Curing Blood Disorders using CRISPR

Blood is a fluid or a semi-liquid material that flows within the human body, circulating around from our head to our toes and is crucial for the survival of humans. Blood is composed of a diverse a unique mixture of cells and biochemical molecules and each one performs a specific function which is essential to the survival of a human. These blood related molecules are crucial for multiple life sustaining activities like the transportation of oxygen O₂, healing and repairing of wounds, translocation of sugar molecules etc. Some of these molecules (cells) are often unable to perform their function because of certain genetic mutations resulting in to malformation of cells and ultimate reduction in activity of those cells which threatens the survival of a human.

THE DISEASE:

Sickle cell and thalassemia are among the most common blood disorders and are cause d due to a specific genetic mutation in genes encoding for haemoglobin (molecule transporting oxygen). According to a detail study published in LANCET in 2015-16 a total 4.5 million peoples are affected by the sickle cell where as more than 228000 people are affected by thalassemia disease and annual deaths cuased by the 2 diseases is around 130,000 annual. This implicates the severity of this disease all over the world, in addition to this patients who continue to live with these disorders are faced with severe problems including repeated painful blood-transfusion, feeling exhausted, weak, pale skin colour, oxygen deprivation and more.

OLD SOLUTIONS:

Treatment of this disease often involves severe blood transfusions, intensive care, medicines and in severe cases stem cell therapy which is often faced with multiple challenges including scarcity of donors, rare donor cross match, and chances of graft rejection, which results in severe outcomes.

NEW SOLUTION:

Owing to the risk and rare possibility of success related to previous treatments need for modern approaches is inevitable, one the most prominent approach for curing genetic disorders is the use of CRISPR-gene editing technique. A detailed study is being performed by CRISPR-Therapeutics and US pharmaceutical giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals in US, the study involves the application of a detailed process using gene editing called the “CTX001” which makes some specific point cuts in to the DNA for the alteration of certain genes and triggering haemoglobin production.

THE PROCESS:

The study is currently being carried out at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in the US state of Tennessee where many patients are currently enrolled for the trial. One of the very first patient enrolled in the trial has recently being evaluated for possible improvements in health conditions and the results are astonishing.

The trial itself involves using the CRISPR gene editing process to clip of certain “SWITHC-OFF” genes present in the host stem cells responsible for the turning off the production of fetal haemoglobin or the HbF resulting in to the production of fetal-haemoglobin molecules. The HbF  itself is a kind of haemoglobin molecule that exists in the body during fetal stage and is later replaced by the adult version of haemoglobin but has almost similar tendency of carrying out all normal functions.

THE RESULT:

Recently results for the initial phase of the research were released by the team which states that the blood analysis of Victoria Gray (the 1^st patient) an approximate 47% of stable fetal haemoglobin (HbF) in the blood with nearly 95% of them carrying the edited version which is beyond expectations and a huge success.

Dr. Jeffrey Leiden, Chairman and CEO of the Vertex Pharmaceutical said:

“The result are remarkable and shows the ability and effectiveness of CTX001 for curing these severe blood disorders. With this great initial phase success we are looking forward to work along with researchers, doctors, patients and thier families in a close relationship in future, and we hope to soon expand the treatment impact to cure other serious diseases such as the Duchenne muscular dystrophy and myotonic dystrophy type 1.”

Dr. Jeffery Leiden, CEO Vertex Pharmaceuticals 

CONCLUSION:

The technology is proving itself to be a highly effective method to resolve many lethal diseases which have been a major challenge for decades, after promising results from animal trials to successful clinical trials the tech is now almost ready for broader application, but the most necessary thing here is to get the public ready for it and smooth, swift policy regulations by the regulatory authorities and legislators to ensure in time arrival and application of the technique and way before even this tech began to be obsolete for rising challenges.

CRISPR-Chip: Detecting Mutations from Raw DNA

Since its introduction to the world CRISPR technology has revolutionized every aspect of life and is creating a huge impact in every man’s life. The tech enables the editing of genes but with more focused research and technical advancements the tech is being used for creation of more sophisticated devices, in a recent efforts a team of researchers working at the UC Berkley, USA have recently developed a chip based device using CRISPR molecules for the detection of mutations from unamplified DNA samples. The team is headed by Dr. Kiana Aran who specialises in bio-medical engineering.

