720,896 GB of Data Stored onto a single gram of DNA

Researchers at Harvard, led by George Church, Sriram Kosuri and Yuan Gao, have managed to store a whopping 704-terabytes of data (1 Terra Byte Equals 1024 GB, the hard disk in my PC is 500 GB) onto a single gram of DNA. the feat was made possible by stuffing "96 bits into a DNA strand by treating each base (A, C, G, T, also called Codons. Codons are basic units in a DNA) as though it's a binary value. Watch the video below:





At present, the processing time is too slow for time-sensitive content, and cells with living DNA would destroy the strands too quickly to make them viable for anything more than just transfers.

Where the Scientists are seeing its use:

Scientists are hopeful of a day where A DNA strand will store the entire history of ... well, Humanity.


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Harvard , Innovations , Science in action

720,896 GB of Data Stored onto a single gram of DNA

Anil Singh Monday, August 20, 2012

AeroShot Inhaler, Your Breathable cup of coffee

AeroShot Inhaler, Your Breathable cup of coffee

It takes some minutes to feel the ‘Stimulating Effects’ of a cup of Coffee (Caffeine is the stimulating agent in Coffee).

This made a Harvard guy create a product, which allows you to inhale caffeine Instead of drinking it.

David Edwards, a biomedical engineering professor, created AeroShot, a lipstick-sized case of breathable caffeine; claiming to give the user tremendous stimulation at the word go.

The act of putting it in your mouth is the act of breathing — so it’s sort of surprising and often people the first time they take the AeroShot, they laugh, informs Edwards.

Last month, Edwards launched the product commercially with a French company.

Some concerns:

According to some, this instant caffeine inhaler could be misused as a party drug. Making Aeroshot another, Four Loko, the caffeinated alcohol drink launched last year; which was removed from shelves for misuse.

However, Edwards insisted the product is safe.

While AeroShot contains no alcohol, each case packs 100 milligrams of lime-flavored caffeine and vitamin B.
The concerns about Aeroshot emanate from the usual recommendations of the medical fraternity, which keep cautioning people not to ingest too much caffeine, even if they are inhaling it.

What goes against these caffience inhalers is the speed at which they release large amount of stimulant to the inhaler’s blood stream. For instance, if a person drinks 10 cups of coffee, it will probably take him/her a couple hours to get through all that coffee; but with these caffeine inhalers, the person gets all that caffeine within the hour of the inhale.

Aeroshot, which started selling in US last month, for $2.99 a piece, is not selling well.

NOTE: The AeroShot package warns users not to take more than three AeroShots a day (more than three shots a day can result in unconsciousness and even worst). Kids under 12, pregnant women and people allergic to ragweed are advised not to use it. ---------

AeroShot Inhaler , Caffeine Inhaler , Harvard , Health

AeroShot Inhaler, Your Breathable cup of coffee

Anil Singh Sunday, February 12, 2012

Harvard Majors’ new book makes hard core philosophical topics interesting to common Joe

Books on hard core philosophy are often read by those with discreet liking for those subjects.
But philosophical discourses can offer troves of actionable wisdom to humans; that’s why there’s always a need to force a philosophy book on the hands of those who run miles on the mere mention of the word ‘philosophy’.

Two Harvard Grads and Groucho admirers have done just that; they have written a philosophy book that even a staunchest of philosophy hater will find interesting.

The Book:

Plato and a platypus walk into a bar … is an account of what tanspires between Plato and platypus. The book is a philosophical-comedic treatise on understanding philosophy through jokes. The way in which such confound topics are tackled by the Plato and the Platypus, could even confound Confucius – a way very philosophical and very funny; a manner never found in university philosophy courses. In short, in the book, the humour is actually intended.

About the Authors:

Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein are clearly qualified to expound on their theories. Both have majored in philosophy at Harvard. Cathcart, ever in search of his soul and true knowledge, dropped in and out of divinity schools and worked with street gangs in Chicago.

Klein wrote jokes for comedians and set up stunts for Candid Camera on the TV.

The book takes the line of the authors’ philosophical grandfather, Groucho marx; and hence dedicated to him.

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . .: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
by: Thomas Cathcart
publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), published: 2008-06-24
ASIN: 0143113879
EAN: 9780143113874
sales rank: 8017
price: $6.73 (new), $1.80 (used)

This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school

Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense! ---------

Harvard , New Books

Harvard Majors’ new book makes hard core philosophical topics interesting to common Joe

Anil Singh Saturday, December 10, 2011

Rewriting the code of life as simple as find-and-replace function in MS Word

The recent achievement of MIT and Harvard researchers in the field of genetic engineering is akin to the find-and-replace function in word-processing programs we use in our daily lives.

MIT and Harvard researchers have developed technologies that could be used to rewrite the genetic code of a living cell, allowing researchers to make large-scale edits to the cell’s genome (DNA sequence, also called hereditary info sequences, which are key to evolution in living organisims). According to scientists, such a technology could enable them to design cells that build proteins not found in nature, or engineer bacteria that are resistant to any type of viral infection.

DNA is Double helical. Note that it has Thiamine in place of Uracil

RNA is single helix. Note that it has Uracil

The breakthrough, which is published in the July 15 issue of Science, can overwrite specific DNA sequences throughout the genome, similar to the find-and-replace function in word-processing programs.

Using this approach, the researchers can make many number of targeted edits to the genome of a bacteria like E. coli (found in human colon, and helps in food digestion), apparently without disrupting the cells’ useful function.

Understanding How DNA’s code is edited

Inside every cell, the evolutionary component is DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) or RNA(Ribonucleic acid). DNA consists of long strings of “letters” that code for specific amino acids. These letters which form the genetic code appear on the basis of a set of rules, by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences inside a cell) is translated into proteins (amino acid sequences) by living cells. The code defines how sequences of three nucleotides, hence called codons (A- Adenine, G=Guanine, T=Thiamine, U=Uracil. The codons are in a pair of three, with uracil replaced by thymine in RNA. Plants have RNA). Every organism uses the same genetic code to translate those letters into amino acids, which are then strung together into proteins. And courtesy proteins, All Living organisms, from single cellular ones to Blue whale, evolve in size, complexity and functions.

To help you understand better, the Picture 2, shows a graphic representation of how scientists are replacing a code unit, with one of their objective. Picture 1 shows the structure of a DNA.

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It took researchers seven-years to develop this genetic rewriting technology at cell level (all living beings are formed of cells). Initially the scientific community was sckeptical about the research, fearing easy manipulation if in evil hands. ---------

Genetic Engineering , Harvard , Innovations , MIT Engineer

Rewriting the code of life as simple as find-and-replace function in MS Word

Anil Singh Friday, July 15, 2011