Lifeboat Foundation

Nobel laureate Jack Szostak from University of Chicago delivered the Eyring General Lecture on March 17, 2023 at Arizona State University. Please click here to learn more about Dr. Szosta and the distinguished Eyring Lecture Series at ASU. https://news.asu.edu/20230309-nobel-laureate-jack-szostak-de…series-asu.

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Resistance to current cancer treatments is an important problem that arises through various mechanisms, but one that stands out involves an overexpression of several factors associated with DNA repair. To counteract this type of resistance, different drugs have been developed to affect one or more DNA repair pathways, therefore, to test different compounds of natural origin that have been shown to induce cell death in cancer cells is paramount. Since natural compounds target components of the DNA repair pathways, they have been shown to promote cancer cells to be resensitized to current treatments. For this and other reasons, natural compounds have aroused great curiosity and several research projects are being developed around the world to establish combined treatments between them and radio or chemotherapy. In this work, we summarize the effects of different natural compounds on the DNA repair mechanisms of cancer cells and emphasize their possible application to re-sensitize these cells.

Day by day we are exposed to chemical carcinogens in the environment, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, ionizing radiation, and also those substances produced in our body during cellular metabolism that attack and produce a variety of DNA injuries. Each lesion favors the development of alterations in DNA and chromosomes, which favors oncogenic transformation and tumor progression. In order to reduce the number of changes in the genome and its instability, cells have several pathways of response to damage and DNA repair proteins that eliminate these lesions. DNA adducts, such as those created by alkylating agents, can be cleaved and repaired by base excision repair (BER) or by nucleotide excision repair (NER), depending on whether it is necessary to remove only a nitrogenous base or a nucleotide. Also, O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), an alkyltransferase, eliminates alkylations.

Scientists specializing in chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside have discovered two types of bacteria in the soil capable of breaking down a class of stubborn “forever chemicals,” giving hope for low-cost biological cleanup of industrial pollutants.

Assistant Professor Yujie Men and her team at the Bourns College of Engineering have found that these bacteria are able to eradicate a specific subgroup of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, particularly those that contain one or more chlorine atoms within their chemical structure. Their findings were published in the scientific journal, Nature Water.

Unhealthful forever chemicals persist in the environment for decades or much longer because of their unusually strong carbon-to-fluorine bonds. Remarkably, the UCR team found that the bacteria cleave the pollutant’s chlorine-carbon bonds, which starts a chain of reactions that destroy the forever chemical structures, rendering them harmless.

New standard for green hydrogen technology set by Rice U. engineers.

Rice University engineers can turn sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency thanks to a device that combines next-generation halide perovskite semiconductors with electrocatalysts in a single, durable, cost-effective and scalable device.

The new technology is a significant step forward for clean energy and could serve as a platform for a wide range of chemical reactions that use solar-harvested electricity to convert feedstocks into fuels.

Milk and colostrum have high biological potential, and due to their natural origin and non-toxicity, they have many uses in cosmetics and dermatology. Research is ongoing on their potential application in other fields of medicine, but there are still few results; most of the published ones are included in this review. These natural products are especially rich in proteins, such as casein, β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, immunoglobulins, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, and growth factors, and possess various antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, antioxidant, immunomodulatory properties, etc. This review describes the physico-chemical properties of milk and colostrum proteins and the natural functions they perform in the body and compares their composition between animal species (cows, goats, and sheep). The milk-and colostrum-based products can be used in dietary supplementation and for performing immunomodulatory functions; they can enhance the effects of certain drugs and can have a lethal effect on pathogenic microorganisms. Milk products are widely used in the treatment of dermatological diseases for promoting the healing of chronic wounds, hastening tissue regeneration, and the treatment of acne vulgaris or plaque psoriasis. They are also increasingly regarded as active ingredients that can improve the condition of the skin by reducing the number of acne lesions and blackheads, regulating sebum secretion, ameliorating inflammatory changes as well as bestowing a range of moisturizing, protective, toning, smoothing, anti-irritation, whitening, soothing, and antiaging effects.

Keywords: milk, colostrum, casein, β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, growth factors, skin, regeneration, antimicrobial, cosmetics.

Although milk is known to be used as a raw material in the food industry, it is also widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries due to its considerable biological potential. It has also been the subject of detailed analyses and discussions of its individual components and their properties [1, 2].

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected the earliest-known carbon dust in a galaxy ever.

Using the powerful space telescope, a team of astronomers spotted signs of the element that forms the backbone of all life in ten different galaxies that existed as early as 1 billion years after the Big Bang.

The detection of carbon dust so soon after the Big Bang could shake up theories surrounding the chemical evolution of the universe. This is because the processes that create and disperse heavier elements like this should take longer to build up in galaxies than the age of these young galaxies at the time the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) sees them.

What happens when humans begin combining biology with technology, harnessing the power to recode life itself.

What does the future of biotechnology look like? How will humans program biology to create organ farm technology and bio-robots. And what happens when companies begin investing in advanced bio-printing, artificial wombs, and cybernetic prosthetic limbs.

Continue reading “Timelapse of Future BIOTECHNOLOGY” »

According to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a bifacial perovskite solar cell holds the potential to produce higher energy yields at lower overall costs.

The bifacial solar cell captures direct sunlight on the front and reflected sunlight on the back. As a result, this type of device can outperform its monofacial counterparts, according to the new study.

“This perovskite cell can operate very effectively from either side,” said Kai Zhu, a senior scientist in the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at NREL and lead author of a new paper.

Rice University engineers can turn sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency thanks to a device that combines next-generation halide perovskite semiconductors with electrocatalysts in a single, durable, cost-effective and scalable device.

The new technology is a significant step forward for clean energy and could serve as a platform for a wide range of chemical reactions that use solar-harvested electricity to convert feedstocks into fuels.

The lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Aditya Mohite built the integrated photoreactor using an anticorrosion barrier that insulates the semiconductor from water without impeding the transfer of electrons. According to a study published in Nature Communications, the device achieved a 20.8% solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency.