Author: Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin University

Poor sleep may nudge the brain toward dementia, researchers find

Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLeave a Comment on Poor sleep may nudge the brain toward dementia, researchers find

Staring at the ceiling while the clock blinks 3am doesn’t only sap energy for the next day. A large, long-running US study of older adults has now linked chronic insomnia to changes inside the brain that set the stage for dementia. The researchers, from the Mayo Clinic in the US, followed 2,750 people aged 50 […]

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‘Return’ of the dire wolf is an impressive feat of genetic engineering, not a reversal of extinction

Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLeave a Comment on ‘Return’ of the dire wolf is an impressive feat of genetic engineering, not a reversal of extinction

Colossal Dallas-based biotech company Colossal has announced the birth of three pups bearing the DNA signatures of dire wolves, an iconic predator last seen roaming North America over 10,000 years ago. With their names Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, these pups are playing to the cultural imagination, blending ancient mythology with fantasy fiction. Romulus and Remus […]

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Mice with woolly mammoth traits could pave the way for the resurrection of an ice age giant

Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLeave a Comment on Mice with woolly mammoth traits could pave the way for the resurrection of an ice age giant

A US biotech company has genetically modified mice to have traits from the extinct woolly mammoth. Researchers at Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences endowed their mice with the thick, shaggy hair of the mammoth and its efficient fat metabolism, which helped it survive in icy conditions. Colossal’s ultimate goal is to introduce these woolly mammoth traits, […]

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Scientists have figured out how to ‘see’ through mice – could humans be next?

Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLeave a Comment on Scientists have figured out how to ‘see’ through mice – could humans be next?

Imagine being able to see right through your skin to watch your muscles or organs in action. It sounds like science fiction, but a group of scientists at Stanford University were recently able to make the skin of live mice appear transparent – at least under certain light conditions. This breakthrough has unquestionably opened up […]

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