Bahasa pemrograman semakin banyak dipelajari oleh banyak orang. Hal
ini terkait dengan kemajuan zaman yang menjadikan teknologi sebagai hal
penting untuk menunjang kemajuan. Bagi pembaca yang ingin mempelajari
bahasa pemrograman, hal dasar yang harus dipahami adalah algoritma
pemrograman tersebut. Untuk mengerti apa itu algoritma pemrograman,
silahkan simak pembahasan di bawah ini.
Dalam matematika dan ilmu komputer, algoritma adalah urutan atau
langkah-langkah untuk penghitungan atau untuk menyelesaikan suatu
masalah yang ditulis secara berurutan. Sehingga, algoritma pemrograman
adalah urutan atau langkah-langkah untuk menyelesaikan masalah
pemrograman komputer.
Dalam pemrograman, hal yang penting untuk dipahami adalah logika kita
dalam berpikir bagaimana cara untuk memecahkan masalah pemrograman yang
akan dibuat. Sebagai contoh, banyak permasalahan matematika yang mudah
jika diselesaikan secara tertulis, tetapi cukup sulit jika kita
terjemahkan ke dalam pemrograman. Dalam hal ini, algoritma dan logika
pemrograman akan sangat penting dalam pemecahan masalah.
Untuk contoh algoritma dalam matematika seperti di bawah ini:
Algoritma untuk menghitung nilai y dari persamaan y = 3x + 8
Algoritmanya adalah:
Mulai
Tentukan nilai x
Hitung nilai y = 3x + 8
Cetak nilai x dan y
Selesai
Walaupun algoritma bisa dibilang jantung ilmu komputer atau
informatika, tetapi jangan beranggapan bahwa algoritma selalu identik
dengan ilmu komputer saja. Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, terdapat banyak
proses yang dinyatakan dalam suatu algoritma. Misal cara memasak mie,
cara membuat kue, dan lainnya.
Jika kita buat algoritma memasak mie akan seperti di bawah ini:
Siapkan 1 bungkus mie instan, 400 ml air (2 gelas), panci, mangkok, sendok, dan garpu
Masukkan 400 ml air kedalam panci
Masak air
Tunggu hingga mendidih
Masukkan mie kedalam panci yang sudah berisi air mendidih
Tunggu dan aduk hingga 3 menit
Jika sudah matang masukkan bumbu
Aduk hingga rata
Sajikan mie
Penyajian algoritma secara garis besar dapat dibagi dalam dua bentuk
penyajian yaitu tulisan dan gambar. Algoritma yang disajikan dengan
tulisan yaitu dengan struktur bahasa tertentu (misalnya bahasa Indonesia
atau bahasa Inggris) dan pseudocode. Pseudocode
adalah kode yang mirip dengan kode pemrograman yang sebenarnya seperti
Pascal, atau C, sehingga tepat digunakan dalam menggambarkan algoritma
yang akan dikomunikasikan kepada programmer.
Sedangkan untuk algoritma yang disajikan dengan gambar adalah dengan flowchart. Flowcart adalah bagan (chart) yang menunjukkan alir (flow) di dalam program atau merupakan prosedur sistem secara logika. Flowcart digunakan untuk alat bantu komunikasi dan untuk dokumentasi.
This Molecule Could Be the Key to Regenerating Human Tissue
FUTU
In Brief
Researchers have discovered that IL6, a molecule produced
by tissue damage, plays a critical role in reverting cells back to their
embryonic state during cellular reprogramming.
Scientists can now explore ways to use IL6 to enhance the
efficiency of cellular reprogramming and harness our bodies'
regenerative power to fight disease and aging.
An Important Molecule
Back in 2006, stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka figured out how to
use a series of four genes (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and MYC, or OSKM) to
reprogram adult cells into pluripotent cells. These “master”
stem cells are the precursor to all types of cells and give the body
the ability to heal itself using its own cells. Figuring out how to
induce them in adult cells opened up innumerable new doors for the field
of regenerative medicine.
However, Yamanaka’s reprogramming process came with several
limitations. Not only did it have a low efficiency rate, some trials
even showed the emergence of teratoma tumors, making the process
unreliable for clinical use. Now, a new study published in Science takes
this research one step further, providing new insight into how the
reprogramming mechanism works and ways we could potentially harness it
for practical usage.
Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have
demonstrated that damage in the cells plays a critical role in
reverting the cells back to their embryonic state. Study author Manuel
Serrano and his colleagues noted that exposure to the OSKM genes causes
damage to the cells. That damage causes the cells to secrete a molecule
called interleukin-6 (IL6), and it’s this molecule that promotes the
reprogramming into pluripotent cells.
Credit: Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)
The Power of Self-Healing
Cell reprogramming literally takes old cells and makes them new
again, so figuring out how to take advantage of this ability of the body
to heal itself could be the key to curing many diseases, including
degenerative conditions related to aging. By furthering our
understanding of how this process works, the researchers open doors for
scientists to target ways to manipulate IL6 to enhance the efficiency of
cellular reprogramming.
This promising field of medicine has spurred several other studies. The successful reprogramming of connective tissue into cardiac tissue could lead to a cure for heart failure. Fibroblast scar cells have been manipulated to become lining in blood vessels, and doctors have been able to restore a patient’s vision using skin cells that were converted into pluripotent cells and then into eye cells.
There’s a long way to go before we fully understand the wonders of
cell reprogramming, but continued studies may soon give us the ability
to fully harness the regenerative power of our own bodies.
