Article
Biology
Matthew Metzloff, Emily Yang, Sumit Dhole, Andrew G. Clark, Philipp W. Messer, Jackson Champer
Summary: Our study demonstrates the construction of a tethered drive system in Drosophila, utilizing a locally confined CRISPR Toxin-Antidote Recessive Embryo (TARE) drive to support modification and suppression homing drives. Each drive was able to bias inheritance in its favor, and the TARE drive was shown to spread only when released above a threshold frequency in experimental cage populations. After the TARE drive had established in the population, it facilitated the spread of a subsequently released split homing modification drive (to all individuals in the cage) and of a homing suppression drive (to its equilibrium frequency).
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrea L. Smidler, James J. Pai, Reema A. Apte, C. Hector M. Sanchez, Rodrigo M. Corder, Eileen Jeffrey Gutierrez, Neha Thakre, Igor Antoshechkin, John M. Marshall, Omar S. Akbari
Summary: Malaria is a deadly disease that mainly affects Sub-Saharan Africa, causing over half a million deaths annually. Controlling the mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae is an effective method to control disease spread. In this study, a genetic population suppression system called Ifegenia was developed to interrupt the deadly vector's reproduction. The Ifegenia males were shown to be reproductively viable and capable of passing on genetic mutations to suppress the population. Modeling demonstrated that releasing nonbiting Ifegenia males iteratively can be an effective, controllable, and safe method for population suppression and elimination.
Article
Biology
Yiran Liu, Jackson Champer
Summary: Gene drives have the potential to effectively suppress haplodiploid populations. A drive targeting female fertility gene has been found to be successful, although it is less powerful compared to diploids and more susceptible to resistance alleles.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luke Gierus, Aysegul Birand, Mark D. Bunting, Gelshan I. Godahewa, Sandra G. Piltz, Kevin P. Oh, Antoinette J. Piaggio, David W. Threadgill, John Godwin, Owain Edwards, Phillip Cassey, Joshua V. Ross, Thomas A. A. Prowse, Paul Q. Thomas
Summary: This study demonstrates a novel gene drive strategy to eradicate invasive rodent populations on islands by leveraging the super-Mendelian transmission of the t haplotype. Transgenic mice were engineered to validate the effectiveness of this approach.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Optics
Sonny Ly, Janghyuk Lee, Alexander M. Rubenchik, Jonathan C. Crowhurst, Charles D. Boley, Vanessa N. Peters, Wesley J. Keller
Summary: The presence of an optically transparent tamper plate bonded to a metal surface can increase the shock imparted by a laser beam. Experiments were conducted to explore the shock produced in an aluminum slab using different tamper materials and drive conditions. The results showed a pressure enhancement of 50x using commercially available optics. The study compared results from hard dielectric glasses to soft plastics and discussed the mechanism of pressure saturation observed at high pulse fluence.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrew Hammond, Paola Pollegioni, Tania Persampieri, Ace North, Roxana Minuz, Alessandro Trusso, Alessandro Bucci, Kyros Kyrou, Ioanna Morianou, Alekos Simoni, Tony Nolan, Ruth Mueller, Andrea Crisanti
Summary: This study demonstrates the suppressive activity of a CRISPR-based gene-drive targeting the doublesex gene in Anopheles gambiae populations. The gene-drive element spreads rapidly through the populations, achieving full suppression within one year without inducing resistance. Approximate Bayesian computation allows for a more accurate prediction of gene-drive behavior in ecologically-relevant settings.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nigel W. Beebe, Dan Pagendam, Brendan J. Trewin, Andrew Boomer, Matt Bradford, Andrew Ford, Catherine Liddington, Artiom Bondarenco, Paul J. De Barro, Joshua Gilchrist, Christopher Paton, Kyran M. Staunton, Brian Johnson, Andrew J. Maynard, Gregor J. Devine, Leon E. Hugo, Gordana Rasic, Helen Cook, Peter Massaro, Nigel Snoad, Jacob E. Crawford, Bradley J. White, Zhiyong Xi, Scott A. Ritchie
Summary: Releasing sterile or incompatible male insects is a proven method of population management with the potential to revolutionize mosquito control in agricultural systems. A study in northern Australia using the incompatible insect technique (IIT) with the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti showed significant population declines, indicating the potential of this method in field settings.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stacey L. Hanlon, R. Scott Hawley
Summary: Selfish genetic elements use various mechanisms to ensure their inheritance and survival at the expense of the host. However, our understanding of the suppression systems against such selfish behavior is limited. In this study, the biased transmission of non-essential B chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster was achieved in a specific genetic background. The combination of a mutant of the matrimony gene and the TM3 balancer chromosome created a female-specific driving genotype for the biased transmission of the B chromosomes. The abnormal localization of B chromosomes during meiosis suggests a failure in the mechanism responsible for their proper distribution.
