Tag Archives: Enables

Genetic Breakthrough Enables Malaria-Resistant Mosquitoes to Clear Crucial Test

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Research conducted on Anopheles mosquitoes, native to Tanzania, shows promising results in malaria control.

James Gathany/CDC via AP/Alamy

A genetic technology known as gene drive has the potential to aid in malaria prevention by transferring genes to wild mosquitoes that inhibit parasite transmission. Recent tests in a Tanzanian lab have indicated that one specific gene drive could be effective if released within the country.

“This technology is poised to be transformative,” states George Christofides from Imperial College London.

Typically, a portion of an organism’s DNA is passed to only half of its offspring due to the halving of DNA in eggs or sperm. By enhancing this inheritance rate using gene drives, small segments of DNA can proliferate swiftly within a population, even if they do not confer any evolutionary advantages.

Many natural gene drives function through various means, potentially even in some human communities. In 2013, scientists engineered an artificial gene drive utilizing CRISPR gene-editing technology, allowing DNA segments to be copied from one chromosome to another.

The objective is to disseminate DNA segments that impede malaria transmission, but the question remains: which segments? Christofides revealed in 2022 that the development of malaria parasites in mosquitoes could be notably curtailed by two small proteins, one derived from honeybees and another from Xenopus. The genes linked to these anti-malarial proteins correspond with those that produce enzymes aiding in blood digestion, so the proteins are synthesized post-blood meal, secreted into the intestine.

However, these tests used lab strains of mosquitoes and malaria pathogens collected decades ago, leaving uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of this method in contemporary Africa.

Currently, Christofides and Dixon Rwetoihera from the Ifakara Health Research Institute in Tanzania have updated local data. The Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, derived from this strategy, produced gene drive components that were maintained separately to prevent spreading, all within a secure setting.

Initial tests revealed significant suppression of malaria parasites collected from infected children, alongside successful gene replication for anti-malarial proteins. “We can now confidently assert this technology has field application potential,” states Christofides.

The forthcoming phase involves releasing mosquitoes that create anti-malarial proteins onto islands in Lake Victoria and monitoring their behavior in a natural setting. Rwetoijela notes that the team is conducting risk assessments and engaging local communities. “Thus far, political and public backing has been robust.”

The expectation is that gene drives will significantly contribute to the eradication of malaria in endemic regions. A. gambiae is the only species responsible for malaria transmission, and “gene drives could change the course,” claims Christofides.

Multiple organizations are also exploring gene drives for malaria control, alongside various strategies aimed at managing other pest populations.

Genetically modified mosquitoes have already been deployed in certain countries to manage wild mosquito numbers, but these strategies generally depend on continuously releasing high quantities of insects.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Mid-Debonian Ocean Oxygenation Enables Deeper Habitat Expansion for Marine Life

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Approximately 390 million years ago during the Devonian period, marine life began to explore previously unoccupied depths. A recent study, conducted by researchers from Duke University, Washington University, NASA’s Virtual Planetary Research Institute, and Caltech, reveals that this underwater migration was spurred by a lasting increase in deep-sea oxygen levels, linked to the ground diffusion of woody plants. This rise in oxygen coincided with a time of notable diversification among jawed fish.

Artistic rendering of Brindabellaspis stensioi (foreground) alongside various other Devonian fossil fish. The white shark and human divers in the upper right corner symbolize modern jaw vertebrates. Image credits: Hongyu Yang/Qiuyang Zheng.

“While oxygen is recognized as essential for animal evolution, establishing its role in trends of animal diversification can be challenging,” remarks Dr. Michael Kipp, a researcher at Duke University.

“This study strongly supports the idea that oxygen has influenced the timing of early animal evolution, particularly concerning the emergence of jawed vertebrates in deep-sea environments.”

For years, scientists believed that deep-sea oxygenation was a singular event that occurred at the onset of the Paleozoic era, around 540 million years ago.

However, recent findings suggest that oxygenation takes place in stages, first making coastal regions more hospitable for respiratory organisms, followed by deeper waters.

Dr. Kipp and his team investigated the timing of these stages by examining sedimentary rocks formed beneath deep seawater.

They focused on selenium within the rocks, an element utilized to ascertain whether oxygen levels were high enough to support life in the ancient ocean.

