Latest news with #CRISPR
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Gene-Hack Spider to Produce Bright-Red Silk
Researchers used the popular gene-editing technique CRISPR to modify the DNA sequences of house spiders, causing them to produce red fluorescent silk. Scientists are hoping that the US Navy and Air Force-funded research could lead to the development of new "supermaterials" produced by arachnids, Fast Company reports. As detailed in a paper published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team of researchers at the University of Bayreuth in Germany injected the eggs of unfertilized female spiders with a CRISPR-Cas9 solution to insert a gene sequence for a red fluorescent protein. After mating with males of the same species, the offspring produced red, fluorescent silk, demonstrating that the experiment had been successful. "Considering the wide range of possible applications, it is surprising that there have been no studies to date using CRISPR-Cas9 in spiders," said senior author and University of Bayreuth professor Thomas Scheibel in a statement. "We have demonstrated, for the first time worldwide, that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to incorporate a desired sequence into spider silk proteins, thereby enabling the functionalisation of these silk fibres." Apart from turning their silk bright red, the researchers also attempted to knock out a gene called sine oculis, which is responsible for the development of spider eyes. They found that the gene edit caused total or partial eye loss in experiments, highlighting its important role in visual development. By applying CRISPR-Cas9, a technique that has already been widely used to create custom medical treatments or make farm animals more resilient to diseases, the researchers are hoping to come up with a new generation of silk fibers. "Successful spider silk engineering in vivo will, therefore, help to develop and employ new fiber functionalities for a broad range of applications," the team wrote in its paper. "So far, genetic modifications in spiders have been only aimed at evolutionary and developmental research." As Fast Company points out, materials scientists have already been investigating the tactile strength of the silk produced by gene-modified silkworms. But thanks to cutting-edge gene-editing techniques, researchers could soon harness the unique advantages of spider silk as well. While the researchers didn't single out specific use cases for future "supermaterials," the possible applications are practically endless, from lightweight body armor to ultralight running shoes. "The ability to apply CRISPR gene-editing to spider silk is very promising for materials science research — for example, it could be used to further increase the already high tensile strength of spider silk," Scheibel explained. More on CRISPR: In a World First, CRISPR Drug Tailored for One Baby Shows Life-Saving Promise
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Intellia commercial position in question after safety event. says Goldman
Goldman Sachs believes the grade 4 liver transaminase elevation safety event disclosed by Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) for the Phase 3 MAGNITUDE study potentially places nex-z's commercial positioning further in question given the CRISPR therapy's lack of an established long-term safety profile. The therapy has shown limited differentiation on efficacy versus siRNA competitors, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Goldman has a Sell rating on Intellia with an $8 price target The stock in morning trading is down 28%, or $2.70, to $6.96. Confident Investing Starts Here:
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Science
- Express Tribune
US Dept of Energy's 'Doudna' supercomputer to use Nvidia, Dell tech
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks as he visits Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to announce a U.S. supercomputer to be powered by Nvidia's forthcoming Vera Rubin chips, in Berkeley, California, U.S., May 29, REUTERS Listen to article The US Department of Energy on Thursday said its "Doudna" supercomputer due in 2026 will use technology from Nvidia and Dell. The computer, named after Nobel Prize-winning scientist Jennifer Doudna who made key CRISPR gene-editing discoveries, will be housed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. An event held at the lab was attended by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Officials said that the system will use Nvidia's latest "Vera Rubin" chips built into liquid-cooled servers by Dell and will be used by 11,000 researchers. 🗣️📢 We're thrilled to work with The U.S. Department of @ENERGY on the flagship NERSC-10 supercomputer! Powered by our most advanced liquid-cooled server tech & @nvidia's next-generation accelerators - the "Doudna" system fuses #HPC & #AI to empower complex, integrated research… — Dell Technologies (@DellTech) May 29, 2025 "It will advance scientific discovery, from chemistry to physics to biology," Wright said at a press conference. The supercomputers operated by the US Department of Energy help scientists carry out fundamental scientific research. Doudna said her early work on CRISPR relied on support from the Energy Department. "Today, I think we're standing at a really interesting moment in biology that really marks the intersection of biology with computing," Doudna said. The Energy Department's supercomputers are also responsible for designing and maintaining the US nuclear weapons arsenal. "The scientific supercomputer is one of humanity's most vital instruments. It is the instrument for advancing knowledge discovery," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at the event. "It is the foundation of scientific discovery for our country. It is also a foundation for economic and technology leadership. And with that, national security." Designed to accelerate science, @doescience announces the new 'Doudna' supercomputer, powered by NVIDIA and @Dell at @NERSC's @BerkeleyLab. Driven by @NVIDIA's next-generation Vera Rubin platform, this system brings together AI and simulation to help 11,000 scientists tackle… — NVIDIA Newsroom (@nvidianewsroom) May 29, 2025 Huang's remarks