Category Archives: Molecular Genetics

I am writing in response to a recent letter from Jamie Smith regarding the abuse of children by parents and other adults. Ms. Smith indicates that she is a mandatory reporter with a degree in education. Her letter outlines a litany of problems, both in education and society, and claims the primary cause of child abuse is "unwanted pregnancies." She states that unwanted, abused children are a "burden on society" and offers abortions as a solution, mourning the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision.

I, too, was a mandatory reporter for 10 years as a school bus driver after my retirement and later as a religious education instructor at my parish. Either position requires training to be able to recognize signs of child abuse with a mandate to report possible abuse.

I am shocked that some of our educators continue to support Margret Sanger's idea that abortion is the solution to rooting out the "human weeds" of society, the children of minorities and the poor. It is these very ideas that are perpetuated by Planned Parenthood and other organizations that profit by taking the lives of unborn children.

Science, such as genetics and molecular biology, have proven that a unique human life begins at conception. Although dependent on the mother's body for initial nourishment and protection, the fertilized egg is not part of the mother's body but a living human being carrying the genes of both parents.

Two wrongs never make a right.

C.E. Glomski

Schaumburg

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Letter: Abortion and social planning - Daily Herald

Postdoctoral Researcher Seaweed Molecular Biology, Physiology and Genetics, Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences.NUIG RES 192-22Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full time position as a Postdoctoral Researcher (Plant Molecular Biology & Metabolism) in the Plant Systems Biology research group of Dr. Ronan Sulpice at the National University of Ireland, Galway.This 24 months position is funded by the Marine Institute and is available from September 2022 to end date of August 2024.

Job Description:The successful candidate will combine advanced knowledge of molecular genetics research with large-scale metabolic and phenotypic screening of algae. The experiments will consist of large scale metabolic analyses and growth phenotyping screens, whole genome sequencing of Palmaria strains, and data will be aggregated in a built for purpose database. Traits of focus in the project will include identification of genetic markers to identify best performing strains, both for biomass quality and growth performance.Thus experimental approaches employed in the project will include DNAseq, biochemical assays, phenotyping, and extensive field- and lab-level screening.In addition to the experimental aspect of the project, the successful candidate is expected to contribute to the dissemination of the results, help to report the results, and participate in the daily life of the laboratory.

Duties: What the successful candidate will do attached to the specific post (list /bulletpoint)-Sample seaweeds-Extract DNA, and analyse NGS data generated-perform large throughput metabolic and growth analyses-collaborate with the laboratory team technically and scientifically-write papers/reports-interact with stakeholders-participate to report progress to grant agency-participate in dissemination activities-participate in lab management and co-supervision of students-may act as mentor to co-supervisor of students and have limited teaching hours

Qualifications/Skills required:

Essential Requirements:Track record in molecular biology, ideally with a background on micro- or macro-algae.PhD in Plant or seaweed biology and a good research track record that demonstrates strong capabilities and outputs.knowledge of R for analysis of large datasetsStrong proven (via publications, patents and other research outputs) research recordOrganisational, writing and report/paper drafting skills.Driving licenseSkills in biochemistry (metabolic analyses)

Desirable Requirements:Previous experience in a laboratory from the private sectorHave experience in grant writingEvidence for team working (including supervision and/or lab management experience)

Salary: 39,523- 45,609 per annum pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts (public sector pay policy rules pertaining to new entrants will apply).Start date: Position is available from 01/09/2022

Continuing Professional Development/Training:Researchers at NUI Galway are encouraged to avail of a range of training and development opportunities designed to support their personal career development plans.

Further information on research and working at NUI Galway is available on Research at NUI Galway

For information on moving to Ireland please see http://www.euraxess.ie

Further information about the laboratory is available at https://sulpice-lab.com/

Informal enquiries concerning the post may be made to Dr. Ronan Sulpice ronan.sulpice@nuigalway.ie

To Apply:Applications to include a covering letter, CV, and the contact details of three referees should be sent, via e-mail (in word or PDF only) to Dr. Ronan Sulpice ronan.sulpice@nuigalway.ie

Please put reference number NUIG RES 192-22 in subject line of e-mail application.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 5.00 pm 15/08/2022

We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for this post.

National University of Ireland, Galway is an equal opportunities employer. All positions are recruited in line with Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and Competency based recruitment

'NUI Galway provides continuing professional development supports for all researchers seeking to build their own career pathways either within or beyond academia. Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon commencing employment - see http://www.nuigalway.ie/rdc for further information.

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Postdoctoral Researcher, Seaweed Molecular Biology, Physiology and Genetics, Ryan Institute, School job with NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, GALWAY |...

Soil-dwelling nematodesdepend on their sophisticated sense of smell for survival,able to distinguish between more than a thousand different scents but the molecular mechanism behind their olfaction has baffled scientists for decades.

