Lifeboat Foundation

Many drugs show promising results in laboratory research but eventually fail clinical trials. We hypothesize that one main reason for this translational gap is that current cancer models are inadequate. Most models lack the tumor-stroma interactions, which are essential for proper representation of cancer complexed biology. Therefore, we recapitulated the tumor heterogenic microenvironment by creating fibrin glioblastoma bioink consisting of patient-derived glioblastoma cells, astrocytes, and microglia. In addition, perfusable blood vessels were created using a sacrificial bioink coated with brain pericytes and endothelial cells. We observed similar growth curves, drug response, and genetic signature of glioblastoma cells grown in our 3D-bioink platform and in orthotopic cancer mouse models as opposed to 2D culture on rigid plastic plates. Our 3D-bioprinted model could be the basis for potentially replacing cell cultures and animal models as a powerful platform for rapid, reproducible, and robust target discovery; personalized therapy screening; and drug development.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. It is estimated that around 30 to 40% of patients with cancer are being treated with ineffective drugs ; therefore, preclinical drug screening platforms attempt to overcome this challenge. Several approaches, such as whole-exome or RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), aim to identify druggable, known mutations or overexpressed genes that may be exploited as a therapeutic target for personalized therapy. More advanced approaches offer to assess the efficacy of a drug or combinations of drugs in patient-derived tumor xenograft models or in vitro three-dimensional (3D) organoids. Unfortunately, most of the existing methods face unmet challenges, which limit their efficacy. For instance, cells can become quiescent or acquire somatic mutations while growing many generations on plastic under the influence of static mechanical forces and in the absence of functional vasculature.

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and existing gene therapies, including those built with the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, are delivered into cells with viral vectors or lipid nanoparticles. A research team led by CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang, Ph.D., of the Broad Institute has developed a new mRNA delivery system that harnesses a human protein.

The system, dubbed SEND, leverages the ability of a human protein called PEG10 to bind to its own mRNA and form a protective capsule around it. In a new study published in Science, Zhang and colleagues engineered PEG10 to take on RNA cargoes of their choice and successfully delivered the system to mouse and human cells.

The findings support SEND as an efficient delivery platform for RNA-based gene therapies that can be repeatedly dosed, the researchers suggested. Because SEND uses a protein that’s produced naturally in the body, it may not trigger immune responses that can render gene therapies ineffective, the team said.

Why are products sold that have not been fully tested for safety and public health?

A study led by researchers at the University of Toronto highlights the extensive damage that can be caused by common teeth-whitening agents.

Published recently in Nature Scientific Reports, the study assessed the dental cell damage caused by the use of carbamide peroxide teeth-whitening treatments.

Continue reading “Research Shows Extensive Damage Caused by Common Teeth-Whitening Products” »

Investigators who previously developed a recipe for turning skin cells into primitive muscle-like cells that can be maintained indefinitely in the lab without losing the potential to become mature muscle have now uncovered how this recipe works and what molecular changes it triggers within cells. The research, which was led by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and is published in Genes & Development, could allow clinicians to generate patient-matched muscle cells to help treat muscle injuries, aging-related muscle degeneration, or conditions such as muscular dystrophy.

It’s known that expression of a muscle regulatory gene called MyoD is sufficient to directly convert skin cells into mature muscle cells; however, mature muscle cells do not divide and self-renew, and therefore they cannot be propagated for clinical purposes. “To address this shortcoming, we developed a system several years ago to convert skin cells into self-renewing muscle stem-like cells we coined induced myogenic progenitor cells, or iMPCs. Our system uses MyoD in combination with three chemicals we previously identified as facilitators of cell plasticity in other contexts,” explains senior author Konrad Hochedlinger, Ph.D., a principal investigator at the Center for Regenerative Medicine at MGH and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

In this latest study, Hochedlinger and his colleagues uncovered the details behind how this combination converts skin cells into iMPCs. They found that while MyoD expression alone causes skin cells to take on the identity of mature muscle cells, adding the three chemicals causes the skin cells to instead acquire a more primitive stem cell–like state. Importantly, iMPCs are molecularly highly similar to muscle tissue stem cells, and muscle cells derived from iMPCs are more stable and mature than muscle cells produced with MyoD expression alone.

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Vitamin K Intake and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health Study.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34369182/

Continue reading “Vitamins K1 And K2 Are Associated With Cardiovascular Disease-Related Hospitalization Risk” »

VQA technology can be used in a wide range of areas, including searches for products on e-commerce sites and supporting analysis of medical images.

Hanson Robotics plans to revolutionize healthcare with its latest innovation: Grace, an AI-enabled android who can assist nurses by diagnosing and treating patients.

Whenever one talks about technology that is revolutionizing the world around you, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is always on the top of the list. In fact, as per the study conducted by IDC, the spending on AI technologies is expected to increase to $97.9 billion by 2023. While the world struggles with the Pandemic, AI technology is constantly growing. Why? You ask. Well, with organizations and companies operating from home, AI is evolving more every day to help them automate their day-to-day activity.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a branch of Computer science that is focused on building smart machines. This is the technology that enables machines to think and act with human intelligence. While most of you might be aware of what AI is, still do you know that AI along with the rising technologies ML (Machine Learning) and Deep Learning have made and are making several trendsetting changes in the market.

Here, we are going to list the latest AI (Artificial Intelligence) trends that are lighting a spark in 2021. Let’s start the list without any ado.

With his Regeneron treatment, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joined a list of high-profile conservatives, including Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani and former President Donald Trump, who have relied on the therapy. But some scientists have been critical of the push for antibody treatments over other, easier prevention methods.

(polite notice: Regeneron helped end the ebola epidemic, by ending clinical trials early, and getting treatments to people ASAP)

When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that had tested postiive for Covid-19, his office shared that he was treated with a therapy not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, but one of the few shown to be effective against the virus: monoclonal antibodies.

Continue reading “Covid-19 antibody treatments work, but they’re ‘not the path out of this pandemic’” »