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We perform Monte Carlo simulation using Penna's bit string model, and compare the process of asexual reproduction by cloning with that by genetic crossover. We find them to be comparable as regards survival of a species, and also if a natural disaster is simulated.

In this paper, we realize all kinds of 1 → 2 approximate quantum cloning, including optimal 1 → 2 symmetric (or asymmetric) universal quantum cloning (UQC) and phase-covariant cloning (PCC), symmetric economical phase-covariant cloning (EPCC) and real state quantum cloning, with the XY-type exchange interactions of the flux qubits which are coupled by dc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). It is shown that our schemes can be realized with the current experimental technology.

Location of Heart Attack Genes Found.

Australia-made SIRT Administered in First US Patient.

Study Concludes Loss of Sexual Function with Menopause.

Giant Step forward for the Tasmanian Tiger Cloning Project.

Genetic Research into Soybeans Proposed.

Rare Cattle Successfully Cloned.

China to Produce First Cloned Giant Panda.

"Solid Water" Helps Trees Grow in Deserts.

Super-bra to Detect Breast Cancer.

Chinese Scientists Develop Single DNA Molecular Nanomotor.

Trials on More GM Seeds.

Japanese and Thai Scientists Inoculate Monkeys against Simian AIDS.

Korea's Latest Car to "Drive" out Terrorism.

Bed-sharing May Increase Chances of Cot Death.

Rice Researchers Win Major Environmental Prize.

Sheep Genome Project Begins.

Genetic Discovery Sheds Light on Anorexia.

Chinese Scientists Diagnose Cancer through Urine Tests.

China Succeeds in Artificial Memory Alloy Trachea Transplant.

China Aims Growing Human Organs by Cloning.

Silicon Chip to Genotype Chinese Medicinal Plants.

HK Study Shows Zadaxin Beneficial for Hepatitis B Patients.

Singapore Varsity Grows hES Cell without Animal Input.

India’s Stem Cell Research Making Big Stride.

Japan to Establish Human Stem-cell Bank.

3M Korea’s New Antibiotic Dishtowel.

Faulty Brain Gene Makes Abused Boys Prone to Violence.

New Surgery for Degenerative Eye Disease.

Pigs Used in Drug Studies.

Researchers Identify Suicide Risk Factors in Bipolar Illness.

Thai Study Finds Mercury in Shark Fins.

Queensland Law Aims to Curb Amphetamine Production.

Indian Government to Set Stringent Regulations on Cloning.

Pricing Authority Denied Additional Powers and Members.

Singapore Supports Cloning for Therapeutic Purposes.

Australia Divided Over Cloning.

China Implementing Hospital Drug Procurement System.

Therapeutic Cloning Only.

This article reports on the recent developments to the regulation of human cloning and genetic testing and research in Singapore.

Delay in GM Food may Cost India.

M&As Set to Rise in India.

Senate Passes America Invents Act.

Institute of Biological Chemistry researchers find new protein-DNA interaction.

Medicago to receive up to US$12 million.

INEX inks partnership with BGI for new non-invasive prenatal test.

China emerging as 'major player' for pharmaceuticals.

Possible cure for dementia found by Taiwan researchers.

BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center to offer clinical next-generation sequencing services.

Biologists at Academia Sinica develops a new molecular strategy to suppress Hepatitis C virus replication.

Molecular cloning, characterization, and expression analysis of genes encoding Gibberellin 20-Oxidase in Dasypyrumvillosum dwarf mutant.

Quantum information, though not precisely defined, is a fundamental concept of quantum information theory which predicts many fascinating phenomena and provides new physical resources. A basic problem is to recognize the features of quantum systems responsible for those phenomena. One of these important features is that non-commuting quantum states cannot be broadcast: two copies cannot be obtained out of a single copy, not even reproduced marginally on separate systems. We focus on the difference in information content between one copy and two copies, which is a basic manifestation of the gap between quantum and classical information. We show that if the chosen information measure is the Holevo quantity, the difference between the information content of one copy and two copies is zero if and only if the states can be broadcast. We propose a new approach in defining measures of quantumness of ensembles based on the difference in information content between the original ensemble and the ensemble of duplicated states. We comment on the permanence property of quantum states and the recently introduced superbroadcasting operation. We also provide an appendix where we discuss the status of quantum information in quantum physics, based on the so-called isomorphism principle.

