We use genomics to develop and establish Cannabis as a crop for food, medicine, bioenergy, and fiber. The best plants, and the products derived from them, originate from specific combinations of genes that give them superior qualities.
Through accelerated breeding efforts using genetic markers, we apply phenotypic and agronomic insight to produce the most comprehensive platform for creating legitimate, commercial-ready plants or varietal lines.
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Sunrise Genetics
Staby technology
Staby Technology can be used for protein expression, as well as for plasmid DNA product.
No need to use antibiotics in the production process, therefore meeting regulatory guidelines.
Scalable fermentation process, the stabilization technology is solelybased on genetics elements and is directly scalable. The process can easily be transferred from R&D to industrial scale fermentation.
Perfect plasmid stabilization, that can result in higher yields for expressed proteins and plasmid DNA.
Access to the Staby technology: the technology is available through customized services, strain adaptation & productions, and/or licensing.
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Home - Delphi Genetics
At the forefront of animal genetics and reproduction technology, Total Livestock Genetics is committed to providing a link between evolving technologies and the commercial needs of producers, whilst maintaining optimum customer service.
Total Livestock Genetics (TLG) was formed in 1989 by Shane and Erin Ashworth in response to the need for an independent and professional semen and embryo collection service. Since that time, TLG has expanded its range of complementary services and now includes storage and despatch, import and export of genetic material, live animal export, as well as complete suite of reproductive services for equine and ovine clients.
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Total Livestock Genetics - TLG
November 8, 2019
"Bull of the Season!" is back! During each season of the year, we will feature a different bull that is leaving an impact. Check out the story on DAREDEVIL, on his breeders and how he came about. Also, we will be featuring the Bull of the Season on Facebook throughout the year. During the bulls specific season, please share your daughters by using the hashtag #bulloftheseason.
Read more
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New Generation Genetics Your Brown Swiss Leader
In this episode of Genetics Unzipped, recorded at the recent Festival of Genomics in London, Kat Arney finds out why its so important to make sure that both academic and commercial research studies are done with rather than on participants.
Research into genetic conditions relies on information from patients and their families, whether thats detailed health records or genomic data. As the tools and techniques for DNA and data analysis become cheaper and more organisations get in on this fast-growing field, its vital to make sure that the most valuable research resource human lives doesnt get overlooked in the rush.
Fiona Copelandis the chair of a support group for UK families affected by primary ciliary dyskinesia or PCD a rare genetic condition that affects the lungs and is the mother of two adult sons with the condition. Shes spent many years acting as a patient representative, engaging with academic and industry scientists looking to involve PCD patients in research into understanding and treating the condition. She explains what her role involves and shares her advice for how researchers can engage and involve patient groups more effectively. Her top tip? Dont make children cry!
Next Arney speaks with Patrick Short. Hes the CEO of Sano Genetics a Cambridge-based startup that aims to connect researchers with patients who want to take part in genomic research. While some companies using patients in research have come under scrutiny for poor handling of data and ethical compliance, Short is keen to help organizations do better and drive change in the fast-growing commercial genomics sector.
Finally, we hear from Shelley Simmonds, a disability rights campaigner and rare disease advocate whose son Fraser was initially given a diagnosis of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy as a baby. When Fraser didnt seem to be progressing as might be expected for a child with the disease, she and her family got involved in Genomics Englands 100,000 Genomes Project in search of clarity but things turned out not to be quite so simple. Shelley talks what happens when the question Whats wrong with my child? has no answer.
