Lifeboat Foundation

Biological computing machines, such as micro and nano-implants that can collect important information inside the human body, are transforming medicine. Yet, networking them for communication has proven challenging. Now, a global team, including EPFL researchers, has developed a protocol that enables a molecular network with multiple transmitters.

First, there was the Internet of Things (IoT) and now, at the interface of computer science and biology, the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) promises to revolutionize medicine and health care. The IoBNT refers to biosensors that collect and process data, nano-scale Labs-on-a-Chip that run medical tests inside the body, the use of bacteria to design biological nano-machines that can detect pathogens, and nano-robots that swim through the bloodstream to perform targeted drug delivery and treatment.

“Overall, this is a very, very exciting research field,” explained Assistant Professor Haitham Al Hassanieh, head of the Laboratory of Sensing and Networking Systems in EPFL’s School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC). “With advances in bio-engineering, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology, the idea is that nano-biosensors will revolutionize medicine because they can reach places and do things that current devices or larger implants can’t,” he continued.

Advancements in genetic engineering, gene therapies, and anti-aging research may eventually allow for age reversal and the restoration of youthful health and longevity.

What is the key idea of the video?
—The key idea is that advancements in genetic engineering and anti-aging research may eventually allow for age reversal and the restoration of youthful health and longevity.

Continue reading “Aging is Now Optional w/ David Sinclair” »

A University of Texas at Dallas bioengineer has developed synthetic enzymes that can control the behavior of the signaling protein Vg1, which plays a key role in the development of muscle, bone and blood in vertebrate embryos.

The team of researchers is using a new approach, called the Synthetic Processing (SynPro) system, in zebrafish to study how Vg1 is formed. By learning the molecular rules of signal formation in a developing animal, researchers aim to engineer mechanisms – such as giving cells new instructions – that could play a role in treating or preventing disease.

Dr. P.C. Dave P. Dingal, assistant professor of bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, and his colleagues published their research online Oct. 16 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

EPFL scientists have crafted a biological system that mimics an electronic bandpass filter, a novel sensor that could revolutionize self-regulated biological mechanisms in synthetic biology.

Synthetic biology holds the promise of enhancing and modifying biological systems into innumerable new technologies for the benefit of society. This engineering approach to biology has already reaped benefits in the fields of drug delivery, agriculture, and energy production.

In a paper published in Nature Chemical Biology, EPFL researchers at the Laboratory of Protein Design and Immunoengineering (LPDI) at the School of Engineering have taken an important step in designing more performative biological systems.

One of the most interesting releases in the recent OpenAI’s DevDay is the GPTs. Essentially, GPTs are custom versions of ChatGPT that anyone can create for specific purposes. The process of configuring a workable GPT involves no coding but purely through chatting. As a result, since the release, a diverse of GPTs have been created by the community to help users be more productive and create more fun in life.

As a practitioner in the domain of physics-informed neural networks (PINN), I use ChatGPT (GPT-4) a lot to help me understand complex technical concepts, debug issues encountered when implementing the model, and suggest novel research ideas or engineering solutions. Despite being quite useful, I often find ChatGPT struggles to give me tailored answers beyond its general knowledge of PINN. Although I can tweak my prompts to incorporate more contextual information, it is a rather time-consuming practice, and can quickly deplete my patience sometimes.

Now with the possibility of easily customizing ChatGPT, a thought occurred to me: why not develop a customized GPT that acts as a PINN expert 🦸‍♀️, draws knowledge from my curated sources, and strives to answer my queries about PINN in a tailored way?

Melting a bacteriophage’s coat of proteins turns it into a tiny power plant, which could fire up the discovery of new bioengineered devices.

There were mixed reactions across gene editing space on Thursday after CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX), in a world’s first, won U.K. approval for their CRISPR-based drug exa-cel for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) has added ~5%, and MaxCyte (NASDAQ: MXCT), which has a licensing deal with the Swiss biotech, has gained ~4%. Vertex Pharma (VRTX) is trading lower for the third straight session.

Other CRSPR-based drug developers Graphite Bio (GRPH) and Precision BioSciences (DTIL) are also among the gainers, while notable gene editing biotechs Editas Medicine (EDIT), Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), and Verve Therapeutics (VRTX) are in the red.

‘Neural networks today are about as similar to a brain as an airplane is to a bird.’ — Kwabena Boahen, PhD, professor of bioengineering and of electrical engineering One problem, as Boahen sees it, is that AI relies on a “synaptocentric” mode of computing, in that half of the nodes — lines of binary…

Do nerve cells hold the key to an epic advance in computing?

By John Sanford

Continue reading “Mind in the machine” »

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s medicines regulator has authorized the world’s first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling disease in the U.K. In a statement Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it approved Casgevy, the first medicine licensed using the gene editing tool CRISPR, which won its makers a Nobel prize in 2020. The agency approved…