Hacker News with Generative AI: Biology

Nanoparticle-cell link enables EM wireless programming of transgene expression (phys.org)
Recent technological advances are fueling the development of cutting-edge technologies that can monitor and control physiological processes with high precision.
New Study Confirms That Cancer Cells Ferment Glutamine [video] (youtube.com)
Mother's Curse (wikipedia.org)
In biology, mother's curse is an evolutionary effect that males inherit deleterious mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) mutations from their mother, while those mutations are beneficial, neutral or less deleterious to females.
How the Non-Essential Spleen Could Regenerate Vital Organs Inside the Body (discovermagazine.com)
The idea of using the body’s own organs as mini bioreactors to grow replacement tissue or even regenerate other organs might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it's already becoming reality in cutting-edge labs around the world.
Near-infrared vision in humans enabled by upconversion contact lenses (sciencedirect.com)
Humans cannot perceive infrared light due to the physical thermodynamic properties of photon-detecting opsins. However, the capability to detect invisible multispectral infrared light with the naked eye is highly desirable.
Caesar's Last Breath (charliesabino.com)
How many molecules from Caesar’s last breath do we inhale with each breath we take? Shockingly, the answer is about one molecule—we actually do share breaths with Caesar! And, by extension, every breath we take is composed of the previous breaths of everyone who ever lived—Socrates, Lincoln, Einstein, etc. Isn’t that crazy?
Mitochondria Are More Than Powerhouses–They're the Motherboard of the Cell (scientificamerican.com)
When these energy-giving organelles thrive, so do we
Elephants evolved to beat cancer, and how we could too (newatlas.com)
Scientists have recently shed some light on exactly why elephants, one of the biggest animals on the planet, paradoxically experience unusually low rates of cancer.
'Turbocharged' Mitochondria Power Birds' Epic Migratory Journeys (quantamagazine.org)
Weighing in at a single ounce, the white-crowned sparrow can fly 2,600 miles, from Mexico to Alaska, on its annual spring migration, sometimes traveling 300 miles in a single night.
'Turbocharged' Mitochondria Power Birds' Epic Migratory Journeys (quantamagazine.org)
Weighing in at a single ounce, the white-crowned sparrow can fly 2,600 miles, from Mexico to Alaska, on its annual spring migration, sometimes traveling 300 miles in a single night.
Living beings emit a faint light that extinguishes upon death, study (phys.org)
The light of someone's life might not be just another person, but light in the literal sense. According to a recent study by researchers from University of Calgary, every living system emits light without requiring external excitation due to a biological phenomenon known as ultraweak photon emission (UPE).
Ancient reptile footprints are rewriting the history of when animals evolved (apnews.com)
Canada is talking to the US about joining its ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system, Carney says
Living beings emit a faint light that extinguishes upon death (phys.org)
The light of someone's life might not be just another person, but light in the literal sense. According to a recent study by researchers from University of Calgary, every living system emits light without requiring external excitation due to a biological phenomenon known as ultraweak photon emission (UPE).
A metagenomic 'dark matter' enzyme catalyses oxidative cellulose conversion (nature.com)
Living beings emit faint light that extinguishes upon death, according to study (phys.org)
The light of someone's life might not be just another person, but light in the literal sense. According to a recent study by researchers from University of Calgary, every living system emits light without requiring external excitation due to a biological phenomenon known as ultraweak photon emission (UPE).
New stem cell model sheds light on human amniotic sac development (crick.ac.uk)
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have developed a new stem cell model of the mature human amniotic sac, which replicates development of the tissues supporting the embryo from two to four weeks after fertilisation.
A rare snail is filmed laying an egg from its neck (apnews.com)
A Russian drone strike in northeastern Ukraine kills 9 people, officials say
Decades-long mystery of ginger cats revealed (bbc.com)
Intelligence on Earth Evolved Independently at Least Twice (wired.com)
Humans tend to put our own intelligence on a pedestal. Our brains can do math, employ logic, explore abstractions, and think critically. But we can’t claim a monopoly on thought.
Model Organisms Are Not Static (asimov.press)
About 70 percent of scientists say they have tried and failed to reproduce an experiment performed by their peers. And animal studies are, perhaps, among the least reproducible of all experiments because, in an effort to reduce the number of animals used in research, scientists often avoid repeating them to confirm positive results.1 When animal studies are replicated, however, they often yield different outcomes.
Hunting extreme microbes that redefine the limits of life (nature.com)
An adventurous survey of inhospitable habitats unearths extraordinary organisms that pose challenging research questions.
Fingers wrinkle the same way every time they’re in the water too long (binghamton.edu)
Sometimes it takes a kid to ask a question no one has considered before.
Moment of heart's formation captured in images for first time (theguardian.com)
The moment a heart begins to form has been captured in extraordinary time-lapse images for the first time.
Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death (nick-lane.net)
What brings the Earth to life, and our own lives to an end?
New study sheds light on health differences between sexes (medicalxpress.com)
The results of an international study led by researchers from Queen Mary University of London's Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) shed new light on the underlying biological mechanisms which cause differences in health risks, symptoms and outcomes between males and females.
Biological Organisation as Closure of Constraints (sciencedirect.com)
We propose a conceptual and formal characterisation of biological organisation as a closure of constraints.
Turritopsis dohrnii: Immortal jellyfish (nhm.ac.uk)
Not all jellyfish play by the same rules, and one species may have discovered the secret to immortality.
Saliva Is a Critical but Underestimated Bodily Fluid (medscape.com)
Human life would be difficult to sustain without saliva. Its fundamental role in keeping the oral mucosa hydrated is essential for core functions such as swallowing, tasting, and speaking. However, recent research has revealed that saliva does far more than previously understood. Specific components may eventually serve as noninvasive biomarkers for a variety of diseases.
How much information is in DNA? (dynomight.substack.com)
While answering how much information is in DNA may seem straightforward, it actually requires a wild odyssey through information theory and molecular biology.
AI-designed DNA controls genes in healthy mammalian cells for first time (crg.eu)
A study published today in the journal Cell marks the first reported instance of generative AI designing synthetic molecules that can successfully control gene expression in healthy mammalian cells.