Hacker News with Generative AI: Biotechnology

Will protein design tools solve the snake antivenom shortage? (owlposting.com)
There has been a fair bit of discussion over this recent ‘creating binders against snake venom protein’ paper from the Baker Lab that came out earlier this year, including this article from Derek Lowe.

Biotechnology, Science, Healthcare, Medicine

59 points by sebg 19 hours ago | 24 comments

Trump Executive Order Restricts 'Gain of Function' Research on Pathogens (nytimes.com)
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday evening to further restrict experiments on pathogens and toxins that could make them more harmful.

Politics, Science, Public Health, Biotechnology

7 points by cliffly 20 hours ago | 1 comments

Protein-slayer drugs could beat some of the cruellest cancers (nature.com)
Momentum is building for PROTAC treatments that eliminate disease-causing proteins, including those responsible for difficult-to-treat childhood cancers.

Cancer, Medicine, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Treatment

23 points by gnabgib 1 day ago | 0 comments

A new hairlike electrode for long-term, high-quality EEG monitoring (psu.edu)
The future of electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring may soon look like a strand of hair.

Biotechnology, Neuroscience, Medical Technology, Healthcare

57 points by westurner 3 days ago | 14 comments

The US has approved CRISPR pigs for food (technologyreview.com)
Pigs whose DNA makes them resistant to a virus could be the first big consumer product using gene editing.

Gene Editing, Food Technology, Agriculture, Biotechnology

142 points by DocFeind 6 days ago | 160 comments

The disease-fighting promise of mRNA (phys.org)
In recent years, mRNA technology enabled the rapid development of vaccines to fight COVID-19, saving millions of lives.

mRNA Vaccines, COVID-19, Medicine, Science, Biotechnology

11 points by PaulHoule 16 days ago | 0 comments

Bite-sized chunks of chicken with the texture of whole meat can be grown in lab (phys.org)
A bioreactor that mimics a circulatory system can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial tissue, enabling the production of over 10 grams of chicken muscle for cultured meat applications. These results are published in Trends in Biotechnology.

Cultured Meat, Food Technology, Biotechnology, Science

8 points by gmays 17 days ago | 1 comments

Acoustic levitation of diamond inspires biotech automation innovation (phys.org)
Engineers at a University of Bristol spin-out company have created a new technology that can move cells without touching them, enabling critical tasks that currently require large pieces of lab equipment to be carried out on a benchtop device.

Biotechnology, Engineering, Automation, Physics

5 points by PaulHoule 20 days ago | 0 comments

Human teeth grown in a lab for first time (independent.co.uk)
Scientists have successfully grown human teeth in a lab for the first time, according to a new study.

Biotechnology, Medical Research, Dentistry

9 points by Sontho 24 days ago | 0 comments

Human teeth grown in a lab for first time by scientists (independent.co.uk)
Scientists have successfully grown human teeth in a lab for the first time, according to a new study.

Science, Biotechnology, Dentistry, Health

12 points by geox 25 days ago | 1 comments

'Low-sugar' vaccine can provide broad immunity against coronavirus variants (medicalxpress.com)
Sugar coatings aren't only for candies; they also help viruses, like the ones that cause COVID-19, hide from their hosts' immune system. Now, researchers have developed a universal vaccine that targets coronaviruses and the sugars that they use as cover.

Vaccines, Coronavirus, Immunology, Medical Research, Biotechnology

9 points by PaulHoule 25 days ago | 4 comments

Boltz-1 (github.com/jwohlwend)
Boltz-1 is the state-of-the-art open-source model to predict biomolecular structures containing combinations of proteins, RNA, DNA, and other molecules. It also supports modified residues, covalent ligands and glycans, as well as conditioning the prediction on specified interaction pockets or contacts.

Biotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Scientific Research, Machine Learning

14 points by gone35 27 days ago | 1 comments

One of the Most Egregious Ripoffs in the History of Science – The Race to DNA (nautil.us)
A new history of the race to decipher DNA reveals Shakespearean plots of scheming.

Science, History, DNA, Genetics, Biotechnology

38 points by robaato 28 days ago | 11 comments

Engineered bacteria emit signals that can be spotted from a distance (news.mit.edu)
Bacteria can be engineered to sense a variety of molecules, such as pollutants or soil nutrients. In most cases, however, these signals can only be detected by looking at the cells under a microscope, making them impractical for large-scale use.

Biotechnology, Engineering, Science, Remote Sensing

5 points by geox 28 days ago | 0 comments

Ethically sourced "spare" human bodies could revolutionize medicine (technologyreview.com)
Human “bodyoids” could reduce animal testing, improve drug development, and alleviate organ shortages.

