If a key process for the production of coronavirus proteins is disrupted, viral replication in infected cells can be significantly reduced.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,681
In the Search to Stall Aging, Biotech Startups Are Out for Blood
A handful of companies are trying vastly different approaches to spin animal studies into the next big anti-aging therapy.
Pfizer CEO: People who received Pfizer shot will likely need 3rd dose
The CEO of Pfizer says that people who got the company’s version of the COVID-19 vaccine will likely need a booster shot within a year.
Albert Bourla made the announcement in an interview with CNBC correspondent Bertha Coombs that was filmed two weeks ago and released publicly on Thursday.
“Likely scenarios is there will likely be a need for a third dose somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual vaccination,” says Bourla.
Researchers use deep learning to ‘denoise’ nanopore data
Scientists from the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University have used machine-learning methods to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in data collected when tiny spheres are passed through microscopic nanopores cut into silicon substrates. This work may lead to much more sensitive data collection when sequencing DNA or detecting small concentrations of pathogens.
Miniaturization has opened the possibility for a wide range of diagnostic tools, such as point-of-care detection of diseases, to be performed quickly and with very small samples. For example, unknown particles can be analyzed by passing them through nanopores and recording tiny changes in the electrical current. However, the intensity of these signals can be very low, and is often buried under random noise. New techniques for extracting the useful information are clearly needed.
Now, scientists from Osaka University have used deep learning to “denoise” nanopore data. Most machine learning methods need to be trained with many “clean” examples before they can interpret noisy datasets. However, using a technique called Noise2Noise, which was originally developed for enhancing images, the team was able to improve resolution of noisy runs even though no clean data was available. Deep neural networks, which act like layered neurons in the brain, were utilized to reduce the interference in the data.
Magnetoelectric Chips to Power a New Generation of More Efficient Computing Devices
Harnessing the Hum of Fluorescent Lights for More Efficient Computing
The property that makes fluorescent lights buzz could power a new generation of more efficient computing devices that store data with magnetic fields, rather than electricity.
A team led by University of Michigan researchers has developed a material that’s at least twice as “magnetostrictive” and far less costly than other materials in its class. In addition to computing, it could also lead to better magnetic sensors for medical and security devices.
To make particles flow more efficiently, put an obstacle in their way
Scientists used to perform experiments by stirring biological and chemical agents into test tubes.
Nowadays, they automate research by using microfluidic chips the size of postage stamps. In these tiny devices, millions of microscopic particles are captured in droplets of water, each droplet serving as the “test tube” for a single experiment. The chip funnels these many droplets, one at a time, through a tiny channel where a laser probes each passing droplet to record thousands of experimental results each second.
These chips are used for such things as testing new antibiotics, screening drug compounds, sequencing the DNA and RNA of single cells, and otherwise speeding up the pace of scientific discovery.