source Ilmu kerasMolekul ini Bisa Jadi Kunci Regenerasi Jaringan Manusiafutu Secara singkat
Para peneliti telah menemukan bahwa IL6, molekul yang diproduksi
oleh kerusakan jaringan, memainkan peran penting dalam mengembalikan
sel-sel kembali ke keadaan embrio mereka selama pemrograman ulang sel. Para ilmuwan sekarang dapat mengeksplorasi cara untuk menggunakan IL6
untuk meningkatkan efisiensi pemrograman ulang sel dan memanfaatkan
kekuatan regeneratif tubuh kita untuk melawan penyakit dan penuaan. Sebuah Molekul Penting Kembali
pada tahun 2006, batang peneliti sel Shinya Yamanaka menemukan cara
untuk menggunakan serangkaian empat gen (OCT4, Sox2, KLF4, dan MYC, atau
OSKM) untuk memprogram ulang sel-sel dewasa menjadi sel pluripoten. Ini
"master" sel induk adalah pendahulu untuk semua jenis sel dan
memberikan tubuh kemampuan untuk menyembuhkan dirinya sendiri
menggunakan sel sendiri. Mencari tahu bagaimana untuk mendorong mereka di sel dewasa membuka
pintu baru yang tak terhitung untuk bidang kedokteran regeneratif. Namun, proses pemrograman ulang Yamanaka datang dengan beberapa keterbatasan. Tidak
hanya itu memiliki tingkat efisiensi yang rendah, beberapa percobaan
bahkan menunjukkan munculnya tumor teratoma, membuat proses tidak dapat
diandalkan untuk penggunaan klinis. Sekarang, sebuah studi baru yang diterbitkan di Science mengambil
penelitian ini satu langkah lebih jauh, memberikan wawasan baru
bagaimana mekanisme pemrograman ulang bekerja dan cara kita berpotensi
memanfaatkan itu untuk penggunaan praktis. Para
peneliti di National Research Centre Kanker Spanyol (CNIO) telah
menunjukkan bahwa kerusakan pada sel-sel memainkan peran penting dalam
mengembalikan sel-sel kembali ke keadaan embrio mereka. penulis studi Manuel Serrano dan rekan-rekannya mencatat bahwa paparan gen OSKM menyebabkan kerusakan pada sel-sel. kerusakan yang menyebabkan sel untuk mengeluarkan molekul yang disebut
interleukin-6 (IL6), dan itu molekul ini yang mempromosikan pemrograman
ulang ke dalam sel pluripoten. Kredit: Spanyol National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)Kredit: Spanyol National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) The Power of Self-Healing Sel
pemrograman ulang harfiah mengambil sel-sel lama dan membuat mereka
baru lagi, jadi mencari tahu bagaimana untuk mengambil keuntungan dari
kemampuan ini tubuh untuk menyembuhkan dirinya sendiri bisa menjadi
kunci untuk menyembuhkan berbagai penyakit, termasuk kondisi degeneratif
yang berhubungan dengan penuaan. Dengan memajukan pemahaman kita tentang bagaimana proses ini bekerja,
para peneliti pintu terbuka bagi para ilmuwan untuk menargetkan cara
untuk memanipulasi IL6 untuk meningkatkan efisiensi pemrograman ulang
sel. bidang ini menjanjikan pengobatan telah mendorong beberapa penelitian lainnya. Pemrograman ulang sukses dari jaringan ikat dalam jaringan jantung dapat menyebabkan obat untuk gagal jantung. sel fibroblast bekas luka telah dimanipulasi menjadi lapisan dalam
pembuluh darah, dan dokter telah mampu mengembalikan visi pasien
menggunakan sel-sel kulit yang diubah menjadi sel pluripoten dan
kemudian menjadi sel mata. Ada jalan panjang untuk pergi sebelum kita memahami keajaiban
pemrograman ulang sel, namun studi lanjut akan segera memberikan kita
kemampuan untuk sepenuhnya memanfaatkan kekuatan regeneratif dari tubuh
kita sendiri. sumber
Failing Antibiotics Could Kill 300 Million by 2050. Now, We May Have a Way to Fight Back
Jun MT/Shutterstock
In Brief
A team of Australian researchers have proposed a new
method for tracking antibiotic resistance, focusing on the resistance
genes that give the pathogens their deadly boost.
While this new method of tracking is more complicated, it would
provide doctors with valuable insights that could result in more
effective treatment options.
Tracking the Source
The problem of antibiotic resistance has
been slowly but steadily moving into the limelight. World leaders have
talked about it at the United Nations General Assembly, and the UN has even declared it a “crisis,” but the resources and methods currently used to combat it are proving inadequate. However, a newly proposed tracking protocol may offer hope for battling this growing threat.
Scientists from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and La Trobe University have
proposed taking a wholly difference approach to how we define and track
antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Instead of tracking antibiotic
resistance by counting the number of pathogens that have developed said
resistance like we currently do, these scientists propose we start tracking the resistance genes that give the pathogens their deadly boost.
Shifting from tracking resistant pathogens to resistant genes doesn’t
sound so hard, but it’s actually fairly complicated. Microbes are
capable of something called horizontal gene transfer, which allows them
to transfer their genes between different species of microbes, including
those that don’t affect us. This means that the new system of tracking
would require us to not just count the number of infections with
resistant pathogens, but also test our sewage, hospitals, and general
environment to figure out what kinds of resistant genes they host.
Knowledge is power
Once we do that, scientists will have a better understanding of which
resistances thrive in particular locales, which will give doctors a lot
of valuable information about their enemy. If they know which
resistances are present in their area, they know which antibiotics to
prescribe and which ones to “rest” until a later date.
Not only would this new system of tracking for antibiotic resistance
allow doctors to provide their patients with the most effective
treatment, it would also ensure they don’t blindly give out stronger
antibiotics than necessary. Limiting the microbes’ exposure to these
drugs means they will have less of a chance to develop stronger
resistances.
If we don’t take action, antibiotic resistance is expected to cause an estimated 300 million preventable deaths and a cumulative loss of $100 trillion USD by
2050. We need to start taking this threat seriously as the devastation
it could cause is on par with climate change, and like climate change,
better tracking and defining of the problem will give us a better shot
at stopping it.
Cassini Is Preparing for Its Dramatic Death-Dive Into Saturn
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
In Brief
Twelve years after reaching Saturn, NASA's Cassini mission
will begin its final phase this week, exploring the planet's outer
rings before crashing to its surface in April.
The mission has taught us so much about our neighboring
planets, identifying the first off-Earth lakes and hurricanes and making
the first landing in our outer Solar System.
Going In For A Kiss
On November 30, after dancing with Saturn for 12 years, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft
is swooping in for a kiss, plunging very close to the planet’s
unexplored F ring to collect samples of ring particles and faint gas
molecules while maintaining a distance safe enough from the debris —
over 4,850 miles (7,800 kilometers).