In marine settings, selenium exists in various forms known as isotopes, which differ based on weight.

At oxygen levels conducive to animal life, the ratio of heavy to light selenium isotopes shows significant variation.

Conversely, at oxygen levels too low for most animals, the ratios remain relatively stable.

By analyzing selenium isotope ratios in marine sediments, researchers can deduce whether oxygen levels were adequate to sustain aquatic life.

The team collected 97 rock samples from around the globe, dating from 252 to 541 million years ago.

These samples were sourced from locations across five continents that were once situated along continental shelves millions of years ago, where the continental edge meets a steep drop-off underwater.

After processing the rocks through grinding, melting, and purifying selenium, the team examined the selenium isotope ratios in each sample.

Their findings reveal that two significant oxygenation events took place in deeper waters of the outer continental shelf, starting during the Mid Devonian, around 540 million years ago, and again between 393 and 382 million years ago during the Paleozoic’s Cambrian period.

For extended periods, oxygen levels plummeted, making survival challenging for most marine life.

“Our selenium data indicates that the second oxygenation event was permanent,” stated Kunmanee ‘Mac’ Bubphamanee, PhD candidate at the University of Washington.

“This event initiated in the mid-Devonian period and has persisted in our younger rock samples.”

This oxygenation event coincided with significant changes in ocean evolution and ecosystems, often referred to as the Paleozoic marine revolution.

Fossil evidence indicates that oxygen became a stable presence in deeper waters, allowing jawed fish known as Gnathostomes to invade and diversify in these environments.

These organisms grew larger, likely due to the supportive oxygen levels facilitating their growth.

The Devonian oxygenation event also correlated with the proliferation of woody plants.

“Our hypothesis posits that the increase in woody plants released more oxygen into the atmosphere, thereby elevating oxygen levels in deeper marine environments,” Dr. Kipp stated.

The cause behind the initial temporary oxygenation event during the Cambrian period remains more obscure.

“What is evident is that the subsequent drop in oxygen post-initial event constrained the spread and diversification of marine animals into deeper continental shelf environments,” Dr. Kipp explained.

“Today, marine oxygen levels are balanced with those in the atmosphere.”

“However, in specific zones, marine oxygen can plummet to undetectable levels.”

“Some of these areas arise from natural phenomena.”

“Still, they are frequently exacerbated by nutrient runoff from fertilizers, industrial activities that degrade plankton, and subsequent oxygen depletion as it decomposes.”

“This research clearly outlines the relationship between oxygen and marine life.”

“It’s a balance established around 400 million years ago, and it would be regrettable to disrupt it in the years to come.”

This study is set to be published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Kunmanee Bubphamanee et al. 2025. Marine oxygenation in Mid Devonian allowed the expansion of animals into deeper water habitats. PNAS 122 (35): E2501342122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2501342122

Source: www.sci.news

3D Printing Enables Complex Vascular Networks for Prosthetic Applications

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Vascular networks crafted by computational models

Andrew Brodhead

Computational models enabling the swift design of vascular networks for 3D-printed organs could advance the prospect of artificial liver, kidney, or heart transplants, eliminating the dependency on donors.

Individuals suffering from organ failure often require transplants. Merely 10% of the global transplant demand is currently met. In response, researchers are innovating techniques to produce lab-grown organs via 3D printing. However, these efforts hinge on experimental methodologies for sustaining the vascular networks long enough to remain viable for days or weeks.

To tackle this issue, Allison Marsden from Stanford University and her team have developed a computational model that facilitates the design of these networks for any organ using mathematical principles explaining how blood vessels branch within the body.

They evaluated their method by creating a network of 25 vessels with 1 cm wide ring-shaped structures that were 3D printed from kidney cells according to their design.

The team then fabricated the vascular network into rings using cold gelatin particles, subsequently heated to 37°C (98.6°F) to dissolve the gelatin, resulting in a network of hollow channels measuring 1 mm in width that mirrored blood vessels. The researchers continued to circulate oxygen and nutrient solutions through the channels to replicate normal blood flow.

After one week, the ring contained approximately 400 times more viable cells compared to a similar ring made from bloodless kidney cells that had been exposed to blood-like fluids.

