Codon

JULY 27, 2023

They’ve just finished sequencing the patient’s genome, but they don’t have “DNA sorting” software. And that’s how I learned that there are published books that contain entire chromosome sequences. A real book that contains the full sequence of human chromosome 21. From Ling B et al.

Therapies 52

Therapies RNA DNA Engineering 52

PLOS: DNA Science

MAY 4, 2023

Over time, the mineralized microbes of tooth tartar come to comprise a mouthful of tiny fossils, including snippets of degraded bacterial DNA. ” But long DNA molecules fray as they’re copied as bacteria reproduce, from ancient times leaving pieces too small to match entries in DNA databases from modern species.

DNA 52

DNA Production RNA Science 52

Codon

APRIL 30, 2023

Yeast die for two reasons: Either their nucleolus (where the DNA is kept) degrades and dies, or their mitochondria whimpers out and they stop making energy. The vaccine printer can make lots of different types of vaccines, including protein, DNA, and mRNA ones, but I’m sure this is all quite expensive right now. From Zhang et al.

Vaccine 52

Vaccine DNA Engineering RNA 52

Codon

APRIL 30, 2023

Yeast die for two reasons: Either their nucleolus (where the DNA is kept) degrades and dies, or their mitochondria whimpers out and they stop making energy. The vaccine printer can make lots of different types of vaccines, including protein, DNA, and mRNA ones, but I’m sure this is all quite expensive right now. From Zhang et al.

Vaccine 52

Vaccine DNA Engineering RNA 52

PLOS: DNA Science

JUNE 1, 2023

My now decade-old book The Forever Fix: Gene Therapy and the Boy who Saved It , told the stories of children who had received one-time deliveries of working copies of genes, to compensate for their mutations. This DNA Science post from 2018 traces the history of the efforts. DEB has been a candidate for a gene therapy since 2002.

FDA Approval 52

FDA Approval Therapies FDA Disease 52

Codon

MAY 30, 2023

This week: A way to measure a transgene’s expression in the brain using ultrasound, a DNA sequencing method that uses 1000x less reagents, and base editors get even smaller. An engineered version of this protein can convert DNA bases with efficiencies up to 92%. so this Digest will be published more irregularly.

DNA 52

DNA RNA Engineering Vaccine 52

Codon

MAY 30, 2023

This week: A way to measure a transgene’s expression in the brain using ultrasound, a DNA sequencing method that uses 1000x less reagents, and base editors get even smaller. An engineered version of this protein can convert DNA bases with efficiencies up to 92%. so this Digest will be published more irregularly.

DNA 52

DNA RNA Engineering Vaccine 52

Codon

MARCH 12, 2023

“The recombinant DNA breakthrough has provided us with a new and powerful approach to the questions that have intrigued and plagued man for centuries. The central dogma is often depicted as DNA→RNA→protein, but it’s much more: A biophysical marvel inside the smallest of vessels. Biology is a Burrito.

DNA 52

DNA Engineering Therapies RNA 52

PLOS: DNA Science

DECEMBER 21, 2023

A few weeks ago, I noticed a surprising metric when posting my weekly DNA Science blog – at year’s end, I’d hit #500! The Birth of DNA Science When St. Martin’s Press was about to publish my book about gene therapy in 2012, my agent urged me to start blogging. We renamed it DNA Science.

DNA 105

DNA Vaccine Science Therapies 105

PLOS: DNA Science

JULY 25, 2024

The book has a conversational tone, an easy read even for the science-shy. Yet the book is also global in scope. A virus that directly attacks the immune response presents a special challenge. The 1918 virus was H1N1, and the one behind a million deaths in 1957, H2N2. Ebola virus fever is horrific.

Virus 98

Virus Science Vaccine Government 98

Codon

APRIL 16, 2023

Short DNA strands were discovered that can specifically and tightly bind to zinc and cadmium ions. Perhaps there is now a way to use DNA to extract metals: You could fuse the DNA strands to an antibody, coat them onto electronics, and then use a column to isolate the DNA:metal compounds? coli DNA using a Retro-Cascorder.

Engineering 52

Engineering DNA RNA Science 52