International Journal of Computational & Neural Engineering-IJCNE

18/04/2019

CAN TURN HUMAN INTO BIOCOMPUTERS

Researchers have integrated two -Cas9-based core processors into human , a step towards creating powerful biocomputers.

Controlling gene expression through gene switches based on a model borrowed from the digital world has long been one of the primary objectives of synthetic biology. The digital technique uses what are known as logic gates to process input signals, creating circuits where, for example, output signal C is produced only when input signals A and B are simultaneously present.

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Researchers created a biological dual-core processor, similar to those in the digital world, by integrating two cores into a cell with CRISPR.

02/04/2019

To develop a new method of underwater plasma generation, scientists used 3D printing to replicate the shape of a snapping shrimp claw and the complex way it works.

As reported in Science Advances, the discovery could lead to significant improvements in the development of water sterilization, drilling, and more.

When the snapping shrimp—also known as the pistol shrimp—snaps its claw, it shoots out a jet of water fast enough to generate a bubble which, when it collapses, creates a loud noise and emits light. The high pressures and temperatures produced in this process lead to plasma formation.

“Generally, when you look to nature, evolutionary pressure makes it so that nature is very efficient at doing things,” says David Staack, associate professor in the mechanical engineering department at Texas A&M University.

“I find it interesting that the shrimp has been doing intense shock waves, plasma chemistry, and nanoparticle synthesis for millions of years.”

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To develop a new method of underwater plasma generation, scientists 3D printed a snapping shrimp claw. Now you can make one yourself.

01/04/2019

BUILDING A ‘ROBOT SCIENTIST’ COULD START WITH A WORM

Biophysicists have used an automated method to model a living system—the dynamics of a roundworm perceiving and escaping pain.

“Our method is one of the first to use machine-learning tools on experimental data to derive simple, interpretable equations of motion for a living system,” says senior author Ilya Nemenman, a professor of physics and biology at Emory University. “We now have proof of principle that it can be done. The next step is to see if we can apply our method to a more complicated system.”

The model makes accurate predictions about the dynamics of worm behavior that are biologically interpretable and experimentally verified.

The researchers used an algorithm, which Nemenman and first author Bryan Daniels, a theorist from Arizona State University, developed in 2015 and dubbed “Sir Isaac,” after one of the most famous scientists of all time—Sir Isaac Newton.

As a long-term goal, the scientists want to develop the algorithm into a “robot scientist,” to automate and speed up the scientific method of forming quantitative hypotheses, then look at data and experiments to test them.

While Newton’s Three Laws of Motion can predict dynamics for mechanical systems, the biophysicists want to develop similar predictive dynamical approaches that can apply to living systems.

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Scientists used an algorithm called "Sir Isaac" to predict the motion of a roundworm escaping a laser zap. Could it work for more complex organisms?

27/03/2019

TEAM ENCODES DIGITAL ‘HELLO’ INTO LAB-MADE DNA

Researchers have successfully encoded the word “hello” in snippets of fabricated DNA and converted it back to digital data using a fully automated end-to-end system.

The feat could be a key step in moving the technology out of the research lab and into commercial data centers.

DNA can store digital information in a space that is orders of magnitude smaller than data centers in use today. It’s one promising solution for storing the exploding amount of data the world generates each day, from business records and cute animal videos to medical scans and images from outer space.

THE FUTURE OF DATA STORAGE
The researchers are exploring ways to close a looming gap between the amount of data we are producing that needs to be preserved and our capacity to store it. That includes developing algorithms and molecular computing technologies to encode and retrieve data in fabricated DNA, which could fit all the information currently stored in a warehouse-sized data center into a space roughly the size of a few board game dice.

https://www.futurity.org/dna-data-storage-2018172/

19/03/2019

Scientists build a self-healing, stretchable electronic skin

Taking inspiration from jellyfish, researchers have developed a touch-sensitive skin that could be used to help humans interact with machines.

a transparent, gelatinous blob that fills the world's oceans -- doesn't inherently seem like much of an inspirational creature.

