Ridge Audubon chapter and Audubon North Carolina. The groups website at birdsafeavl.org outlines strategies and products for reducing bird-window collisions. Incident data on collisions can be submitted via a form at avl.mx/prvu to aid in the organizations advocacy and mitigation efforts.

Tracy Swartoutis the new superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The South Carolina native is a 21-year veteran of the National Park Service, serving most recently as the deputy superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.

Throughout my life, the Blue Ridge Parkway has played a prominent role, with some of my most treasured memories being shaped along that winding road and in the national parks and communities beyond, Swartout said in a press release. The areas landscape, arts, music and culture are deeply meaningful for me. I am honored to join the talented park team and dedicated network of community and nonprofit partners to serve in this critical leadership role.

Conserving Carolinas 2021 Habitat at Home photo contest kicked off April 1 and runs through Saturday, May 15. The local conservation nonprofit is looking for photos or videos that show any of these three things: 1. native plants in gardens or landscaping; 2. projects to improve habitat; 3. wildlife (of any size) seen at or near home.

To enter, create a public post of a photo or video on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #habitatathome2021. Entries may also be submitted by email to rose@conservingcarolina.org. A judging panel will select five finalists, and the contest winner will be chosen through online voting. The finalists and the winner will win garden-themed prizes.

Complete contest rules and information are available at avl.mx/99i.

Dreaming of a garden makeover? Conserving Carolina, True Ridge and Tierra Frtil Collective are offering a free community seed swap throughout April.

Community members can visit True Ridges office, 110 Edney St., Hendersonville weekdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m. to pick up free seed packets. Empty seed packets are also available on-site for growers to drop off excess locally saved and store-bought seeds, as well as native plants, flowers and food sources.

For more information, visit avl.mx/99l.

Local nonprofits Green Opportunities and the YMI Cultural Centers Operation Gateway are offering a three-week paid training program to prepare members of marginalized communities to succeed in living-wage trade jobs, including solar installation.

The groups are partnering with solar installer SolFarm Solar Co. and TP Howards Plumbing to teach participants soft skills like leadership and accountability, followed by two weeks of on-the-job training with plumbing or solar crews. The program runs Monday, April 26, through Friday, May 14; companies have the option of hiring participants as full-time employees at the end of the training period. For more information, visit avl.mx/99o.

Read more:
Green in brief: DNA testing reveals sources of water pollution - Mountain Xpress

For decades popular culture has portrayed babies born to the survivors of nuclear accidents as mutants with additional heads or at high risk of cancers. But now a study of children whose parents were exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 suggests they carry no more DNA mutations than children born to any other parents.

The study, published in Science, is one of the first to systematically evaluate alterations in human mutation rates in response to a manmade disaster, such as accidental radiation exposure.

As well as providing fresh insights into how radiation affects the human body, the findings should help reassure other people who may have been exposed to radiation, such as those living near the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan in 2011, that it is safe to return home or have children.

Theres a lot of reticence among people to go back, and one of the major concerns is the transgenerational effects, said Dr Stephen Chanock, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, who supervised the research. Theres this science-fiction societal view of three-headed babies, which is really accentuated in the Fukushima setting right now.

Although ionising radiation can damage DNA in the cells of people exposed to it, potentially their risk of cancer, it was less clear whether egg and sperm cells were similarly affected. In theory, mutations in these cells could be transmitted down the generations, potentially triggering developmental disorders or cancers in the descendents of radiation-exposed individuals.

To investigate this possibility, Chanock and his colleagues analysed the genomes of 130 children born to parents who were either involved in the cleanup of the Chernobyl site after the accident, or were evacuated from nearby towns and settlements, as well the parents genomes. All of the children were conceived after the accident.

Even though their parents had been exposed to high levels of radiation, there was no increase in the number of new mutations those not detected in either parent but that could have arisen because of damage to their eggs or sperm in these children.

These mutations may be in the parents blood, but were not seeing this horrific science-fiction-like mutation of sperm and eggs, said Chanock. I think this should be reassuring data that theres a lack of evidence for substantial or significant transgenerational effects.

