Scientists develop new CRISPR Gene Editing Platform for Precision Medicine and Cancer Treatment

Scientists develop new CRISPR gene editing platform for precision medicine and cancer treatment
Graphical abstract. Credit: Theranostics (2024). DOI: 10.7150/thno.92133

Researchers at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have developed an exosome-based platform, “safeEXO-Cas,” that significantly enhances the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing components to specific cells and tissues.

CRISPR/Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence. The study, published in Theranostics, demonstrates the potential of this innovative platform to revolutionize gene therapy and precision medicine.

The research, led by Dr...

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Researchers demonstrate the First Chip-based 3D Printer

Graphic of hand holding a glowing chip-based 3D printer
The tiny device could enable a user to rapidly create customized, low-cost objects on the go, like a fastener to repair a wobbly bicycle wheel or a component for a critical medical operation.
Credits: Sampson Wilcox, RLE

Smaller than a coin, this optical device could enable rapid prototyping on the go. Researchers have demonstrated the first chip-based 3D printer, a tiny device that emits reconfigurable beams of visible light into a well of resin that rapidly cures into a solid shape. The advance could enable a 3D printer small enough to fit in the palm of a person’s hand.

Imagine a portable 3D printer you could hold in the palm of your hand...

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New Method could Allow Multi-Robot Teams to Autonomously and Reliably Explore other Planets

A method that could allow multi-robot teams to autonomously and reliably explore other planets
The rocker bogie runt rover has been selected as it has a small form factor and utilises off the shelf components. Credit: Sarah Swinton

While roboticists have developed increasingly sophisticated systems over the past decades, ensuring that these systems can autonomously operate in real-world settings without mishaps often proves challenging. This is particularly difficult when these robots are designed to be deployed in complex environments, including space and other planets.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow recently developed a new methodology that could allow teams of multiple rovers to autonomously and reliably explore other planets...

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What’s going on in our Brains when we Plan? Study uncovers how Mental Simulations rely on Stored Memories

Photo credit: fotosipsak/Getty Images.

In pausing to think before making an important decision, we may imagine the potential outcomes of different choices we could make. While this “mental simulation” is central to how we plan and make decisions in everyday life, how the brain works to accomplish this is not well understood.

An international team of scientists has now uncovered neural mechanisms used in planning. Its results, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, suggest that an interplay between the brain’s prefrontal cortex and hippocampus allows us to imagine future outcomes in order to guide our decisions.

“The prefrontal cortex acts as a ‘simulator,’ mentally testing out possible actions using a cognitive map stored in the hippocampus,” explains Marcelo Mattar, an as...

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