Need for the technology:

Genome sequencing and detection of anomalies inside the DNA are becoming prominent for accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease. This technique of presice medicine has developed to a greater extent in past half century, but still requires some expensive machines, reagents, and trained workforce for proper functioning. Also it requires an additional imaging device for visualizing the results. All this is a set-back and consumes both money and time. So, new techniques regarding these kinds of diagnosis are required.  

Development of Chip:

In an effort to answer the problem Dr. Kiana Aran and her team at UC Berkeley developed a chip based diagnostic device. The device consists of two key components:

• The dRNP- CRISPR molecule
• Graphene based field effector transistor (gEFT)

The chip is formed by combining the two components, the CRISPR-CAS is a DNA cutting tool having the ability to detect specific DNA segment with extreme precision, for the detection chip module a slightly modified module of CRISPR is being used which is able to detect the specific DNA segment but its ability of cutting the DNA has been deactivated. These modified CRISPR molecules are stacked on top of the graphene transistor layer, the graphene layer was preferred over the silicon based layer due to its higher electric sensitivity than the silicon.
What is graphene? See: https://crisprpedia.blogspot.com/2019/09/graphene-magic-material.html

CRISPR-gEFT Chip module

Functioning of CRISPR-Chip:

The raw DNA sample without subjecting to any amplification process is loaded on to the chip set. The DNA is taken by the CRISPR molecules and unzipped, it analyzes the whole segment of the DNA until it reaches hat part of the DNA where a specific part of the DNA or gene is present that has complementary sequence to the guide RNA present inside the CRISPR molecules. When the specific part is identified it binds with it and this hybridization of target DNA with the CRISPR module influence the electrical characteristics of graphene surface. This produces a signal resulting detection of mutations and abnormalities in DNA in short period of time.

Initial Trial:

For initial validation of the device a trial was conducted to check the effectiveness of the tech for this Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) disease was selected. This disease is caused by a exon deletion in the gene resulting in production of dysfunctional dystrophin resulting in to malformation of muscle fibres. Two of these exons the exon-3 and exon-51 are absent in all DMD patients. For the trial CRISPR chips specific for exon 3 and 51 were designed and DNA samples from the DMD patients and healthy donors were analysed using chip. Results exhibit that the healthy sample with exon 3 and 51 produces a strong signal in comparison to the DMD patient DNA sample.

Published Results-Courtesy Nature

Conclusion:

The device is an effective way for detecting certain mutation based disease on early stages, enabling on time detection and better diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The tech is a promising and effective one ensuring further enhancement in precision medicines.

Courtesy: Nature, UC Berkeley, Aran Lab.

Graphene: The magic material

Graphene is an allotropic form of carbon and posses some of the unique properties that are making this compound stand out of all other allotropic compounds of carbon. The compound was discovered in modern ages by two scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from the University of Manchester, UK.  After its initial discovery the compound soon began to make impact on every field of life and in recognition to their work they were awarded a physics noble prize in 2010. Graphene has unique physical and chemical properties and is much lighter, flexible and strong than many previously existing compounds.

Properties of Graphene:

One of the most unique properties of graphene is that its only one atom thick in nature. Graphene is composed of a simple 2D single layer of carbon atoms, which are closely packed in a hexagonal structure. Graphene is highly flexible material and can stretch to a great extent from its original shape. Graphene is lighter than any form of existing steel yet it is stronger than the strongest known form of steel. Graphene exhibits great intrinsic mobility to electrons moving through it. Graphene possess a very high rate of surface area and is generally many times greater than the carbon nano-tubes.

Uses of Gaphene:

Thanks to its unique properties graphene can be used for multiple purposes including :

Biological Use:

Graphene molecules are being used for the production of :

• Improved biodegradable polymeric nanocomposites for engineering bone tissues.
• Creation of graphene based fluids for better MRI imaging.
• Enhanced PCR activity by increasing DNA yields.
• Production of various kinds of bio-sensors, due to its unique thickness graphene based bio-sensors are nearly perfect water transparent and are not affected by any sorts of aqueous degradation of such bio-sensors.
• By applying certain bio-capture molecules on to the surface of graphene membrane multiple bio-sensors can be developed.
• Specifically designed graphene droplets are being tested for deliverance of drugs to special infected target tissues and cells.
• Researchers from the Texas University, USA have developed tattoo bio-sensors which when attached to the patient skin can monitor their body temperature and hydration levels.
• A research team at the University of California, Berkley, USA has used graphene layers for production of mutation detecting chips.