Full transcript, links and references available online atGeneticsUnzipped.com
Genetics Unzippedis the podcast from the UKGenetics Society,presented by award-winning science communicator and biologistKat Arneyand produced byFirst Create the Media.Follow Kat on Twitter@Kat_Arney,Genetics Unzipped@geneticsunzip,and the Genetics Society at@GenSocUK
Listen to Genetics Unzipped onApple Podcasts(iTunes)Google Play,Spotify,orwherever you get your podcasts
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Podcast: Nothing about me without meThe importance of involving patients in genomic research - Genetic Literacy Project
April 10, 2020Combining 89Zr-labeled antibodies with total-body positron emission tomography (PET) has extended the utility of novel total-body PET scanners, providing suitable images up to 30 days after the initial injection. A new study, published in the March issue of theJournal of Nuclear Medicine, compared four different types of 89Zr-labeled antibodies in preclinical trials, noting excellent consistency for each radiotracer even at very late time points, as well as differences in antibody behavior that are critical to understanding future outcomes of total-body PET in humans.
Monoclonal antibodies laboratory-developed proteins designed to recognize specific targets have been used in medicine for decades to treat various diseases, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Many new engineered monoclonal antibodies have been developed with specific molecular functions in order to achieve a balance between potency and safety in patient treatment.
"The tissue biodistribution of these newly engineered antibodies must be measured in vivo over the course of weeks to select the most appropriate candidates for novel therapeutics and understand how to use them in humans to best effect," said Simon Williams, Ph.D., principal scientist, molecular imaging at Genentech, Inc. "In our study, we assessed the feasibility of using a novel total-body PET scanner to image 89Zr-labeled antibodies up to 30 days after injection, allowing for the measurement of tissue biodistribution over a long period of time."
Researchers prepared four types of 89Zr-labeled antibodies, each with a different chelator-linker, to be compared across 12 young rhesus monkeys (three animals for each chelator-linker combination). Each group of animals received an intravenous injection of one of the four 89Zr-labeled antibodies in the left arm, along with an additional mass dose of unlabeled antibodies in the right arm. The animals were imaged on the day of injection, as well as three, seven, 14, 21 and 30 days after the injection.
Excellent image quality was obtained on the initial total-body PET scans for all four types of 89Zr-labeled antibodies. Results from the 30-day scans showed image quality across the four antibody types sufficient to readily identify activity in the liver, kidneys and upper and lower limb joints. However, significant differences in uptake between the various chelator-linker combinations were noted in the late time point liver, bone, and in whole-body clearance. These differences were determined to be partly related to the stability of the radiolabeled compounds prior to injection.
"The results of this study have two key implications for the field of molecular imaging," said Simon R. Cherry, Ph.D., distinguished professor at the University of California, Davis. "First, and most obvious, is that the increase in sensitivity of total-body PET, when compared to conventional PET, enables radiotracers to be followed for a longer period of time thus extending the imaging window. Using 89Zr as the radiolabel, this allows the assessment of slow biological processes and the ability to determine the ultimate fate of agents introduced into the body over a one-month timeframe."
He continued, "Second, studies with 89Zr can be conducted with much lower injected doses of radioactivity. The late time point total-body imaging conducted in this study clearly demonstrates that acceptable quality imaging with 89Zr can be accomplished when there is as little as 1/100th of the activity remaining in the subject. This paves the way for broad and repeat use of 89Zr-radiolabeled tracers in patients with extremely low effective doses."
The authors of "Total-Body PET and Highly Stable Chelators Together Enable Meaningful 89Zr-Antibody PET Studies up to 30 Days After Injection" include Eric Berg, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Davis, Davis, California; Herman Gill, Jan Marik, Annie Ogasawara and Simon Williams, Department of Biomedical Imaging, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California; Guus van Dongen and Danille Vugts, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Simon R. Cherry, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, and Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, California; and Alice F. Tarantal, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, and California National Primate Research Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, California.
For more information: http://www.snmmi.org
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Total-body PET Imaging Successfully Identifies Antibodies up to 30 Days After Injection - Imaging Technology News
04/11/2020 | 07:43am EDT
Bruker partners with ANPC to support major new frontline response to combat the COVID-19 threat
Bruker is proud to partner with Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC) at Murdoch University to support the work of their researchers into the COVID-19 pandemic threat.
