Wednesday Links
The first micropipette was invented by Joseph Lister in the 1850s. This is more than a century earlier than Heinrich Schnitger’s design, which he invented in 1957 and quickly licensed to Eppendorf. Why did Schnitger’s design catch on and become commercialized, whereas Lister’s did not? (h/t Tim Fallon)
The Decoding Bio Snapshot for 2024.
A new vaccine strategy. The gist is to use a virus-like particle, with encapsulated mRNA molecules and protein antigens dotted upon its surface, to target and deliver an mRNA vaccine only to particular cells.
New small molecules targeting the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, CFTR, protein.
“If the RTS,S malaria vaccine was developed a decade earlier…an extra 2 million lives would’ve been saved.” (h/t Saloni Dattani)
The F.D.A. is often overly cautious. Sunscreens are one example.
Genie 2 is a diffusion model that “makes possible complex protein designs that engage multiple interaction partners and perform multiple functions.”
Some viruses pack their genetic material so tightly that they “sustain internal pressures of up to 10 bar, which is 5-times more than your car tire.”