But don't tell the scientists at the National University of Singapore that. They've been inspired by the humble, transparent invertebrates to build their latest creation: a self-healing, stretchable, touch-sensitive electronic skin that could be used to develop soft robots and various human-machine communication interfaces.

"We wondered how we could make an artificial material that could mimic the water-resistant nature of jellyfishes and yet also be touch sensitive," said Benjamin Tee, lead researcher on the study, in a press release.

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Taking inspiration from jellyfish, researchers have developed a touch-sensitive skin that could be used to help humans interact with machines.

18/03/2019

Machine learning approach sheds light on the biology of liver and kidneys after toxin exposure

Exposure to potentially harmful chemicals is a reality of life. Our ancestors, faced with naturally occurring toxins, evolved mechanisms to detoxify and expel damaging substances. In the modern world, our bodies regularly process chemicals, from medicines and food additives to agricultural and industrial chemicals, to protect our tissues from harm.

As the organs responsible for metabolizing and excreting toxic chemicals, the liver and kidneys bear the brunt of this exposure and are at the highest risk for toxin-induced damage. Understanding how these organs respond to, or are damaged by, toxins is of particular importance in pharmaceutical development and public health research.

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Exposure to potentially harmful chemicals is a reality of life. Our ancestors, faced with naturally occurring toxins, evolved mechanisms to detoxify and expel damaging substances.

14/03/2019

Researchers create nano-bot to probe inside human cells

University of Toronto Engineering researchers have built a set of magnetic 'tweezers' that can position a nano-scale bead inside a human cell in three dimensions with unprecedented precision. The nano-bot has already been used to study the properties of cancer cells, and could point the way toward enhanced diagnosis and treatment.

Professor Yu Sun and his team have been building robots that can manipulate individual cells for two decades. Their creations have the ability to manipulate and measure single cells—useful in procedures such as in vitro fertilization and personalized medicine. Their latest study, published today in Science Robotics, takes the technology one step further.

"So far, our robot has been exploring outside a building, touching the brick wall, and trying to figure out what's going on inside," says Sun. "We wanted to deploy a robot in the building and probe all the rooms and structures."

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University of Toronto Engineering researchers have built a set of magnetic 'tweezers' that can position a nano-scale bead inside a human cell in three dimensions with unprecedented precision. The nano-bot has already been used to study the properties of cancer cells, and could point the way toward e...

13/03/2019

A New Ion-Drive Transistor Is Here to Interface With Your Brain

At least not optimally. As scientists and companies are increasingly exploring ways to interface your brain with computers, fashioning new hardware that conforms to and compliments our biological wetware becomes increasingly important.

To be fair, silicon transistors, when made into electrode arrays, can perform the basics: record neural signals, process and analyze them with increasingly sophisticated programs that detect patterns, which in turn can be used to stimulate the brain or control smart prosthetics.

The problem? They’re not biocompatible in the long term. Without modification, implanted electrodes invariably activate the brain’s immune system, resulting in scar tissue around the implantation site as the cells eagerly attack the foreign invader.

The trick is to encase them in plastics that the body tolerates. But if you’ve tried squeezing a sleeve-protective laptop into a small bag, you’ll know that increasing bulk stretches out the bag (my struggle everyday). In the case of brain-machine interfacing electronics, brain tissue is the bag.

To Dr. Dion Khodagholy at Columbia University, the cure isn’t making smaller transistors—we’ve almost hit the limit. Rather, it’s to fabricate entirely new transistors that comfortably interface with human tissue, brain or otherwise. This month, the team described a soft, flexible, and biocompatible transistor that operates on ions, rather than electrons in traditional transistors, in Science Advances.

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An ideal transistor for the brain should be built from biocompatible and stable materials, and should be soft and flexible to avoid mechanical mismatches.