Article
Biology
Pia U. Olafson, Serap Aksoy, Geoffrey M. Attardo, Greta Buckmeier, Xiaoting Chen, Craig J. Coates, Megan Davis, Justin Dykema, Scott J. Emrich, Markus Friedrich, Christopher J. Holmes, Panagiotis Ioannidis, Evan N. Jansen, Emily C. Jennings, Daniel Lawson, Ellen O. Martinson, Gareth L. Maslen, Richard P. Meisel, Terence D. Murphy, Dana Nayduch, David R. Nelson, Kennan J. Oyen, Tyler J. Raszick, Jose M. C. Ribeiro, Hugh M. Robertson, Andrew J. Rosendale, Timothy B. Sackton, Perot Saelao, Sonja L. Swiger, Sing-Hoi Sze, Aaron M. Tarone, David B. Taylor, Wesley C. Warren, Robert M. Waterhouse, Matthew T. Weirauch, John H. Werren, Richard K. Wilson, Evgeny M. Zdobnov, Joshua B. Benoit
Summary: This study utilizes high-quality genome sequencing and RNA-Seq analysis to delve into the biology of stable flies, focusing on genes related to reproduction, vision, chemosensation, immunity, and metabolic detoxification pathways. The results of the study will lay the groundwork for controlling stable fly infestations.
Article
Energy & Fuels
A. Soria-Verdugo, J. F. Guil-Pedrosa, F. Hernandez-Jimenez, L. M. Garcia-Gutierraz, E. Cano-Pleite, N. Garcia-Hernando
Summary: Thermal energy storage (TES) is crucial for the operation of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. A sensible heat storage system using confined bed of small particle size granular material was experimentally evaluated. The temperature distribution in the bed and the total pressure drop of the TES system were monitored, and the experimental results matched well with the analytical model, showing the proper confinement of the granular material.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Samuel E. Champer, Isabel K. Kim, Andrew G. Clark, Philipp W. Messer, Jackson Champer
Summary: Recent experiments have shown the effectiveness of gene drives in suppressing mosquito populations to combat malaria. However, the combination of a homing drive and an X-shredder element was found to be less effective than expected, while drives based on the nos promoter may be more promising.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Lin Li, Qiangwei Zhang, Tie Zhang, Yanbiao Zou
Summary: This paper proposes a vibration suppression method based on the flexible dynamics model to address the issue of residual vibration in the ball-screw drive system when it stops in high-speed motion. By using the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm for dynamic parameter identification, a coupled ZVD shaper is designed to effectively suppress the residual vibration.
ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Chuan Liu, Renwen Chen, Yuxiang Zhang, Liping Wang, Jinchang Qin
Summary: Ocean wave energy plays a vital role in renewable energy, and a novel single-buoy wave energy converter with a directly driven power take-off system has been proposed in this study to address challenges faced by conventional direct-drive WEC systems. The HPMLG installed on the buoy generates electricity through relative movement with the stator attached to the shore or vessels. Performance evaluation using FEM shows that the HPMLG outperforms traditional linear generators by 19% in power generation. Experiments conducted in a wave tank demonstrate the feasibility of the prototype in improving existing issues and its suitability for wave energy generation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Kohei Aiso, Kan Akatsu, Yasuaki Aoyama
Summary: Magnetic gears achieve low acoustic noise and low vibration, maintenance-free by contact-less power transformation. The novel flux-switching magnetic gear proposed in this article features high mechanical strength and high torque density, making it suitable for high-speed motor drive systems.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amarish K. Yadav, Cole Butler, Akihiko Yamamoto, Anandrao A. Patil, Alun L. Lloyd, Maxwell J. Scott
Summary: Genetic-based methods, such as CRISPR homing gene drives, offer efficient and cost-effective ways to control insect pests. In this study, split homing drives targeting the dsx gene in Drosophila suzukii were developed and evaluated. The modified drive showed high transmission rates and could potentially be used for effective control of D. suzukii populations.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)