Growth factors such as human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) have recently received high interest in regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical industries mainly due to their ability to restore tissues proliferation and improvement of their biological functions. In spite of various hEGF applications, its efficient expression in Escherichia coli could not yet reach an industrial reality mainly due to the lack of the ability of folding into the correct 3D structure because of three disulfide bonds in monomer hEGF. To address these challenges, here a fusion hEGF protein with a C terminus of collagen binding domain (CBD) along with intein protein with self-splicing property and ELP sequence was constructed by a three-step cloning procedure. This enabled us to purify recombinant hEGF without using chromatography columns. Following the confirmation of the construct by colony PCR, restriction enzymes analysis and sequencing, the 62kDa band of ELP-INTEIN-hEGF-CBD were observed on SDS-PAGE and confirmed by western blotting. Subsequently, the mitotic activity in Balb/c 3T3 cells proliferation in presence of recombinant hEGF-CBD compared with commercial hEGF using methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay which showed that our purified recombinant protein stimulates the cell proliferation similar to the commercial protein. Our strategy could be considered as a new feasible approach to produce hEGF in E. coli for pharmaceutical and clinical applications.

The essence of fertilization is the mingling of female and male genomes to create a new individual with a genomic combination that never existed before. In the female germ cell, the plasma membrane becomes fusion-competent first, and then maturation of the cytoplasm and nucleus follows. This order of maturation is reversed in the male germ cell: the male germ cell completes first its nuclear maturation, then its cytoplasmic maturation; the plasma membrane becomes fusion-competent last. The nuclei of polar bodies can be used as substitutes for female pronuclei to produce live offspring. At least in the mouse, the nuclei of spermatocytes can participate in embryo development after completion of meiosis within the oocytes. The nuclei of deformed spermatozoa can participate in embryo development as long as they are genomically normal. By ICSI, men with defective Y chromosomes transmit their infertility to their sons, but not to their daughters. In the future, it may be possible for defective Y chromosomes in spermatozoa and prespermatozoal cells to be repaired or replaced by the normal Y chromosomes of other individuals. Cloning using adult somatic cells is an entirely new reproduction method. Its efficiency is rather low at present, regardless of the species and cell types tested. In the future, cloning may become as efficient as natural reproduction, but exclusive use of cloning would not benefit long-term survival of the species.

The TCA cycle is a crucial link between catabolic and anabolic reactions in cells and anaplerotic reactions are responsible for replenishing the citric acid cycle intermediates. Extensive studies on the metabolism of an industrial Aspergillus niger strain have revealed that there are three main metabolic events that replenish TCA cycle intermediates and predispose the cell to product formation: fast uptake of glucose by simple diffusion, unrestricted metabolic flow through glycolysis, and uncoupled NADH re-oxidation resulting in lower levels of ATP and therefore decreased anabolic reactions. Only the activities of certain enzymes characteristic of individual A. niger strains can lead to such intracellular conditions. In this respect, we carried out studies aiming to demonstrate that the productivities and yields of industrial strains of L. lactis can be increased by reinforcing anaplerotic reactions by the transfer of specific A. niger genes into them. The development of a wide variety of cloning systems during the last decade has allowed the improvement of many properties of L. lactis strains that are essential for a large number of industrial dairy and other food fermentations. A central area in research related to L. lactis genetics is the regulation of glycolysis. The mechanisms responsible for regulation of the glycolytic flux and the shift between different fermentation modes are being studied extensively. Most recent research with microaerobic glucostat fed-batch experiments showed that the concentration of glucose influences its specific uptake rate and consequently the glycolytic flux, as well as the fermentation pattern. The highest specific activities of the key glycolytic enzymes PFK, PYK and the LDH were obtained at 55 mM glucose, the area of the highest observed glycolytic flux. Reduction of the glycolytic flux by 55% in the 277 mM glucostat corresponded to an almost identical reduction in PFK activity, indicating a certain controlling influence of this enzyme on the flux, through the glucose effect. Glucostat data also showed that the control of the flux through the glycolytic pathway under the examined conditions, resides to a large extent in processes outside the pathway, like the ATP consuming reactions and glucose transport. A regulation mechanism was proposed governed by the energy state of the cell by which L. lactis can handle the glycolytic flux through the allosteric properties of key enzymes, with PFK having a significant influence on the control. By cloning the pfkA and its truncated version alone and in strategic combinations with aox1 and pkaC genes from A. niger into L. lactis, carbon conversion rates and the yield of lactate and nisin A were improved. L. lactis transformants performed more efficiently under aerobic conditions with high glucose levels in the medium.

Homoserinedehydrogenase (HSD) is a useful catalyst for biosynthesis of aspartate family amino acid. The gene home encoding the HSD from Corynebacteriumpekinense has been cloned and expressed in E. coil. The recombinant HSD was efficiently purified and was characterized with substrate homoserine. The homogeneous HSD was acquired with molecular weight of ~70 kDa. The optimal temperature and pH were 37 °C, pH 7.5, and it had strong resistance to organic solvents. Its thermal stability was very good with halflife 4 h at 37 °C. The steady-state dynamics study indicated that, the kinetic parameters Km, Kcat were 0.39 mM, 26.11 s-1, respectively. Site-mutation results showed that, the each three mutants of 112 and 200 sites all had higher catalytic efficiency and substrate affinity than wild-type enzyme. It suggests that the HSD may provide a good model for altering the properties of new enzyme in the future.