06/03/2019

Our ability to detect might from the 's desire to represent things in the simplest way possible

During their first year of life, infants can recognize patterned sound sequences. As we grow, we develop the ability to pick out increasingly complex patterns within streams of words and musical notes. Traditionally, cognitive scientists have assumed that the brain uses a complicated algorithm to find links between disparate concepts, thereby yielding a higher-level understanding.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania—Christopher Lynn, Ari Kahn and Danielle Bassett—are building an entirely different model, indicating that our ability to detect patterns might stem, in part, from the brain's desire to represent things in the simplest way possible.

The brain does more than just process incoming information, said Lynn, a physics graduate student. "It constantly tries to predict what's coming next. If, for instance, you're attending a lecture on a subject you know something about, you already have some grasp of the higher-order structure. That helps you connect ideas together and anticipate what you'll hear next."

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During their first year of life, infants can recognize patterned sound sequences. As we grow, we develop the ability to pick out increasingly complex patterns within streams of words and musical notes. Traditionally, cognitive scientists have assumed that the brain uses a complicated algorithm to fi...

04/03/2019

Scientists engineered a bioprinter that can print skin to heal wounds

Bioprinting is thrilling because of its potential to develop living human tissue which can be used for clinical trials and to ‘treat’ patients. Specifically, recent advances have enabled bioprinting of biocompatible materials, cells, and supporting components into complex 3D functional living tissues. The technology can also be applied to regenerative medicine to address the need for tissues and organs suitable for transplantation.

Now, a team of scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) has developed a mobile skin bioprinting system that can potentially print bi-layered skin directly into a wound. This is a first of its kind of system that provides on-site management of extensive wounds by scanning and measuring them in order to deposit the cells directly where they are needed to create the skin.

The new technology is truly impressive. It consists of mixing major skin cells involved in wound healing with a hydrogel and then placing them in the bioprinter. Like something out of a sci-fi film, the system then proceeds to create skin layers.

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A mobile bedside bioprinter created by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound.

01/03/2019

Mice given ‘night vision’ by injecting nanoparticles into their eyes

Ever wanted to see in the dark? We might be a step closer, in light of a study that shows mice can be given infrared “night vision” for up to 10 weeks through a simple injection, and with negligible side effects.

This could serve as the basis for human “super vision” as well as fixing red colour blindness, said senior author Tian Xue at the University of Science and Technology of China in a statement.

The nanotechnology works by binding with the retinal cells in the eye that convert light into electric signals.

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Thanks to nanotechnology mice can now see in infrared light – and they can read and respond to infrared cues in their environment

12/02/2019

Programming autonomous machines ahead of time promotes selfless decision-making

A new study suggests the use of autonomous machines increases cooperation among individuals.

Researchers from the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, the Army's Institute for Creative Technologies and Northeastern University collaborated on a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research team, led by Dr. Celso de Melo, ARL, in collaboration with Drs. Jonathan Gratch, ICT, and Stacy Marsella, NU, conducted a study of 1,225 volunteers who participated in computerized experiments involving a social dilemma with autonomous vehicles.

"Autonomous machines that act on people's behalf—such as robots, drones and autonomous vehicles—are quickly becoming a reality and are expected to play an increasingly important role in the battlefield of the future," de Melo said. "People are more likely to make unselfish decisions to favor collective interest when asked to program autonomous machines ahead of time versus making the decision in real-time on a moment-to-moment basis."

De Melo said that despite promises of increased efficiency, it is not clear whether this paradigm shift will change how people decide when their self-interest is pitted against the collective interest.

"For instance, should a recognition drone prioritize intelligence gathering that is relevant to the squad's immediate needs or the platoon's overall mission?" de Melo asked. "Should a search-and-rescue robot prioritize local civilians or focus on mission-critical assets?"

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A new study suggests the use of autonomous machines increases cooperation among individuals.