A gravitational nudge from one of Saturn’s moons, Titan, will propel Cassini along as it enters the first phase of what NASA is calling
“the mission’s dramatic endgame.” From tomorrow through April 22, the
craft will plunge through the unexplored area in the planet’s outer
rings every seven days for a total of 20 times. The Sun produces a glowing spot as it is positioned behind Saturn’s B ring. NASA/JPL.
“We’re calling this phase of the mission Cassini’s Ring-Grazing
Orbits, because we’ll be skimming past the outer edge of the rings,”
said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, California. “In addition, we have two instruments that can
sample particles and gases as we cross the ringplane, so in a sense
Cassini is also ‘grazing’ on the rings.”
An Epic Finale
Launched in 1997, the Cassini spacecraft’s mission was to probe and image Saturn, its moons, and its rings, beginning with its arrival in 2004 until
its expected end in 2008. Since then, however, the mission has been
extended twice, and it has been responsible for some of the biggest
breakthroughs in space exploration: its landing on Titan was the first
ever successfully completed in the outer solar system, it captured the
first off-Earth hurricane, and it identified the first lakes anywhere
beyond Earth.
This new phase of Cassini’s mission will provide in-depth,
high-quality, high-resolution views of Saturn’s moons, main rings, and
the small moonlets mixed in with them. It might also be able to capture
images of dust clouds as positions become favorable, such as when the
Sun backlights the planet in Cassini’s view in March. Cassini’s final phase. NASA/JPL-Caltech.
No doubt Cassini’s ring-grazing phase will be phenomenal, but so will
the way the spacecraft intends to take its final bow. To make sure it doesn’t collide
with Saturn’s moons and potentially infect them with Earth microbes
when it runs out of fuel, Cassini will instead repeatedly dive through
the narrow gap between Saturn and its rings, over and over as it slowly
runs out of fuel and eventually falls down into Saturn’s embrace.
With Cassini’s mission complete and the craft making its final
resting place on the planet it has studied for a dozen years, NASA will
focus on its next generation of spacecrafts, including Orion, which will
send astronauts on missions beyond the Moon. We’ve learned a lot from Cassini, and now it’s time to look to the future of space exploration.
HP’s Successful Test Heralds A New Computing System That’s 8,000 Times Faster
Richard Lewington/Hewlett-Packard
In Brief
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's successfully tested
Memory-Driven Computer relies on photonic/optical communication links
and is faster than traditional computers by leaps and bounds.
While this was just a proof-of-concept, we can start to see
real progress with innovations in memory coming in the next few years.
Memory Over Processing Power
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) successfully tested an ambitious new model that challenges how computing is done today. In a press release,
HPE announced that it successfully tested a proof-of-concept computing
architecture that’s memory-driven. As HPE explains, it is “a concept
that puts memory, not processing, at the center of the computing
platform to realize performance and efficiency gains not possible
today.”
The prototype was developed as part of The Machine,
HP’s computer of the future, leading the company’s efforts to
revolutionize the fundamental architecture by which all computers have
been built in the past 60 years.
The proof-of-concept prototype was able demonstrate how computer
nodes sharing a pool of Fabric-Attached Memory, speedy
photonics/optical-based communication data links, and a customized
software can make it all work. Simulations suggested
that a memory-driven computing (MDC) system can be “multiple orders of
magnitude” faster than conventional PCs — faster by 8,000 times, in some
cases.
The Future of Computing
“With this prototype, we have demonstrated the potential of
Memory-Driven Computing and also opened the door to immediate
innovation,” said Antonio Neri,
Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Enterprise Group at
HPE. And the potential is indeed huge. The technology can greatly
enhance the performance of servers and other higher-end computers, as
HPE intends to use it. But it can also trickle down into versions that
can even improve Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Improving the IoT has been one of the objectives of developing The Machine.
However, as exciting as it is, the tech still needs to be made
practical. Non-volatile memory, which is crucial for an MDC system, is
still to expected to come sometime in 2018 or 2019.
Still, the proof-of-concept works, and that is what’s important.
Everything else, at this stage, will simply be a matter of making it
real. Soon, when we consider buying computers, we may be looking at the
memory specs of devices more than their processing power.
Free Science: A New Company is Making Peer Review Science Free For Everyone
Ben Broomfield / The Guardian
In Brief
ScienceMatters is a new journal seeking to democratize
scientific knowledge by taking away some of the pretense associated with
the most prestigious journals.
Greater access by more thinkers to more knowledge is a wonderful ingredient to boost scientific discovery.
The Science World’s Culture of Prestige
Access to knowledge is the best tool we have to solve all of the
world’s greatest and most mysterious questions. In the scientific
academe, everyone covets a publication in prominent journals like Cell, Nature, or Science. However, prestige is hard to come by—these journals typically accept only 5 to 10 percent of submitted work. ScienceMatters
is a science publishing company that aims to change the perspective
on scientific research by providing a more democratized platform.
The founders criticize top journals for only taking more alluring work. Lawrence Rajendran,
founder and CEO of ScienceMatters, said that this criteria for
acceptance makes “competition for space is extremely high so there needs
to be that wow factor.” Many scientists craft their work specifically
to please journal editors, in order to attain the most citations.
Stacking of citations is often the basis of hiring and promoting
researchers, which developers consider to be unjust.
Science for Everybody
The journal’s acceptance criteria is more general. As long as the
topic has a solid foundation in science and concrete evidence, their
anonymous panel of editors take in the work. The developers behind the
publication desire to drive scientific research back to a joy of
curiosity and discovery, instead of the mere glorification of big names
and citations.
“[The] publish or perish culture instills a hostile scientific
environment, pressuring young researchers to outperform their peers,
which can lead to data fraud,” Rajendran explained.
Other open-access peer review platforms also aim to deviate from a culture of prestige in the science world, including eLife and Frontiers.
These open-access platforms are arms reaching out encouraging more
minds to keep learning and innovating. There’s always something new to
discover, always another problem to solve, all we have to do is reach
for the right tools.
Unlocking the Physics of Our Universe: Unusual Numbers Found in Particle Collisions
CERN
In Brief
Values computed from particle physics experiments seem to
correspond with periods, a specific set of unusual values found in a
branch of mathematics.
If physicists are able to understand this connection, they
could use it to simplify their prediction process and gain insight into
the messy world of quantum mechanics.
Finding Patterns
Mathematicians and physicists have noticed a strange coincidence
occurring between their respective fields: the values computed from
particle physics experiments seem to correspond with a specific set of values found in a branch of mathematics called algebraic geometry.