Now, researchers at the University of Toronto'sTerrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research appear to have solved the long-standing mystery and the implications of their findings stretch beyond nematode olfaction, perhaps offering insights into how thehuman brainfunctions.

Derek van der Kooy,a professor of molecular genetics at the Donnelly Centre in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, led a research team that uncovered the molecular mechanism behind the worms' sense of smell, suggesting that it involves a conserved protein that helps equilibrate vision in humans.

The van der Kooy lab is renowned for its neuroscience research that uses a variety of model organisms, including the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans.

The researchers' study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) last week.

The worms have an incredible sense of smell its absolutely amazing, saysDaniel Merritt, a first co-author on the paper and recentPhD graduate who workedin the van der Kooy lab.

They can detect a very wide variety of compounds, such as molecules released from soil, fruit, flowers andbacteria. They can even smell explosives and cancer biomarkers in the urine of patients, he adds.

C. elegansare champion sniffers thanks to their 1,300 odorant receptors. As in humans, who possess a mere 400 receptors, each receptor is dedicated to sensing one type of smell but that's where the similarities end.

Human noses are lined with hundreds of sensory neurons, each expressing only one receptor type. When an odorant activates a given neuron, the signal travels deeper into the brain along its long process, or axon, where it is perceived as smell. Smell discrimination is enabled by a physical separation of axonal cables carrying different smell signals.

The worms, however, have only 32 olfactory neurons, which hold all of their 1,300 receptors.

Clearly, the one-neuron-one-smell strategy is not going to work here, Merritt says.

Yet, the worms can discriminate between different smells sensed by the same neuron. Pioneering research from the early 1990s showed that when exposed to two attractive odours, where one is uniformly present and the other is localized, the worms crawl towards the latter. But how this behaviour is regulated at the molecular level remained unclear.

It seems that all the information that is sensed by this neuron gets compressed into one signal, and yet the worm can somehow tell the difference between the upstream components. Thats where we came to it, Merritt says.

Merritt and former masters of science graduateIsabel MacKay-Clackett, a co-first author on the paper, reasoned that perhaps the worms are sensinghow strongthe smells are.

According to their hypothesis, the smells that are everywhere are not the most informative cues and would become desensitized in some way, meaning the worms would ignore them. This would leave the weakly present smells, which might be more useful in guiding behaviour, able to activate their receptors and cause signal transduction.

They also had a hunch for how this could work at the molecular level. A protein named arrestin is a well-established desensitizer of the so-called G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), a large family of proteins that perceive external stimuli, which odorant receptors belong to. Arrestins for example allow us to adjust vision in bright light by damping down signalling through the photon-sensing receptors in the retina.

The team wondered if arrestin might also act in worms to desensitize receptors for a stronger smell in favour of those for a weaker one, when both are sensed by the same neuron. To test their hypothesis, they exposed the worms lacking the arrestin gene to two different attractive smells in a Petri dish. They mixed one smell into the agar medium to make it uniform, and put the worms on top. The other smell was placed at one spot some distance from the worms.

Without arrestin, the worms were no longer able find the source of the weaker smell. Like in the human eye squinting in bright sunshine, arrestin helps remove an overpowering sensation ambient smell in this case so that the worms can sense a localized smell and move towards it, MacKay-Clackett says.

Arrestin is not required, however, when the smells are sensed with different neurons, suggesting that the worms employ the same discrimination strategy as the vertebrates when the smell signals travel down different axons.

The team looked at different sets of smells and neurons and found they all obeyed the same logic, Merritt says. They also used drugs to block arrestin and found that this too abolished smell discrimination.

The finding is significant because it is the first evidence showing that arrestin can fine tune multiple sensations.

There is no case known in biology before this where arrestin is being used to allow for discrimination of signals external to the cell, Merritt says.

He adds that the same mechanism could be playing out in other animals when multiple GPCRs are expressed on the same cell, especially in the brain. Our brains are bathed in neurochemicals that signal through hundreds of different GPCRs, raising a possibility that arrestin, of which there are four types in humans, could be key for information processing.

Our work provides one piece of puzzle how the worms amazing sense of smell works, but it also informs our understanding of how GPCR signalling works more broadly within animals, Merritt says.

The team's research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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Researchers crack 30-year-old mystery of odour switching in worms - University of Toronto

For the first time, scientists have created mouse embryos in the lab without using any eggs or sperm and watched them grow outside the womb. To achieve this feat, the researchers used only stem cells and a spinning device filled with shiny glass vials.

The experiment is a "game changer," Alfonso Martinez Arias, a developmental biologist at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona who was not involved in the research, told The Washington Post (opens in new tab).

"This is an important landmark in our understanding of how embryos build themselves," he said.

The breakthrough experiment, described in a report published Monday (Aug. 1) in the journal Cell (opens in new tab), took place in a specially designed bioreactor that serves as an artificial womb for developing embryos. Within the device, embryos float in small beakers of nutrient-filled solution, and the beakers are all locked into a spinning cylinder that keeps them in constant motion. This movement simulates how blood and nutrients flow to the placenta. The device also replicates the atmospheric pressure of a mouse uterus, according to a statement (opens in new tab) from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where the research was conducted.

