Day's Headlines: Liquid Biopsy; Stem Cell Walk; RNA Splicer; Butterfly Screens; Artificial Leaf; Transgendering Games; Banning Gas Cars in Norway; The Big Red Button; Space Station Tour; and Get Angry, Lose Work

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Liquid Biopsy; Stem Cell Walk; RNA Splicer; Butterfly Screens; Artificial Leaf; Transgendering Games; Banning Gas Cars in Norway; The Big Red Button; Space Station Tour; and Get Angry, Lose Work

Medical

A Blood Test for Cancer Gets Closer time

...new advances in genetic sequencing is leading to more hope for a liquid biopsy for cancer, a way to track cancer through the blood. In a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, researchers from Guardant report encouraging results from a study involving 15,000 patients who were tested with the company’s test that looks at 70 different tumor genes. The technology picks up tiny fragments of DNA shed by tumors into the blood, and sequences the DNA to provide a picture of which mutations are present in the tumor. That helps doctors decide which treatments are most effective against that person’s cancer, since many of the newer anti-cancer drugs specifically target certain mutant processes common in cancer.

Stem cell brain injections let people walk again after stroke newscientist

All patients in the latest trial showed improvements. Their scores on a 100-point scale for evaluating mobility – with 100 being completely mobile – improved on average by 11.4 points, a margin considered to be clinically meaningful for patients. “The most dramatic improvements were in strength, coordination, ability to walk, the ability to use hands and the ability to communicate, especially in those whose speech had been damaged by the stroke,” says Steinberg.

See also Stem cells used in stroke treatment v

Research

We can now 'cut and paste' RNA in addition to DNA, and it could disable viruses sciencealert v

Just like CRISPR/Cas9, the C2c2 system was discovered inside bacteria, where it works like a pair of molecular scissors to 'cut out' any invading pathogen's RNA in order to disable an attack.

But the difference is that C2c2 only targets RNA, not DNA itself, which means scientists can use it to make changes and control what happens within a cell, without changing the genetic code itself.

Researchers develop advanced 3D printed computer screens inspired by butterfly wings 3ders.org

The butterfly’s wings, which possess a distinct iridescent quality and an intricately unique structure, are helping a team of researchers from Australia’s Swinburne Centre for Micro-Photonics to create more brilliant and light responsive computer screens. In developing the new and more advanced screens, the team of researchers, led by Dr. Zongsong Gan, are recreating the butterfly wing’s structure on a minuscule scale with the help of high-precision lithography 3D printing processes.

Also see Brighter Displays Come From the Wings of a Butterfly

How an artificial leaf could one day power your car chicagotribune

Harvard University researchers say they've created a half-chemical, half-biological system to generate liquid fuel using air, water, and sunlight. And as if that weren't enough, it takes climate-changing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere in the process.

The artificial leaf looks nothing like a leaf, though. Pamela Silver, a Harvard biochemistry professor who co-authored the paper with Nocera, said visitors to her lab seem disappointed when they realize this. "It's just a jar with wires coming out of it," she said. "It looks like science."

When looking up articles every day, I often scan the headlines of multiple sources for a particular story, which gives some "color" and insight into how various sides view the same story. If I was to summarize the headlines for this one, it was "Take THAT nature!" (or, through a Biblical lense, "Take THAT God!")

Society

The Sims 4 now allows players to create transgender characters dnaindia v

In a sign of the times, creators of the life-simulating game The Sims have created a free update that removes gender barriers, allowing players to customise their characters with access to 700 pieces of content -- clothing, hair, and jewellery -- which can be used interchangeably between male and female Sims.

Just the other day I was wondering how long this would take...

Norway to ban new sales of gas-powered cars by 2025 thenextweb

The new energy policy sets an aggressive timeline for one of the world’s largest oil exporters but it’s not a done deal just yet. Representatives have confirmed there is a deal in place, but another Norwegian media outlet reports that it may still need some tweaking before the agreement becomes law.

AI

Researchers want a 'big red button' for shutting down a rogue artificial intelligence theverge

"If such an agent is operating in real-time under human supervision, now and then it may be necessary for a human operator to press the big red button to prevent the agent from continuing a harmful sequence of actions — harmful either for the agent or for the environment — and lead the agent into a safer situation," reads the team's paper, titled "Safely Interruptible Agents" and published online with the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. A common case here could be a factory robot that needs to be overridden to prevent human injury or damage to the machine.

"However, if the learning agent expects to receive rewards from this sequence, it may learn in the long run to avoid such interruptions, for example by disabling the red button — which is an undesirable outcome," the paper adds.

Space

Narrated 3D tour of the International Space Station youtube v

Dig out those 3D glasses...

Tech

This text program monitors your mood and will delete your work if you get angry dailydot

Don’t Worry Be Happy is a experiment, exploring how to build creative systems that actively influence our mental state. It playfully promotes awareness and enforces mental-states during the creative process.

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