Dr Alex Cagan, a postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England, said: While these findings do not diminish the innumerable personal tragedies associated with the Chernobyl nuclear accident they do provide a glimmer of hope that the potentially damaging effects to DNA do not appear to have been passed down to the children of those involved.

Here is the original post:
Children of Chernobyl parents have no higher number of DNA mutations - The Guardian

SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bionano Genomics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNGO), announced today the publication of a study that analyzed the mechanisms of DNA replication, a fundamental process of cell growth implicated in cancer that was previously hard to study in human genomes. The study, led by Dr. Nicholas Rhind from the University of Massachusetts Medical School with an international team of scientists from France, Canada and the USA, described a method combining optical genome mapping (OGM) with Bionanos Saphyr system with a labeling method developed by the scientists. The Saphyr-based method was capable of determining the timing, speed and origin of DNA replication in human cells at a coverage level that is thousands of times higher than what earlier methods such as nanopore sequencing allowed. The breakthrough quality and quantity of single molecule data generated by Saphyr in this study illustrates the importance of novel technologies such as OGM in driving a wave of big biology and innovation in genomics.

The body of humans and other organisms develop and grow when cells divide, and for each division the entire genome needs to be replicated. Mistakes in DNA replication can lead to genome instability and mutations that drive cancer. Because cancer cells divide excessively, many chemotherapeutic drugs target and disrupt DNA replication. A better understanding of these mechanisms could help develop new cancer drugs with reduced side effects.

The study of DNA replication in human cells has been difficult because existing technologies dont allow for a thorough investigation of this extremely complex process in human cells. For that reason, replication studies using single molecule technologies such as nanopore sequencing have typically been limited to yeast cells because the sequencing throughput does not allow the genomewide analysis of human cells. The largest replication study to date analyzed no more than the equivalent of a single fiber for each part of the human genome. In this study, the optical replication mapping with Saphyr was able to collect more than 2,500 fibers for each part of the genome, or 27 million fibers total with an average length thats 10 times larger than previous studies using long-read sequencing. The authors stated that the Saphyr-based method can become a central technique for studying DNA replication, DNA repair and genome instability.

Erik Holmlin, PhD, CEO of Bionano Genomics commented: At Bionano we are focused on driving what we believe will be next wave of big biology and innovation in genomics by unlocking access to genome structure, structural variation, and functional information derived from high volume single molecule analysis. For all the transformative technology thats available to researchers and clinicians today, none of them handles genomic structure, location and organization very well.This limitation leaves a gap in the basic understanding of genome function and the search for new medicines and diagnostic tests while other areas of genome analysis are being transformed by new technology. The optical replication mapping described here is a novel application of our technology that contributes to solving unique scientific questions, and illustrates one of the areas of growth for OGM that the research market provides. We are excited about the possibilities for improved insight in cancer biology and the potential discoveries of novel treatments for cancer that this application could enable.

The publication is available at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.24.263459v3

About Bionano GenomicsBionano is a genome analysis company providing tools and services based on its Saphyr system to scientists and clinicians conducting genetic research and patient testing, and providing diagnostic testing for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disabilities through its Lineagen business. Bionanos Saphyr system is a research use only platform for ultra-sensitive and ultra-specific structural variation detection that enables researchers and clinicians to accelerate the search for new diagnostics and therapeutic targets and to streamline the study of changes in chromosomes, which is known as cytogenetics. The Saphyr system is comprised of an instrument, chip consumables, reagents and a suite of data analysis tools. Bionano provides genome analysis services to provide access to data generated by the Saphyr system for researchers who prefer not to adopt the Saphyr system in their labs. Lineagen has been providing genetic testing services to families and their healthcare providers for over nine years and has performed over 65,000 tests for those with neurodevelopmental concerns. For more information, visitwww.bionanogenomics.com or http://www.lineagen.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as may, will, expect, plan, anticipate, estimate, intend and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes and are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: Saphyrs capabilities in comparison to and in conjunction with other genome analysis technologies, including in the comprehensive analysis of human genomes; the potential for Saphyr to become a central technique for studying DNA replication, DNA repair and genome instability; the potential for Saphyr-based DNA replication methods to enable the discovery of novel cancer treatments; our expectations regarding the broader adoption of Saphyr as a clinical tool to replace other diagnostic testing and genome analysis technologies; and the execution of Bionanos strategy. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include the risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and the global economy; general market conditions; changes in the competitive landscape and the introduction of competitive products; changes in our strategic and commercial plans; our ability to obtain sufficient financing to fund our strategic plans and commercialization efforts; the ability of medical and research institutions to obtain funding to support adoption or continued use of our technologies; the loss of key members of management and our commercial team; and the risks and uncertainties associated withour business and financial condition in general, including the risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in other filings subsequently made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.