Treatment of Sea-Water:

Water is of great importance to mankind and without it the concept of life is nearly impossible. A large proportion of our water resource is in sea but due to high salinity it is unfit for both human and agriculture usage. Efforts are being made for the development of cheap water treatment methods. Recently researchers have developed graphene based special filters which filtrates the water with high success. It consists of thin layers of graphene with pores in it and these pores only allows water to pass through trapping out all the salt and pollutants resulting in production of fresh water. A recent effort by a research team from the CSIRO, Australia has shown the effectiveness of graphene for treating sea water and making it drinkable, the compound used is called as “Graphair”.

High strength Body armours:

In battlefield it is an absolute necessity for the soldier to be mentally assured of his own safety so that he can operate with absolutely no fear. Standard body armours present in market are usually made up of Kevlar and metal plates, and often fail to completely reduce the damage. Graphene armours could be answer to this problem, research group from the Georgia Tech University, USA  attempted to perofrate 2 layer of graphene with diamond tip and observed the diamond failed to break the layers showing the absolute strength of this material.

Improved batteries:

Grpahene also has great potential in improving the existing battery outlook, special graphene molecules when applied on to standard batteries improve their charging capacity and makes battery more durable. An ongoing research by Samsung R&D divivsion has developed batteries which can get fully charged five time faster than current duration and last much longer, graphene does this by preventing the degradation of cathohde and anode ends by continuous charging.

In a new effort recently Samsung R&D divivsion in a joint research venture with Seoul National University, South Korea has announced that they have developed a battery system for electric cars which can completely charge within 30 minutes and can last for up to 600Km drive.

Samsung Research Paper about improved batteries

Flexible Mobile Phones:

Grpahene is a highly flexible material and a material with great electric conductivity because of this it can also be used for manufacturing mobile phones and other wearable technology gadgets. Graphene also enables the creation of transparent display modules combined with its flexibility trait, tensile strength and electrical conductivity the material can be used for making mobile phones in near future. The material can definitely be used for production of more durable wearable gadgets that can withstand harsh environments and maintain their performance.

Rust Prevention:

Grpahene is an exceptionally strong material and applying it alongside other paint coats on cars and containers can prevent their rust and corrosion with upon reacting with corrosive materials. This thing can greatly revolutionize the automotive industry.

Space craft Materials:

Another effective application of this magic material comes in spaceships, these ships often get damaged upon existing or re-entering the earth’s orbit as the rubber insulation fails to maintain the shape due to massive quick temperature fluctuation. Graphene is an answer to this problem Vorbeck Technologies, USA graphene based rubber materials which are way more stronger than standard rubber and are not affected by temperature fluctuations, this further ensures the structural integrity and safe flight of spacecrafts.

Conclusion:

Graphene has come a long way since its discovery in 2004, so far it has shown some promising solution to existing problems faced by mankind , how far this tech can go on let’s see…

CRISPR/CAS Gene Editing in Space: A Science beyond the world

Humans are destined to achieve great things, moving along a passage that leads to greatness but this greatness is not just limited to the world, it actually goes way beyond this world. Over the past few years the novel gene editing tech CRISPR/CAS has completely revolutionized the scientific world changing the face of modern research. With multiple successful experiments all over the world over the past 6 years one could simply just think of what can be achieved further, last year a science-fiction movie “The Rampage” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson indicated about CRISPR based gene editing experimentation in space,  putting human mind in to thinking is it really possible? Well it is for sure… Scientists have recently successfully conducted first ever gene editing experiment in space, the experiment was itself was an idea turned in to a reality over a period of two years. The experiment was completed in two phases:

Phase I:

The experiment was proposed and designed by a group of high school students (including David Li, Aarthi Vijayakumar, Deniz Atabay, Guy Bushkin, Michelle Sung, and Rebecca Li) from the state of Minnesota for the annual Gene in Space Competition 2018,  an annual competition focused on enhancement of biology skills of high school students arranged by an organization consortium (ISS,NASA, New England Bio-labs, Boing and MiniPCR). The team of students from the Minnesota guided by the NASA scientists Sarah Wallace and Sarah Stahl. The proposal of editing genes of micro-organism in space and later on observing changes and repair mechanism of those genes was greatly praised by the committee and turned out to be the winner of annual competition. The consortium itself was impressed and decided to make this a reality.

