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Baseline Study, Google Genetic Project

30.07.2014

Baseline Study - a new project of Google Corporation - at the first stage will be to collect genetic and molecular information from 175 people. Naturally, this group will be anonymous. In the future, the number of participants in the project may reach several thousand. The goal of the project is to create a genetic "map" of an absolutely healthy person based on the data obtained. In the future, this may help to detect dangerous diseases in the early stages, and possibly even before they occur, by comparing the results of analyzes of a particular person with this very “map”, which acts as a standard.

The Baseline Study was led by molecular biologist Andrew Conrad, who helped develop the first low-cost HIV tests. The scientist joined the Google X team back in March 2013, creating a team of physiologists, biologists, ophthalmologists and other specialists with a total of about 100 people.

In the course of the project, its database was replenished with information on various diseases. Google intends to use its computing power to find the so-called biomarkers, which later can also help in the diagnosis of diseases. It is worth noting that, unlike most cases, the biomarkers the information about which the project will collect will relate to destructive processes in the human body that are in the early stages.

All data of participants will be used only within the framework of the project. This will be monitored by special ethical committees. Moreover, at the end of the project, the data will be sent to Duke University and Stanford University, who will oversee the use of this information.

The analyzes of the participants will be collected by the clinics of the specified universities and only after processing and depersonalization of the data will they be transferred to Google.

In parallel, the Google X Life Sciences team is developing special wearable devices like fitness trackers that will collect standard information (heart rate, oxygen levels, and so on) from project participants. In addition, it is assumed that the "experimental" will also wear "smart" contact lenses, which are already developed by Google, to determine the level of sugar.

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Scientists brought together identically charged particles 21.02.2023

It is likely that the charged particles are reluctant to react with each other because they are repelled electrostatically. However, scientists have discovered how to bring them closer. The new method can speed up the reaction by up to 5 million times, according to the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Thanks to the research of an international group with the participation of Poles, the rate of chemical reactions in aqueous solutions can be controlled in a new way. It is enough to add particles of opposite charge to the solution, which will force the previously disgusting reagents to approach each other. The use of molecules with a high charge density can speed up the reaction up to 5 million times.

The synthesis of new compounds or the production of materials is extremely complex at the molecular level.

Two molecules with the same charge repel each other, so they rarely react with each other. This reaction may take days, weeks, or even longer. However, this time can be greatly reduced by using the right conditions or by adding different chemicals. Examples include natural catalysts such as enzymes or synthetic nanozymes that mimic natural or metal based catalysts commonly used in industry. Regardless of the type of catalyst, each of them accelerates only selected chemical reactions.

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Although coenzyme A molecules interact with each other, their interaction is much slower in water than in organic solvents. The scientists investigated the effect of adding compounds with opposite charges to speed up the reaction.

The influence of molecules of different sizes and charge values, such as ions, amphiphilic molecules, monomers, oligomers, polymers, and even micelles, was also tested.

When the corresponding positively charged micelles were introduced into the system, the reaction rate increased by a factor of 5 million. Monomers, oligomers and polymers speed up the reaction by 103-105 times, while ions or amphiphilic molecules "only" about a thousand times.

The action of coenzyme A (CoA) or methylmaleimide-substituted coenzyme A (CoA-M) on compounds with opposite charges disrupts the repulsion between negatively charged CoA and CoA-M molecules. Under certain conditions, the convergence of negatively charged particles of a certain concentration occurs. The added compound shields the repulsive forces of the molecules, making this process a special case of catalysis.

The scientists also tested this phenomenon with DNA hybridization, which is an ion-sensitive process. This process was chosen to determine if the proposed effect works for more complex reactions. It turned out that here, too, positively charged compounds significantly accelerate the rate of hybridization.

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