How CRISPR Genome Editor Helps Fight Bacteria?

10

October

2019

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The breakthrough technology called CRISPR-Cas9 genome editor has already been established as an innovative, therapeutic tool for the treatment of diseases. However, the range of application of this remarkable invention may be much more extensive. Scientists from the University of Western Ontario have developed a new CRISPR delivery method that will help to kill bacteria purposefully. In the future, this can be seen as an alternative to traditional antibacterial drugs, which have recently lost their effectiveness due to the rapid adaptability of bacteria. The principle of exposure to bacteria is based on how the genome editor itself works. CRISPR, when “cutting out” sections of DNA, determines where to manipulate thanks to the so-called “palindromic repeats.” Individual parts of DNA that begin with one particular nucleotide (a structural unit of DNA) and end with another. So when the editor recognizes the palindromic repeat, programmed in CRISPR, then editing happens. The CRISPR delivery system utilizes the natural replication ability of bacteria called “bacterial conjugation”. If direct contact of two bacterial cells occurred, there is a unidirectional transfer of a part of genetic material. Thus, the CRISPR is placed in the human microflora to detect bacterias. Since CRISPR was initially “tuned” to particular bacteria, it does not harm microflora. At the same time, when an “enemy” appears in the body, it begins to interact with other bacteria and, thanks to DNA transfer, also receives CRISPR, which recognizes the “target” and destroys it at the gene level. According to scientists, the discovery provides an opportunity to deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria much better. It is an essential development to resist superbugs, bacterias that have begun to form antibiotic-resistant strains. Therefore, to protect our health from an incoming threat such as antibiotic-resistant bacterias, further development and research has to be done with CRISPR.

Hamilton, T., Pellegrino, G., Therrien, J., Ham, D., Bartlett, P., Karas, B., Gloor, G. and Edgell, D. (2019). Efficient inter-species conjugative transfer of a CRISPR nuclease for targeted bacterial killing. Nature Communications, 10(1).

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Artificial Intelligence recreates Pablo Picasso’s paintings

26

September

2019

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Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly. What AI is capable of today? It recognizes faces, creates new drugs and even writes music. And this, of course, is far from all. This time, the power of artificial intelligence fell on the picture of Pablo Picasso’s “Old Guitarist”. However, the first thing that was recognised by AI on the canvas was the silhouette of a seated woman. In 1998, scientists looked under the top layer of paint in the picture and found there the original drawing of Picasso. Today, thanks to artificial intelligence, you and I can enjoy this hidden work of art.
It is a fact that a lot of famous artists often painted on top of ready-made paintings. Among them are paintings by such talented artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. To see the artist’s original image on canvas, experts used an x-ray technique, which uses x-rays and infrared light. This method previously allowed scientists to determine that Pablo Picasso has hidden other paintings under the other, “The Crouching Beggar” and “The Old Guitarist”.
By using a neural network trained to distinguish the style of one artist from another, researchers from University College London breathed new life into the picture, recreating the original Picasso.
The basis for the neural network was the technique developed in 2015 by Leon Gatis, called the transmission of the neural style. Computer vision technology can determine the style of painting and transform it into a style of another painting. During the study, scientists took X-ray images of the outlines of a woman and connected them to a neural network created to convert images into the style of the blue period of Picasso. Although the result cannot accurately recreate the painting created by Picasso more than a century ago, the resulting image corresponds to the style in which the artist painted his paintings in those years. The authors of the study believe that their work will inspire similar projects to search for lost works of art.

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