The ANPC team, led by world-renowned phenomics pioneer and academician Professor Jeremy Nicholson, and working with the South Metropolitan Health Service COVID-19 Response Team and the broader Western Australian (WA) healthcare community, has launched a major research and diagnostics project to better understand and predict variation in COVID-19 severity and determine the complex genetic, environmental and lifestyle interactions that influence its pathogenicity in individuals. Later they will engage with clinical trials of novel antiviral agents and when available vaccines in order to predict responder/non-responder outcomes.
Accelerating time to diagnosis
The goal is to deliver diagnostic and prognostic solutions in an accelerated time-frame. Most importantly, the risk of severity of infected patients needs to be assessed rapidly to help guide and optimize the clinical patient pathway. Researchers at the ANPC will use a range of state-of-the-art Avance IVDr nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and timsTOF Pro Impact II and Solarix MR mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation from Bruker, as well as data modeling approaches, to perform broad and deep metabolic analysis of the molecular, physical and biochemical characteristics of blood plasma and urine samples to create informative translational models. These models will predict variation in the severity of the disease and help understand differential responses to therapeutic interventions.
Professor Nicholson said: 'At the ANPC, we are dedicating 100% of our resources to the COVID-19 fight for at least a year. This is the greatest emergent healthcare challenge on the planet and there is no better equipped metabolic lab in Australia, or possibly anywhere in the world, to undertake this type of investigative work in an excellent clinical and hospital framework.
'Linked to our genomics team, led by Professor Simon Mallal and Associate Professor Mark Watson, we're setting out to identify specific biomarkers of the disease to figure out who has it, how we can detect it and stratify patients by severity risk, and assess the real time patient responses to treatments.':
Scientific partnership to drive clinical research
Frank H. Laukien, Ph.D, President and CEO of Bruker Corporation, commented: 'We are strongly committed to supporting Professor Nicholson and his team scientifically and technically. The comprehensive COVID-19 clinical research plan at Murdoch University into metabolic biomarker patterns of diseases, prognosis, and treatment response is exceptional.
'In particular, I hope that the team can find evidence-based clinical protocols very soon to reduce mortality in 'phase 2' of COVID-19 with its life-threatening lower respiratory tract infections. Medical science needs to determine urgently whether broad spectrum antibiotics and/or immunosuppressants improve survival statistics in 'phase 2', when viral pneumonia, potential bacterial pneumonia or ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), as well as lung inflammation due to our own immune systems' cytokine storms, appear to create a very dangerous set of co-morbidities.'
Unique bio sample collection capability
The project will see the ANPC working hand-in-hand with Professor Merrilee Needham of Murdoch University and Notre Dame University, and Professor Toby Richards of the University of Western Australia, who are bringing together the top doctors and researchers from WA through the Western Australian Health Translation Network (WAHTN) led by Professor Gary Geelhood for the COVID-19 Response Team.
It is anticipated that all new COVID-19 patients will be consented for testing on admission and later for clinical trials, with the ANPC running the samples from those trials and tests, including longitudinal urine and plasma metabolic monitoring.
Commenting on the unique position of the WA-based research team, Professor Richards said: 'We are in the second wave and have the opportunity to be prepared for COVID-19. We have built a unique platform in WA to collect patient data and bio samples to enable a thorough understanding of the disease and response to treatment.'
Mitigating current and future threats
Understanding the pathways to infection and the biological consequences will enable the development of effective treatments and vaccines to mitigate the current threat to thousands of people across the world. This pioneering work will also prepare us for the threat of viral pandemics in the future.
About the Australian National Phenome Centre
The Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC), led by Murdoch University, will transform how long and how well people live, not just in Australia, but around the world. The work of the ANPC supports almost every area of bioscience. It reaches across traditional research silos and fosters a new, more collaborative approach to science. Long-term, the ANPC hopes to build 'global atlases' of human disease, providing insights into future health risks which everyone on the planet can benefit from. The only facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the ANPC brings together all five Western Australian universities and leading health and medical research institutes. It is linked to the International Phenome Centre Network and also has wide applications in agriculture and environmental science. The ANPC positions Perth and WA as a global leader in precision medicine, and enables quantum leaps in predicting, diagnosing and treating disease. It is part of the Health Futures Institute at Murdoch University.
