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Researchers Re-Engineer E-Coli DNA to Make it Programmable

A team of synthetic biologists led by Farren Isaacs at Yale University [has taken] Escherichia coli cells and replaced all of the UAG stop codons with UAAs. They also deleted the instructions for making the release factor that usually binds to UAG, effectively rendering UAG meaningless…

The next step was to assign a new meaning to UAG during protein production. The team did this by designing molecules called transfer RNAs and accompanying enzymes that would attach an unnatural amino acid – fed to the cell – wherever they spotted the UAG codon…

By reintroducing UAGs at specific locations, as the Yale team have done, unnatural amino acids can be added into proteins at will.

"We now have an organism that has a new code, and we can reliably and efficiently open up the chemical diversity of proteins," says Isaacs.

For example, artificial amino acids could be added that give proteins unusual properties, such as the ability to bind to metals – resulting in novel adhesives. Or enzymes could be developed that are activated only in the presence of other molecules – which could be useful for drugs. “The genetic code is conserved for all of life, so this is a fundamental step forward,” says Philipp Holliger of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. He says that because so much of the genetic code is redundant, there might be other codons that could be reassigned to expand the chemistry of living organisms.

(via Reprogrammed bacterium speaks new language of life - life - 23 October 2013 - New Scientist)

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KKR and Panasonic Agree on a Price

Earlier in the month we wrote about the announcement of the Panasonic health sale to private equity firm KKR. The sale has now been finalized, KKR will own 80% of the Panasonic healthcare unit for a price of $1.67 billion an Panasonic will hold the remaining 20%. Panasonic has lost more than $7 billion a year for the last two years on their healthcare unit. The chief executive of Panasonic when asked about his thoughts on KKR said, "We believe that partnering with K.K.R will also allow us to learn from K.K.R.'s global operational and business management expertise as we pursue the next stage of growth for Panasonic." KKR's founder Henry Kravis said in a statement that Japan was, "a very important and attractive market for K.K.R., and our experienced tam on the ground in Japan looks forward to leveraging KKR's Global expertise experience." Other notable leaders on KKR's global team include former General David Petraeusand former RNC Chairman Kenneth Mehlman.

http://aclassasset.blogspot.com/2013/10/kkr-and-panasonic-agree-on-price.html