Lifeboat Foundation

U.S. researchers developed CheekAge, a tool that reliably estimates mortality risk.

Researchers in the United States have created a next-generation tool named CheekAge, which uses methylation patterns found in easily obtainable cheek cells.

In a groundbreaking discovery, the team has demonstrated that CheekAge can reliably estimate mortality risk, even when epigenetic data from different tissues are utilized for analysis.

Continue reading “US scientist reveal mouth swab that can gauge your risk of death” »

Battery performance is heavily influenced by the non-uniformity and failure of individual electrode particles. Understanding the reaction mechanisms and failure modes at nanoscale level is key to advancing battery technologies and extending their lifespan. However, capturing real-time electrochemical evolution at this scale remains challenging due to the limitations of existing sensing methods, which lack the necessary spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Water contamination by the chemicals used in today’s technology is a rapidly growing problem globally. A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that 98 percent of people tested had detectable levels of PFAS, a family of particularly long-lasting compounds also known as “forever chemicals,” in their bloodstream.

A new filtration material developed by researchers at MIT might provide a nature-based solution to this stubborn contamination issue. The material, based on natural silk and cellulose, can remove a wide variety of these persistent chemicals as well as heavy metals. And, its antimicrobial properties can help keep the filters from fouling.

The findings are described in the journal ACS Nano, in a paper by MIT postdoc Yilin Zhang, professor of civil and environmental engineering Benedetto Marelli, and four others from MIT.

A new device at the University of Central Florida captures carbon dioxide and turns it into useful products.

Researchers have discovered an antibody able to neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as distantly related SARS-like coronaviruses that infect other animals.

As part of a new study on hybrid immunity to the virus, the large, multi-institution research team led by The University of Texas at Austin discovered and isolated a broadly neutralizing plasma antibody, called SC27, from a single patient. Using technology developed over several years of research into antibody response, the team led by UT engineers and scientists obtained the exact molecular sequence of the antibody, opening the possibility of manufacturing it on a larger scale for future treatments.

“The discovery of SC27, and other antibodies like it in the future, will help us better protect the population against current and future COVID variants,” said Jason Lavinder, a research assistant professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and one of the leaders of the new research, which was recently published in Cell Reports Medicine.

“Our study is a stark example of how air pollution can substantially alter atmospheric chemistry thousands of miles away,” said Jacob Chalif.

How do fossil fuels influence the atmospheric chemistry of the Arctic? This is what a recent study published in Nature Geoscience hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated how air pollution caused by fossil fuels influences levels of methanesulfonic acid (MSA), which is an airborne byproduct of marine phytoplankton. This study has the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, and the public better understand the long-term consequences of fossil fuels and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.

This study builds on several past studies, specifically a 2013 ice core research study from Denali National Park, that hypothesized reduced MSA levels resulted from drastic reductions in phytoplankton during the same period. However, the researchers ruled out a connection between MSA and phytoplankton populations but were still puzzled about the drops in MSA levels in the Arctic.

Continue reading “Fossil Fuels and the Arctic: Uncovering the Impact of Air Pollution” »

A team of chemical biologists at the University of Washington, working with colleagues at Oxford Nanopore Technologies, has developed a protein sequencing process that involves pulling proteins through nanopores in a lipid membrane. Their paper is published in the journal Nature.

In recent years, the scientific community has made significant strides in the field of gene editing, particularly through the development of the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) systems. In 2020, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the scientists for the discovery of CRISPR–Cas9 system, a revolutionary genome editing technology that advanced DNA therapeutics. Subsequently, the CRISPR–Cas13 system has emerged as a potential tool to identify and rectify errors in RNA sequences. CRISPR–Cas13 is a novel technology is specifically engineered for virus detection and RNA-targeted therapeutics. The CRISPR RNA (CrRNA) targets specific and non-specific RNA sequences, and Cas13 is an effector protein that undergoes conformational changes and cleaves the target RNA. This RNA-targeting system holds tremendous promise for therapeutics and presents a revolutionary tool in the landscape of molecular biology.

Now, in a recently published BioDesign Research study, a team of researchers led by Professor Yuan Yao from ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, China has elucidated the latest research trends of CRISPR–Cas13 in RNA-targeted therapies. Talking about this paper, which was published online on 6 September 2024, in Volume 6 of the journal, Prof. Yao says, “By focusing on RNA-;the intermediary between DNA and proteins-;CRISPR-Cas13 allows scientists to temporarily manipulate gene expression without inducing permanent changes to the genome. This flexibility makes it a safer option in scenarios where genome stability is critical.”

RNA plays a central role in carrying genetic information from DNA to protein-synthesizing machinery, and also regulates gene expression and participates in numerous cellular processes. Defects in RNA splicing or mutations can lead to a wide variety of diseases, ranging from metabolic disorders to cancer. A point mutation occurs when a single nucleotide is erroneously inserted, deleted, or changed. CRISPR–Cas13 plays a role in identifying and correcting these mutations by employing REPAIR (RNA editing for programmable A-to-I replacement) and RESCUE (RNA editing for specific C-to-U exchange) mechanisms. Explaining the applications of Cas13-based gene editors, Prof. Yao adds, “The mxABE editor, for example, can be used to correct a nonsense mutation linked with Duchenne muscular dystrophy that can be corrected with mxABE. This approach has proved high editing efficiency, restoring dystrophin expression to levels more than 50% of those of the wild type.”

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on global public health and the economy. Although vaccines and antivirals have provided effective protection and treatment, the development of new small molecule-based antiviral candidates is imperative to improve clinical outcomes against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we identified UNI418, a dual PIKfyve and PIP5K1C inhibitor, as a new chemical agent that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells. UNI418 inhibited the proteolytic activation of cathepsins, which is regulated by PIKfyve, resulting in the inhibition of cathepsin L-dependent proteolytic cleavage of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into its mature form, a critical step for viral endosomal escape. We also demonstrated that UNI418 prevented ACE2-mediated endocytosis of the virus via PIP5K1C inhibition. Our results identified PIKfyve and PIP5K1C as potential antiviral targets and UNI418 as a putative therapeutic compound against SARS-CoV-2.

Despite the ongoing threat posed by new viruses following the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which led to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, new antiviral drugs continue to be developed to effectively block viral entry into the human body.

Professor Kyungjae Myung and his research team in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, affiliated with the IBS Center for Genomic Integrity, has discovered UNI418, a compound that effectively prevents the penetration of the coronavirus. This compound works by regulating dielectric homeostasis, thereby inhibiting the virus’s entry into human cells.