Knowledge Update

London, Jan 11 (IANS) In a first, Danish researchers including one of Indian origin, have engineered E. coli bacteria to develop a cell line that produces large quantities of the compound serine -- used in detergents, tube feeding formula and as building blocks for many key chemicals.

The researchers from The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain) believe this cell line will help produce the ingredients sustainably and at low cost. 

"This discovery is quite unique and proves that we can actually adapt cells to tolerate large amounts of serine -- something many people thought wasn't possible," said Professor Alex Toftgaard Nielsen from DTU Biosustain. 

In order to develop these cells, the team used highly specialised robots.

"Cell growth must be monitored 24 hours a day, and the cells must be transferred to new medium at a certain time of growth. Therefore, it is crucial that we use 'Adaptive Laboratory Evolution' (ALE) robots," explained lead author Hemanshu Mundhada from Technical University of Denmark.

Serine is an amino acid important for humans because it is one of the 20 amino acids forming proteins in our bodies. 

Being highly water soluble, serine finds application as moisturiser in lotions of pharma and cosmetic industry.

The first step in the development process was to produce E. coli cells that could survive high concentrations of serine. 

To achieve this, the scientists used ALE method in which they first exposed the cells to a small amount of serine. When the cells had grown accustomed to these conditions, the bacteria were transferred to a slightly higher concentration. 

The experiment was repeated several times with the cells best suited to tolerate serine.

The tolerant E. coli cells were subsequently optimised genetically to produce serine.

"We have shown that our E coli cells can use regular sugar and even residues from sugar production, molasses, in lower concentrations. We have seen promising results with less expensive sugars, which makes it even more attractive to produce serine in E. coli," Mundhada added in a paper published in the journal Metabolic Engineering.

​Seoul, Jan 10 (IANS) Auto exports in South Korea posted a double-digit decline in 2016 amid soft demand for cars globally, labour strikes at key domestic carmakers and expanded production in overseas factories, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Beijing, Jan 10 (IANS) Chinese economy is estimated to have grown about 6.7 per cent in 2016, a top economic planner said on Tuesday.

The world's second largest economy registered the same growth rate in the first, second and third quarter in 2016, Xinhua news agency quoted Xu Shaoshi, director of the

Tokyo, Jan 10 (IANS) Japanese vehicle manufacturer Toyota Motor will invest at least $10 billion in the US over the next five years, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The plan comes just days after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened Toyota with high taxes if it was to produce in Mexico and export to the US, Efe news reported.

​New York, Jan 10 (IANS) "Finder for Airpods", an app that helped people track lost AirPod ear pieces has been banned by Apple.

Last week, mobile app developer studio Deucks Pty released the app on App Store.

​New York, Jan 10 (IANS) Social media giant Facebook is planning to show ads in the middle of videos and share the revenue generated with the publishers -- giving them 55 per cent of the sales -- media reported. "The company is testing a new 'mid-roll' ad format which will give video publishers a chance to insert ads into their clips after people have watched them for at least 20 seconds," Re/Code reported on Tuesday. The ads can also pop up on videos that run for atleast 90 seconds. The new format suggests that the social networking giant is relatively giving more importance to the time people spend watching videos, rather than the total number of videos they watch. To give users even more ways to watch, Facebook last year rolled out the ability to stream videos from the social network to your TV through devices like Apple TV or Google Chromecast.

Tokyo, Jan 10 (IANS) The number of foreigners visiting Japan in 2016 reached a record high of 24.04 million, 22 per cent more than the previous year, the Tourism Ministry said on Tuesday.

The figure rose by 21.8 per cent, or over 4.3 million, from the previous high of 19.7 million in 2015, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Ministry officials attributed the jump to the increase in the number of flights and cruise ships from Asian countries, as well as easing of visa and tariff restrictions.

The government aims to increase the number of visitors to 40 million by 2020.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government regards tourism as the trump card for the country's growth strategy and regional revitalisation.

​New York, Jan 10 (IANS) Older people suffering from arthritis can remain fit by engaging in 45 minutes of moderate physical activity such as brisk walking a week, says a study. According to US federal guidelines, achieving 150 minutes of moderate activity per week helps in preventing premature death and serious illness. However, only one in 10 older adults with arthritis meet these guidelines. The team from Northwestern University conducted a study on both men and women to determine that 45 minutes per week is the magic number for seniors. The researchers measured the physical activity of 1,600 adults who had pain, aching or stiffness in their hips, knees or feet. "We found the most effective type of activity to maintain or improve your function two years later was moderate activity, and it did not need to be done in sessions lasting 10 minutes or more, as recommended by federal guidelines," Dunlop concluded. Approximately, one third of participants improved or had high function after two years. But those participants who achieved the minimum of 45 minutes of moderate activity per week were 80 percent more likely to improve over two years compared with those doing less. "For older people suffering from arthritis who are minimally active, a 45-minute minimum might feel more realistic. Even a little activity is better than none," said Dorothy Dunlop, professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Achieving this less rigorous goal will promote the ability to function and may be a feasible starting point for older adults dealing with discomfort in their joints," Dunlop added in a paper which appeared in the journal Arthritis Care and Research.

Sydney, Jan 10 (IANS) A drug that could "melt away" cancer cells has been approved for human use in Australia, a media report said on Tuesday.

Developed in Melbourne, Venetoclax, which will be sold as Venclexta, has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use by patients with advanced forms of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Xinhua news agency reported.

The drug, which was approved for use in the US in August 2016, would be made available to patients who have not responded to standard treatments or who have not been able to undergo other therapies.

Venetoclax works by blocking the action of the BCL-2 protein which enables cancer cells to survive, a solution that researchers worldwide have been studying for more than 30 years.

Doug Hilton, the director at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, said the approval was important for patients with limited options.

"Like a lethal arrow, Venetoclax flies straight to the heart of BCL-2," Hilton told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

David Huang, the developer of the drug from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, won the Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research in 2016. 

London, Jan 10 (IANS) Retroviruses, the family of viruses that includes HIV, are almost half a billion years old -- several hundred million years older than previously thought, claim scientists from Oxford University.

New research suggests that retroviruses have ancient marine origins, having been with their animal hosts through the evolutionary transition from sea to land.

Until now, it was thought that retroviruses were relative newcomers -- possibly as recent as 100 million years in age.

"Our research shows that retroviruses are at least 450 million years old, if not older, and that they must have originated together with, if not before, their vertebrate hosts in the early Paleozoic era," explained Dr Aris Katzourakis from Oxford University's department of zoology.

Furthermore, they would have been present in our vertebrate ancestors prior to the colonisation of land and have accompanied their hosts throughout this transition from sea to land, all the way up until the present day.

Retroviruses are a family of viruses that includes the HIV virus responsible for the AIDS pandemic. 

They can also cause cancers and immunodeficiencies in a range of animals. 

The 'retro' part of their name comes from the fact they are made of RNA, which they can convert into DNA and insert into their host genome.

In this study, the researchers unearthed genomic fossils for foamy-like retroviruses in highly diverse hosts, including ray-finned fish and amphibians in which they had not previously been found.

"We need to consider the adaptations that vertebrates have developed to combat viruses, and the corresponding viral countermeasures, as the product of a continuous arms race that stretches back hundreds of millions of years," Katzourakis noted in the journal Nature Communications.

The findings will help researchers understand more about the continuing 'arms race' between viruses and their hosts.