From left to right, David Li, Aarthi Vijayakumar, Deniz Atabay, Guy Bushkin, Michelle Sung, and Rebecca Li by a Saturn V rocket during a trip to NASA's Johnson Space Center- Courtesy WhiteHead institute

Phase II:

After initial success of the concept, it was decided to execute this experiment and change it in to a reality. For this all necessary equipments were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) research Lab. The experiment was conducted by the astronauts Christina Koch and Nick Hague in ISS Labs. The organism of choice for this experiment was the “Saccharomyces cerevisiae” the common yeast. The yeast DNA was edited with CRISPR/CAS9, followed by growing of the culture and ultimately isolating the fungal DNA and sequencing it for the identification of whole genome structure and mutations before and after the experiment.

Nick Hague at the ISS, Lab

The Purpose:

One would simply wonder what was the exact purpose for this experiment… ??

The answer is a complex one, this experiment can be identified as an initial phase of a long research. The edits produced in yeast were to mimic the effect of those edits or mutations caused by exposure to cosmic radiations. The edits and DNA repairing mechanism was observed pointing out kind of changes caused by those radiations and their impact from gene to organism level. The knowledge gathered could be further used to identify the effect of cosmic radiations absorbed by astronauts followed by designing of such equipments and suits to minimize the absorption of such cosmic rays. This could further enable successful exploration missions on mars and probably beyond.

Nick Hague Showing edited yeast culture- Courtesy NASA 

Conclusion:

This entire experiment, its every single stage was carried out in space from editing to culture growing to the isolation of DNA and later on its sequencing and analysis. This experiments gives two unique results first opening up all new possibility of conducting the entire biological experiments in space or even on moon or Mars in future and second identifying effect of cosmic rays at gene level in real time which can give further knowledge for developing high-tech and reliable space suits for astronauts which will make space travelling even more easy and this all could lead to a possibility of better, more connected and more diverse inter-space research.

Courtesy: ISS, NASA, MIT review, Gene in space, White Head institute  

CRISPR Geo-Politics: A race to become global CRISPR superpower

CRISPR Geo-Politics: A race to become global CRISPR superpower

A code is what defines everything; a code is a combination of some characters which makes up a series of rules and regulations and constitutes a system, and a system is what that’s  necessary for the ongoing and creation of every aspect of nature. A code consists of all the hidden traits inside it and manages the working of a system. Binary code system is among the most common and basics code of computer, a simple combination of 0 and 1 which interprets chunks of data, analyzes it and prepare the corresponding responses ensuring the accurate working of a computer system and who ever can manipulate these code it is pretty much easy to say that he can manipulate the entire computer system. In a similar manner to the combination of 0 and 1 a related kind of code exists in every single living organism a combination of four letters (four nucleotide basis) namely A,T,G and C which defines the every aspect of life in different manners. These massive long chains of Letters (the nucleotides) code on for some specific bio-molecules in living beings and imparts the specific traits to each one of us and contributes to our unique identities. These sequences are all present inside the DNA of every living being, all that unique information encoded in our genome and in a similar manner to the manipulation of binary codes and controlling the entire computer system if one can also be finally enable to manipulate the genetic letter code present inside the DNA one can easily manipulate various life forms and decide their future prospect.

During the twentieth century in the middle of chaos and all the military face-off in the battle fields a secondary battle was going on behind closed doors inside secured research labs and facilities around the world when every major country was involved in a series of experimentation focused on altering, manipulating and mastering the genetics of human being most of such experimentation failed to produce results and with continuous failure and collapsing geo-political systems such researches were ultimately abandoned. One can easily take out from this that these researchers were limited and bounded by the technology of their time should they have been living in today’s world the outcome of all these research experiments would have been quite different, by the early twenty first century biological sciences have made some tremendous progress and the introduction of the gene editing technology the CRISPR is probably the biggest achievement of the century till now.

In simple words CRISPR  is a gene editing technology which enables the alteration of a large number of genes at once with high success ratio and quick results. But this is the scientific side of this tech and it has a more aggressive, intense, and dark side in form of geo-politics and power gaining strategies. The easy gene manipulation trait which is the simplest application of this tech is also the most deadly one as it is now finally possible to create desired alterations in genetic materials in real time the genetic code can finally be manipulated and whoever controls this manipulation of genetic materials, will master the control of manipulating various life forms and ultimately gain a massive control over the world (nature and every aspect of existence).