Particle physicists conduct some of their most advanced experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, and many of those experiments generate gigabytes of data. To make sense of that information, the physicists use Feynman diagrams, simple
representations of the particles and outputs connected to their
collisions. Lines and squiggly lines in the diagrams represent the
particles and their interactions from the collision. When details like
mass, momentum, and direction are added to the diagram, the physicists
can calculate the Feynman probability, the likelihood that a collision
will occur according to their diagram.
While making these calculations, they noticed that the numbers
emerging from their diagrams were the same as a class of numbers from
pure math: periods. These values describe motives, which are basically
the building blocks of polynomial functions. When you get two
polynomials with the same period, you know that the motives will be the
same. One example of a period is pi. Because that period appears in both
the integral defining the function of a sphere and the one defining the
function of a circle, a mathematician can know that the motives for a
sphere and circle are the same.
Quanta Magazine
Order in Chaos
To get the probability that a specific outcome will arise from a
collision, physicists need to take the associated integral of each
possible Feynman diagram scenario and add it to all the other integrals
to find the amplitude. Squaring the magnitude of that number will give
them the probability. The problem comes when working with complicated
collisions that cause loops (particles emitting and reabsorbing other
particles in the middle of the collision process). Calculating amplitude
is far harder with more loops, but adding in more increases the
potential accuracy of the diagram.
If there is a connection between periods and Feynman diagrams,
understanding it would help physicists be more accurate with their
predictions. They could simply look at the structure of a Feynman
diagram to get an idea of its amplitude, skipping over the potentially
thousands of calculations that would otherwise be necessary. This would
make creating and running particle physics experiments far less
complicated and offer key insights into the quantum world, which, in
turn, could lead to the quantum computers that would revolutionize the fields of engineering, gene processing, machine learning, and much more.
source Ilmu kerasMembuka Fisika Universe kami: Bilangan biasa Ditemukan di Partikel TabrakanCERN Secara singkat
Nilai dihitung dari percobaan fisika partikel tampaknya sesuai
dengan periode, satu set nilai-nilai tertentu yang tidak biasa ditemukan
di cabang matematika. Jika fisikawan mampu memahami hubungan ini, mereka bisa menggunakannya
untuk menyederhanakan proses prediksi mereka dan mendapatkan wawasan ke
dalam dunia berantakan mekanika kuantum. menemukan Pola Matematikawan dan fisikawan telah melihat sebuah kebetulan yang aneh
terjadi antara bidang masing-masing: nilai dihitung dari percobaan
fisika partikel tampaknya sesuai dengan seperangkat nilai-nilai tertentu
yang ditemukan dalam cabang matematika disebut aljabar geometri. fisikawan
partikel melakukan beberapa eksperimen yang paling canggih mereka di
Large Hadron Collider di Jenewa, dan banyak dari mereka percobaan
menghasilkan gigabyte data. Untuk
memahami informasi itu, fisikawan menggunakan diagram Feynman,
representasi sederhana dari partikel dan output terhubung ke tabrakan
mereka. Garis dan berlekuk-lekuk garis di diagram mewakili partikel dan interaksi mereka dari tabrakan. Ketika rincian seperti massa, momentum, dan arah ditambahkan ke
diagram, fisikawan dapat menghitung probabilitas Feynman, kemungkinan
bahwa tabrakan akan terjadi sesuai dengan diagram mereka. Sementara
membuat perhitungan ini, mereka melihat bahwa angka yang muncul dari
diagram mereka sama sebagai kelas nomor dari matematika murni: periode. Nilai-nilai ini menggambarkan motif, yang pada dasarnya adalah blok bangunan dari fungsi polinomial. Ketika Anda mendapatkan dua polinomial dengan periode yang sama, Anda tahu bahwa motif akan sama. Salah satu contoh dari periode adalah pi. Karena periode yang muncul di kedua integral mendefinisikan fungsi
bola dan yang mendefinisikan fungsi lingkaran, matematikawan dapat
mengetahui bahwa motif bola dan lingkaran adalah sama. Majalah QuantaMajalah Quanta Urutan Chaos Untuk
mendapatkan probabilitas bahwa suatu hasil tertentu akan muncul dari
tabrakan, fisikawan perlu mengambil integral terkait setiap skenario
yang mungkin diagram Feynman dan menambahkannya ke semua integral
lainnya untuk menemukan amplitudo. Mengkuadratkan besarnya jumlah itu akan memberi mereka probabilitas. Masalahnya
muncul ketika bekerja dengan tabrakan rumit yang menyebabkan loop
(partikel memancarkan dan reabsorbing partikel lain di tengah-tengah
proses tabrakan). Menghitung amplitudo jauh lebih sulit dengan lebih loop, tetapi menambahkan lebih meningkatkan akurasi potensi diagram. Jika
ada hubungan antara periode dan diagram Feynman, pemahaman itu akan
membantu fisikawan lebih akurat dengan prediksi mereka. Mereka
hanya bisa melihat struktur diagram Feynman untuk mendapatkan ide dari
amplitudonya, melompati berpotensi ribuan perhitungan yang seharusnya
diperlukan. Hal ini akan membuat menciptakan dan menjalankan eksperimen fisika
partikel jauh lebih rumit dan menawarkan wawasan kunci ke dalam dunia
kuantum, yang, pada gilirannya, dapat menyebabkan komputer kuantum yang
akan merevolusi bidang teknik, pengolahan gen, pembelajaran mesin, dan
banyak lagi. sumber
India Just Unveiled the World’s Largest Solar Plant
Keith Harkins / Andrew Choi
In Brief
With 2.5 million individual solar panels across more than
10.36 square kilometers, India's new plant is capable of powering
150,000 homes.
The facility puts India on track to be the world's
third-biggest solar market by next year, joining several other countries
on the path to creating a fossil-fuel free future.
Solar as far as the eye can see
Images of India’s Kamuthi Solar Power Project
have just been unveiled, giving people across the globe a look at the
planet’s largest solar plant. The facility is equipped with 2.5 million
individual solar panels across more than 10.36 square kilometers (4
square miles) in Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu, and construction on it was
completed in just 8 months.