CONTACTSCompany Contact:Erik Holmlin, CEOBionano Genomics, Inc.+1 (858) 888-7610eholmlin@bionanogenomics.com

Investor Relations Contact:Ashley R. RobinsonLifeSci Advisors, LLC+1 (617) 430-7577arr@lifesciadvisors.com

Media Contact:Darren Opland, PhDLifeSci Communications+1 (617) 733-7668darren@lifescicomms.com

Read the rest here:
Bionano Genomics Announces Publication of New Approach to Study DNA Replication Using Optical Genome Mapping With Saphyr, Potentially Supporting...

St. Petersburg Police say they've identified a head found by a jogger in early July 2020.

According to police, the remains are that of 80-year-old Donald Edward Coston. His cause of death is still under investigation, police say.

Coston's head was found near the intersection of 38th Ave. S and 31st St. S. near the I-275 overpass. The jogger who found the remains called police around 7 a.m. July 7.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Homicide detectives investigating after jogger finds human head near road in St. Pete

Police are trying to get information on the last few days of Conston's life. They're asking anyone with details on where he might have been to call them at 727-893-4823.

Anonymous tips can also be sent by texting the letters "SPPD" and tip information to TIP-411.

See the article here:
DNA identifies human head found by jogger in St. Pete in July - ABC Action News

