• A new Science paper reports that certain bacteriophages build a protein-enclosed, nucleus-like compartment inside infected bacteria where viral DNA replication, recombination and transcription occur, while translation and assembly happen outside the shell.

• George Church’s 26 Jan 2017 talk (full transcript posted) argues that pig-to-human xenografts should be engineered first for anti-aging, anti-cancer and pathogen resistance, and that adult cognitive enhancement via DIY gene therapy could propagate “within weeks on the internet.”

• Church cites a 2014 eLife study showing E. coli radiation resistance can be increased 100,000-fold with only four targeted mutations (Δe14, recA, yfjK, dnaB), and notes that partial in-vivo cellular reprogramming reverses age-associated phenotypes in mice.

• A Cell paper identifies a dominant-negative CRY1 mutation that lengthens the human circadian period to ~24.5 h, causing delayed sleep-phase disorder; participants discuss using CRISPR/Cas9 and lentivirus to correct the SNP.

• DIY bio discussion covers electrostatically actuated all-glass micro-valves (AIP Advances 2017) for higher-pressure microfluidics, and the possibility of programming ant colonies as macro-scale “biobots” for construction, farming or cleaning tasks.

• A Nature Biotechnology article describes large-scale design of robust mammalian genetic circuits with multiple inputs/outputs, while a BioRxiv preprint presents rapid, plasmid-based recombineering for programmable protein mutagenesis.

• Links collected include CB Insights’ list of CRISPR startups (Poseida, Caribou, Intellia), Seth Shipman’s 100-byte DNA data-storage work, and the comprehensive “Water Structure and Science” reference site (lsbu.ac.uk/water).