Medicine, Biotechnology, Ethics, Organ Transplantation

29 points by iancmceachern 35 days ago | 61 comments

Mitochondria transplants could cure diseases and lengthen lives (economist.com)
Organ transplants are a familiar idea. Organelle transplants, less so. Yet organelles are to cells what organs are to bodies—specialised components that divvy up the labour needed to keep the whole thing ticking over. Swapping old organelles for new in cells where the machinery has switched from ticking to tocking thus makes sense in principle. And, for one type of organelle, that principle is now being tested in practice.

Biotechnology, Health, Medicine, Science

9 points by Brajeshwar 37 days ago | 0 comments

Scientists witness living plant cells generate cellulose and form cell walls (phys.org)
In a groundbreaking study on the synthesis of cellulose—a major constituent of all plant cell walls—a team of Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers have captured images of the microscopic process of cell-wall building continuously over 24 hours with living plant cells, providing critical insights that may lead to the development of more robust plants for increased food and lower-cost biofuels production.

Science, Biology, Plants, Biotechnology, Research

109 points by PaulHoule 37 days ago | 3 comments

First Retinal Treatment to Restore Damaged Vision (businesskorea.co.kr)
A research team of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) has developed the world's first retinal disease treatment that can restore damaged vision.

Biotechnology, Medicine, Vision, Korea

8 points by geox 37 days ago | 0 comments

Industry Voices Alarm as Peter Marks Departs FDA (genengnews.com)
The sudden but not altogether surprising departure of Peter Marks, MD, from the FDA has prompted a chorus of criticism and despair from industry leaders and trade organizations.

FDA, Biotechnology, Regulatory Affairs

33 points by gnabgib 39 days ago | 1 comments

What happens to DNA data of millions as 23andMe files bankruptcy? (pbs.org)
The bankruptcy of 23andMe is raising concerns about the future of its DNA information.

Genetics, Privacy, Consumer Data, Biotechnology, Business

18 points by ajdude 42 days ago | 6 comments

Paralysed man stands again after receiving 'reprogrammed' stem cells (nature.com)
A paralysed man can stand on his own after receiving an injection of neural stem cells to treat his spinal cord injury.

Biotechnology, Medical Research

11 points by alexcos 44 days ago | 0 comments

Good drug news – More important things happening in biotechnology and medicine (worksinprogress.news)
We recently released Issue 18 of Works in Progress. Read about prehistoric psychopaths, fertility on demand and the king of fruits here. Today on Links in Progress Asimov Press’s Niko McCarty and our own Saloni Dattani return to review more important things happening in the world of biotechnology and medicine.

Biotechnology, Medicine, Science, News, Health

12 points by therabbithole 45 days ago | 2 comments

American Science Should Take a Lot More Risks (nytimes.com)
In the early 1990s, Katalin Karikó was obsessed with an idea most of her fellow scientists dismissed: Could messenger RNA, or mRNA, a genetic molecule that helps cells synthesize proteins, be harnessed to create new kinds of treatments?

Science, Research, Risk, Biotechnology, mRNA

6 points by ryan_j_naughton 50 days ago | 1 comments

Bio science lab in home for brain and body was launched in indiegogo (indiegogo.com)
Indiegogo is committed to accessibility.

Biotechnology, Crowdfunding, Science, DIY

12 points by leisanrain 64 days ago | 0 comments

Melbourne startup launches 'biological computer' made of human brain cells (abc.net.au)

Biotechnology, Startups, Neuroscience, Melbourne

54 points by Gustomaximus 65 days ago | 37 comments

First "Synthetic Biological Intelligence" runs on living human cells (newatlas.com)
The world's first "biological computer" that fuses human brain cells with silicon hardware to form fluid neural networks has been commercially launched, ushering in a new age of AI technology.

Biotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Computing

7 points by wjSgoWPm5bWAhXB 66 days ago | 1 comments

Designing Self-Destructing Bacteria to Make Effective Tuberculosis Vaccines (weill.cornell.edu)
Working toward more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed two strains of mycobacteria with "kill switches" that can be triggered to stop the bacteria after they activate an immune response.

Tuberculosis, Vaccines, Medicine, Biotechnology

4 points by justinc8687 72 days ago | 0 comments

CRISPR transforms ordinary fat cells into cancer killing machines (thebrighterside.news)
Scientists use CRISPR to turn fat cells into cancer-fighting machines, cutting off tumors’ nutrient supply and halting growth.

CRISPR, Cancer Treatment, Biotechnology, Medicine, Scientific Breakthrough

5 points by amichail 73 days ago | 1 comments

The Birth of Wetware (2018) (proto.life)
Forget what you may have heard about neural networks in software. This startup is making a computer with living neurons.

Biotechnology, Neuroscience, Startups, Artificial Intelligence

3 points by Gooblebrai 74 days ago | 0 comments

The quest for a "communication device" that tells cells to regenerate the body (bigthink.com)
What if medicine could harness this innate healing ability with precision, using technology to direct the body to repair damaged tissues and organs, or even regenerate them entirely?

Biotechnology, Medicine, Regenerative Medicine, Cellular Regeneration

6 points by Anon84 74 days ago | 0 comments