A young boy named Dawson leans back in a white rocking chair on a balcony: "I bought some rocks from Home Depot and we just painted them. Let me show you over here."He points to his collection; there's a blue rock with orange stars and another with a flower. A few seconds later, the video carousel switches to another clip. This time it's a girl named Avery who pops a few quarters into her gumball machine and tells her 97 subscribers, "It's blue! I guessed right."If not for the tiny voices and faces, you might think you've fallen down a TikTok rabbit hole. But this is the world of Zigazoo, a social media app for kids ages three to 12.The short-form video platform launched last summer with a mission to develop healthy social media and streaming habits at an early age. It lets kids browse or participate in 30-second video challenges or activities created by zoos, museums, teachers, musicians and TV studios, encouraging them to answer questions such as "What's on your mind?" or "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Kids can then share recorded responses with their Zigazoo friends or its network of 120,000 subscribers. There's singing, dancing and pet show-and-tells.At a time when Facebook faces backlash for reportedly working on a kids version of Instagram, with advocacy groups citing excessive time on devices and social media as a main concern, Zigazoo is attracting positive attention. The company said the platform has grown by about 100% since the beginning of 2021 and has had 20 million video views to date -- two-thirds of that occurring in 2021.File video: Children could be at risk of online predators through virtual learning, FBI saysOn Thursday, the company announced a $4 million round of funding led by MaC Venture Capital, and a handful of celebrity investors, including Jimmy Kimmel, Serena Williams through her venture capital firm Serena Ventures, and Matthew Rutler, investor and head of talent at MasterClass.Williams, a serial tech investor and mother to 3-year-old Olympia, said she was drawn to Zigazoo because it was designed specifically for kids, rather than retrofitting a product made for adults."Existing social media sites were not necessarily designed with young children in mind and require parental supervision to make sure kids only consume content intended for their age group," Williams told CNN Business in an email. "Kids-first platforms like Zigazoo are important because safety is in their DNA and content is specifically developed to meet children's social and emotional needs."Zigazoo co-founders Zak and Leah Ringelstein, former elementary school teachers, created the app in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic after struggling to find interactive, engaging content for their three young children."We know the highest level of thinking happens at creation, and we were watching our own kids zone out and binge on YouTube," Zak Ringelstein said. "We recognized that not only was there a lot of content that we would never select for our child to watch but that kids can and want to do more. They want to be with friends. They want to create, build, and interact."Leah Ringelstein said they started orchestrated challenges around the house for their kids, such as "Does it sink or float?" or hunting for items that start with each letter of the alphabet. With a background as tech entrepreneurs -- the Ringelsteins launched and sold Dropbox-for-education platform UClass to Renaissance Learning, a Google Capital Company, for an undisclosed sum in 2015 -- they folded these exercises into an app and made the traditionally passive experience of viewing videos into something creative and social.The app's challenges fall into various categories -- art, math, health and fitness, and more -- and come from its content partners. For example, a Netflix challenge features character Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With a Tool Belt demonstrating downhill acceleration with toy cars, while a Peanuts challenge highlights how Zigazoo users can help protect the planet for Earth Day.The app requires an adult over the age of 18 to sign up via a Facebook, Google or Apple account. Parents can then decide if they want their child's videos to be seen on the Zigazoo feed or set to private.Each video is run through a third-party professional moderation service; the company has posted 125,000 so far in 2021. Its moderators work during a 19 hour window 7 days a week to ensure videos stay on topic for each challenge, do not include personal information -- no last names or addresses -- language is clean and content is free of "shoving, throwing, anger, yelling, bullying, sarcasm, or sulking," according to its policy page. Videos that check these boxes appear on the app's made feed; those that do not are made private.Zigazoo is also part of the kidSAFE Seal Program, an independent safety certification service designed for children-friendly technologies.The app has earned high praise from nonprofit Common Sense Media, which makes tech recommendations for families. "It's really impossible to stress how favorable and critical this approach is," said Christine Elgersma, senior editor of social media and learning apps at Common Sense. "If all social media had been designed with the notion that kids might use it, we'd be in a very different place today. Instead, we're playing catch-up and trying to put bandaids on issues that perhaps could have been avoided if initial design and launch placed kids and teens at the center."As Zigazoo grows through word of mouth, it has also fallen into the hands of celebrity parents -- including Rutler and his partner, singer Christina Aguilera -- whose 6-year-old daughter consumes videos on the app. "There's nothing else out there like this at all in the kids education space," said Rutler on why he wanted to invest. "I didn't really want my daughter to be spending time on some of the we found early on in the pandemic. I love that there are more exciting options now."Elergsma believes existing social media platforms and other apps for kids can look to Zigazoo as an example of how to offer a social yet safe place for children to be online."Kids aren't messaging each other, responding to lots of notifications, trying to get 'Zigazoo famous,' shop within the app, meet strangers, or doing any of the other things that make TikTok popular," Elergsma said. "Because Zigazoo encourages offscreen exploration and learning and then allows kids to show what they discovered, it strikes a great balance. It's absolutely okay for kids to be on apps like this."

A young boy named Dawson leans back in a white rocking chair on a balcony: "I bought some rocks from Home Depot and we just painted them. Let me show you over here."

He points to his collection; there's a blue rock with orange stars and another with a flower. A few seconds later, the video carousel switches to another clip. This time it's a girl named Avery who pops a few quarters into her gumball machine and tells her 97 subscribers, "It's blue! I guessed right."

If not for the tiny voices and faces, you might think you've fallen down a TikTok rabbit hole. But this is the world of Zigazoo, a social media app for kids ages three to 12.

The short-form video platform launched last summer with a mission to develop healthy social media and streaming habits at an early age. It lets kids browse or participate in 30-second video challenges or activities created by zoos, museums, teachers, musicians and TV studios, encouraging them to answer questions such as "What's on your mind?" or "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Kids can then share recorded responses with their Zigazoo friends or its network of 120,000 subscribers. There's singing, dancing and pet show-and-tells.