In a previous experiment, described in the journal Nature (opens in new tab) in 2021, the team used this bioreactor to grow natural mouse embryos, which reached day 11 of development in the device. "That really showed that mammalian embryos can grow outside the uterus its not really patterning or sending signals to the embryo so much as providing nutritional support," Jacob Hanna, an embryonic stem cell biologist at the Weizmann and senior author of both studies, told STAT News (opens in new tab)

Related: 'First complete models' of a human embryo made in the lab

After their initial success with natural embryos, the researchers wanted to try their hand at growing lab-made embryos in the mechanical womb.

To do so, they applied a chemical treatment to mouse stem cells that "reset" them into a naive state from which they could morph into any type of cell heart, liver, brain or otherwise. In a fraction of these naive cells, the team applied additional treatments to switch on genes required to make the placenta, and in a third group of cells they applied treatments to switch on the genes to make the yolk sac. "We gave these two groups of cells a transient push to give rise to extraembryonic tissues that sustain the developing embryo," Hanna said in the statement.

The scientists then placed these three groups of stem cells into the artificial womb to mix and mingle. The three flavors of cells soon came together to form clumps, but only about 50 out of 10,000 cellular clumps continued to develop into embryo-like structures and those that did only survived in the bioreactor for 8.5 days.

Over the course of those 8.5 days or nearly half of a typical mouse pregnancy the initially spherical embryos stretched out and became cylindrical, as would be expected of natural embryos, STAT News reported. The beginnings of the central nervous system began to emerge by day 6 and soon gave rise to a tiny, wrinkled brain. By day 8, the embryos had developed intestinal tracts and small, beating hearts that pushed blood stem cells through newly formed vessels.

The shape of internal structures and gene structure in the synthetic embryos differed slightly from those found in natural mouse embryos, the team noted.

In follow-up experiments, the researchers plan to study the chemical cues that push embryonic cells to become one type of tissue over another. What forces nudge certain stem cells to congregate and form the neural tube while others end up differentiating into the cells that line the intestines?

"Our next challenge is to understand how stem cells know what to do how they self-assemble into organs and find their way to their assigned spots inside an embryo," Hanna said in the statement. "And because our system, unlike a womb, is transparent, it may prove useful for modeling birth and implantation defects of human embryos."

In addition to serving as a research model, the artificial womb could also someday serve as an incubator for cells, tissues and organs grown for transplant procedures, he said.

"This is just one step, but a very important step for us to be able to study early development," Paul Tesar, a developmental biologist at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, told STAT News. "We're crossing into the realm of being able to generate an embryo from scratch, and potentially a living organism. Its been a really notable switch for the field."

Of course, such research comes with heavy ethical considerations.

"The mouse is a starting point for thinking about how one wants to approach this in humans," Alex Meissner, a stem cell biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, told The Washington Post. "It's not necessary to be alarmed or raise any panic, but as we learn, it's important to have in parallel the discussion: How far do we want to take it?"

Originally published on Live Science.

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1st synthetic mouse embryos complete with beating hearts and brains created with no sperm, eggs or womb - Livescience.com

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rallybio Corporation (Nasdaq: RLYB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to identifying and accelerating the development of life-transforming therapies for patients with severe and rare diseases, today announced that it has appointed Wendy K. Chung, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors.

Wendy is a tremendous addition to our Board of Directors. Her extensive clinical experience and deep scientific expertise will be a valued asset as we continue to advance our current product portfolio as well as bring additional candidates into our pipeline. We look forward to learning from her expertise and insights, said Martin Mackay, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Rallybio. On behalf of our directors, I am pleased to welcome Wendy to Rallybios Board.

As a clinician, I have seen firsthand the significant unmet need for transformative therapies for patients with severe and rare diseases. I look forward to utilizing my scientific background and prior experience to contribute to the Board and the work of the Rallybio team as the Company continues to advance their current portfolio of product candidates and evaluate potential assets for their pipeline, said Dr. Chung.

About Dr. Chung

Dr. Chung is an accomplished leader in the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. She is a board certified clinical and molecular geneticist with more than 20 years of experience in human genetic research. Currently, Dr. Chung is the Kennedy Family Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Director of Precision Medicine Resource for the Irving Institute for Translational Research at Columbia University. She has authored over 600 peer reviewed papers and 75 reviews and chapters in medical texts. Dr. Chung currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Prime Medicine. In addition, Dr. Chung is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Sage Bionetworks, Taysha, Helix, and Regeneron Genetics Center. Dr. Chung holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and Economics from Cornell University, a Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University Medical College, a Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics from The Rockefeller University.

