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Team develops the first cell-free system in which genetic information and metabolism work togetherThe capacity of all living systems to develop, organize and sustain themselves is based upon a cyclical process in which genes and metabolism interact in parallel. While genes encode the components of metabolism, metabolism provides the energy and building blocks to maintain and process genetic information.... Read more
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Novel protein found to inhibit activity of CRISPR-Cas systemIn a study published in Nature on July 3, researchers from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Toronto, Canada, discovered a novel anti-CRISPR protein called AcrIF25, which inhibits the activity of the CRISPR-Cas system by dismantling the I-F type CRISPR-Cas complex (Csy... Read more
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New system makes lifesaving phages accessible, transportable and much easier to useThe great promise of bacteriophages is that they naturally destroy bacteria, often in situations where antibiotics fail. Until now, though, there has been no way to access them quickly and efficiently, especially in emergency cases of antibiotic resistant infections. Researchers at McMaster University, working with a colleague from Université Laval,... Read more
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Method that silences specific genes while leaving others unaffected could aid research and therapyRIKEN researchers have developed a highly accurate method for temporarily silencing genes that is promising for advancing biological research and developing new therapies for genetic diseases. The study is published in Nature Communications.... Read more
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Movement sensors show promise in identifying horses at injury riskA small 3-ounce sensor capable of recording 2,400 data points of movement in just one second that is being tested and refined by researchers at Washington State University could be key in reducing the number of injuries to racehorses.... Read more
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Mouse study unlocks genome editing of bacteria in the gutEligo Bioscience, a gene-editing company focused on addressing diseases driven by the expression of bacterial genes from the microbiome, has published a study in Nature that unlocks genome editing of bacteria in the gut.... Read more
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How artificial intelligence can help prevent illegal wildlife tradeImagine you are a law enforcement official at a wildlife market and suspect some of the birds on sale are from endangered or illegally traded populations. This is a situation that demands decisive identification and action, but in cases where "look-alike species" are easily mistaken for each other, simple physical... Read more
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Not so simple: Mosses and ferns offer new hope for crop protectionMosses, liverworts, ferns and algae may offer an exciting new research frontier in the global challenge of protecting crops from the threat of disease.... Read more
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From robots and drones to sheep trackers, new tech can help farmers monitor and improve soil healthTwelve million hectares of agricultural soils are lost globally through soil degradation every year. As an ecologist, I work alongside farmers and growers in the field and have seen how farming can help solve this global soil crisis.... Read more
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Gelatin-based scaffolding releases meaty flavor at high tempsA team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at Yonsei University, working with a pair of colleagues at Kangwon National University, both in the Republic of Korea, has developed a gelatin-based scaffolding that releases a meaty-flavored compound at high temperatures.... Read more
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Tiny TnpB: The next-generation genome editing tool for plants unveiledGenome editing stands as one of the most transformative scientific breakthroughs of our time. It allows us to dive into the very code of life and make precise modifications. Imagine being able to rewrite the genetic instructions that determine almost everything about an organism—how it looks, behaves, interacts with its... Read more
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Non-destructive method developed for detecting internal cracks in rice seedsRecently, a team led by Prof. Wang Rujing and Wang Liusan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a method to detect internal cracks in rice seeds using near-infrared spectroscopy.... Read more
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Study finds nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation in microbial culturesEthane, an overlooked greenhouse gas, can be oxidized with electron acceptors like sulfate and nitrate. Despite nitrite being a more thermodynamically feasible electron acceptor, little is known about nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation.... Read more
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Team develops new one-step method to make multiple edits to a cell's genomeGenome editing has become a widely adopted technology to modify DNA in cells, allowing scientists to study diseases in the lab and develop therapies that repair disease-causing mutations. However, with current approaches, it's only possible to edit cells in one location at a time.... Read more
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Dual-branch network enhances plant disease detection for enhanced crop protectionA research team has developed LGNet, a dual-branch network that combines convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and visual transformers (VTs) for plant disease identification. LGNet effectively fuses local and global features, achieving state-of-the-art recognition accuracies of 88.74% on the AI Challenger 2018 dataset and 99.08% on the self-collected corn disease dataset.... Read more