Technology and partners
The ANPC is equipped with multiple state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) instruments from ANPC strategic alliance partners Bruker BioSpin and Bruker Daltonics. Bruker is a manufacturer of scientific instruments for molecular and materials research, as well as for industrial and applied analysis.
Phenomes
A person's phenome is a dynamic fingerprint of their unique biology resulting from the complex interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Phenomics is the study of how the environment and a person's lifestyle interacts with their genes to influence their health and risk of disease. Metabolic phenotyping is the analysis of biological tissue and fluid to uncover the specific interactions of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors at a molecular level.
The team
Professor Jeremy Nicholson
An internationally renowned pioneer in metabolic phenotyping and systems medicine, Professor Nicholson leads the ANPC. He currently holds the appointment of Pro Vice Chancellor for the Health Futures Institute at Murdoch University. Professor Nicholson is a Highly Cited Scholar who has published more than 800 peer-reviewed papers on molecular aspects of body systems medicine. A Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Nicholson comes to WA from Imperial College London where he was the founding director of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre and previously Head of Surgery and Cancer. He is currently an Emeritus Professor of Biological Chemistry at Imperial College London.
Professor Elaine Holmes
Another systems medicine pioneer, Professor Holmes is a Highly Cited Scholar and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences. Professor Holmes also comes to WA from Imperial College London where she was previously Head of the Division of Computational and Systems. She is Professor of Computational Medicine and a Premiers' Fellow, Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University She also holds a current appointment at Imperial College London as Professor of Chemical Biology.
Dr Ruey-Leng Loo
Premier's Intermediate Fellow, Senior Lecturer, ANPC, Murdoch University.
Professor Toby Richards
Michael Lawrence Brown Chair of Surgery UWA, Honorary Professor Institute of Clinical Trial Methodology University College London, Director COVID Research Response.
Professor Merrilee Needham
Senior Consultant, Director of Research, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch University & University of Notre Dame Australia.
About Bruker Corporation
Bruker is enabling scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker's high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity and customer success in life science molecular research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, and in industrial applications, as well as in cell biology, preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics and proteomics research and clinical microbiology.
Disclaimer
Bruker Corporation published this content on 11 April 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 April 2020 11:42:05 UTC
Technical analysis trends BRUKER CORPORATION
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Bruker : partners with ANPC to support major new frontline response to combat the COVID-19 threat - Marketscreener.com
LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to a hospital Sunday for tests, his office said, because he is still suffering symptoms, 10 days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Johnsons office said the admission to an undisclosed London hospital came on the advice of his doctor and was not an emergency. The prime ministers Downing St. office said it was a precautionary step and Johnson remains in charge of the government.
Johnson, 55, has been quarantined in his Downing St. residence since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26 the first known head of government to fall ill with the virus.
Johnson has continued to preside at daily meetings on Britains response to the outbreak and has released several video messages during his 10 days in isolation.
In a message Friday, a flushed and red-eyed Johnson said he said he was feeling better but still had a fever.
The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, but for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and lead to death.
U.S. President Donald Trump offered encouragement to Johnson as he opened a White House briefing on the pandemic Sunday. All Americans are praying for him, Trump said.
Johnson has received medical advice remotely during his illness, but going to a hospital means doctors can see him in person.
Dr. Rupert Beale, a group leader of the cell biology of infection lab at the Francis Crick Institute for biomedical studies, said doctors would likely be monitoring important vital signs such as oxygen saturations, as well as performing blood tests, assessing Johnsons organ function and possibly performing a CT scan on his chest to assess his lungs.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been designated to take over if Johnson becomes incapacitated, is set to lead the governments coronavirus meeting Monday.
Johnsons fiancee, Carrie Symonds, 32, revealed Saturday that she spent a week in bed with coronavirus symptoms, though she wasnt tested. Symonds, who is pregnant, said she was now on the mend. She has not been staying with the prime minister in Downing St. since his diagnosis.