The plant adds 648 megawatts to the country’s current energy capacity
and is capable of powering 150,000 homes. It is a huge step forward in
India’s plans to make solar power accessible
to more of its citizens. By 2022, the country hopes to produce solar
power for 60 million homes — a goal aligned with the government’s vision
to generate 40 percent of India’s power from non-fossil fuel sources by
2030.
With this new plant and its continued dedication to sustainable
energy, India is expected to become the world’s third-biggest solar
market by next year, trailing after China and the United States.
The End of Fossil Fuels
India’s is one of many nationwide initiatives to minimize, if not completely eliminate, the use of fossil fuels. Chile’s efforts
to produce renewable energy have already led to the country creating
far more energy than its northern grid needs, driving the country’s
energy cost down to nothing. In the same vein, the UK has made a
commitment to completely eliminate use of coal by 2025, and in the past
six months, they’ve managed to produce more electricity from solar energy than
through their traditional coal plants. Meanwhile, Spain is hoping to
become a leading country for sustainable energy by setting a goal to generate 100 percent of its power from renewable sources — it’s already able to produce enough energy from wind to power 29 million homes on a daily basis.
These pioneering nations are demonstrating the promise and viability
of green energy options. As those options become even more accessible
and economically viable, we’re sure to see other countries follow their
good example.
A New Chinese Satellite May Have Just Paved the Way for Deep Space Missions
NASA
In Brief
The next space race may be upon us in the form of x-ray
navigation satellites that can be used to pinpoint spacecraft
positioning within 5 km (3.1 miles).
The future of deep space travel is about to start taking its
first steps. Being able to map the cosmos is a far cry from traveling
them, but an essential first step.
Navigating Deep Space
Man is gearing up to traverse the stars deep than every before. To that end, China launched the Long March 11 rocket this
past November 10th, carrying with it a number of satellites. The most
notable of these is one that could very well define deep space
navigation for the future of space exploration.
China’s X-ray Pulsar Navigation 1 (XPNAV 1) satellite is the world’s
first x-ray navigation system. Prior to the XPNAV 1, the only way for
spacecraft to keep track of their location is through the earth-based
NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) and ESA’s European Space Tracking
(ESTRACK). Even with all their capabilities, these don’t really allow
for spacecraft to “boldly go where no one has gone before” — a feat more
possible using x-rays.
“In a nutshell, it is the cosmic equivalent of GPS,” said John Pye,
the manager at the University of Leicester’s Space Research Center. The
XPNAV 1 satellite, equipped with two power-generating solar arrays and
two detectors, weighs about 240 kg (529 lbs). The satellite will run
tests and gather data to build the pulsar x-ray database. Credits: chinaspaceflight.com
X-Ray Marks the Spot
X-ray navigation (XNAV)
relies on x-ray pulsars, usually found in systems with two stars. X-ray
hotspots are generated when a denser neutron star pulls in gas from the
other star via its magnetic field. As the pulsar rotates on its axis,
it produces x-ray pulses at short intervals, which can then be used like
a GPS system (with pulses instead of satellites). The time differential
of the pulses from multiple pulsars can be measured and used by a
spacecraft to determine its own location in the solar system within 5
kilometers (3.1 miles). The key is to find pulsars with more consistent
pulses.
If the XPNAV 1 successfully conducts its mission, spotting x-ray
pulses and mapping them to build a database, space exploration will
forever be changed. “Having at least a semi-autonomous system makes
things easier in terms of navigation as you get to the outer solar
system, the outer planets like Jupiter, Saturn and beyond,” Pye said.
China isn’t the only one exploring the technology, NASA is currently developing SEXTANT
(Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology), which
will be installed on the International Space Station in 2017.
The Missing Universe: CERN Has Started Searching for “Dark Photons”
Getty Images
In Brief
Dark matter seems to outweigh visible matter roughly six to one, making up about 27% of the universe.
Physicists from CERN now believe there's a fifth universal
force that rules the behavior of dark matter, and is transmitted by a
particle called the dark photon.
The Fifth Force
The universe is shrouded in mystery—a shroud so dark, in fact, that 27 percent of the matter in it is “dark.” Dark matter
does not interact with photons and electromagnetic waves, so it’s
invisible to our eyes and to every kind of telescope. Basically, it’s
the darkness that surrounds every celestial body, and we only know that
it’s there because astronomers observe its gravitational pull on
everything else.
A working theory is that – in addition to the four fundamental forces
that drive the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, and strong and weak
nuclear forces – there’s a fifth force that rules the behavior of dark
matter. Physicists from CERN now believe that this force is transmitted by a particle called the dark photon.
“To use a metaphor, an otherwise impossible dialogue between two
people not speaking the same language (visible and dark matter) can be
enabled by a mediator (the dark photon), who understands one language
and speaks the other one,” explained Sergei Gninenko of CERN.
The research facility is now launching the NA64 experiment
to search for this particle. The equipment focuses a beam of electrons
with a known value of initial energy at a detector. Interactions between
the electrons and atoms in the detector produce visible photons. If
dark photons exist, they will escape the detector and subtract from the
initial electron energy, as by the law of conservation of energy.
The Complex Universe
There’s a lot of work to be done by physicists in order to prove that
dark photons exist. Results of the experiment must be replicable and,
if the scientists find it, another round of research will be pursued to
prove its relation to dark matter.
CERN is an organization of physicists and engineers that probe the
universe in pursuit of understanding its fundamental structure.
Discoveries from these studies could validate or totally destroy
everything we currently know.
While dark matter may seem very far away from us and our daily lives, understanding all these mysteries is another step toward understanding ourselves and this complex universe we live in.
Get Involved in the World’s Biggest Quantum Physics Experiment Happening Right Now
In Brief
The world's largest quantum physics experiment, run by 12
different labs around the world, will test Albert Einstein's idea of
local realism - one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics.
The experiment aims to use a huge amount of random, user-generated data to test Bell's inequality.
What could be the world’s largest quantum physics experiment is happening today,
30 November 2016, and researchers need people from all over the world
to get involved by helping them test the laws of quantum mechanics.
The experiment, run by 12 different labs around the world, will test Albert Einstein’s idea of local realism – one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. All you have to do to help out is play a bunch of online games for science.
So, what will all your gaming efforts achieve? Basically, local
realism is an attempt to overcome what Einstein referred to as “spooky
action at a distance.”