About Rallybio

Rallybio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to identifying and accelerating the development of life-transforming therapies for patients with severe and rare diseases. Since its launch in January 2018, Rallybio has built a portfolio of promising product candidates, which are now in development to address rare diseases in the areas of hematology, immuno-inflammation, maternal fetal health, and metabolic disorders. The Companys mission is being advanced by a team of highly experienced biopharma industry leaders with extensive research, development, and rare disease expertise. Rallybio is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, with an additional facility at the University of Connecticuts Technology Incubation Program in Farmington, Connecticut. For more information, please visit http://www.rallybio.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on our managements beliefs and assumptions and on currently available information. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as may, will, should, expect, plan, anticipate, could, intend, target, project, contemplate, believe, estimate, predict, potential or continue or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Rallybios business development strategy and execution, its commercial planning, and the Companys growth. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions and are based largely on managements current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that management believes may affect Rallybios business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, our ability to successfully initiate and conduct our planned clinical trials, including the FNAIT natural history study, and the Phase 1 and or 1b clinical trials for RLYB212 and RLYB116, and complete such clinical trials and obtain results on our expected timelines, or at all, whether our cash resources will be sufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements and whether we will be successful raising additional capital, our ability to identify new product candidates and successfully acquire such product candidates from third parties, competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and those risks and uncertainties described in Rallybios filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Rallybios Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2021, and subsequent filings with the SEC. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

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Rallybio Appoints Wendy K. Chung, M.D., Ph.D., to Its Board of Directors - Business Wire

Luke Goldman was working as an ocean rescue lifeguard on the Jersey Shore when he decided that he wanted to study ecology. Now, he has moved up the East Coast to become a marine protector of a different sort: a researcher at the forefront of using eDNA to try and save the Atlantic cod.

After Goldman graduated from high school in his native New Jersey, he attended community college for a few years before applying to the University of Maine. He was attracted to the ample natural spaces that were perfect for a budding ecologist to study and explore, as well as the interdisciplinary nature of the Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program.

It is very easy to collaborate with other departments, Goldman says. Im able to take molecular biology and environmental courses, and philosophy and anthropology courses. I feel like you get those interdepartmental connections.

Goldman was first introduced to the concept of eDNA, where DNA in the environment is used to study the organisms living there, through a Research Learning Experience (RLE) course. The cutting-edge scientific technique immediately piqued his interest.

Its a field in its infancy. Its really only been around for 10 years, and for more specific fields of study like marine biology, its only been used for like five years. Its a frontier field in the sciences right now, Goldman says.

At the end of the course, he asked his professor Peter Avis if he had research opportunities to study eDNA. Avis said he didnt, but his wife Erin Grey, assistant professor of aquatic genetics and manager of the Grey Aquatics Lab, did.

Goldman formally met Grey at a university job fair, and she hired him to work in the lab in October 2021. Grey says that Goldmans strong background in both ecology and molecular biology that interdisciplinary blend that brought Goldman to UMaine in the first place made him a great fit for the eDNA project.

You need to be able to understand both, Grey says. He had that unique combination.

Goldman is working on a project that uses eDNA to determine cod spawning locations in the Gulf of Maine. Atlantic cod have been functionally extinct since the late 19th century due to overfishing and ocean warming. The loss of cod was devastating economically and ecologically for the Gulf of Maine, and the populations havent been able to rebound like some other over harvested species in the region once regulations were put in place. Marine scientists arent sure why, but one theory is that something is going wrong with their spawning. The exact locations and times of cod spawning are not well known in the Gulf of Maine, but may be easier to find with the help of eDNA.

We dont really know where they spawn, Grey says. We know a couple of areas, but its a big gulf and they spawn near the bottom. Since it can be easier to collect eDNA from water samples it might be easier for us to detect it.

Goldman takes water samples from spawning cod in a controlled lab environment and uses a process called qPCR, or quantitative polymerase chain reaction, to pick out specific genes only found in cod. Through the process, primers and probes act like selective magnets for the tiny gene sequence, which are multiplied until they are plentiful enough to be detected.

Depending on how long the DNA takes to amplify, Goldman can figure out whether the sequence of DNA he is looking at is background noise or significant enough to be related to spawning. Cod release great quantities of DNA into the water when theyre spawning, after all.

Hes really sort of taken ownership of the project, Grey says. The PCR assay in the beginning had a few kinks we had to work out and he really hunkered down and troubleshooted all that stuff.

Grey says that Goldmans work with eDNA is promising to detect cod in an area in general, but she also hopes to be able to involve eRNA into the project at some point. RNA are smaller subsets of DNA with specific instructions for, as Grey says, doing something in the moment. A cod makes RNAs in eye cells for making eye proteins, for example, or scale cell RNAs for making scale proteins.

In the same vein, the cod material collected in water samples where the fish are releasing their eggs and sperm will exhibit specific RNA related to spawning.

If we can find RNAs that are related to spawning, that would be game changing for the field, Grey says.