The government said Sunday that almost 48,000 people have been confirmed to have COVID-19 in the U.K., and 4,934 have died.
Johnson replaced Theresa May as Conservative prime minister in July and won a resounding election victory in December on a promise to complete Britains exit from the European Union. But Brexit, which became official Jan. 31, has been overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe.
Johnsons government was slower than those in some European countries to impose restrictions on daily life in response to the pandemic, leading his critics to accuse him of complacency. He imposed an effective nationwide lockdown March 23, but his government remains under huge pressure to boost the countrys number of hospital beds and ventilators and to expand testing for the virus.
London has been the center of the outbreak in the U.K., and politicians and civil servants have been hit hard. Several other members of Johnsons government have also tested positive for the virus, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock and junior Health Minister Nadine Dorries. Both have recovered.
News of Johnsons admission to hospital came an hour after Queen Elizabeth II made a rare televised address to the nation, in which she urged Britons to remain united and resolute in the fight against the virus.
We will succeed and that success will belong to every one of us, the 93-year-old monarch said, drawing parallels to the struggle of World War II.
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again, she said.
Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hospitalized with virus - The Republic
Students share their thoughts on memes, mobile apps, websites in light of COVID-19, social distancing
As with any unprecedented event, memes about COVID-19 and online classes are abundant and highly popular. The Facebook group Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens, formatted in the style of other college meme pages and created on March 11, has over 510,000 members at the present moment and is described as a meme page for college studs stuck doing online courses in closed universities.
On Instagram, users are participating in a variety of challenges that include drawing carrots on their stories and tagging friends, posting ugly pictures with the caption until tomorrow and sharing a list of people who inspire them. According to a Business Insider article, TikTok was approaching 2 billion installs as of March 13 and was the most popular non-gaming app worldwide something the publication attributed to bored users impacted by the virus [] logging daily life under quarantine and social distancing.
Third-year electrical engineering major Gauruv Virk uses Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Wildfire and YouTube on a daily basis, and he posts to his YouTube channel once a week. Virk said that in a time of crisis such as this, its crucial that social media put out as much accurate and helpful information as possible.
I think it is important that the public is at a place where they can trust the information they receive in order to make informed decisions for themselves and those around them, Virk said via email. Ive also always valued humor and entertainment, and during times like these I think its important for social media to provide as much of it as possible as a way to keep people distracted and at ease.
Virk said the pandemic is currently being addressed all over social media pointing to examples of YouTube videos that depict people in group settings appearing alongside disclaimers stating that these videos were filmed before shelter-in-place took effect.
The influence of meme pages and trends cant be ignored in times like these, Virk said via email. They are the new way of conveying topical information to an incredibly impressionable and media-driven population, and so to dismiss them entirely would be a disservice to anyone that is trying to stay informed in todays world.
TikTok
Second-year cell biology major Mehrab Hussain downloaded TikTok last summer when he was studying abroad.
I downloaded TikTok solely to watch one creator, Hussain said via email. I had seen some of his videos posted on Instagram and really loved him, but refused to download TikTok, as I was going through the phase that everyone initially goes through regarding the app: its stupid, cringe and a waste of time. I eventually caved and downloaded the app, only following the creator who I wanted to see and limiting myself to that. That didnt last long though, as I fell down the rabbithole of downloading TikTok casually or as a joke, then becoming addicted and finding myself scrolling mindlessly for hours on end.
Last month, around the beginning of when the world started to fall apart, Hussain made a Davis-related TikTok that went viral. His TikTok, which references the tornado that touched down in Davis in late September, the WarnMe notice alerting students to a man armed with a machete seen on campus in early March and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, was posted on the UC Davis meme page on March 10 and received over 1,000 likes. After that, he saw it go viral on TikTok, receiving more than 270,000 views, 34,000 likes and 200 comments.