“We succeeded in keeping the cells near the network alive,” remarks Marsden. “However, the more distant cells perished because we were unable to print the smaller, more intricately branched networks necessary to deliver nutrients to those regions. Our team is actively seeking solutions to this challenge.”

“They are definitely pushing the limits of feasibility,” states Hugues Talbot from University Paris-Clay, France. This novel approach might someday enable scientists to design vascular networks for full-sized organs in mere hours, rather than days or weeks. “Networks designed in this manner could potentially substitute or at least complement lab-grown organs in the future.”

First, researchers must devise methods for 3D printing these vascular networks onto larger organs. If progress continues on this path, Marsden expresses a desire to experiment with 3D-printed organs in pigs within the next five years.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The latest technology enables scanning of faces in 3D from hundreds of meters away

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The new imaging device can capture 3D scans of human faces hundreds of meters away

Aon McCarthy of Heriot Watt University

After 325 meters apart, your eyes can probably distinguish a person’s head from the body. However, new laser-based devices can create three-dimensional models of faces.

Aongus McCarthy The University of Heriot Watt in Scotland and his colleagues have built a device that can create detailed three-dimensional images containing 1 millimeter ridges and indents a few hundred meters apart. An imaging technique called Lidar is used to emit pulses of laser light, collide with the object and is reflected on the device. Based on how long it takes each pulse to return, Lidar can determine the shape of the object.

To reach this level of detail, the team had to carefully tune and align many different components, McCarthy said, including small parts that direct the laser pulse into the device. To enable discrimination between single light particles, the researchers used photodetectors based on extremely thin superconducting wires, a component not common in LIDAR. Exclude sunlight that could enter the detector and break down the image was another challenge.

Researchers tested the rider system on a roof near the lab by taking detailed three-dimensional images of the team members’ heads from 45 meters and 325 meters apart. On a small scale, they captured LEGO figurines from a distance of 32 meters.

The imaging system can scan LEGO characters from 32 meters away

Aon McCarthy of Heriot Watt University

Another test imaged a segment of a communications tower one kilometre away. “It was a very difficult test. I couldn’t control what the scene could do due to the bright background. [that we were imaging]McCarthy says.

Feihu Xu At the University of Science and Technology in China, the team previously used LIDAR for imaging From 200km awayMcCarthy and his colleagues say they achieved “amazing results” in terms of the device’s depth resolution. “It’s the best so far,” he says.

Lidar says that modern technology is only becoming more relevant Vivek Goyal at Boston University, Massachusetts. He says that being able to create detailed 3D maps of the surroundings is also important for self-driving cars and some robots, but before using them for this purpose, new devices need to be made smaller and more compact. There is.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Experts Warn X’s New AI Software Enables Racist Abuse Online: It’s Only the Beginning

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Experts in online abuse have warned that the increase in online racism due to fake images is just the beginning of the problems that may arise following a recent update of X Company’s AI software.

Concerns were first raised in December last year when numerous computer-generated images produced by Company X’s generative AI chatbot Grok were leaked on social media platforms.

Signify, an organization that collaborates with leading sports bodies and clubs to monitor and report instances of online hate, has noted a rise in abuse reports since the latest update of Grok, warning that this type of behavior is likely to become more widespread with the introduction of AI.

Elaborating on the issue, a spokesperson stated that the current problem is only the tip of the iceberg and is expected to worsen significantly in the next year.

Grok, introduced by Elon Musk in 2023, recently launched a new feature called Aurora, which enables users to create photorealistic AI images based on simple prompts.

Reports indicate that the latest Grok update is being misused to generate photo-realistic racist images of various soccer players and coaches, sparking widespread condemnation.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) expressed concerns about X’s role in promoting hate speech through revenue-sharing mechanisms, facilitated by AI-generated imagery.

The absence of stringent restrictions on user requests and the ease of circumventing AI guidelines are among the key issues highlighted, with Grok producing a significant number of hateful prompts without appropriate safeguards.

In response to the alarming trend, the Premier League has taken steps to combat racist abuse directed towards athletes, with measures in place to identify and report such incidents, potentially leading to legal action.

Both X and Grok have been approached for comment regarding the situation.

Source: www.theguardian.com