Tag: DNA
Humans may not yet have the opportunity to be immortal, but we’re well on our way to immortalizing our genes. In 2013, scientists discovered a way to store genetic data in an app. Another group of researchers suggested that it may be possible to store man-made data in human genes. Now, one project called Genecoin […]
Fun Fact: You have several kinds of microscopic spider-relatives living on your face right now. These mites inhabit every mammal that scientists have ever attempted to find them on, with some mammals carrying up to four different species at once! Scientists first began to understand how prevalent these mites are when they realized you can find mite DNA embedded […]
For the first time ever, scientists have from an organ from a group of cells transplanted into mice — a thymus, an which is located near the heart and essential for immune system function. The findings published in Nature Cell Biology could have massive implications for the future of organ transplants, though scientists say they are years away from attempting the procedure in humans. […]
Scientists studying how connections in our brains foster senses have “hacked” into the brains of nematode worms by altering their DNA. In doing so, they were able to change the worms’ responses to salt and smell with new synaptic connections. Schafer’s team injected DNA that codes for their protein into the gonads ofCaenorhabditis elegans nematode worms. […]
“You wouldn’t leave your medical records on the subway for just anyone to read,” writes artist and founder of BioGenFutures Heather Dewey-Hagborg writes on her new site. “You should be in control of how you share your information and with whom: be it your email, your phone calls, your SMS messages, and certainly your genes.” Last year, we wrote about her […]
When it comes to living a human mark on nature, a proposed Burning Man project is taking things to a cosmic and literal new level. It’s called Genome Laser, and if creators Michael Raasch (AKA Skippy), Vincent Rebers and Alex Housley can raise $4,500 before the festival, it will project individual human genomes onto the […]
This… is “dickhead.” Quite literally. In potēntia is a recent, ethically-challenging project from researcher/artist Guy Ben-Ary and academic/artist Dr. Kirsten Hudson. The artists purchased human foreskin cells online and reverse-engineered them back into their embryonic state, then genetically manipulated those stem cells to grow into a neural network, a “brain.” Or, you know, force-chopped off flesh from living human […]
The New York City medical examiner’s office, which handles forensic investigation of crime scenes, announced yesterday it had failed to send critical DNA samples from crime scenes to a state database. The office’s deputy director of quality assurance has been fired, and the forensic biology director has been suspended over the incident. Sending DNA samples to […]
Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg GOT YOUR FACE! No, really. Remember that strand of hair you left on in the bathroom stall, that piece of gum you dropped in a bodega, the cigarette butt you chucked on the side of the street? Yoink. With the help of the community biolab at Genspace in Brooklyn, Dewey-Hagborg build a 3D modeling software that analyzing the […]
