Synthetic Biology Design as a Paradigm Shift toward Manufacturing Affordable Adeno-Associated Virus Gene Therapies.

Gene therapy has demonstrated enormous potential for changing how we combat disease. By directly engineering the genetic composition of cells, it provides a broad range of options for improving human health. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) represent a leading gene therapy vector and are expected to address a wide range of conditions in the coming decade.

A Novel Piggyback Strategy for mRNA Delivery Exploiting Adenovirus Entry Biology.

Molecular therapies exploiting mRNA vectors embody enormous potential, as evidenced by the utility of this technology for the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, broad implementation of these promising strategies has been restricted by the limited repertoires of delivery vehicles capable of mRNA transport. On this basis, we explored a strategy based on exploiting the well characterized entry biology of adenovirus.

Elucidation of SARS-Cov-2 Budding Mechanisms through Molecular Dynamics Simulations of M and E Protein Complexes.

SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses pose major threats to global health, yet computational efforts to understand them have largely overlooked the process of budding, a key part of the coronavirus life cycle. When expressed together, coronavirus M and E proteins are sufficient to facilitate budding into the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC). To help elucidate budding, we ran atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the Feig laboratory's refined structural models of the SARS-CoV-2 M protein dimer and E protein pentamer.

Synthetic Biology Approaches for Engineering Next-Generation Adenoviral Gene Therapies.

Synthetic biology centers on the design and modular assembly of biological parts so as to construct artificial biological systems. Over the past decade, synthetic biology has blossomed into a highly productive field, yielding advances in diverse areas such as neuroscience, cell-based therapies, and chemical manufacturing. Similarly, the field of gene therapy has made enormous strides both in proof-of-concept studies and in the clinical setting.

The case for emulating insect brains using anatomical "wiring diagrams" equipped with biophysical models of neuronal activity.

Developing whole-brain emulation (WBE) technology would provide immense benefits across neuroscience, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, and robotics. At this time, constructing a simulated human brain lacks feasibility due to limited experimental data and limited computational resources. However, I suggest that progress toward this goal might be accelerated by working toward an intermediate objective, namely insect brain emulation (IBE).

Design of a De Novo Aggregating Antimicrobial Peptide and a Bacterial Conjugation-Based Delivery System.

Antibacterial resistance necessitates the development of novel treatment methods for infections. Protein aggregates have recently been applied as antimicrobials to disrupt bacterial homeostasis. Past work on protein aggregates has focused on genome mining for aggregation-prone sequences in bacterial genomes rather than on rational design of aggregating antimicrobial peptides.