In quantum mechanics, there are two things to keep in mind. First, particles don’t have a distinct value until they’re measured. And secondly, when two particles are entangled, one of them will immediately affect its entangled partner, no matter how physically far apart they are.
Einstein didn’t like that, because, in theory, it seems to violate the speed of light – hence the “spooky action” quote.
So he came up with the idea of local realism, which assumes that a
particle must objectively have a pre-existing value for any possible
measurement – and that way, information doesn’t actually travel between
two entangled particles faster than the speed of light.
Since then, researchers have come up with a test to measure whether
or not information is actually travelling between entangled particles,
known as the Bell inequality test.
And if it’s violated in actual experiments, it implies that quantum
mechanics violates either locality or realism, and the idea of local
realism (and Einstein’s hypothesis) therefore cannot be correct.
Several experiments over the past few years have reportedly violated Bell’s inequality – last year, the first Bell’s inequality experiment was completed without loopholes, but there’s still dispute over whether or not local realism actually holds up.
The new worldwide experiment aims to settle the matter once and for
all, by using a huge amount of random, user-generated data to test
Bell’s inequality.
Basically, the researchers are holding what’s called the ‘BIG Bell Test: worldwide quantum experiments powered by human randomness‘,
and they aim to conduct a range of Bell’s inequality tests around the
world, controlled by human decisions made by volunteers (which they call
Bellsters).
The experiment needs at least 30,000 volunteers from all over the
world, and of all ages, to take part in order to generate enough random
data to properly test out Bell’s inequality.
You do this by playing a game where you have to introduce the most
random sequences of 0s and 1s as possible. These sequences you generate
in your game will determine the order of measurement of quantum
entangled particles in each lab around the world.
The loophole-free Bell’s test last year was similar, but it used a
physical random number generator to come up with this data, whereas the
new experiment will try to generate even more randomness using the
brains trust of the internet.
The games are accessible to people of all ages, and all you need is an internet connection.
If you pass all the levels, you’ll have generated enough random
sequences of information to help the scientists complete their Bell’s
inequality test.source
Thanks to a Novel Protein, We Could Bring an End to Obesity
Getty Images
In Brief
Obesity affects more than 600 million adults and around 41
million children under the age of 5 according to the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Researchers may have found a way to halt the development of
both type 2 diabetes and obesity in humans using a recently discovered
protein.
Deadly combo
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is one of
the most common health conditions in the world. It affects more than 600 million adults and around 41 million children under the age of 5. Of these, more than 29 million are in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The consequences of obesity can be as serious as heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes, which the CDC reports around
29 million Americans have. Now, researchers from the Catholic
University of Louvain in Belgium may have found a way to halt the
development of both type 2 diabetes and obesity in humans, using a
recently discovered protein.
For 10 years now, scientists Patrice Cani, a WELBIO researcher at the
Louvain Drug Research Institute, and Willem de Vos of the University of
Wageningen in the Netherlands, have been studying a bacterium called Akkermansia muciniphila, and
have realized that this bacteria is found in smaller levels in obese
mice. Treating mice with A. muciniphila seemed to reverse several
metabolic disorders that led to obesity. Credits: Microbiology Society
An unexpected discovery
In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine,
Cani and de Vos discovered something more. Since December 2015,
Akkermansia-based treatment trials for humans have been ongoing. While
the effects are yet to be conclusive, it’s clear that the treatment
isn’t harmful to humans — after all, A. muciniphila is one of the more common gut bacteria.
Then something came up. They discovered that pasteurization had very
positive effects on the bacterium. “Unexpectedly, we discovered that
pasteurization of A. muciniphila enhanced its capacity to reduce fat
mass development, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in mice,” says the study.
Pasteurization, it would seem, makes the bacterium effective because
it kills off everything else in A. muciniphila except for a protein —
the genetically engineered version of it is called Amuc_1100. When
tested on mice, this protein appeared to be good for the immune system,
blocking toxins from reaching the bloodstream, and strengthening
intestinal immunity.
Amuc_1100 is the key to how A. muciniphila can combat obesity in
mice. In the near future, it’s expected to be able to do the same thing
in humans.
Scientists Just Created a Key Component For a Quantum Internet
UW, Grzegorz Krzysewski
In Brief
This new system for modifying photons has an efficiency
nearly 200 times better than current methods, is small enough for use in
an optical fiber system, and produces little noise.
Being able to effectively manipulate photons will allow us to
create a network that can link different types of quantum systems, a key
hurdle to creating a quantum internet.
A Better Photon Converter
Creating usable quantum computers is one of the greater technical
challenges facing the world today. While a quantum system would allow us
to create machines with greater processing capabilities, scientists not
only have to straighten out the complex quantum physics that will power
the computers, they have to create the tools needed to exploit that
power as well. Now, one of the bigger engineering hurdles on the path
to quantum computers may have just been passed as new research published in Nature Photonics out of the University of Warsaw and the University of Oxford details a device that can modify the existing properties of individual photons to be used in quantum computers.
The current way of manipulating single photons
involves making those photons interact with a very strong optical pump
beam. Unfortunately, that process can contaminate the stream of photons
in the light beam, and it doesn’t always modify the photon that is being
targeted.
The new method uses the electro-optic effect occurring in some
crystals. By changing the intensity of an external magnetic field being
applied to the crystal, the researchers can change the index of
refraction for light in it, which eliminates the need to add any new
photons into the mix. “It is quite astounding that in order to modify
the quantum properties of individual photons, we can successfully apply
techniques very similar to those used in standard fiber-optic
telecommunications,” one of the study’s authors, Dr. Michal Karpinski, told Phys.org.
This method and the device the researchers made to carry it out offer
several advantages over existing systems. It has an efficiency of 30
percent (nearly 200 times better than current methods), the device can
be contained in a 10 cm (4 in) box (ideal for use in an optical fiber
system), and it produces little noise.
Bridging Differences
One of the main challenges
of developing a quantum internet is creating networks that can work
with many different kinds of quantum computers. Existing quantum systems
utilize different mediums and light properties. This converter would
allow those systems to work with one another. Quantum computers
will eventually be faster and more powerful than the computers we
currently have. They will allow us to work with even bigger data sets,
like those used in studying DNA and the human genome. They may also end
up powering the AI-based systems of tomorrow.
