"Science" special issue focuses on five major biological revolutionary technologies
September 07, 2018 Source: Science and Technology Daily
Window._bd_share_config={ "common":{ "bdSnsKey":{ },"bdText":"","bdMini":"2","bdMiniList":false,"bdPic":"","bdStyle":" 0","bdSize":"16"},"share":{ }};with(document)0[(getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||body).appendChild(createElement('script')) .src='http://bdimg.share.baidu.com/static/api/js/share.js?v=89860593.js?cdnversion='+~(-new Date()/36e5)];In recent years, modern life sciences and biotechnology have made a series of important breakthroughs. From the microscopes that have previously observed cell structures to the tools that allow the modification of biological life codes, new technologies are accelerating our understanding of biological systems and are moving into application areas. penetration. Gene editing, precision medicine, and high-throughput sequencing have begun to be talked about. These biotechnology have great potential in solving problems such as resources, environment and health.
Recently, Science magazine published a special issue on technology transformation biology. The special issue contains 1 editorial, 4 reviews and 1 research paper, including Chinese scientists such as Lu Guanda, Zhuang Xiaowei, Cheng Yifan and Xie Xiaoliang. These articles highlight powerful new technologies that are breaking down possible barriers in biological research.
CRISPR-Cas Technology
The diversity, modularity and effectiveness of the CRISPR-Cas system is driving a biotechnology revolution. In the first review, Gavin Knott and Jennifer Doudna outlined the CRISPR-Cas system, discussing the differences between the CRISPR-Cas system and other gene editing techniques, and the system. How to treat human genetic diseases (such as muscular dystrophy) and design the genetic characteristics of crops.
In vivo DNA writing technology
In a second review, Timothy Lu and Fahim Farzadfard discuss another dynamic genomic engineering technique, in vivo DNA writing, which enjoys cellular DNA. The name of the recorder. This technology converts genomic DNA into a medium that stores biological and artificial information in living cells. The authors outline a range of potential uses for this technology, including the creation of living biosensors to track cell lineage throughout development, and to discuss technical features and current limitations.
Ultra high resolution microscopy
In the third review, the Zhuang Xiaowei team outlined ultra-high resolution microscopy methods, advanced features, and applications that are expanding in biology. Due to the long-standing obstacles of traditional optical microscopy that break through the diffraction limit, ultra-high-resolution imaging methods can display molecular details that were previously unobservable in biological systems, so they can be used for nanoscale 3D imaging of cell structures and living systems to help understand The molecular basis of life, such as revealing the form and function of neuronal synapses. Despite the limitations of this technology, one day, further developments in technology will enable a comprehensive understanding of the signaling pathway and its associated molecular composition.
Cryoelectron microscopy
In the fourth review, Cheng Yifan focused on another type of imaging, cryo-EM (cryo-EM), which opened up a new era in structural biology. This review outlines the evolution of cryo-electron microscopy and discusses their breakthroughs and future directions. Among them, single particle cryo-electron (EM) helps researchers resolve the three-dimensional structure of proteins near near-atom resolution. Cheng Yifan believes that this technology has completely changed the solution to the complex problems in structural biology and opened a new door for other research based on structure.
Dip-C - a new genomic 3D structure reconstruction
Finally, in this issue of the report, Xie Xiaoliang team proposed a new genomic three-dimensional structure reconstruction method. In addition to sequences, the 3D structure of the genome plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression. Although previous studies have reported the 3D genomic structure of mouse haploid cells, reconstituting the 3D genomic structure of diploid mammalian cells remains a challenge. The researchers developed a new single-cell chromatin conformation capture technique (Dip-C) to successfully reconstruct the 3D genomic structure of individual diploid human cells. Studies have also shown that the 3D genomic structure depends on the tissue of the source, and systematic investigations of cell types in various tissues have the potential to trigger new discoveries in cell differentiation, cancer, learning and memory, and aging.
Where is the advantage of this technology and what applications? Dr. Tan Longzhi, the first author of the study, said: "The advantages of Dip-C technology are mainly two. First of all, its resolution is higher than that of ordinary optical microscopes, and the fine structure of genes can be studied. For example, we observed H19. /IGF2 This classic imprinting site. More importantly, using only a slight difference of 0.1% between the parental genomes, we were able to distinguish between the two sets of chromosomes, and for the first time obtained the three-dimensional structure of the diploid cells. Studying haploids, so only a special mouse haploid cell line can be studied, which is ineffective against normal cells, especially human cells. So Dip-C is particularly suitable for studying various human tissues, such as our whole body and brain. The various neurons, immune cells, epithelial cells, etc., provide an excellent tool for building high-resolution human cell maps. Many other diseases, especially cancer, are associated with significant chromatin structure and epigenome abnormalities. One of the most important indicators of cancer in medicine is the size and shape of the nucleus, so Dip-C is also very suitable for studying these diseases." Xiao Feng of the Department of Zhongshan University graduate)
FOSHAN PHARMA CO., LTD. , https://www.foshanpharma.com