The Big Guns CHINA vs USA:

Like all the other ongoing battles and face off the two biggest competitors in CRISPR tech are none other than USA and China. The USA alongside its other western allies can very much be titled as the inventors of the CRISPR tech, but since its introduction in 2012 as a gene editing tool the Chinese are the one to understand the values and potential of this tech above all. Although a recent estimation by research watch groups labels the USA still being the overall leader in the total number of effective publications and the patents filed but the Chinese are closing the gap at an exponential rate. Presently the USA leads with nearly 3000 high rated papers in comparison to the Chinese who sits at number 2 with almost 2100 papers in addition the USA have highest number of patents 872 versus the China which sits at number two with 858 patents filed.

A part from this the experts around the world expect that China will easily outclass the US in a while where some believe the Chinese have already beaten the US in this ground. Many experts believe the thing that makes China way better is the close interaction and partnership between the Government and Private sector and the level of commitment for the gene editing research by the state. In a short period of time the Chinese have conducted successful gene editing experiments on various kinds of life forms including plants, Dogs, fungus and even humans. On one side where the western countries are dealing with legal and ethical issues of applying gene editing to for mainstream animal and human editing the Chinese are showing no signs of slow down as the world was shocked by the announcement of First ever birth of a genetically edited human. Though it trigged an ethical debate and questions about involvement of the government being tabled one cannot simply deny the fact that they achieved something that no one could have before this. The Chinese are also making significant progress with application of gene editing in plants for disease management and yield enhancements. According to recent estimation at least 20 big major research groups are working across China using gene editing techniques in plants and the state has injected a massive $10 billion in to the agriculture research sector which is a big step a head in China’s effort to feed it’s massive 1.4 billion population. In response to China’s aggressive approach the US is making its own move a recent project by the US DOD focuses on using gene editing technologies on insects to sustain certain genetically edited viruses which when injected in to plants will enable to resist the stress conditions. The two major powers are making prominent progress but who will be able to cash the best out of it is still a long debate particularly with the entrance of new players in the game.

Russia’s Move:

One of the key developments in recent time is the changing mindset of Russia the Russian’s were significantly anti-GMO type but they have made some prominent changes in their setup recently the Russian Government has announced to invest $1.7 Billion in to gene editing research for agriculture purpose. Dr. Alexey Kochetov Director of institute of cytology and genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences has praised this announcement from the government saying the genetic research in Russia has seen very slow growth for the past decade due to small investments from the government but this announcement is encouraging specially under the current conditions and will help the Russian scientists to match up with their counterparts from rest of the world. Also a group of Russian scientists announced their proposed plan of applying gene editing on human germline, which is a major step a head.

Russian President visiting research fields

Set-Back for the “EUROPE”:

Europe has enjoyed great prosperity in almost every major field of life but a recent decision by the Continents top most court has delivered a huge blow to the efforts of European Scientific Community. The court decision place the gene edited crops under same regulations to the GMO’s which  was a huge upset for the scientific community which insist the court must review its decision as the technology enables quick effective results and unlike GMO’s do not pose any imminent threat as no foreign DNA is being added in. the European research community is in total dismay and believes if not dealt quickly Europe will be in a huge deficit in the field of science.

The new Players in the Game:

Followed by the massive interest from the global powers other countries have also entered the play countries like Japan and Australia have indicated towards possible legislation to enable the use of gene editing freely and possible introduction of such products in consumer market. In recent developments the New Zealand government also announced to invest in gene eliding related experiments.

Conclusion:

What initially began simply as a scientific venture has now turned in to a global phenomenon, the technology has its positive aspects with introduction of high yielding crops, treatment of diseases, and environmental issues but it also has its dark side as this very tech could also be used for dark purposes like bio-terrorism and creation of super soldiers. This dual nature of the tech is main reason of interest for all major global powers who are now in a race to get the best out of this tech and become a global leader.

Courtesy: SingularityHub, GLP, BBC

Human Genome Editing: From China to U.S. –What’s next??

Human Genome Editing: From China to U.S. –What’s next??