However, to get there we have to pass many scientific and technical
hurdles. We are still learning about the complexities of the quantum
world, so creating devices that effectively exploit and manipulate that
world will take some time. source
cide soon whether it will be a leader or a follower in advancing the tech.
While gene editing technology could be used in nefarious ways,
it could also cure diseases and improve millions of lives, but we won't
know how effective it is until we begin human trials.
While the middle part of the 20th century saw the world’s
superpowers racing to explore space, the first global competition of
this century is being set in a much smaller arena: our DNA.
This month, Chinese scientists announced that they have tested the CRISPR gene-editing technique on a human
for the first time, and the race is on to hone the new technology. “I
think this is going to trigger ‘Sputnik 2.0’, a biomedical duel on
progress between China and the United States,” Carl June, immunotherapy
specialist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, told Nature.
But while anyone with a view of the night sky could tell you what the
Moon was when Neil Armstrong took his one small step on it back in
1969, not everyone has heard of CRISPR, and even fewer people understand
how it works or why it’s so important.
A Brief History of Genetic Engineering
Even if it’s been a while since your last biology class, you likely
know that most living organisms possess DNA. These little strands of
molecules contain all of our genetic information. They determine what we
look like, how our bodies function, and everything else that makes a
living thing what it is.
Since the 1970s, scientists have been exploring ways to manipulate
DNA. They’ve learned how to cut bits out, put chunks of code in, and
generally rework these molecules to suit our needs. In 1974, they
created genetically modified mice, improving researchers’ ability to
conduct medical tests. In 1982, bacteria modified to produced insulin
hit the market, eliminating the need for it to be sourced from animals.
And ever since 1994, grocery stores have been carrying genetically
modified crops, giving us access to longer-lasting, nutritionally
superior foods.
As revolutionary as all this has been, genetic engineering has
traditionally been expensive, complicated, and remarkably
time-consuming. Then along came CRISPR.
CRISPR Uncovered
In the late-1980s, scientists noticed little repeating segments of
DNA sequences that were palindromes (the same front to back). Their
existence was unusual, and they named them “clustered regularly
interspaced short palindromic repeats” (CRISPR). In 2005, a
microbiologist figured out that these sequences essentially did for the
bacteria what our immune systems do for us: protect against pathogens.
Using CRISPR, the bacteria can snip out a little piece of the
pathogen that has invaded its system and store it for future reference.
The next time the bacteria encountered that pathogen, it would already
be prepared to defend itself. Upon further study, scientists figured out
more about how the CRISPR system worked: a protein called CAS9 would
make the cut in the targeted DNA after being guided directly to it by a
strand of RNA.
Scientists have since found CRISPR
in 40 percent of sequenced bacterial genomes and 90 percent of
sequenced archaea. It wasn’t until a few years ago, however, that
biochemist Jennifer Doudna and microbiologist Emmanuelle
Charpentier figured out that they could use this naturally occurring
system as a programmable machine to modify DNA. They published their findings in 2012, and by 2013, papers were being published showing how CRISPR could be used in labs to edit genes in humans and mice. Futurism / M.S.
Faster, Cheaper Gene Editing
This new gene editing system was 99 percent cheaper than the existing
methods of genetic modification and also much faster — an experiment
that would have previously taken a year could be completed in just a
week — so once scientists realized how CRISPR worked, they began finding
beneficial ways of manipulating the system.
They figured out how to guide the CAS9 protein to the right spot in the DNA to block a gene without cutting it, and
they learned how to attach a different protein to the system to
activate dormant genes. Some even figured out how to get the CAS9
protein to turn a gene on or off in response to stimuli, such as certain
chemicals or light.
The new system was particularly useful for researchers using live mice
in their experiments. No longer would they need to spend up to two
years modifying and breeding generations of mice until they arrived at
those with the perfect DNA to test new medicines or treatment options.
Now, they could have their perfect mouse in as little as six months. As
Rudolf Jaenisch at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) told Science, “You don’t need [skills] anymore. Any idiot can do it.”
From Mice To Men
The scientists who’ve since used CRISPR to test their theories on
live animals are far from idiots, though. They’ve been smart enough to
figure out how to repair the defect that causes sickle cell anemia, cut out the gene that causes HIV, and treat muscular dystrophy in live animals, all using CRISPR.
While animal testing is great for the early stages of research,
though, we can never know how a human is going to react to a medication
or treatment until we actually test it on humans. An estimated 80 percent of potential treatments fail
in people even after they yield promising results in animals. Advances
in computer processing and machine learning are improving the ability of
researchers to perform in silico clinical trials, but even those can’t yet compete with the real thing.
However, the path from animal to human CRISPR testing has been
fraught with controversy. While proponents are quick to point out all
the good the system can do in helping us treat and even cure diseases,
others are concerned about the possible implications, both moral and practical. A Pew research study
this summer revealed that Americans are almost equally divided on
whether “[gene editing] is meddling with nature and crosses a line we
should not cross,” while only 36 percent thought the societal benefits
of gene editing would outnumber the downsides. Futurism / M.A.
Regulations Mount Up
Most of the world’s major governments are erring on the side of
caution, enacting series of rules, regulations, and even bans on how
CRISPR is used. The United States government currently prohibits funding for gene-editing research in human embryos, so CRISPR researchers won’t be using any government grants for their studies (though some are receiving funds from private donors). Earlier this year, a team in the UK was granted permission to use CRISPR on human embryos, but that’s just one team, it’s only in the pursuit of fertility treatments, and the embryos had to be destroyed after testing.
Even the scientific community is divided on the subject.
Some scientists have called for a halt
to any CRISPR testing on humans until we better understand the
technology, and others warn of the dangers if it falls into the wrong
hands. In fact, just this month, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST),
a group of 18 scientists and scientific policy experts from a variety
of disciplines, wrote a letter urging the U.S. government to prepare now
for potential future bioterrorist attacks made possible by CRISPR
technology.
Others scientists have argued that regulations will leave the U.S. behind countries like Sweden
and China in the race to tap the potential of CRISPR, and right now,
that latter group is being proven right. With one small trial on a
patient suffering from an aggressive form of lung cancer, China has
already made the giant leap to human CRISPR test subjects.
