Engineering biology and climate change mitigation: Policy considerations.

Engineering biology (EngBio) is a dynamic field that uses gene editing, synthesis, assembly, and engineering to design new or modified biological systems. EngBio applications could make a significant contribution to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, policy support will be needed if EngBio is to fulfil its climate mitigation potential. What form should such policies take, and what EngBio applications should they target? This paper reviews EngBio's potential climate contributions to assist policymakers shape regulations and target resources and, in so doing, to facilitate democratic deliberation on desirable futures.

Visioning synthetic futures for yeast research within the context of current global techno-political trends.

Yeast research is entering into a new period of scholarship, with new scientific tools, new questions to ask and new issues to consider. The politics of emerging and critical technology can no longer be separated from the pursuit of basic science in fields, such as synthetic biology and engineering biology. Given the intensifying race for technological leadership, yeast research is likely to attract significant investment from government, and that it offers huge opportunities to the curious minded from a basic research standpoint. This article provides an overview of new directions in yeast research with a focus on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and places these trends in their geopolitical context. At the highest level, yeast research is situated within the ongoing convergence of the life sciences with the information sciences. This convergent effect is most strongly pronounced in areas of AI-enabled tools for the life sciences, and the creation of synthetic genomes, minimal genomes, pan-genomes, neochromosomes and metagenomes using computer-assisted design tools and methodologies. Synthetic yeast futures encompass basic and applied science questions that will be of intense interest to government and nongovernment funding sources. It is essential for the yeast research community to map and understand the context of their research to ensure their collaborations turn global challenges into research opportunities.

Bioinformational trends in grape and wine biotechnology.

The creative destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic is yielding immense opportunity for collaborative innovation networks. The confluence of biosciences, information sciences, and the engineering of biology, is unveiling promising bioinformational futures for a vibrant and sustainable bioeconomy. Bioinformational engineering, underpinned by DNA reading, writing, and editing technologies, has become a beacon of opportunity in a world paralysed by uncertainty. This article draws on lessons from the current pandemic and previous agricultural blights, and explores bioinformational research directions aimed at future-proofing the grape and wine industry against biological shocks from global blights and climate change.

Sensing the future of bio-informational engineering.

The practices of synthetic biology are being integrated into 'multiscale' designs enabling two-way communication across organic and inorganic information substrates in biological, digital and cyber-physical system integrations. Novel applications of 'bio-informational' engineering will arise in environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, precision medicine and next-generation biomanufacturing. Potential developments include sentinel plants for environmental monitoring and autonomous bioreactors that respond to biosensor signaling. As bio-informational understanding progresses, both natural and engineered biological systems will need to be reimagined as cyber-physical architectures. We propose that a multiple length scale taxonomy will assist in rationalizing and enabling this transformative development in engineering biology.

Drawing on the Past to Shape the Future of Synthetic Yeast Research.

Some years inspire more hindsight reflection and future-gazing than others. This is even more so in 2020 with its evocation of perfect vision and the landmark ring to it. However, no futurist can reliably predict what the world will look like the next time that a year's first two digits will match the second two digits-a numerical pattern that only occurs once in a century. As we leap into a new decade, amid uncertainties triggered by unforeseen global events-such as the outbreak of a worldwide pandemic, the accompanying economic hardship, and intensifying geopolitical tensions-it is important to note the blistering pace of 21st century technological developments indicate that while hindsight might be 20/20, foresight is 50/50. The history of science shows us that imaginative ideas, research excellence, and collaborative innovation can, for example, significantly contribute to the economic, cultural, social, and environmental recovery of a post-COVID-19 world. This article reflects on a history of yeast research to indicate the potential that arises from advances in science, and how this can contribute to the ongoing recovery and development of human society. Future breakthroughs in synthetic genomics are likely to unlock new avenues of impactful discoveries and solutions to some of the world's greatest challenges.

3D freeform printing of silk fibroin.

Freeform fabrication has emerged as a key direction in printing biologically-relevant materials and structures. With this emerging technology, complex structures with microscale resolution can be created in arbitrary geometries and without the limitations found in traditional bottom-up or top-down additive manufacturing methods. Recent advances in freeform printing have used the physical properties of microparticle-based granular gels as a medium for the submerged extrusion of bioinks. However, most of these techniques require post-processing or crosslinking for the removal of the printed structures (Miller et al., 2015; Jin et al., 2016) [1,2]. In this communication, we introduce a novel method for the one-step gelation of silk fibroin within a suspension of synthetic nanoclay (Laponite) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Silk fibroin has been used as a biopolymer for bioprinting in several contexts, but chemical or enzymatic additives or bulking agents are needed to stabilize 3D structures. Our method requires no post-processing of printed structures and allows for in situ physical crosslinking of pure aqueous silk fibroin into arbitrary geometries produced through freeform 3D printing. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: 3D bioprinting has emerged as a technology that can produce biologically relevant structures in defined geometries with microscale resolution. Techniques for fabrication of free-standing structures by printing into granular gel media has been demonstrated previously, however, these methods require crosslinking agents and post-processing steps on printed structures. Our method utilizes one-step gelation of silk fibroin within a suspension of synthetic nanoclay (Laponite), with no need for additional crosslinking compounds or post processing of the material. This new method allows for in situ physical crosslinking of pure aqueous silk fibroin into defined geometries produced through freeform 3D printing.

