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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,992

‘Unnecessary’ genetic complexity: A spanner in the works?

The breakthrough, which identified the location and function of every human gene, offered the promise of medical care tailored specifically to individual patients, based on their personal genetic makeup.

When researchers identified a gene associated with a 44 per cent risk of breast cancer in women, for example, it seemed that protecting them might be as simple as deactivating that gene.

But the promise of such personalized medicine has not fully materialized, say two McMaster researchers, because the full sophistication of the genetic blueprint has a more complex and far-reaching influence on human health than scientists had first realized.

Is vitamin D an important biomarker for symptom severity in COVID-19?

In the absence of a specific vaccine, there has been much interest in alternative treatments and strategies to help minimise the effects of infection with COVID-19.

One strategy attracting much interest in the media is the importance of achieving sufficient vitamin D levels, and the topic has also been the subject of recent academic articles.1,2 While both articles discuss the potential role of vitamin D in the immune system, they also highlight the lack of direct clinical studies in those with COVID-19. However, a recent research letter3 provides some tentative evidence of the impact of vitamin D status on the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.

New Military Test Detects COVID-19 Before It’s Infectious

The test came out of DARPA, the U.S. military’s research division, and may be granted an accelerated emergency use authorization by the FDA by the end of the week, according to The Guardian.

If the test works as expected, it could play a major role in preventing future outbreaks by letting people know they need to self-isolate well before they start spreading the coronavirus.

“The concept fills a diagnostic gap worldwide,” Dr. Brad Ringeisen, head of DARPA’s biological technologies office, told The Guardian. He added that, should the FDA approve the test for use, it could be “absolutely a gamechanger.”

Implementation of PPI with Nano Amorphous Oxide Semiconductor Devices for Medical Applications

Electronic devices which mimic the functionality of biological synapses are a large step to replicate the human brain for neuromorphic computing and for numerous medical research investigations. One of the representative synaptic behaviors is paired-pulse facilitation (PPF). It has been widely investigated because it is regarded to be related to biological memory. However, plasticity behavior is only part of the human brain memory behavior.

Here, we present a phenomenon which is opposite to PPF, i.e., paired-pulse inhibition (PPI), in nano oxide devices for the first time. The research here suggests that rather than being enhanced, the phenomena of memory loss would also be possessed by such electronic devices. The device physics mechanism behind memory loss behavior was investigated. This mechanism is sustained by historical memory and degradation manufactured by device trauma to regulate characteristically stimulated origins of artificial transmission behaviors.

Under the trauma of a memory device, both the signal amplitude and signal time stimulated by a pulse are lower than the first signal stimulated by a previous pulse in the PPF, representing a new scenario in the struggle for memory. In this way, more typical human brain behaviors could be simulated, including the effect of age on latency and error generation, cerebellar infarct, trauma and memory loss pharmacological actions (such as those caused by hyoscines and nitrazepam).

Emerging Trends in Micro- and Nanoscale Technologies in Medicine: From Basic Discoveries to Translation

We discuss the state of the art and innovative micro- and nanoscale technologies that are finding niches and opening up new opportunities in medicine, particularly in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. We take the design of point-of-care applications and the capture of circulating tumor cells as illustrative examples of the integration of micro- and nanotechnologies into solutions of diagnostic challenges. We describe several novel nanotechnologies that enable imaging cellular structures and molecular events. In therapeutics, we describe the utilization of micro- and nanotechnologies in applications including drug delivery, tissue engineering, and pharmaceutical development/testing. In addition, we discuss relevant challenges that micro- and nanotechnologies face in achieving cost-effective and widespread clinical implementation as well as forecasted applications of micro- and nanotechnologies in medicine.

Antibody prevents the COVID-19 virus from infecting human cells

Antibody found to block infection by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in cells.

The ‘47D11’ antibody targets the ‘spike protein’ of the destructive coronavirus.

It could alter the ‘course of infection’ or protect an uninfected person exposed.

Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19.

Scientists say they’ve discovered an antibody that blocks infection by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the current global health crisis.

Continue reading “Antibody prevents the COVID-19 virus from infecting human cells” | >

COVID-19: immunopathology and its implications for therapy

Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by pneumonia, lymphopenia, exhausted lymphocytes and a cytokine storm. Significant antibody production is observed; however, whether this is protective or pathogenic remains to be determined. Defining the immunopathological changes in patients with COVID-19 provides potential targets for drug discovery and is important for clinical management. In the short time since SARS-CoV2 emerged, much has been learned about the immunopathology of the infection. Here, Xuetao Cao discusses what these early insights imply for drug discovery and clinical management.

A microsporidian impairs Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes

A microbe found in mosquitoes that appears to block malaria could be used to control spread of the disease in humans, according to researchers in Kenya and Britain.

In findings published Monday by the journal Nature Communications, the authors describes finding the microbe, Microsporidia MB, in mosquitoes around Lake Victoria in Africa — and that they could not find a single mosquito with the microbe that also had the malaria parasite.

A possible malaria control approach involves the dissemination in mosquitoes of inherited symbiotic microbes to block Plasmodium transmission. However, in the Anopheles gambiae complex, the primary African vectors of malaria, there are limited reports of inherited symbionts that impair transmission. We show that a vertically transmitted microsporidian symbiont (Microsporidia MB) in the An. gambiae complex can impair Plasmodium transmission. Microsporidia MB is present at moderate prevalence in geographically dispersed populations of An. arabiensis in Kenya, localized to the mosquito midgut and ovaries, and is not associated with significant reductions in adult host fecundity or survival. Field-collected Microsporidia MB infected An. arabiensis tested negative for P. falciparum gametocytes and, on experimental infection with P. falciparum, sporozoites aren’t detected in Microsporidia MB infected mosquitoes. As a microbe that impairs Plasmodium transmission that is non-virulent and vertically transmitted, Microsporidia MB could be investigated as a strategy to limit malaria transmission.

Israeli drones win prize as solution to coronavirus worker shortages

The drone-maker won the international award for its autonomous drones which have permitted companies to operate efficiently and flexibly despite the absence of workers around the world. The award was given to Percepto by the US-based company Frost and Sullivan, a business consulting firm involved in market research and analysis, for its ‘technological leadership’ in developing unique docking stations that operate independently without the need for a human operator in close proximity.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Tests UV Light Cleaning System to Sterilize Planes from COVID-19

UV light kills viruses in air-borne droplets and of the three types of ultraviolet light – UV-A, UV-B and UV-C – UV-C is the most damaging.

UV-C can damage the nucleic acids within an organism and prevent it from replicating. Its use as a disinfectant is fairly common in hospital and laboratory settings.

In Israel, IAI engineers have been working on a system that can work autonomously and automatically in a plane, once given a plan of the aircraft or any other large space.