came a day after he praised US President Donald Trump while at the same time sharply criticizing export controls on selling Nvidia's chips to China that have cost Nvidia billions of dollars in lost revenue. Republican and Democratic senators Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Huang on Wednesday raising national security concerns about Nvidia's plans to open a research and development facility in Shanghai. On social media platform X, Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, wrote that "keeping advanced AI chips out of the hands of the Chinese Communists isn't about business, it's a national security issue. A word of warning to companies like Nvidia, anyone who breaks the law and circumvents export controls will be held accountable." Keeping advanced AI chips out of the hands of the Chinese Communists isn't about business, it's a national security issue. A word of warning to companies like @nvidia, anyone who breaks the law and circumvents export controls will be held accountable. — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 29, 2025
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
AI supercomputer coming to the Bay Area
The Brief The U.S. Department of Energy plans to build a new flagship supercomputer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The new machine will be ten times more powerful than the current supercomputer. The supercomputer is planned to be completed by the end of 2026 and ready for users by 2027. BERKELEY, Calif. - U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrapped up a week of visits to three national labs in the Bay Area, with a big announcement Thursday, saying the Department of Energy plans to build a new flagship supercomputer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in partnership with Dell and NVIDIA. "It will advance scientific discovery from chemistry to physics to biology and all powered, unleashing this power of artificial intelligence," Secretary White said. The new supercomputer is being named after UC Berkeley Professor and Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna. Doudna said she's honored to have the new supercomputer bear her name. She added her own ground-breaking CRISPR research started with a small grant from the DOE, and hopes funding will continue to advance basic research. "I've always valued fundamental research. I think it does lead to great truths that we can't predict, and CRISPR is a great shining example. It was a small DOE grant that allowed us to work on CRISPR in the beginning," Doudna said. The machine NVIDIA CEO Jenson Huang and Dell Senior Vice President Paul Perez said the Doudna computer will be ten times more powerful than the current supercomputer and utilize cutting-edge Dell servers with the latest NVIDIA AI technology. "What truly sets this system apart is the seamless integration of high performance computing and AI capabilities," Perez said. "It's going to unify three ways of doing computing," Huang said. "Principle simulations, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. So we can simulate electrons using quantum computing, take the ground truth from that simulation and train an AI model at a very large scale. These will be possible for the very first time. Here." The Berkeley National Lab directors gave a rare tour of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), showing the space already designated for the new Doudna supercomputer. What they're saying The announcement comes as the Trump administration has been scaling back research funding. In April, the Department of Energy announced more than $400 million dollars in cuts to research administrative support funding. "I think it's important to understand that science requires infrastructure. It requires administration. There are costs associated with that so we have to figure out the right way to pay for that," Doudna said. KTVU asked Secretary White whether his visit this week to Berkeley Lab, Lawrence Livermore Lab, and the Stanford SLAC Lab comes with any takeaways or commitment to funding. "AI and fusion are things you will see supercharged over the next four years, and if I can add a third one, quantum computing," White replied. Secretary Wright says the plan is to have the Doudna supercomputer completed by the end of 2026 and ready for users by 2027. "I think the Secretary said the right words, and now we have to see if the right things happen to maintain the real prominence of American science," Doudna said. The Source Original KTVU reporting
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nvidia and Dell to Supply Next US Department of Energy Supercomputer
The U.S. Department of Energy stated that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s future Vera Rubin chips and Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)'s liquid-cooled servers would power its next supercomputer. A close-up of a colorful high-end graphics card being plugged in to a gaming computer. "Doudna" is scheduled to be deployed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2026. The technology, which bears the name of Nobel winner Jennifer Doudna, will assist 11,000 researchers in fields ranging from physics to biology. Chris Wright, the Secretary of Energy, underlined the system's contribution to national security and scientific advancement. Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), stressed the importance of supercomputers as "vital instruments" for both defense and innovation. Doudna attributed her CRISPR discoveries to previous backing from the Energy Department. The system carries on the Department's history of nuclear weapons development and high-performance computing. The announcement comes after NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s operations in China came under political scrutiny. Senator Tom Cotton cautioned against evading export restrictions, pointing to national security threats associated with exporting AI chips to China, while Senators Banks and Warren expressed worries about a potential R&D center in Shanghai. While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVDA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and . Disclosure. None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
