Nobel Laureate, author, researcher and experiencer Kary B. Mullis has died at the age of 74. Mullis revolutionized the field of DNA research—and indeed all disciplines that involve the use of our genetic code—with his invention of the biochemical process known as the polymerase chain reaction. Mullis is also anread more
The clinical definition of physical death occurs when an individual’s heart stops beating and brain stops functioning, but what about other biological functions that still carry on after these two admittedly important processes cease? Medical science has long assumed that neurons degrade quickly after their supply of oxygen and nutrients are cut off, but a recent study on post-mortem cellular processes has upended these traditional notions of how long the body’s cellular processes continue after death, showing that some types of cells can be not only alive for days afterward, but some are also more active than when the individual was still alive and kicking.
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Researchers studying potential security issues surrounding open-source computer programs used to analyze DNA have found that most common sequencing software is the subject of poor security practices, leaving such systems open to cyberattacks and exploits. While the researchers haven’t found any evidence of attacks made against DNA synthesizing, sequencing and processing services, they did find that it is possible to encode a computer virus into synthetic DNA that could conceivably infect the computer that is analyzing this altered genetic code.
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Researchers at Harvard University have recorded the first digital movie recording in the DNA of bacteria, including having successfully retrieved the recording for playback.read more