Science & Tech
Solving the structure of DNA in 1953 has unleashed a tour de force in molecular biology that has illuminated how the genetic information stored in DNA is copied and flows downstream into RNA and proteins. Currently, increasingly powerful technologies permit not only reading and writing DNA in vitro but also editing the genetic instructions in cells from virtually any organism. Editing specific genomic sequences in living cells has been particularly accelerated with the introduction of programmable RNA-guided nucleases (RGNs) based on prokaryotic CRISPR adaptive immune systems.
The repair of chromosomal breaks made by RGNs with donor DNA patches results in targeted genome editing involving the introduction of specific genetic changes at predefined genomic positions. Hence, donor DNAs, guide RNAs, and nuclease proteins, each representing the molecular entities underlying the storage, transmission, and expression of genetic information, are, once delivered into cells, put to work as agents of change of that very same genetic text. Here, after providing an outline of the programmable nuclease-assisted genome editing field, we review the increasingly diverse range of DNA, RNA, and protein components (e.g., nucleases and “nickases”) that, when brought together, underlie RGN-based genome editing in eukaryotic cells.
Explore: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004218301135
From the non-profit Code.org’s promise that ‘Anybody can learn!’ to Apple chief executive Tim Cook’s comment that writing code is ‘fun and interactive’, the art and science of making software is now as accessible as the alphabet.
Unfortunately, this rosy portrait bears no relation to reality. For starters, the profile of a programmer’s mind is pretty uncommon. As well as being highly analytical and creative, software developers need almost superhuman focus to manage the complexity of their tasks. Manic attention to detail is a must; slovenliness is verboten. Attaining this level of concentration requires a state of mind called being ‘in the flow’, a quasi-symbiotic relationship between human and machine that improves performance and motivation.
Explore: https://bigthink.com/the-present/coding-is-not-fun/
It's tough accomplishing everything we want to get done in a day. But it would have been even more difficult had we lived earlier in Earth's history.
Although we take the 24-hour day for granted, in Earth's deep past, days were even shorter.
Day length was shorter because the moon was closer. "Over time, the moon has stolen Earth's rotational energy to boost it into a higher orbit farther from Earth," said Ross Mitchell, geophysicist at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of a new study published in Nature Geoscience.
Explore: https://phys.org/news/2023-06-billion-years-earth-history-days.html
The Role of Physics in Medicine
What is Medical Physics? Medical physics is a branch of applied physics that utilizes physical sciences to prevent, diagnose, and treat human diseases. Medical physics can be categorized into multiple sub-groups: medical imaging physics, radiation oncology physics, non-ionizing medical radiation physics, nuclear medicine physics, medical health physics, and physiological measurements.. Continue reading
"When light is reflected by biological matter, a part of the light's electromagnetic waves will travel in either clockwise or counterclockwise spirals. This phenomenon is called circular polarization and is caused by the biological matter's homochirality.. Continue reading
No One Can Explain Why Planes Stay in the Air
By far the most popular explanation of lift is Bernoulli’s theorem, a principle identified by Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli in his 1738 treatise, Hydrodynamica. Bernoulli came from a family of mathematicians.. Continue reading
Ten computer codes that transformed science
In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope team gave the world the first glimpse of what a black hole actually looks like. But the image of a glowing, ring-shaped object that the group unveiled wasn’t a conventional photograph. It was computed.. Continue reading
If You Say ‘Science Is Right,’ You’re Wrong
One popular move is to insist that science is right—full stop—and that once we discover the truth about the world, we are done. Anyone who denies such truths (they suggest) is stupid, ignorant or fatuous.. Continue reading
Cloud computing expands brain sciences
Examples include a child learning how to read; an athlete recovering from a concussion; or a person turning 50 and wondering where all the time has gone. These are not changes that people perceive on a day-to-day basis. They just suddenly realize they're older, healed, or have a new development skill.. Continue reading