At a time when Facebook faces backlash for reportedly working on a kids version of Instagram, with advocacy groups citing excessive time on devices and social media as a main concern, Zigazoo is attracting positive attention. The company said the platform has grown by about 100% since the beginning of 2021 and has had 20 million video views to date -- two-thirds of that occurring in 2021.

File video: Children could be at risk of online predators through virtual learning, FBI says

On Thursday, the company announced a $4 million round of funding led by MaC Venture Capital, and a handful of celebrity investors, including Jimmy Kimmel, Serena Williams through her venture capital firm Serena Ventures, and Matthew Rutler, investor and head of talent at MasterClass.

Williams, a serial tech investor and mother to 3-year-old Olympia, said she was drawn to Zigazoo because it was designed specifically for kids, rather than retrofitting a product made for adults.

"Existing social media sites were not necessarily designed with young children in mind and require parental supervision to make sure kids only consume content intended for their age group," Williams told CNN Business in an email. "Kids-first platforms like Zigazoo are important because safety is in their DNA and content is specifically developed to meet children's social and emotional needs."

Zigazoo co-founders Zak and Leah Ringelstein, former elementary school teachers, created the app in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic after struggling to find interactive, engaging content for their three young children.

"We know the highest level of thinking happens at creation, and we were watching our own kids zone out and binge on YouTube," Zak Ringelstein said. "We recognized that not only was there a lot of content that we would never select for our child to watch but that kids can and want to do more. They want to be with friends. They want to create, build, and interact."

Leah Ringelstein said they started orchestrated challenges around the house for their kids, such as "Does it sink or float?" or hunting for items that start with each letter of the alphabet. With a background as tech entrepreneurs -- the Ringelsteins launched and sold Dropbox-for-education platform UClass to Renaissance Learning, a Google Capital Company, for an undisclosed sum in 2015 -- they folded these exercises into an app and made the traditionally passive experience of viewing videos into something creative and social.

The app's challenges fall into various categories -- art, math, health and fitness, and more -- and come from its content partners. For example, a Netflix challenge features character Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With a Tool Belt demonstrating downhill acceleration with toy cars, while a Peanuts challenge highlights how Zigazoo users can help protect the planet for Earth Day.

The app requires an adult over the age of 18 to sign up via a Facebook, Google or Apple account. Parents can then decide if they want their child's videos to be seen on the Zigazoo feed or set to private.

Each video is run through a third-party professional moderation service; the company has posted 125,000 so far in 2021. Its moderators work during a 19 hour window 7 days a week to ensure videos stay on topic for each challenge, do not include personal information -- no last names or addresses -- language is clean and content is free of "shoving, throwing, anger, yelling, bullying, sarcasm, or sulking," according to its policy page. Videos that check these boxes appear on the app's made feed; those that do not are made private.

Zigazoo is also part of the kidSAFE Seal Program, an independent safety certification service designed for children-friendly technologies.

The app has earned high praise from nonprofit Common Sense Media, which makes tech recommendations for families. "It's really impossible to stress how favorable and critical this approach is," said Christine Elgersma, senior editor of social media and learning apps at Common Sense. "If all social media had been designed with the notion that kids might use it, we'd be in a very different place today. Instead, we're playing catch-up and trying to put bandaids on issues that perhaps could have been avoided if initial design and launch placed kids and teens at the center."

As Zigazoo grows through word of mouth, it has also fallen into the hands of celebrity parents -- including Rutler and his partner, singer Christina Aguilera -- whose 6-year-old daughter consumes videos on the app. "There's nothing else out there like this at all in the kids education space," said Rutler on why he wanted to invest. "I didn't really want my daughter to be spending time on some of the [apps] we found early on in the pandemic. I love that there are more exciting options now."

Elergsma believes existing social media platforms and other apps for kids can look to Zigazoo as an example of how to offer a social yet safe place for children to be online.