Eventually, researchers aim to be able to give fishermen the ability to collect samples on and send them to a lab to conduct eDNA assays to find cod in the field. Goldman even had the opportunity to go out with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to see if they could catch any spawning cod in order to collect field samples for testing. They didnt catch any spawning cod that day Goldman said that future researchers will have to see if what he finds in the lab can apply to the field but he had a great day fishing regardless.

Goldman hopes to continue using his eDNA skills to solve complex environmental and ecological problems. His eventual goal is to use what he has learned in the Grey Aquatics Lab about eDNA to study fungi in soils, specifically how fungal communities have shifted in response to applications of synthetic fertilizer and the natural recovery that has occurred since fertilizer application has ceased. He is conducting an internship as an aquatic and wetland ecosystem technician for a Ph.D. student studying groundwater seepage, which he says has definitely reinforced his interest in soil.

Ive always been passionate about growing things and gardening and I want to have a farm some day. I took soil science [with Ivan Fernandez] last semester and I really fell in love.

But first, he says, Weve got to save the cod.

Contact: Sam Schipani, samantha.schipani@maine.edu

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Luke Goldman: Using eDNA to save the Atlantic cod - UMaine News - University of Maine - University of Maine

The Office for Research and Innovation has awarded funding to nine best-in-class projects for the inaugural Duke Science and Technology (DST) Spark Seed Grant program. This years winners include early- to mid-career faculty from across campus and the School of Medicine who were selected from a pool of 52 finalists for delivering innovative and creative ideas in pursuit of new directions and the enhancement of research and scholarship at Duke.

As new scientific discoveries and breakthroughs continue to surface at Duke, were excited by the novel ideas that our faculty have for tackling the worlds most pressing challenges through research said Jenny Lodge, Dukes vice president for Research & Innovation. The proposals of this years DST Spark Seed Grants winners embody how research can improve lives and we look forward to each PIs accomplishments over the next year.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Project: Enabling Unbiased Discovery of Force-Sensitive Protein-Protein InteractionsPI: Brenton Hoffman, James L. and Elizabeth M. Vincent Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Brenton Hoffman studies how the cells of the body respond to getting squished or stretched. His team has developed a variety of sensors that measure, on a molecular level, the effect ofsuch forces on specific proteins and their function in living cells. But proteins rarely act alone. With support from a DST Spark Seed Grant, he plans to create technologies that will make it possible, for the first time, to understand how mechanical forces influence the networks of proteins that team up in the molecular machinery of the cell. Hoffman says the work could lead to new treatments for conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES ANDPOLICY

Project: New Dimensions in Tropical Ecology: Megafaunal Effects on Biogeochemical Cycling in 3-DPI: John Poulsen, Associate Professor of Tropical Ecology

John Poulsen, an associate professor of tropical ecology, will be using terrestrial lidar scanning to measure forest structure in areas of Gabon that are with and without forest elephants in an attempt to measure the influence large animals have on carbon capture. Two years later, the same measurements will be repeated. The analysis will build connections with faculty in economics and computer science to quantify the value and impact of large herbivores on climate change dynamics.

MARINE SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION

Project: Revenue Positive Carbon Dioxide Removal Enabled by Carbonate Conversion and Marine Algae BioproductsPI: Zackary Johnson, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology in Marine Science

To combat global warming, we need techniques that suck up greenhouse gases, and Dukes Zackary Johnson envisions a way to do that: with tiny algae from the ocean. Johnson has been working on a project to capture carbon dioxide from the smokestacks of power plants and convert it into bicarbonate, which is then added to marine algae to boost their growth. Johnson says that the algae-based system could in turn provide heat, electricity and as much protein as soybeans making them a potential source of animal feed that wouldnt compete for farmland or freshwater. His method is still in the demonstration phase, but the DST Spark Seed Grant will help him take the concept from the lab and show whether it could be commercially viable at larger scales.

BIOSTATISTICS ANDBIOINFORMATICS

Project: Using Deep Learning To Train a Single-molecule DNA Sequencer to Accurately Identify DNA LesionsPI: Raluca Gordan, Associate Professor of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Computer Science, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

Raluca Gordan is developing machine learning techniques for sequencing damaged DNA, which standard DNA sequencing technologies cant handle. She hopes to use these techniques to better understand how proteins bind to damaged sites within the human genome and inhibit their repair, and whether this binding process gives rise to mutations that can lead to diseases such as cancer.

CELL BIOLOGY

Project: Synchronized Clocks in Zebrafish PatterningPI: Stefano Di Talia, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Orthopaedics

Stefano Di Talia, an associate professor of cell biology, will be studying oscillations in the activity of a kinase protein called Erk, which appears to be the timekeeper that signals regular patterning of vertebral segments in a developing zebrafishs spine. His group has recently discovered that Erk activity oscillates across the entire notochord and dictates the time at which precursors of the vertebrae begin to form. The group hopes to establish which mechanism controls the Erk oscillations and build enough data from this work in zebrafish to secure greater grant funding.

