Today, ABB showcased a mobile autonomous laboratory robot that can work alongside humans at its global healthcare research hub on the Texas Medical Center campus in Houston, Texas.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 2012
A collaborative study published today in the journal Cell Reports provides evidence for a new molecular cause for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. The study, led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, integrates data from human brain autopsy samples and fruit flies to reveal a novel mechanistic link between alterations in RNA splicing and tau-mediated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.
“Cells carry out their functions by producing specific proteins encoded in their genes. To produce proteins, genes encoded in the DNA are first transcribed into RNA molecules, which subsequently are translated into proteins,” said corresponding author Dr. Joshua Shulman, associate professor of neurology, neuroscience and molecular and human genetics at Baylor and investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute.
In this study, Shulman and his colleagues investigated a molecular mechanism called RNA splicing that is involved in the production of mature RNA molecules necessary to produce working proteins. They looked into the possibility that aggregates of tau protein within neurons, a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease, interfered with RNA splicing.
Salamanders are renowned for their regenerative capabilities, such as growing back entire limbs. We can’t pull off this biological trick, but new research highlights a previously unknown regenerative ability in humans—one held over from our evolutionary past.
Our bodies have retained the capacity to repair injured or overworked cartilage in our joints, says new research published today in Science Advances. Remarkably, the mechanics of this healing process are practically the same as what’s used by amphibians and other animals to regenerate lost limbs, according to the study.
Doctors at the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center have made a significant breakthrough in creating a human liver for trials.
GenSight Biologics has recently released data showing the effectiveness of GS010, the company’s gene therapy for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a mitochondrial disease that can lead to blindness. Like in previous studies, this therapy had a bilateral effect.
Gene Therapy
In LHON, the mitochondrial protein ND4 is poorly expressed through mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). GS010 is a gene therapy that causes this protein to be allotropically expressed in the nucleus, after which it is shuttled to the mitochondria through messenger RNA. This makes GS010 a partial treatment for mitochondrial dysfunction, which is one of the hallmarks of aging.
Scientists are exploring how to edit genomes and even create brand new ones that never existed before, but how close are we to harnessing synthetic life?
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Scientists have made major strides when it comes to understanding the base code that underlies all living things—but what if we could program living cells like software?
The principle behind synthetic biology, the emerging study of building living systems, lies in this ability to synthesize life. An ability to create animal products, individualized medical therapies, and even transplantable organs, all starting with synthetic DNA and cells in a lab.
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to synthesizing life: building artificial cells from the bottom-up or engineering microorganisms so significantly that it resynthesizes and redesigns the genome.
Queensland researchers say they can cure cervical cancer in mice using gene editing technology and are now working towards human trials.
Klotho, named after one of the Fates of Greek mythology, is the queen of anti-aging proteins. There are no close contenders at this time. Klotho gene therapy, like the one offered by Integrated Health Systems, has tremendous benefits. While it is produced primarily in the kidneys and brain, its soluble form circulates throughout the body. Many of the investigations so far have been done nephrologists interested in its prominent role in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), yet over the last decade its multifaceted role in the aging process has become a topic of intense research.
Klotho deficient mice show premature aging in multiple organs.
Inducing KL overexpression with a viral vector, like AAV, not only reverses this premature aging, but also enhances resistance to oxidative and ischemic damage. More impressive, KL outright extends the lifespans of mice, likely be inhibiting IGF and insulin signalling. Dubbed an “aging suppressor gene,” it can yield results similar to caloric restriction – what is, at this time, the most tried and true method of extending the lifespans of a variety of model organisms.
Bacterial vaginosis is a common infection in women that’s usually easily treated with antibiotics. But for those who develop recurrent infections, treatment options have been limited.
Now, Israeli researchers report they were able to put recurrent infections into remission in four out of five women who received a “vaginal microbiome transplant.” The transplant consisted of healthy bacteria collected from the vaginal fluid of donors without the condition, the researchers explained.
“Bacterial vaginosis, while not life-risking, is an exceedingly common female disorder that bears a severe toll on women’s lives, including severe discomfort, reduced self-esteem, problems in intimate relationships, social segregation and a variety of risks of developing infectious gynecological and obstetric complications,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Eran Elinav.