Ever since the introduction of CRISPR/CAS system to the world it’s conversion and transformation in to a state of the art genome editing tool and its initial success stories, speculations have been made at various stages for the application of this technology on humans initially for the curing and preventing certain genetic disorders but in long terms for the creation of enhanced individuals with better physical and mental capabilities. The very reason for such consideration is because of the secrets wrapped inside our genome all the attributes that are possessed by humans are a resultant of what information is present in the genome, altering and manipulating that information simply means we can alter all attributes and ultimately the very existence of human individuals. Although such experiments are greatly criticized, prohibited and forbidden by governments, humanitarian groups, and scientific communities, such experiments are on a move one way or the other. Various trials are being conducted on small to medium scale in some parts of the world with US and China being the most prominent ones.

Human genome editing in China:

Since the dawn of the 21^st century the Chinese began with a promise to be the complete masters and global leaders in science and technology. Like other major technological fields like the artificial intelligence, high speed telecom and sustainable energy systems they adopted a similar approach in case of the novel CRISPR based genome editing technology. The technology turned out to be a feasible and effective one for genetic manipulation for the first time in 2013, the world was still in discussion of whether the tech should be used in human’s case or should be limited to certain plant and animal species alone while the world was still engaged in an argument the Chinese decided step up in this issue. In 2015 the first ever report of using CRISPR gene editing technology in human case came up front, a group of Chinese scientist had reported about their attempts for making mutation corrections in case of beta-thalassemia a heritable blood disorder, while they mentioned how the experiment was conducted and their ultimate goals they also explained how the tech caused multiple off target effects resulting in many off target mutations and rendered the edited embryos non-viable. In the year 2016 a second report came up with Chinese scientists attempting to create viable edits in human embryos for making them HIV resistant by altering a gene called the CCR5 but the edited embryos were not viable to proliferate. Initial attempts in human genome editing field by the Chinese was a proof how far they have come up in this field in comparison to rest of the world  and what achievements are possible once the trial is successful. In the year 2018 there came a time when the Chinese finally succeed; Dr. Hi Jiankui reported the creation/birth of first ever genetically modified humans the use of CRISPR technology for turning off CCR5 gene and preventing off target effects in embryos which enabled it to survive and later develop in to babies. The twins born are to be kept under a designed medical surveillance until they reach the age of 18, with their medical expenditures of all type to be covered up by Dr. Hi’s project. Following this announcement Dr. Hi met with a massive back lash from local and international authorities and was subjected to numerous investigations.

Dr. Hi Jiankui presenting his research at International Summit on Human Genome Editing IN Singapore

Human Genome Editing in Germany:

Germany became the first major Western country to allow the human genome editing clinical trials on a limited scale. A group of multinational biotechnology firms including CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex pharmaceuticals have enrolled 30 patients in a hospital in Regensburg, the patients will be treated for beta-thalassemia by creating a special single edit which will create a condition called Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin (HPFH) this results in production of fetal haemoglobin which is almost equally effective as normal haemoglobin and the resultant will be a reduction in overall effect of thalassemia.

Human Genome Editing in USA:

The USA in many means the home of CRISPR technology, place where it was created and where it was first used for genetic editing (not in humans), but there were still some hurdles in place, after various legal battles the FDA finally approved use of this tech in human trials on US soil for the first time ever. The first trial for use of CRISPR gene editing on humans was approved for 18 patients and has been applied to 2 patients till now. A group of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania is using CRISPR technology to cure cancer. For this the team is using a combination of CAR-T technique with CRISPR gene editing, in this the researcher are extracting out some of the host immune cells (T-cells) later on creating to edits in the cells; one at a gene called PD-1 which is exploited by cancer cells to put a halt to the immune cells, the second edit is in a receptor molecule used by immune cells for sensing danger and replacing it with a highly specific engineered receptor which will specifically target cancerous or tumour cells. After making the specific edits the cells will be infused back in to patient’s bodies for combating with cancer. The official results of the following trial will be published in detail in near future.

Immune cells specifically targeting cancer cells (Predicted) 

Conclusion:

The world is developing at a rapid pace in both directions positive and negative. To come up with negative part there is a dire need for developing affective defence strategies, in light of this issue genome editing technology could be of immense value but various constrains and specifically the ethical dilemma surrounding this tech is a major issue, and why all this questioning and ethical concerns now?? Where were all these ethicists when a handful of powerful organizations were busy in destroying our environment by exploiting the world in every manner? Question comes here is this really about ethical concerns or to pave a pathway for private sector to commercialize this tech completely and to have complete authority of this tech under so called government approved structures….