We were coming up on finals, COVID-19 was still serious, but not serious enough to [move Spring Quarter online] yet and it was a time of great uncertainty, fear and confusion, Hussain said via email. There were just so many crazy events going on at the time, and during the school year for us Aggies [] that I figured why not do something that would lighten everyones spirits.
Even though the TikTok took a while for Hussain to put together and involved many outfit changes, the idea came to him all at once probably while he was zoning out in one of his classes, he said.
Friends from out-of-state and people he hadnt talked to since middle school reached out to tell Hussain that he was on their For You page a customized page curating specific content for every TikTok user.
To me that was the craziest thing, somehow being everywhere and having all my friends, both local and from other states, and thousands of strangers hype me up and support me, Hussain said via email. My sister in high school even texted me saying that I had been the first video to show up on her For You Page. It boggles my mind how many people it reached, and how many of my own friends and their friends from all over somehow saw me.
Hussain said the most shocking incident was when someone walked up to ask if he was the guy in the TikTok video that she had loved and reposted.
I found out that she was actually in my class, but we did not know each other and she somehow recognized me and remembered seeing my face in class, Hussain said via email. I was in shock after, just about how someone actually recognized me on campus from a video online. To top it all off, she asked me after class if I could take a picture with her! At that point I was just so at a loss for words and shook, to put it simply.
Hussain has noticed changes to TikTok since the outbreak of COVID-19, notably through the content on the app. Not only are there more hashtags and memes, but there are also videos with preventative tips and even a warning about the virus, which his video received. He also shared his thoughts on how COVID-19 and social distancing are impacting creators.
Were confined to our homes and forced to stay inside, obviously for the better, as the only way to slow this virus down is through social distancing, Hussain said. I think in order to entertain themselves, more and more people have given up the preconceived negative notion of TIkTok and downloaded it. Ever since the quarantine, I noticed a lot more smaller creators and videos that had not amassed thousands of likes, which I found really cool since this meant more people were creating content and the app was constantly getting saturated with more and new videos.
Facebook meme pages
There has been quite a lot of activity on the UC Davis Memes for Egghead Teens page on Facebook some, but not all, of which has to do with COVID-19 and related changes to instruction and administration.
Third-year computer science and economics double major Julie Deng and third-year computer science major Jason Lin made the Davis Purity Test out of quarantine boredom and posted it to the meme page on March 28. The website describes it as an unofficial purity test designed to satirize the ideal experience of a student at UC Davis, inspired by the Rice Purity Test and the Berkeley Purity Test.
Everyone was reposting the UC Davis bingo on their Instagram stories, Deng said. So we figured that we wanted to do an extended version of that and just had the Davis Purity Test as the result.
They noted that the test looks similar to the original, as they used the original template accessible on GitHub, made changes to formatting and background and changed the questions, with the help of some friends, to be UC Davis-specific. Deng said she asked a few of her friends for some of the 21 plus questions because she is underage and wanted their input about bars.
It was interesting to see people tag all of their friends, and they thought it was pretty impressive, Lin said. We didnt really put that much time into making it, so it made us feel pretty good.
Another popular meme in the UC Davis meme page, created by fifth-year design and electrical engineering double major Karli Ching, has the text when you realize Canvas is the coronavirus in disguise with a side-by-side comparison emphasizing the similarities between the Canvas logo and the visual representation of the COVID-19 virus. The post received over 1,000 likes.
This was Chings first meme she was reading about COVID-19 and happened to go to Canvas immediately after.
Many of us, including myself, often joke about how Canvas and school are evil, Ching said via email. I saw the Canvas logo and thought it looked like the virus image that I had just seen in the article I read, and decided to make the meme.
Ching thinks that viral memes can help clue people in to significant events, something that Virk and Hussain also mentioned.
Since people have been adhering to social-distancing and shelter-in-place, Ching said meme content relates to these new norms, but the memes themselves dont really change.
I think memes are a humorous way for us to face reality, and I think humor is a way for us to also find relief in stressful situations, Ching said via email.