"Kids aren't messaging each other, responding to lots of notifications, trying to get 'Zigazoo famous,' shop within the app, meet strangers, or doing any of the other things that make TikTok popular," Elergsma said. "Because Zigazoo encourages offscreen exploration and learning and then allows kids to show what they discovered, it strikes a great balance. It's absolutely okay for kids to be on apps like this."

Read more from the original source:
'Safety is in their DNA': This social media app is geared toward kids and learning - 4029tv

DUBLIN, April 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Synthetic DNA - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Synthetic DNA estimated at US$1.3 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$4.2 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 18% over the analysis period 2020-2027.

Pharmaceuticals & Diagnostics, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 19.5% CAGR and reach US$1.8 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Chemicals segment is readjusted to a revised 16.6% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $350.2 Million, While China is Forecast to Grow at 23.4% CAGR

The Synthetic DNA market in the U.S. is estimated at US$350.2 Million in the year 2020. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$999.3 Million by the year 2027 trailing a CAGR of 23.4% over the analysis period 2020 to 2027. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 12.9% and 16% respectively over the 2020-2027 period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 14.2% CAGR.

Biofuels Segment to Record 20% CAGR

In the global Biofuels segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 18.9% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$178 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$596.4 Million by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$653.7 Million by the year 2027, while Latin America will expand at a 21.9% CAGR through the analysis period.

Select Competitors (Total 34 Featured):

Key Topics Covered:

I. METHODOLOGY

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. MARKET OVERVIEW

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

III. MARKET ANALYSIS

IV. COMPETITION

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rl7srm

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Insights on the Synthetic DNA Global Market to 2027 - Featuring Codexis, Creative Enzymes and Cyrus Biotechnology Among Others - WFMZ Allentown

A federal court of appeals turned down a request by death row inmate Rodney Reed in a late Thursday ruling that could prove fatal to a years-long efforts to clear his name and overturn his conviction.

In a first-ever attempt to address the issue, a trio of judges appointed by Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama struck a significant blow against efforts to DNA test murder weapons.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that an August 2019 lawsuit filed against Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz must be dismissed because Reeds claim is barred by the statute of limitations.

The high-profile inmate sued Goertz under 42 U.S.C. 1983, a Civil Rights claim, based on the idea that prosecutors had violated his First, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Amendment rights by refusing to conduct DNA testing on belt used to strangle and kill 19-year-oldStacey Stites.

The DAs office has long opposed efforts by Reed and his attorneys to test the belt and other crime scene evidence for DNAarguing that the results of such testing are not particularly trustworthy.

Specifically, Reed is challenging the applicability of Texass post-conviction DNA statute, Chapter 64, as it was applied to him by Lone Star State courts on appeal. The appeal directly calls into question Goertzs decision to forego a regime of DNA testing on multiple pieces of evidence that could be potentially exculpatory.

In state court, Reed asserted that he was entitled to post-conviction DNA testing of certain evidence, the nine-page opinion explains. The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Reeds request for post-conviction DNA testing. In these proceedings, Reed challenges the constitutionality of [Chapter] 64 both on its face and as interpreted, construed, and applied by the state court.

Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, writing for the court, said that Reeds objections were simply lodged too late.

Section 1983 claims are subject to a states personal injury statute of limitations, Elrod determined. In Texas, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years. As such, Reed cannot assert any claims that accrued prior to August 2017.

The court decided the issue here after crafting a question that produced a result unfavorable to Reed.

The question in this case is when Reed had sufficient information to know of his alleged injury, Elrod wrote.

Heres how the three-judge panel came down:

Reed alleges that he was denied access to the physical evidence that he wished to test. An injury accrues when a plaintiff first becomes aware, or should have become aware, that his right has been violated.Here, Reed first became aware that his right to access that evidence was allegedly being violated when the trial court denied his Chapter 64 motion in November 2014. Reed had the necessary information to know that his rights were allegedly being violated as soon as the trial court denied his motion for post-conviction relief.