See Also:

https://crisprpedia.blogspot.com/2019/03/human-genome-editing-from-ethics-to.html

https://crisprpedia.blogspot.com/2018/12/human-genome-editing-road-to-creation.html

Lab In Snow: Creating Massive Genome Sequences In Glaciers And Ice Caps

Lab In Snow: Creating Massive Genome Sequences In Glaciers And Ice Caps

Courtesy Oxford Nanopore Tech.

To understand more about life and this world, opportunities are hidden in nature, new knowledge presents itself to be taken up for the mankind, new ways to unlock knowledge of life the genomes of living organisms are of key importance. The genome is composed of all the knowledge of life containing all information which can help in revealing many issues of life. For achieving these targets getting sequences of genome is important. Since the completion of Human Genome Project the sequencing techniques have been gradually improved day by day. But one of the major constrains in this journey is the detailed preparation of genomic libraries, transportation of these sample labs from one city to another and in some cases other country or even another continent. These sorts of delays could cost a lot in a longer view; in sort of genomic degradation, delayed results and some time loss of nascent species. In this moment of anxiety the answer came from Oxford University in form of their all new portable nano-pore sequencers “The MinION” (See:https://crisprpedia.blogspot.com/2018/10/minion-ultimate-future-of-genome.html). These sequencers have produced viable results in labs and following initial success the sequencer are now being tested in some extreme conditions. This post is focused on some such beautiful journey of creating massive sequencing in extreme conditions.

Journey to the Ice of Iceland:

Dr. Sarah Johnson from the Georgetown University went on to employ nano-pore sequencers to the remote ice caps of Iceland. She explained her journey to be remarkable, easy, fun, learning and adventurous. She greatly admired the level of easiness provided by the nanopore sequencers as multiple samples from different soils, lakes, and glaciers were collected with the corresponding genomic libraries prepared within a day and ready to be sequenced. They also observed a very negligible level of contamination during genomic library preparation prepared following protocols given by the Oxford Nanopore and using corresponding DNA kits. The key benefit of nanopore sequence was its swiftness and rapid result output with first results available in approx 30 mins. Dr. Sarah Johnson and her team greatly admired the minion sequencer and corresponding analysis tools as the enabled covering a large area in small time with a vast variety of samples analysed in a limited time period.

Courtesy Johnson  Biosignatures Labs.

Exploring glacier diversity of Greenland:

Conducting massive sequencing research in remote glaciers is always a great challenge. Dr. Arwyn Edward and his team worked on massive Russell glaciers of Greenland. Ice caps and glaciers command a beautiful diversity of life ready to be explored but often face a serious constrain in from of subzero temperature which makes the overall operation difficult to carried out. Dr. Arwyn and his team hoped to break this stereotype as the conducted massive meta-genomic sequences in Greenland and explored new microbial communities. The operation was carried out using the portable nano-pore sequencers the MinION. Meta-genomic libraries were prepared using corresponding extraction kits and fed to MinION for sequencing. In this way massive metagenomic sequences were carried out in ice glaciers in real time.

Conclusion:

Glaciers and ice caps covers a significant region of earth’s surface with an entire continent made up of ice and large regions in poles covered with ice, these places are usually having extreme weather conditions, subzero temperatures, long dark days, these conditions are un-conducive for human life sustainability so why is it still important for us to explore microbial communities and analyse all this data?? Answer to this question lie in the fact that climate change and rise in global temperatures is causing rapid melt and loss of ice sheets and their addition in mainstream water supply, along with these ice sheets corresponding microbial communities will become a part of water supplies as well. In time metagenomic sequences will help in timely identification of threat either the microbes are harmful or not and what steps should be taken to counter the threat. Recent reports already explains the havoc climate change is bringing with it as the permafrost melt releases some deadly pathogens back in environment after centuries of dormancy, real time sequencing could be helpful for countering this issue as well as real time sequencing will enable in time confirmation and marking geographical distribution pattern of such deadly pathogens and strategies to contain the plague.

Source: Oxford nano-pore, Johnson Biosignatures Lab, Psychropaths