Now, the question isn’t so much if the U.S. can win this new global
race, but whether or not the country is going to let extreme
caution prevent it from even entering in time to compete. source
Almost 2/3 of astronauts have reported problems with their sight after spending months on the International Space Station.
New research shows that astronauts who had were in flight for
long durations had abnormally high cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the
brain, which could be the culprit.
Effects of Outer Space
Astronauts undergo a rigorous training and selection process. They
must be at the peak of their health and physical capability in order to
face the grueling environment outside our Earth. So it was a huge
problem when two-thirds of astronauts aboard the International Space
Station (ISS) developed eye problems.
NASA suspected that the impairment, visual impairment intercranial pressure syndrome (VIIP), was caused by changes in the fluids in the eye and spinal cord in response to microgravity.
Researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine carried
out further studies on VIIP, and presented them at the annual meeting
of the Radiological Society of North America. Physical tests were
conducted on astronauts: seven who spent multiple months on the ISS, and
nine who made short trips up and back to Earth aboard the now-retired
US space shuttle.
The researchers observed severe structural changes to the eyes of the
astronauts, some of which were permanent. The eye problems include
inflamed optic nerves and flattening at the back of the eyeballs.
Astronauts who had were in flight for long durations also had abnormally
high cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. NASA
“The [spinal fluid] system is confused by the lack of the posture-related pressure changes,” said Noam Alperin, lead researcher and professor of radiology and biomedical engineering.
Seeing Into Upcoming Space Missions
“The research provides, for the first time, quantitative evidence
obtained from short- and long-duration astronauts pointing to the
primary and direct role of the CSF in the globe deformations seen in
astronauts with visual impairment syndrome,” says Alperin.
A solution might come from retired NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson, who did not experience vision problems after five months on the ISS.
“It appears—from additional NASA studies performed at Johnson Space
Center in Houston—that I have a special protein sailing through my body,
that does not allow this phenomenon to occur,” Anderson said in an online forum.
With the ambitious Mars missions coming soon, it’s imperative that this issue be solved to ensure the safety of space travel. source
This portable anti-drone technology can turn off a drone's
video transmission, jam its GPS, and more from as far as 1.2 miles away
and without destroying the drone.
Technological terrorism is a reality of modern society, and
counter-technologies such as this DroneGun are one of our best measures
to keep ourselves safe.
Counter-Drone Tech
The increasing availability of drones and their customizability make
them a useful tool within many industries. Unfortunately, they’re also
being used for criminal purposes, such as to penetrate high-security
areas like the White House and the Japanese Prime Minister’s office, so as drone technology thrives, counter-drone technology has cropped up as well.
Sydney- and Virginia-based security company DroneShield has revealed one such device: the DroneGun. This
portable system can counter-control a wide range of drone models
without destroying the intruding drone — it just forces it to land or
return to its pilot. The DroneGun can also shut off a drone’s video
transmission ability and disable its signals, including those from
positioning systems like GPS and GLONASS.
What’s perhaps most impressive about the system is its ability to jam
drone signals from distances as far as 1.9 kilometers (1.2 miles) away
under many environmental conditions. Most rival jammers need to be much
closer, which could be dangerous to users if the drone is carrying an
explosive device. Use of the DroneGun has yet to be authorized by the US
government.
Drone Danger
Around 2.5 million drones were
sold this year, and according to the Federal Aviation Administration,
this number could almost triple to 7 million drones in 2020. While the
tech could benefit such industries as agriculture, transportation, and even healthcare, its increasing usage presents a number of opportunities for crime.
It’s truly dangerous to think what can happen when offenders don’t
need to be in the vicinity to harm people. Drone intrusion reports in
the UK surged by 352 percent in
just one year, most alleging that the tech was being used to spy on
civilians, record PIN numbers, and serve as burglar lookouts. In
warfare, drones are being used to rain down explosives.
Those with criminal intent will almost always be able to find
nefarious ways to use the technology we create to benefit our work and
personal lives. Cybercrime and technological terrorism
are very present realities that we must actively prepare for, and
counter-technologies such as this DroneGun are one of our best measures
to keep ourselves safe. source
New Gene Therapy Could Eradicate Harmful Mutations Being Passed From Mother to Child
Shutterstock
In Brief
A new gene therapy technique offers treatment for the inheritance of mutations of the mitochondria using replacement therapy.
This could have a huge impact, as the prevalence of
mitochondrial disorders worldwide is at an estimate of 11.5 to every 100
thousand individuals.
Inheriting Mitochondrial Mutations
At birth, a child can inherit mutations of the mitochondria from his
or her mother. Some women are genetically predisposed to pass on these
mutations, giving rise to potentially fatal disorders that affect organs
with high energy demand, like the heart and brain.
A new gene therapy technique offers treatment for this problematic
inheritance using mitochondrial replacement therapy. The technique,
approved for clinical trials in the UK, was pioneered by Oregon Health
and Science University’s Shoukhrat Mitalipov. During the procedure, the
mother’s egg cell nucleus is transplanted into a donor egg cell where
healthy mitochondria are embedded.
However, the smallest amount of mutant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can still be inherited by embryos during pregnancy. In a study published in Nature,
researchers from OHSU suggest that, to successfully conduct
mitochondrial replacement therapy, the egg cell donor’s mtDNA must be
compatible with the mother’s own mitochondria.
Studies were conducted on families with children with
mitochondria-linked disorders, and donor egg cells free from
mitochondrial mutations. After the transplant of maternal cell nuclei
into the donor cells, cultured embryonic cells turned back into the
mutant versions.
The researchers attributed this malfunction to a portion of the mtDNA known as the displacement loop,
which initiates replication of the entire genetic sequence. They
propose this can be avoided by closely matching the maternal cells with
the donor cells using a criteria based on the genetic structure of the mitochondria.
Protection from Disease
Mitochondrial mutations give rise to many dangerous disorders, usually seen from childhood, including the neurological disorder Leigh Syndrome, and the debilitating condition MELAS. The prevalence of mitochondrial disorders worldwide is at an estimate of 11.5 to every 100 thousand individuals.
Preventing disease using mitochondrial replacement therapy has caused some controversy over the prospect of babies with three genetic parents.
While several studies on these techniques are still ongoing, scientists
are limited by the technology available to peer into the sublevel of
our genetic makeup. What’s sure is that scientists are continually
discovering new ways to protect us from disease. source