Reed, on the other hand, argued that the statute of limitations only began to run when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied his motion for reconsideration. Notably, the district court agreed with the defenses understanding of this discrete issuethough they denied him relief on other grounds. Goertz argued for a statute of limitations defense and the appellate court took his argument to heart.

Reed could have brought his claim the moment the trial court denied his Chapter 64 motion because there was a complete and present cause of action at that time [in 2014], Elrod writes. Because Reed knew or should have known of his alleged injury in November 2014, five years before he brought his 1983 claim, his claim is time-barred.

The defendant still has at least one extant avenue for potential salvation left: a case in the Texas court system based on a habeas corpus petition is currently ongoing. In that filing, Reeds defense is still proceeding at the trial court leveland is the reason hes still alive.

Based on that in-progress case, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals paused Reeds scheduled execution five days before he was slated to be killed by the state in 2019. In January of this year, Visiting Judge Doug Shaver set a tentative Aug. 31 deadline for the trial courts investigation.

[image via screengrab/Austin-American Statesman]

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Fifth Circuit Rules Rodney Reed Cannot Force Texas to DNA Test Weapon Used in 1996 Murder - Law & Crime

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "DNA Sequencing - Technologies, Markets & Companies" report from Jain PharmaBiotech has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report briefly reviews basics of human genome variations, development of sequencing technologies, and their applications. Current large and small sequencers are described as well as companies developing them. Various applications of sequencing are described including those for genetics, medical diagnostics, drug discovery, and cancer. Next-generation sequencing technologies, both second and third generations, are reviewed. Companies developing software for analysis of sequencing data are also included. Selected academic institutes conducting research in sequencing are also listed.

The current market is mostly for research applications and future markets will be other applications related to healthcare. The value of DNA sequencer market in 2020 is described with estimates for 2024 and 2030. Various methods and factors on which market estimates depend are described briefly. Markets are tabulated according to geographical areas as well as applications. Small sequencers form the basis of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Several marketing strategies have been outlined.

The report includes profiles of 149 companies involved in sequencing and their 173 collaborations. The report text is supplemented by 42 tables, 25 figures, and 500 selected references to the literature.

The report includes information on the following:

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction

2. DNA Sequencing Technologies

3. Role of Bioinformatics in Sequencing

4. Comparative Analysis of Sequencing Technologies

5. Sequencing for Research

6. Applications of Sequencing in Healthcare

7. Applications of Sequencing in Oncology

8. Sequencing in Genetic Disorders

9. Sequencing in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

10. Applications of sequencings in infections

11. Role of Sequencing in Personalized Medicine

12. Current Status and Future Prospects

13. Markets for Sequencing

14. Companies Involved in Sequencing

15. References

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vf9vtp

Source: Jain PharmaBiotech

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Insights on the DNA Sequencing Global Market to 2030 - Profiles of 149 Companies and Their 173 Collaborations - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire

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DNA vaccines target unique cancer mutations

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that personalized cancer vaccines made using DNA can program the immune system to attack malignant tumors, including breast and pancreatic cancers. The study was conducted in mice with breast cancer and one patient with late-stage pancreatic cancer.

The COVID-19 vaccines designed using bits of genetic information that prime our immune systems to recognize and fight off viral infections have become lifesavers in the global fight to end the pandemic.

Now, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown that a similar vaccine approach can be used to create personalized vaccines that program the immune system to attack malignant tumors, including breast and pancreatic cancers.

The tailor-made vaccines are designed to target mutated proteins called neoantigens that are unique to a patients tumors. Unlike the COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech that rely on genetic material called mRNA, the personalized cancer vaccines are made using DNA.

We took a small tissue sample from a tumor in a 25-year-old male patient with late-stage pancreatic cancer and used it to develop a personalized vaccine based on the unique genetic information in that tumor, said William Gillanders, MD, senior author and professor of surgery at the School of Medicine. We think this is the first report of the use of a neoantigen DNA vaccine in a human, and our monitoring confirms the vaccine was successful in prompting an immune response that targeted specific neoantigens in the patients tumor.