Written by: Anjini Venugopal features@theaggie.org
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From the meme page to a UC Davis-themed viral TikTok, how students are using social media during the pandemic - The Aggie
Our brain contains tens of billions of nerve cells (neurons) which constantly communicate with each other by sending chemical and electrical flashes, each lasting a short one millisecond (0.001 sec). In every millisecond, these billions of swift-flying flashes altogether traveling in a giant star-map in the brain that lights up a tortuous glittering pattern. They are the origins of all body functions and behaviours such as emotions, perceptions, thoughts, actions, and memories; and also brain diseases e.g. alzheimers and parkinsons diseases, in case of abnormalities.
One grand challenge for neuroscience in the 21st century is to capture these complex flickering patterns of neural activities, which is the key to an integrated understanding of the large-scale brain-wide interactions. To capture these swift-flying signals live has been a challenge to neuroscientists and biomedical engineers. It would take a high-speed microscope into the brain, which has not been possible so far.
A research team led by Dr Kevin Tsia, Associate Professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Programme Director of Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering of the University of Hong Kong (HKU); and Professor Ji Na, from the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) offers a novel solution with their super high-speed microscope two-photon fluorescence microscope, which has successfully recorded the millisecond electrical signals in the neurons of an alert mouse.
The new technique is minimally invasive to the animal being tested compared to the traditional method that require inserting an electrode into the brain tissue. Not only is this less damaging to the neurons but also can pinpoint individual neurons and trace their firing paths, millisecond by millisecond.
The result of this ground-breaking work has recently been published in the academic journal Nature Methods. The project was funded by the National Institute of Health, U.S.
At the heart of the high-speed microscope is an innovative technique called FACED (free-space angular-chirp-enhanced delay imaging) developed by Dr Tsais team earlier (note 1). FACED makes use of a pair of parallel mirrors which generate a shower of laser pulses to create a super-fast sweeping laser beam at least 1,000 times faster than the existing laser-scanning methods.
In the experiment, the microscope projected a beam of sweeping laser over the mouses brain and captured 1,000 to 3,000 full 2D scans of a single mouse brain layer (of the neocortex) every second. To probe the genuine electrical signals that pulse between the neurons, the team inserted a biosensor (protein molecules), developed by Dr Michael Lin of Stanford University, into the neurons of the mouse brain.
These engineered proteins will light up (or fluoresce) whenever there is a voltage signal passes through the neurons. The emitted light is then detected by the microscope and formed into a 2D image that visualises the locations of these voltage changes, said Dr Tsia.
This is really an exciting result as we now can peek into the neuronal activities, that were once obscured and could provide the fundamental clues to understanding brain functions and more importantly brain diseases, he added.
Apart from electrical signals, the team also used the microscope to capture the slow-motion of chemical signals in the mouse brain, such as calcium and glutamate, a neurotransmitter, as deep as one-third of a millimeter from the brains surface.
A notable advantage of this technique is the ability to track the signals that do not trigger the neuron to fire weak neuronal signals (called sub-threshold signals) that are often difficult to capture and detect, which could also happen in many disease condition in the brain, but have yet been studied in detail because of the lack of high-speed technique like the one developed by the team.
Another important feature of the novel technique is that it is minimally invasive. The classical method for recording electrical firing in the brain is to physically embed or implant electrodes in the brain tissue. However, such physical intrusion could cause damage to the neurons, and can only detect fuzzy signals from a couple of neurons.
This is so far a one-of-its-kind technology that could detect millisecond-changing activities of individual neurons in the living brain. So, this is, I would say, the cornerstone of neuroscience research to more accurately decoding brain signals.Dr Tsia said the team would work to advance the capability of the microscope.
We are working to further combine other advanced microscopy techniques to achieve imaging at higher resolution, wider view and deeper into the brain in the neocortex, which is about 1 millimeter. This will allow us to probe deeper into the brain for a better and more comprehensive understanding of the functions of the brain. he added.
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HKU biomedical engineers achieve significant breakthrough in neuroimaging with novel high-speed microscope to capture brain neuroactivities - India...