Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Gene gun

GI Caesar - 6-7-2009 at 01:05

Look at this.
Looks easy, doesn't it? You basically take a ''nail'', cover it with
tugsten particles and genes, and fire it at an onion.
The possibilities are endless, I guess: glow-in-the-dark cats,
potatoes with tomato flavor, your private zombie army...
I hope this isn't too complicated!

Sleep - 6-7-2009 at 05:24

On humans:

http://www.nature.com/cdd/journal/v12/n4/full/4401614a.html

[Edited on 6-7-2009 by Sleep]

vulture - 6-7-2009 at 14:40

Quote:

Re-creation of the interdigital web after WSD gene gun in a nonprofessional swimmer, now regional champion (Ohmy God Ih Svimfast). We thank Arena Italia spa thanks to Enzo Guida, Brand Manager Arena Italia spa; www.arenaitalia.it; the photo was made by LSD, Lowe Pirella Agency, and Umberto Casagrande, Art Direction and Creativity Director


Is the accompanying text to the (rather old looking) picture. Anybody else smell something fishy?

bfesser - 6-7-2009 at 14:53

Smells like Triton B.

Rich_Insane - 6-7-2009 at 19:24

Sorry man - you cannot do this.

The nail would likely contain contamination with bacteria, as well as the other things. Eliminating this would be hell. Research gene guns utilize ultra-fine nano-scale particles: rather hard to obtain.

The nail's size would crush any cell.

Sleep - 7-7-2009 at 03:27

They only seldom use nails. The carriers are about one micrometer in diameter and not that hard to obtain.

As for the swimmer, I've heard he's in advertising for swimming gear now.

panziandi - 7-7-2009 at 06:46

In the UK you have to have a fire arms license to use a gene gun! I know I thought my lecturer was pulling my leg until he had a photocopy of his license in his lecture handout!

They use high pressure helium to propell spherical gold (or other unreactive metal) particles coated in desired DNA into cellular targets.

I do not see why a "Mad Scientist" couldn't repeat such experiments at home! The selection of cells encorporating the DNA (and the correct DNA for that matter) could be harder, depends what the DNA encodes and how easily it is selectable.

chemoleo - 7-7-2009 at 15:26

Question:

How are you going to get that plasmid?

These are highly engineered DNA sequences, with lots of insider know-how...no way that can be done at home :o

Still I'm impressed about that swimmer - but not entirely convinced at all - if I understand it correctly, it'd have to be applied to all the desired skin areas? Almost like a tatoo?
Not only that, I'd be surprised if the gene is so identical in chicken that it works in humans - in addition it'd have to differentiate terminally differentiated cells (such as those of the skin, basically all cell types in an adult) with a developmental program humans do not have...

Hmmm...

bfesser - 7-7-2009 at 17:34

A few months ago I saw some gold spherical nanopowder intended for this purpose up for auction on eBay--I regret not buying it.

chemoleo - 8-7-2009 at 15:36

By the way, that article is a SPOOF!!! (the one from sleep, http://www.nature.com/cdd/journal/v12/n4/full/4401614a.html)

Very surprising, given it's from a well reputed nature journal - but it was published in April (erm fools), from well-reputed scientists.
It is beyond me why they (they are clearly editors, or in good relation to them) thought this is appropriate - as it fools the layman - and even the professional without a closer look.

Here is why it is a joke :

-p53 has no other homologues than p63 and p73.
-They call the protein WSD, for Wai So Dim - Why so Dim? :D
-from 'Istituto Dermopatico dell' Immacolata Concezione' - institute of the immaculate conception? LOL :D
Quote:
However, in the absence of apaf-1, cell death still occurs, but with a significant delay, and in the form of necrotic death,7 suggesting that the interdigital web death stimuli are incompatible with life, resulting in unsustainable free radical damage.

Wtf - stimuli are incompatible with LIFE? radical damage? Garble garble

Quote:
then established a collaboration with professor Sum Ting Wong, a fugitive from the North Korean University Hu Yu Hai Ding, currently in Rome (Italy)

Translation - a professor 'Something Wrong', and a fugitive from the University of 'Who [are] You Hiding' in North Korea - lol!

Quote:
that controls the expression of the ER protein Scrotin

The protein is called scotin, not scrotin, and has no relation to the scrotum...
Quote:
Based on new, patented biological effects of WSD we found two biotech companies, Gene-Italia (Italy) dedicated to the development of interdigital web gene therapy and Ai-Bang-Mai-Ni (Japan) for orthopedic applications.

We founded, not 'found' ... and the japanese company involved in orthopedic applications is called I-bang-my-knee? :D

Quote:
Re-creation of the interdigital web after WSD gene gun in a nonprofessional swimmer, now regional champion (Ohmy God Ih Svimfast). We thank Arena Italia spa thanks to Enzo Guida, Brand Manager Arena Italia spa; www.arenaitalia.it; the photo was made by LSD, Lowe Pirella Agency, and Umberto Casagrande, Art Direction and Creativity Director

So this champion is called 'Oh my god I swim fast'? The photo is by LSD? Truly indeed!!!



I guess the editors of that journal must have been tripping, or at least boozed up to the eyebrow to come up with this, and to get it published!



PS there are many more things that don't fly, mostly technical/scientific...but these are the obvious ones...

pantone159 - 8-7-2009 at 21:29

Quote: Originally posted by chemoleo  

Here is why it is a joke :

-p53 has no other homologues than p63 and p73.

Why is this part a joke?

12AX7 - 9-7-2009 at 08:05

Incremental humor. Why was ten scared? Because seven eight nine.

If acetone is the first choice in solvents, the second is acetwo.

Tim

Saerynide - 9-7-2009 at 10:26

Hahaha. I thought there was something wrong when it said LSD and Ohmy God Ih Svimfast :D

chemoleo - 9-7-2009 at 14:50

Quote: Originally posted by pantone159  
Quote: Originally posted by chemoleo  

Here is why it is a joke :

-p53 has no other homologues than p63 and p73.

Why is this part a joke?


I suppose because p53 is so famous, that any new homologue would spur countless of subsequent studies (lots of them crap undoubtedly, as it is common in such an important field) , and would merit seperate (not passing) attention as done in that article... but I agree I prob. should take that point out, there are many other, garbly aspects in that article.

pantone159 - 9-7-2009 at 22:38

Quote: Originally posted by chemoleo  
I suppose because p53 is so famous

That explains it, I don't know anything about p53, I am ignorant of many things. :)

[Edited on 10-7-2009 by pantone159]

GI Caesar - 22-7-2009 at 04:11

I think this is going off-topic.
Let's get back to the gene gun: Do you think it could be done at home?
Nail gun, projectile and onion should be no problem; the carrier is apparently sometimes sold on ebay,
but where would one get the marker gene?
I'm not going to try this in the near future; still, I'd like to know how it would be done.

chemoleo - 22-7-2009 at 13:56

Order a GFP expression plasmid (eukaryotic), coat it onto tiny tungsten particles and shoot this into an onion- it might start to glow there...

The_Davster - 22-7-2009 at 14:13

And their last reference: Adam YVE & NA PLE. 2001; Resurrection of the interdigital web by gene gun. J. Nesis. 145381−145395.
:P

Rich_Insane - 24-7-2009 at 13:44

I do have a vial of 1 g of 25 nm TiO2 if anyone wants that....... It is excellent for absorbing anthocyanin pigments (which in turn sensitize and release an electron -- a dye sensitized cell). According to the O Chem department (who are currently working with this), the anthocyanin bonds via the OH groups). Maybe the sugars can bond on?