Tuning Chromatin Microenvironments with Epigenome EditingAugust 27, 2016Ensuring the sustainability of our environment is a noble goal, and when it comes to the chromatin microenvironments epigenome editing is no exception. While we’ve seen a range of epigenome editing applications, the long-term (mitotically stable) nature of these modifications has remained a challenge. In 2002, epigenome editing demonstrated that when it comes to the […]
Dendrimer-RNA Nanoparticles Go For Vaccination GoldAugust 14, 2016There is perhaps no tougher event in the immunity games than the vaccination all-around. Live-attenuated vaccines score high on efficacy, but they lack both speed (new formulations take months to produce) and endurance (they have short shelf lives). In addition, they have to work hard to avoid losing points on safety. Purified antigen vaccines have […]
Daisy Drive: The Safer, Prettier Gene DriveAugust 14, 2016Gene drives, which could theoretically engineer entire species, are a much-ballyhooed but little tested application for CRISPR-based genetic engineering. Gene drives would bias inheritance in sexual reproduction, with drive alleles passing themselves on nearly 100% of the time, instead of the 50% for normal Mendelian inheritance. Including a CRISPR effector like Cas9, a guide RNA, […]
Maternal Diet And rDNA Variants Combine To Determine Child Epi-FateAugust 14, 2016If you’ve been following nutrition studies hoping for diet advice, you may have noticed it’s complicated. First fat is bad, then it’s just saturated fat, then just trans fat, then actually it’s sugar. This may cause some to throw their hands up in frustration (grabbing a Twinkie from the top shelf while they’re up there), […]
Synthetic Biology Conferences For Late 2016August 14, 2016As summer meanders into August, the next academic year inexorably approaches. We all know what that means: time to plan how to get away from the grind, while refreshing your stock of scientific inspiration. If that sounds like a synthetic biology conference to you, then definitely check out the upcoming synbio conferences below. SynBioBeta SF […]