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This week, we have a few interesting articles about recent STEM discoveries for you to enjoy!
Hemophilia is a genetic condition that makes blood clotting very difficult for some people. Up until now, the only therapies available to those who suffer from Hemophilia have been blood transfusions and injections of the clotting factors their bodies do not produce. Recently, however, researchers have had immense success in using gene therapy to veritably cure both Hemophilia A and Hemophilia B. By genetically engineering bacteria to deliver the genetic instructions for the missing clotting factors to patients' livers, a majority of Hemophilia sufferers involved in the trials have been able to produce their own clotting factors at normal levels. Though further research still needs to be done, this breakthrough will no doubt offer a wonderful option for those dealing with Hemophilia in the future. Check out the article above to learn more! The first article covers the therapy for Hemophilia B, but it contains a link to a second article discussing similar research on Hemophilia A.
Proteins are some of the most important structures in all life. Encoded by the genes of every living thing, proteins shape the way all organisms develop and provide numerous vital services throughout an organism's lifespan Until now, the structure of most proteins was poorly understood. Previous methods of capturing protein structure were difficult to apply and often foiled by the shape-changing nature of many proteins. A new method has emerged, however, that predicts the shape of proteins with a stunning degree of accuracy--the use of AI. Within the last few months, the AI in question has finished cataloguing over 200 million proteins in an open-source online database--practically every protein known to science. With this new information in the hands of scientists and the public, it may be possible for new medical treatments to be developed at record speed to combat bacterial and viral diseases. Check out the article above to learn more!
Black holes have been a bit of an ongoing theme here at STEMx, and this new discovery of a dormant black hole outside of our very own Milky Way makes it very easy to continue that theme. Dormant black holes are created when one star in a two-star system collapses into a black hole and begins to orbit the remaining star. Such black holes do not release much X-ray radiation or interact a great deal with their environment, which makes detecting them especially hard. Recently, an organization that has often been responsible for rejecting potential black hole discoveries has released the most convincing evidence to date of a dormant black hole outside of the Milky Way. Further research is ongoing to determine the nature of this black hole and verify its existence. Check out the article above to learn more!
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