Lifeboat Foundation

A fter schools shifted to an online teaching mode, 17-year-old Nisha Pathak was worried about her increase in screen time. To avoid spending too much time looking at computers and to keep herself active, the Class 12 student of Neeraja Modi school, Jaipur, Rajasthan, took up farming.

“I wanted to keep myself engaged in activities that did not require looking at a screen. Apart from that, I wanted to grow the veggies and distribute them to underprivileged families living near my home,” says Nisha, adding that she learnt how to prepare seeds and plant them from a gardener in her community premises.

Initially, she grew vegetables like potatoes, onions and tomatoes. The harvest was distributed among underprivileged families who were living in neighbouring areas and were unable to procure fresh vegetables regularly.

The Virus Zoo is my latest educational blog post! I’ve written up ~1 page ‘cheat sheets’ on the molecular biology of specific viruses. I cover genome, structure, and life cycle. So far, my zoo includes adeno-associated virus (AAV), adenovirus, and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). However, I plan to add more viruses as time goes on! Some others I would like to incorporate later are coronavirus, HIV, anellovirus, lentivirus, ebolavirus, and MS2 bacteriophage. Feel free to suggest other interesting viruses in the comments! All images were created by me. #virology #molecularbiology #biotechnology #genetherapy #virus #biochemistry #genetics

Genome and Structure:

AAV genomes are about 4.7 kb in length and are composed of ssDNA. Inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) form hairpin structures at ends of the genome. These ITR structures are important for AAV genomic packaging and replication. Rep genes (encoded via overlapping reading frames) include Rep78, Rep68, Rep52, Rep40.¹ These proteins facilitate replication of the viral genome. As a Dependoparvovirus, additional helper functions from adenovirus (or certain other viruses) are needed for AAVs to replicate.

Continue reading “The Virus Zoo: A Quick Primer on Molecular Virology” »

A new Columbia UniversityColumbia University is a private Ivy League research university in New York City that was established in 1754. This makes it the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States. It is often just referred to as Columbia, but its official name is Columbia University in the City of New York.

With our brand new documentary premiering at #SIGGRAPH 2022, you’ll get to take a look behind the scenes of the 2022 Spring GTC and discover how NVIDIA’s creative, engineering, and research teams pushed the limits of NVIDIA GPUs, AI, USD, and @NVIDIA Omniverse to deliver our most watched GTC ever.

Global Documentary Premiere: Wednesday, August 10, at 10:00 a.m. PT

Continue reading “The Art of Collaboration: NVIDIA, Omniverse, and GTC | Documentary Trailer” »

Back in March this year, a study published in Evolutionary Biology claimed that fossils categorized as Tyrannosaurus rex represent three separate species. However, a new study published on July 25 in Evolutionary Biology refutes this claim and suggests that the previous research lacked evidence and Tyrannosaurus rex is made of only one species.

The previously controversial research implied that T. rex should be reclassified as three different species, including the standard T. rex, the bulkier “T. imperator,” and the slimmer “T. regina.” Researchers analyzed 38 T. rex fossils that contained leg bones and teeth samples, a press release revealed.

However, paleontologists at the American Museum of Natural History and Carthage College were determined to review the data of the previous research, adding data points from 112 species of living dinosaurs—birds—and from four non-avian theropod dinosaurs.

Here are three key lessons my sister with Down syndrome has taught me — kindness, unconditional love and gratitude. They were her foundation to an optimistic life.

Interesting story.

The site will have 5,000 new apartments—along with schools and stores that all residents can walk to.

— Energy Info

Media Contact: Jennifer Kalez

SALEM – A public partnership with the Oregon Department of Energy, Oregon Department of Land Conservation & Development, Oregon State University’s Institute for Natural Resources, and the U.S. Department of Defense has published new educational materials that will help local governments, Tribes, communities, policymakers, agencies, energy developers, and other stakeholders access important information and considerations for potential renewable energy in Oregon.

Continue reading “New Interactive Tool and Report Connects Oregon Renewable Energy Potential with Important Development Considerations” »