MOLECULAR GENETICS AND MICROBIOLOGY

Project: Interrogating Subcellular Gene Expression in the Developing BrainPI: Debra Silver, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Cell Biology, and Neurobiology

Debra Silver, an associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, will be studying the localization of messenger RNA and localized gene translation in nervous system cells. These processes are key to guiding new connections in a developing brain and are particularly focused in just one part of neural progenitor cells. The project will be trying to develop a new technology to measure and control gene expression in just one part of the cell. Developing a new technology is not typically funded by NIH, but mastering the technique could open up many new grant opportunities and be valuable for understanding local gene expression in systems beyond the brain.

NEPHROLOGY

Project: Harnessing Female Resilience Factors to Promote Renal RepairPI: Tomokazu Souma, Assistant Professor of Medicine

Tomokazu Souma, MD, an assistant professor of nephrology and affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center, will be using human-derived kidney organoids organs in a dish to identify new therapies to improve kidney repair and regeneration. Specifically, his lab hopes to follow up on a recent finding that females have greater resistance to acute kidney injury. They would like to see if these female resistance factors could be harnessed to treat kidney disease.

BIOLOGY

Project: Integration of Metabolomics and Proteomics Platforms To Resolve Rad6 Roles in Energy Production and Stress ResistancePI: Gustavo Silva, Assistant Professor of Biology

Gustavo Silva, an assistant professor of biology, will be building on his earlier findings in yeast and human cells to better understand the cells response to oxidative stress an overabundance of reactive oxygen molecules. His group identified new links between protein synthesis and energy production during stress, and the elucidation of this process requires tracking changes in the abundance of specific metabolites, which is a completely new direction for his lab. The Spark grant should help them develop new technologies and gather sufficient information for follow-up grant applications.

Project: K-12 Educational Inequality and Public Policy PreferencesPI: Sarah Komisarow, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics

When it comes to school funding, education policy expert Sarah Komisarow says more U.S. school districts are considering a new formula: one based on the needs of students. The idea is that some students have more needs than others, and schools that serve students with greater needs -- because they are learning English, or living with a disability, for example -- should get more funds. The DST Spark Seed Grant will allow Komisarow to collect much-needed data on how information about educational inequality affects peoples preferences for different K-12 spending policies, including equity-based approaches that direct more financial resources to disadvantaged students.

To learn more about the Duke Science and Technology (DST) Spark Seed Grant winners, visit research.duke.edu.

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Duke Announces Winners of the 2022 DST Spark Seed Grants - Duke Today

The University of Cincinnati is making a significant commitment of funds and resources to establish the latest innovation in microscopy as the focal point of the Center for Advanced Structural Biology in the College of Medicine. The project will be built out in three phases over the next five years. WVXU covered the story by interviewing Desiree Benefield, PhD, the lab manager and researcher Rhett Kovall, PhD, both of the Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology at the UC College of Medicine.

Cryo-EM technologyallows researchers to prepare and image samples at very cold temperatures to visualize them in a near-native hydrated state. This helps them get a look at proteins at the atomic level.

Were actually visualizing a single protein, says Kovall. This is quite different from other structural techniques where you dont get this direct visualization.

For research scientist and facility manager Benefield, PhD, its valuable for studying any kind of proteins that are related to human disease. She first learned about cryo-EM in graduate school.

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WVXU: UC scientists are deep-freezing molecules. Here's why they're so excited about it - University of Cincinnati

Replay Launches with $55 Million Seed to Reprogram Biology by Writing and Delivering Big DNA

San Diego, California and London, UK, 25 July 2022 Replay, a genome writing company reprogramming biology by writing and delivering big DNA, today announced its launch with $55 million in seed financing. The round was led by KKR and OMX Ventures, with additional participation from ARTIS Ventures and Lansdowne Partners, SALT, DeciBio Ventures, and Axial.

Replays portfolio of next-generation genomic medicine technologies aims to solve the key challenges currently limiting clinical progress, including the need for increased payload capacity and off-the-shelf cell therapies that substantially reduce cost of goods, improve production speed, volume and consistency, and expand the potential for genome engineering.

Replays genomic medicine toolkit comprises several synergistic technology platforms, including:

Replays innovative corporate structure separates technology development from therapeutic product development within disease area-specific product companies. Each product company is co-founded by seasoned entrepreneurs in conjunction with global thought leaders in each therapeutic area. To date, Replay has established four synHSV gene therapy product companies, aimed at bringing big DNA therapies to monogenic diseases affecting the skin, eye, brain and muscle, and an enzyme writing product company using LASR and DropSynth to optimize enzyme functionality.

