E V O L V E.

An organoid is an artificial grown mass of cells/tissues from stem cells that that resemble an organ, and recently, scientists from the University of British Columbia  have successfully managed to grow perfect human blood vessels as organoids in petri dishes for the first time. Every organ is linked to our circulatory system, so by perfectly simulating the in-vivo environment, it could allow researchers to unravel the causes and treatments of many vascular diseases (class of diseases of the blood vessels) e.g. diabetes, strokes, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular diseases etc. by mimicking the characteristics of organs, which can be used as models to identify these new treatments. This is a huge breakthrough in terms of diabetes treatment - blood vessels in people with diabetes often thicken so that efficient transport of oxygen and other nutrients vital for the relevant tissues is reduced, and over time, can lead to aggravated issues such as kidney failure and strokes. Lab-gr...

If a retrovirus (any of a group of RNA viruses which insert a DNA copy of their genome into the host cell in order to replicate) infects a sperm or egg, the viral DNA can be passed on to generation after generation. Once retroviruses become inherited, scientists refer to them as endogenous retroviruses. Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are a viral element in the human genome. They make up 5-8% of the human genome (roughly 100,000 pieces of viral DNA). ERVs eventually lose the ability to infect new cells, but can still form copies of their DNA which can be inserted into a cell's genome. Viruses replicate by using their attachment proteins to fuse with host cells, inserting their genetic material into the host and using the host's machinery e.g. ribosomes to form copies. Over time, thousands of DNA sequences, called transposons have been left behind in many lifeforms e.g. humans and mice. These transposons have a role in the action of genes. A recent study by NYU School of Me...

Photorespiration is a type of metabolic reaction which takes place in plants - they take up oxygen in the light and give out some carbon dioxide, contrary to photosynthesis.  It is a highly wasteful pathway (due to being extremely energy-expensive) that decreases the yield of plants hugely (occurs when the Calvin Cycle enzyme rubisco acts on oxygen rather than carbon dioxide, using up fixed carbon). If a plant photorespires, instead of photosynthesising, its yield can be severely reduced by 20% (in wheat) and 36% (in soybeans)! Rubisco, or in full, ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase is an enzyme present in chloroplasts which is involved in photosynthesis. This enzyme, as well as energy from the sun is used to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugar hat fuels a plants growth. However, over hundreds an thousands of years, the enzyme finds it difficult to distinguish between oxygen and carbon dioxide, and may attempt to combine oxygen and water, forming a toxic product, wh...