Zinc Finger Proteins, Shape Shifting Robots and What Time is it on the Moon?

February 2

This week we will investigate Zinc Finger Proteins and the role that they may play in replacing CRISPR as our preferred DNA editing tool. We discover a shape shifting robot that can liquify itself, move and then rebuild itself. Does this remind you of a 90’s movie (read below)? We look at a new AI from Google that can create music from text and we ask the question “What time is it on the Moon?” Finally we update the AI lawyer story from last week. The legal profession has taken action to protect their jobs.

Zinc Finger Proteins

We have spoken about CRISPR many times. It is a DNA editing tool that allows us to change our DNA and in some cases cure Genetic Diseases. Researchers at the University of Toronto and New York University may have found an even simpler way of achieving the same result.

The team have built a new technology that can engineer proteins to target any stretch of DNA in the human genome. The team used a machine learning model to generate engineered zinc fingers that can bind to any given sequence of DNA. Zinc fingers are a common class of human protein that regulate gene expression. Gene expression transcribes genetic information into RNA molecules and proteins. Zinc fingers naturally bind with DNA and are less likely to generate immune reactions than CRISPR. The are also small enough to be used in a clinical setting.

Previously zinc fingers had to be individually engineered for every DNA target. This was slow and laborious. The new model offers ease of development with potentially higher DNA specificity than CRISPR. Zinc fingers are safer than CRISPR as injected drugs. Additionally the system can generate many proteins to do the same thing, offering a greater range of options that can be tested in clinical trials.

The next step is to optimize the specificity of a specific zinc finger with its’ target. The current system has no awareness of interactions with other targets. Optimizing for specificity will require the modeling these other interactions. This work is well underway.

Shape Shifting Robots

Who knew that Terminator 2; Judgement Day was a documentary. A team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a shape shifting robot that can reversibly switch between solid and liquid states. They show a robot shaped like a person liquifying to escape from a small prisoned remodeling back into its’ original shape in this video. Those that remember the movie will recall the T-1000 melting to liquid to escape the jail that he was being held in and then reforming as a man (killing robot).

The team were inspired by sea cucumbers. They created a new shape shifting material dubbed a magneto active solid-liquid phase transitional material. They embedded magnetic particles in gallium which has a very low melting point of 29.8C.

The magnetic particles have two roles. They make the material responsive to alternating magnetic fields so through induction the material can be heated and cause the phase change. The magnetic particles also give the robots the ability to move in response to the magnetic field.

There are other potential uses in addition to Terminator Robots. The team also used the robot to remove a foreign object from a model stomach and to deliver drugs on demand to the same stomach. They demonstrated the material in smart soldering for wireless circuit assembly and repair. There is also a potential use as a universal mechanical screw for difficult to reach spaces. Melting the material into a threaded screw socket and the solidifying the material will hold the screw in place. To undo the screw, melt the material.

AI Music

this week Google released their AI music creator. All you need to do is enter some text and the AI will generate what it considers to be appropriate music. One of their demonstration examples included the following prompt and response.

“The main soundtrack of an arcade game. It is fast-paced and upbeat, with a catchy electric guitar riff. The music is repetitive and easy to remember, but with unexpected sounds, like cymbal crashes or drum rolls.”

(there is an embedded audio file above, your email system may not allow or be able to play the file, if that is the case you can find the audio here.) There are a few other AI music generators. You can try Riffussion here.

Whist these tunes will not make the Top 40 or be available on spotify anytime soon, it is the start of AI taking over music in a similar way to ChatGPT and other tools taking over writing.

What time is it on the Moon?

In the next few years we will see a growing number of missions to the moon from a range of countries. Moon bases will be established and people are likely to be living there, at least for several months at a time. With people there, the inevitable question of what time is it (for many reasons but “when do we open the bar” is likely the most front of mind question for many moon inhabitants).

There is currently no independent moon time zone or system. Each lunar mission uses its’ own timescale that is usually linked to Universal Time (UTC). This method is imprecise and spacecraft exploring the moon don’t synchronize time with each other. Tracking satellites circling the moon (due in 2030) need a solution to develop a Moon GPS system.

An international team based at the European Space Agency in in the Netherlands is working on a solution. The first step is to derive time from faint navigation signals from earth based craft. Later however, dedicated satellites will be circling the moon, each containing their own atomic clock. A receiver on the moon’s surface will then triangulate its’ position. Using the time from the satellites the receiver will know its’ local time on the moon. The question then is, “is there one lunar time or are there time zones?”.

The time from solar noon to solar noon on the moon is 29.5 earth days. Earth time will matter to astronauts as we all need to sleep every 24 hour cycle. Moon meteorologists and other scientists may need a different definition of time that might include time zones.

To manage all of this NASA is developing a framework for a Solar System Internet called LunaNet. The first part of this new internet would be on the moon. LunaNet will consist of a set of rules that would enable all lunar satellite navigation, communication and computer systems to form a single network similar to the internet. Setting Luna time is an important part of this development.

Update on the AI Lawyer

Last week we spoke about Donotpay, a US startup that helps defend parking tickets and other simpler transgressions. They had intended to use an AI to prompt a defendant in court defend their parking ticketing February this year. Donotpay will no longer use an AI lawyer to help a defendant in a US court. The founder was threatened by the Judge with contempt of court and jail time if the experiment happened. Another case of the legal profession looking after their own.

AI is coming for the lawyers though. It is only a matter of time. ChatGPT this week passed a bar exam in the US. There are many aspects of the law that can be automated and the whole system made more efficient and affordable.

Paying it Forward

If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.

If you have any questions or comments please comment below.

I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.

Till next week.