In theory, all biological structures, functions and even organisms could be recreated in their mirror image, leading to endless possibilities.Credit: Getty This week, experts in synthetic biology and microbiology, among other fields, are gathering in Manchester, UK, to explore the benefits and risks of building synthetic life. One of the topics that will be discussed is how research might be …
Read More »2025 Lasker Awards Given to Cell Biology and Cystic Fibrosis Pioneers The New York Times University of Iowa doctor wins ‘American Nobel’ for significant cystic fibrosis research The Des Moines Register Breakthrough cystic fibrosis drug that extends life by decades earns its developers a $250,000 ‘American Nobel’ Live Science Vertex Scientists Awarded the 2025 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for Pioneering Discoveries in …
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Scientists are warning that creating “mirror life,” a radical new concept in synthetic biology, could potentially have dangerous repercussions if such organisms escaped the lab, where they may cause irreversible damage to humans and the world around us. The concerns were detailed in a recent report that warned that mirror cells—artificially constructed living systems assembled from reversed molecular building blocks—might …
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When most animals are hurt, they lash out or run away. It’s the classic fight-or-flight response. However, the tobacco hornworm caterpillar (Manduca sexta) has a very different strategy. When disturbed or in pain, it goes still, curling its head and upper body downward in a pose that researchers call the sphinx state, since it looks like the ancient Egyptian statue. …
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Underwhelming performance The task in this case is predicting how gene activity might change when genes are altered. When an individual gene is lost or activated, it’s possible that the only messenger RNA that is altered is the one made by that gene. But some genes encode proteins that regulate a collection of other genes, in which case you might …
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When it comes to the senses, there could not be a greater difference between Friday night chips and juicy Mediterranean tomatoes. However, scientists have discovered that these two foods are not so far from each other after all. Landmark research has found the potato evolved from a tomato ancestor nearly 9 million years ago. Wild tomatoes, which grew in the …
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