Replay was co-founded by Dr. Adrian Woolfson BM BCh PhD, formerly Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Sangamo Therapeutics, Chief Medical Officer at Nouscom, Global Clinical Leader of Early and Late Stage Immuno-Oncology/Hematology at Pfizer and Global Medical Lead in Oncology at Bristol Myers Squibb; Lachlan MacKinnon, a member of the founding team at Oxford Science Enterprises (formerly OSI) and founding investor in Base Genomics, ONI and OMass Therapeutics; Professor David Knipe PhD, a world-renowned virologist and pioneer of HSV research; and Professor Ron Weiss PhD, one of the pioneers of synthetic biology and Professor of Biological Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Adrian Woolfson, Executive Chairman, President, and Co-founder of Replay, commented: Genomic medicine has the potential to transform the future of clinical therapeutics. Over my three decades of experience working in clinical medicine, academia, and the biopharmaceutical industry, it has become clear that we require a more robust and comprehensive toolkit of molecular genetic platform technologies to solve biologys most complex problems and realize its full therapeutic potential. In Replay we have assembled a world-class team of entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and cutting-edge genomic medicine and synthetic biology technologies into a coherent structure that will enable us to address medicines greatest challenges, including solid tumors and polygenic diseases.

Lachlan MacKinnon, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-founder of Replay, added: Technology and product development have different talent requirements, timelines, costs and cultures. By separating technology development from product development, we have generated a model to accommodate these differences. Our ability to write and deliver big DNA has the potential to disrupt many areas of genomic medicine. We have the right team, corporate structure, portfolio of technology platforms, and financial backing to build an enduring company that shapes the future of the industry.

Kugan Sathiyanandarajah, Managing Director at KKR and Board Member at Replay, said: Replays mission is to create a world-leading company that develops and owns the tools to reprogram biology by writing and delivering big DNA; we believe these capabilities will unlock the largest untapped opportunity in medicine. Replay has tremendous entrepreneurial experience within the Company, as well as a team of seasoned industry players to guide the development of the platform technologies and product companies to bring new treatments to patients.

Nick Haft, Managing Director at OMX Ventures and Board Observer at Replay, added: Replay has assembled an impressive portfolio of step-change technologies to propel the field of genomic medicine forward. We are excited to support these technologies, Replays creative business model and the excellent team of entrepreneurs and investors that brings it all together.

Errik Anderson, CEO of Alloy Therapeutics and Independent Board Member at Replay, stated: Substantial technological advances in biotechnology often create opportunities for new business models. I am very excited to partner with Replays ambitious founders and investors who have devised a new structure around the significant opportunity space afforded by synHSV, uCell, and Replays related genomic medicine and synthetic biology technologies.

Alongside a highly experienced management team and board, which includes serial entrepreneur Errik Anderson, Replay is supported by a distinguished team of entrepreneurs and international experts including product company co-founders: Professor Joe Glorioso PhD, inventor of Replays synHSV technology and Senior Advisor for Gene Therapy Programs at Replay, Co-founder of Oncorus, and Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh; Mark Blumenkranz, MD, MMS, the HJ Smead Professor of Ophthalmology, Emeritus, at the Stanford School of Medcine, Co-Director of the Stanford Opthalmology Innovation Program, and former Chairman of the Board and Co-founder of Adverum Biotechnologies; Professor Howard Federoff MD PhD, Co-Founder of Brain Neurotherapy Bio, and former CEO of Aspen Neuroscience and Brooklyn Immunotherapeutics; and Professor David Schaffer PhD, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering and Neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley, and Co-founder of 4D Molecular Therapeutics.

KKR is investing in Replay through KKR Health Care Strategic Growth Fund II, a $4.0 billion fund focused on investing in high-growth health care companies.

Ends

About Replay

Replay is a genome writing company, which aims to define the future of genomic medicine through reprogramming biology by writing and delivering big DNA. The Company has assembled a toolkit of disruptive platform technologies including a high payload capacity HSV platform, a hypoimmunogenic platform, and a genome writing platform to address the scientific challenges currently limiting clinical progress and preventing genomic medicine from realising its full potential. The Companys hub-and-spoke business model separates technology development within Replay from therapeutic development in product companies, which leverage the technology platforms. For example, Replays synHSV technology, a high payload capacity HSV vector capable of delivering up to 30 times the payload of AAV, is utilized by Replays four gene therapy product companies, bringing big DNA treatments to diseases affecting the skin, eye, brain, and muscle. The Company has, additionally, established an enzyme writing product company engaging its evolutionary inference machine learning and genome writing technology to optimize functionality. Replay is led by a world-class team of academics, entrepreneurs and industry experts.

The Company has raised $55 million in seed financing and is supported by an international syndicate of investors that includes KKR, OMX Ventures, ARTIS Ventures, and Lansdowne Partners.

Replay is headquartered in San Diego, CA and London, UK. For further information please visit http://www.replay.bio and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKRs insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management ofGlobal Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKRs investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information aboutKKR & Co. Inc.(NYSE: KKR), please visit KKRs website atwww.kkr.com and on Twitter.