Evolution of Bioinks and Additive Manufacturing Technologies for 3D Bioprinting.

3D printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that has quickly disrupted traditional design and manufacturing strategies. New structures can be manufactured that could not be fabricated using other methods. These new capabilities are considered by many to hallmark a historic shift representative of a new industrial revolution. Exciting utilities of this evolving technology are the fields of biomedical engineering and translational medicine, particularly in applying three-dimensional (3D) printing toward enabling on-demand fabrication of customized tissue scaffolds and medical device geometries. AM techniques are promising a future where on-demand production of patient-specific living tissues is a reality. In this review, we cover the rapid evolution and widespread concepts of a bio-"ink" and bioprinted devices and tissues from the past two decades as well as review the various additive manufacturing methods that have been used toward 3D bioprinting of cells and scaffolds with a special look at the benefits and practical considerations for each method. Despite being a young technology, the evolution and impact of AM in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has progressed rapidly. We finish the review by looking toward the future of bioprinting and identify some of the current bottlenecks facing the blossoming industry.

Different cues of personality and health from the face and gait of women.

Redundant cues for attractiveness in humans have been identified, but the idea of multiple systems displaying different socially-relevant traits has yet to be extensively examined. We compared the accuracy with which observers could identify socially-relevant information of female targets, both from static images of their faces, and from point-light displays of their gait. Perception of extraversion was at chance. However, agreeableness and sociosexuality were more accurately perceived from the face than gait, while physical health showed the opposite pattern. This double dissociation suggests different information can be carried in different modalities. In addition, partial correlation analyses suggested that even when both modalities allowed accurate trait identification, the information content was different. Our results demonstrate that cues of different socially-relevant traits are communicated more effectively through different modalities, and these modality-specific cues contain distinctive information, supporting a "multiple messages" hypothesis.

Multiple independent fusions of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase with enzymes in the pentose phosphate pathway.

Fusions of the first two enzymes in the pentose phosphate pathway, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and 6-phosphogluconolactonase (6PGL), have been previously described in two distant clades, chordates and species of the malarial parasite Plasmodium. We have analyzed genome and expressed sequence data from a variety of organisms to identify the origins of these gene fusion events. Based on the orientation of the domains and range of species in which homologs can be found, the fusions appear to have occurred independently, near the base of the metazoan and apicomplexan lineages. Only one of the two metazoan paralogs of G6PD is fused, showing that the fusion occurred after a duplication event, which we have traced back to an ancestor of choanoflagellates and metazoans. The Plasmodium genes are known to contain a functionally important insertion that is not seen in the other apicomplexan fusions, highlighting this as a unique characteristic of this group. Surprisingly, our search revealed two additional fusion events, one that combined 6PGL and G6PD in an ancestor of the protozoan parasites Trichomonas and Giardia, and another fusing G6PD with phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) in a species of diatoms. This study extends the range of species known to contain fusions in the pentose phosphate pathway to many new medically and economically important organisms.

The impact of mood disorders and their treatment on the pregnant woman, the fetus, and the infant.

Treatment of mood disorders in pregnant or nursing women can carry significant risks for the mother and the developing infant. For patients and physicians, it may be difficult to obtain current information to make the proper decisions regarding pharmacologic and alternative treatments. Thus, this paper discusses the risks and benefits of pharmacologic treatment and the risks of not treating depression and bipolar disorder in the pregnant woman. The safety of treatment options is reviewed. Alternative treatment options are also discussed.

Psychiatric complications in cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder of motor and posture impairment resulting from brain injury prior to completion of cerebral development. It affects 2 to 3 per 1000 individuals. CP is also associated with sensory, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional sequelae. Few systematic studies of psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with CP have been conducted, as the main focus of concern has been on the physical disabilities. This has diverted attention from treatable psychiatric syndromes. Proper psychiatric evaluation of children with CP is an important task, as appropriate interventions can help them reach their full potential and enhance the quality of their lives and those of their families. We report the case of an individual with CP with behavioral and emotional symptoms to illustrate the diagnostic complexity involved. The case highlights the importance of engaging in a comprehensive diagnostic psychiatric evaluation process to assess and suggest treatment options for accompanying comorbid psychiatric conditions.

Face-to-face versus telephone administration of the parent's version of the children's interview for psychiatric syndromes (P-ChIPS).

The aim of this study was to examine the acceptability and reliability of telephone administration of the parent's version of the Children's Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (P-ChIPS), a diagnostic interview examining 21 separate psychiatric syndromes, compared with face-to-face administration. Parents of 12 participants-seven boys and five girls-completed this preliminary study. The mean age of the children was 12.2 years (SD, 3.9 years). In comparing telephone and face-to-face administrations of the P-ChIPS, the percent agreement for each diagnosis was 75% to 100%, with an average percent agreement of 93.8% across all disorders assessed. Results of the face-to-face and telephone administration of the P-ChIPS were comparable, but this needs to be confirmed using a larger sample.