Part 2 of TED Radio Hour episode Reshaping Evolution
Stem cells have long been heralded as a potential tool to treat illnesses. Nabiha Saklayen explains how it’s still early, but scientists are getting closer to turning this vision into a reality.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,528
3D-bioprinted tissues can now be stored in the freezer until needed
A major obstacle to widespread study and clinical use of 3D tissues is their short shelf-life, which may be anywhere from a just few hours to a few days. As in the case of an organ transplant, a bioprinted tissue must be transported rapidly to the location where it is needed, or it will not be viable. In the journal Matter on December 21st, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School describe their work combining 3D bioprinting with cryopreservative techniques to create tissues which can be preserved in a freezer at-196°C and thawed within minutes for immediate use.
“For conventional bioprinting, there is basically no shelf life. It’s really just print, and then use, in most cases,” says lead author Y. Shrike Zhang (@shrikezhang), a biomedical engineer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “With cryobioprinting, you can print and store in the frozen state for basically as long as you want.”
The use of 3D bioprinting to create artificial human tissue first appeared twenty years ago. As in conventional 3D printing, an ink is extruded layer by layer through a nozzle into a pre-specified shape. In the case of bioprinting, the ink is typically made up of a gelatin-like scaffolding embedded with living cells. Cryobioprinting works the same way, except the printing is performed directly onto a cold plate held at temperatures down to-20°C. After the tissues are printed, they are immediately moved to cryogenic conditions for long-term storage.
5G is Poised to Change Everything, from Farming to Surgery
With 5G, apps and services that we can’t even imagine will be possible.
What good is a smart toaster if it can’t connect to the network?
CES 2022 is packed with tech that needs lightning-fast connection to the internet. That’s one reason why so many people at the trade show in Las Vegas are laser-focused on 5G. A handful of industry leaders got together at the conference to discuss the opportunities and challenges of making tech that works with the new global wireless standard.
J. David Grossman, VP Regulatory Affairs Consumer Technology Association, led the discussion. He was joined by John Godfrey, senior VP of Public Policy at Samsung Electronics, Inc; Asad Ramzanali, Legislative Director at the Office of Congresswoman Annna Eshoo; Emily Hebein, Legislative Assistant for Representative Bob Latta; and Deanna Kovar VP, Production & Precision Ag Production Systems at John Deere.
The panel discussedhow 5G is expected to transform tech innovation — and how federal, state, and local policy can create the right conditions for success.
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Injectable Gel Reverses Paralysis In Mice With Damaged Spinal Cords
A single injection of a newly developed drug has been shown to reverse paralysis in mice with severe spinal cord injuries. By mimicking the extra-cellular matrix around the spine, the liquified drug promotes the regeneration of severed nerves and the repair of other vital tissues, allowing the rodents to regain the ability to walk within four weeks.
Describing this breakthrough in a new study in the journal Science, researchers explain how they injected synthetic nanofibers into the damaged tissue of mice 24 hours after making a cut in their spinal cords. Consisting of an array of peptides, these nanofibers quickly assemble into a gel around the wound and begin communicating with cells in order to promote healing.
AgeX 2021 Corporate Update
An AgeX update. How iTR works starting at 12:14 and how it may be delivered.
Corporate update presentation from AgeX’s annual stockholder meeting in 2021, presented by Dr. Michael West and Dr. Nafees Malik.
Apologies for the audio issues starting around 20:13, during slides 19–21. I have added accurate subtitles/closed captions, which you can view by pressing the “CC” button on the video.
0:00 — Introduction.
0:56 — Mission of AgeX
1:24 — Cell Therapy update by Dr. Nafees Malik.
7:54 — iTR subsidiary Reverse Bio.
12:12 — How iTR works.
19:02 — Regulating iTR in vivo.
20:32 — iTR delivery technologies.
21:13 — EPRO pan-cancer therapeutic.
25:05 — Product pipeline.
26:00 — iTR intellectual property.
29:51 — Summary
NZ scientists in ‘game-changing’ plant cloning discovery
Kiwi scientists have helped discover a new gene described as a potential game-changer for cloning in global agriculture.
The gene allows natural reproduction by cloning in plants, enabling highly desirable traits to be carried through to the next generation rather than lost when the plants reproduce through pollination.
Named PAR, the new gene has been found to control parthenogenesis, a process whereby plant egg cells spontaneously grow into embryos without fertilisation.
NZ scientists help discover a new gene described as a game-changer for agriculture.
Goldman Sachs asks in biotech research report: ‘Is curing patients a sustainable business model?’
“The potential to deliver ‘one shot cures’ is one of the most attractive aspects of gene therapy, genetically-engineered cell therapy and gene editing. However, such treatments offer a very different outlook with regard to recurring revenue versus chronic therapies,” analyst Salveen Richter wrote in the note to clients Tuesday. “While this proposition carries tremendous value for patients and society, it could represent a challenge for genome medicine developers looking for sustained cash flow.”
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Goldman Sachs warns sales from the most successful disease treatments are difficult to maintain.
New way to alter DNA, affect health circumvents gut bacteria
Our gut microbiome helps us out every day by processing the fiber we can’t digest. The bacteria ferment the fiber into key chemicals known as short-chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, that are essential for human health. SCFAs fight inflammation, help kill dangerous bacteria, protect the lining of the gut, and can even help prevent cancer.
In a new study, the John Denu lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Institute for Discovery has learned that the fatty acids butyrate and propionate also activate p300, a crucial human enzyme that promotes the unspooling of DNA. This unwound DNA allows more genes to become active and expressed, which ultimately affects human health.
A study by Wisconsin Institute for Discovery researchers challenges long-held beliefs, with potential implications for physiological processes and diseases such as propionic acidemia, autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.