Published April 20 in the journal Genome Medicine, the study explores how techniques used to create personalized cancer vaccines can be improved to help the body unleash a more effective, longer-lasting, tumor-fighting immune response.

The findings also show that a personalized DNA vaccine coupled with other immunotherapies can generate a robust immune response capable of shrinking breast cancers in mice. While the DNA vaccine did not shrink tumors in the pancreatic cancer patient, it did produce a measurable immune response that targeted the tumor.

Gillanders, who treats breast cancer patients at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, said DNA vaccine platforms offer some important advantages over other personalized vaccine platforms now in early clinical trials, such as those relying on mRNA, dendritic cells and synthetic peptides.

Because the neoantigen DNA vaccine focuses the immune response on neoantigens that exist only in tumor cells, it lowers the risk of dangerous side effects, such as damage to normal healthy tissues or the triggering of an intolerance or bad reaction to the vaccine.

DNA vaccines are relatively easy and cost effective to manufacture compared with other neoantigen vaccine platforms such as those that use dendritic cells or mRNA, for example, making the DNA vaccine platform attractive for neoantigen vaccines, Gillanders said. The DNA vaccine platform also can be readily engineered to include multiple neoantigens. Additional immune modulators can also be integrated into the vaccine to increase the immune responses.

Like other personalized vaccines now under development, the DNA vaccine platform targets neoantigens, abnormal protein fragments that are created as cancerous tumor cells mutate and grow. Since each cancer generates unique mutations, each DNA vaccine is also unique and optimized to simultaneously target multiple neoantigens.

Each neoantigen included in the vaccine raises a red flag for the immune system, sending an army of specialized immune cells called T cells to seek and destroy the tumor.

While the process seems simple in theory, the devil is in the details, and those details reside within the complex inner workings of how cells process and present the neoantigens to the immune system.

For the vaccine to be successful, the neoantigens must be presented to cells in a precise format that maximizes the odds of triggering a complex, step-by-step cascade of natural immune responses. Any misstep may result in a weakened or even failed immune response.

As the new study documents, the neoantigen DNA vaccine can be optimized to improve the presentation process. Small differences in the length of an epitope (the part of the antigen recognized by the immune system), spacing and amino acid sequence can result in important changes in how neoantigens are presented to the immune system. Even then, cancers often find ways to evade successful attacks.

In this study, Gillanders and his team set out to address these challenges using the latest in next-generation gene sequencing tools, new predictive modeling techniques, and bioinformatics-based computational algorithms all designed to fine-tune the vaccine creation process.

The findings suggest that longer epitope fragments are more effective at triggering a longer-lasting immune response that includes both CD8 and CD4 T cells; that a mutant marker that tags neoantigens and is cloned to the end of an epitope string can significantly increase its recognition by the immune system; and that even the most well-presented epitopes are seldom successful at shrinking tumors unless accompanied by an additional immunotherapy tool, such as anti-PD-L1 checkpoint blockade.

Although the initial clinical experience is promising, there is more work to do to refine the vaccines and evaluate their effectiveness in animal models and clinical trials. But this is an important first step and points us in the right direction, Gillanders said.

This work was supported by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, grant number KG111025; the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Investment Program grant 4035; the National Institute of Health (NIH), R01CA240983; the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Center Support Grant P30-CA091842, and SPORE in Pancreatic Cancer, P50-CA196510; NCI training grant T32 CA 009621; and The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Li L, Zhang X, Wang X, Kim SW, Herndon JM, Becker-Hapak MK, Carreno BM, Myers NB, Sturmoski MA, McLellan MD, Miller CA, Johanns TM, Tan BR, Dunn GP, Fleming TP, Hansen TH, Goedegebuure SP, Gillanders WE. Optimized polyepitope neoantigen DNA vaccines elicit neoantigen-specific immune responses in preclinical models and in clinical translation. Genome Medicine. April 20, 2021.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, consistently ranking among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Personalized cancer vaccines for breast, pancreatic cancers show promise - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis