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IMAGE: In their machine learning-based capsid diversification strategy, the team focused on a 28 amino acid peptide within a segment of the AAV2 VP3 capsid protein that exposes the AAV capsid. view more
Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University (original by Drew Bryant)
(Boston) Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have become promising vehicles for delivering gene therapies to defective tissues in the human body because they are non-pathogenic and can transfer therapeutic DNA into target cells. However, while the first gene therapy products approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) use AAV vectors and others are likely to follow, AAV vectors still have not reached their full potential to meet gene therapeutic challenges.
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Researchers from North Carolina State University used a three-model approach to trace the between-farm spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), as well as to analyze the efficacy of different control strategies in these scenarios. The approach may enable farmers to be more proactive in preventing the spread of PEDV and to optimize their efforts to control the disease.
PEDV is a virus that causes high mortality rates in preweaned piglets. The virus emerged in the U.S. in 2013 and by 2014 had infected approximately 50 percent of breeding herds. PEDV is transmitted by contact with contaminated fecal matter. We wanted to compare three different models by using actual outbreak data in order to test their efficacy, says Gustavo Machado, assistant professor of population health and pathobiology at NC State and corresponding author of a paper describing the work. Then we could use the data to determine the best intervention strategy in each case.
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Wilmington, DE, Feb. 11, 2020 -Scientists have developed an affordable, downloadable app that scans for potential unintended mistakes when CRISPR is used to repair mutations that cause disease. The app reveals potentially risky DNA alterations that could impede efforts to safely use CRISPR to correct mutations in conditions like sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis. The development of the new tool, called DECODR (which stands for Deconvolution of Complex DNA Repair), was reported today in
The CRISPR Journal by researchers from ChristianaCare s Gene Editing Institute.
Our research has shown that when CRISPR is used to repair a gene, it also can introduce a variety of subtle changes to DNA near the site of the repair, said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., director of ChristianaCare s Gene Editing Institute and the principal author of the study. We developed DECODR to accelerate the development of CRISPR gene therapies by providing a way to rapidly detect these changes so we c
Credit: Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University
The energy of the future lies in the area of the controlled thermonuclear fusion. The scientific group from Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU), headed by Professor Vladimir Rozhansky, is directly involved in the establishment of the world s largest experimental thermonuclear reactor ITER. Researchers discovered new effects, which affect the energy flow in the reactor. The theoretical predictions were confirmed by the experiments on two tokamaks. The research results were published in the scientific journal
Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion .
The scientific group of Polytechnic University is engaged in modeling of the edge plasma. The researchers aim to identify how and what types of impurities to enter the reactor, and how the power coming from the central zone to be redistributed, and so on. Scientists of SPbPU developed SOLPS-ITER transport code. Currently it is announced as
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IMAGE: The colours represent the identities of nodes. The top row shows how many connections each node has. In the circle you can see all possible ways of making a connected. view more
Credit: Szabolcs Horvat et al. 2020 / MPI-CBG / CSBD
Many natural and human-made networks, such as computer, biological or social networks have a connectivity structure that critically shapes their behavior. The academic field of network science is concerned with analyzing such real-world complex networks and understanding how their structure influences their function or behavior. Examples are the vascular network of our bodies, the network of neurons in our brain, or the network of how an epidemic is spreading through a society.