About OMX Ventures

OMX Ventures is an early stage, tech-bio focused venture capital fund a force multiplier for scientists and innovators pushing the boundaries of whats possible in biology and beyond. Visit OMX Ventures website at OMX.VC and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contacts:

ReplayDr. Adrian Woolfson/Lachlan MacKinnoninfo@replay.bio

Consilium Strategic Communications Media relationsAmber Fennell/Tracy Cheung/Jessica Hodgsonreplay@consilium-comms.com

KKRAlastair Elwen/Sophia JohnstonFinsbury Glover HeringKKR-LON@fgh.com+44 20 7251 3801

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Replay Launches with $55 Million Seed to Reprogram Biology by Writing and Delivering Big DNA - GlobeNewswire

Better diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration could be in the future after a new genetic breakthrough.

Discovery of molecular signatures of age-related macular degeneration will help with better diagnosis and treatment of this progressive eye disease.

Thanks to the discovery of new genetic signatures of age-related macular degeneration, better diagnosis and treatment of the incurable eye disease is a step closer.

Scientists reprogrammed stem cells to create models of diseased eye cells, and then analyzed DNA, RNA, and proteins to pinpoint the genetic clues. The researchers were from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the University of Melbourne, the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania, and the Center for Eye Research Australia,

Weve tested the way that differences in peoples genes impact the cells involved in age-related macular degeneration. At the smallest scale weve narrowed down specific types of cells to pinpoint the genetic markers of this disease, saysjoint lead author Professor Joseph Powell, Pillar Director of Cellular Science at Garvan. This is the basis of precision medicine, where we can then look at what therapeutics might be most effective for a persons genetic profile of disease.

Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD is the progressive deterioration of the macular a region in the center of the retina and towards the back of the eye leading to possible impairment or loss of central vision. Around one in seven Australians over the age of 50 are affected, and about 15 percent of those aged over 80 have vision loss or blindness. According to the CDC, it is estimated that 1.8 million Americans aged 40 years and older are affected by AMD and an additional 7.3 million are at substantial risk of developing AMD.

While the underlying causes of the deterioration remain elusive, genetic and environmental factors contribute. Risk factors include age, family history, and smoking.

The research is published today (July 26, 2022) in the journal Nature Communications.

Black and white electron microscopy imaging of retinal pigment epithelium cells. Credit: Dr. Grace Lidgerwood

The scientists took skin samples from 79 participants with and without the late stage of AMD, called geographic atrophy. Their skin cells were reprogrammed to revert to stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, and then guided with molecular signals to become retinal pigment epithelium cells, which are the cells affected in AMD.

Retinal pigment epithelium cells line the back of the retina and are essential to the health and functioning of the retina. Their degeneration is associated with the death of photoreceptors, which are light-sensing neurons in the retina that transmit visual signals to the brain and are responsible for the loss of vision in AMD.

Fluorescent imaging of retinal pigment epithelium. Dr. Grace Lidgerwood

Analysis of 127,600 cells revealed 439 molecular signatures associated with AMD, with 43 of those being potential new gene variants. Key pathways that were identified were subsequently tested within the cells and revealed differences in the energy-making mitochondria between healthy and AMD cells, rendering mitochondrial proteins as potential targets to prevent or alter the course of AMD.

Further, the molecular signatures can now be used for screening of treatments using patient-specific cells in a dish.

Ultimately, we are interested in matching the genetic profile of a patient to the best drug for that patient. We need to test how they work in cells relevant to the disease, says co-lead of the study Professor Alice Pbay, from the University of Melbourne.

Professor Powell and co-lead authors Professor Pebay, and Professor Alex Hewitt from the Menzies Institute for Medical Research in Tasmania and the Centre for Eye Research Australia, have a long-running collaboration to investigate the underlying genetic causes of complex human diseases.

We have been building a program of research where were interested in stem cell studies to model disease at very large scale to do screening for future clinical trials, says Professor Hewitt.

In another recent study, the researchers uncovered genetic signatures of glaucoma a degenerative eye disease causing blindness using stem cell models of the retina and optic nerve.

The researchers are also turning their attention to the genetic causes of Parkinsons and cardiovascular diseases.

Reference: Transcriptomic and proteomic retinal pigment epithelium signatures of age-related macular degeneration 26 July 2022, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31707-4

This research was supported by the Macular Disease Foundation Australia, the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia, Retina Australia, the DHB Foundation, The Goodridge Foundation, the NHMRC, the ARC and the Medical Research Future Fund.

Professor Joseph Powell isPillar Director of Cellular Science, Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Conjoint Deputy Director of Cellular Genomics Futures Institute, University of New South Wales

Professor Alice Pebay is a Principal Research Fellow at the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, and at the Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne

Professor Alex Hewitt is an ophthalmologist and Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania, and Head of Clinical Genetics at the Centre for Eye Research Australia.

Read more:
Better Diagnosis and Treatment: Genetic Clues to Age-Related Macular Degeneration - SciTechDaily