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| A new chip to sequence DNA. |
Bifocal and progressive lenses suck. They're old tech. Like, Benjamin Franklin old. PixelOptics take a more 21st century approach—liquid crystal lenses that adjust their focus in a fraction of a second, for differing focuses when you need them. All that's required to shift the glasses—which can be fitted into any design of frame—is a tap to their touch-sensitive side. A simple electrical impulse changes the liquid crystal, instantly—enabling or disabling a shapeshifting reading zone in the lenses. Or, for an I-can't-believe-I'm-this-impressed-by-glasses moment, slide your finger along the side of the specs to active a tiny gyroscope that'll adjust the focus as you move your head.
Ion Torrent, which last month began selling a sequencer it calls the Personal Genome Machine. While most sequencers cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and are at least the size of small refrigerators, this machine sells for just under $50,000 and is the size of a largish desktop printer. While not intended for the general public, the machine could expand the use of DNA sequencing from specialized centers to smaller university and industrial labs, and into hospitals and doctors’ offices, helping make DNA sequencing a standard part of medical practice.
Scientists from Imperial College London are developing technology that could ultimately sequence a person's genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques. The research suggests that scientists could eventually sequence an entire genome in a single lab procedure, whereas at present it can only be sequenced after being broken into pieces in a highly complex and time-consuming process.
A team of scientists led by Melissa Rolls, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University, has peered inside neurons to discover an unexpected process that is required for regeneration after severe neuron injury. "We hope that by showing how microtubules -- a key part of neuron infrastructure -- are built in healthy neurons and rebuilt in response to injury, our study might provide insights for future researchers who are developing drug therapies for patients with nerve disease or damage," Rolls said.
New research suggests it may be possible for people with type 1 diabetes to grow their own insulin-producing cells -- an advancement that could lead to a cure for this form of diabetes. Researchers were able to take cells from men’s testicular tissue, isolate stem cells, and turn them into insulin-secreting islet cells. These islet cells were then re-injected into mice with diabetes. And it worked.
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