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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,087

New scanner can improve the detection of cancer tissue and brain disease diagnoses

A group of neuroscience and neurotechnology researchers have conducted extensive research and developed a new brain imaging technology in two EU projects led by Aalto University. As a result of the successful research, a new project funded by Business Finland just started with the aim of making the devices usable for patients. The project’s budget is one million euros.

“More can be helpful in locating epileptic activity before surgery. The new device is also expected to help distinguish brain tumours from healthy tissue more accurately prior to cancer surgery. In addition, the device will increase our understanding of the connections between the different brain regions. This will help us understand abnormal brain activity in connection with, for example, depression or the progress of Alzheimer’s disease,” explains Professor Risto Ilmoniemi, Head of Aalto University Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering.

The improved accuracy can also be useful in the study of stroke, autism and brain injuries; and especially as part of basic brain research.

Swans & Dolphins Return To Italy, As Air, Water Quality Improves During Lockdown

The increasing number of coronavirus cases in Italy has brought the entire country to a standstill. According to the Live Tracking Dashboard, there are 27,980 confirmed cases as of now and 2,158 people have succumbed to the infection. However, a total of 2,749 people have also recovered from the illness.

Since people are socially distancing themselves to avoid the virus from spreading, a lot of them are also losing business with every passing minute. There’s panic and tension all around. However, there is a piece of good news that’s become the silver lining at this time of misery.

Venice, one of Italy’s biggest tourist attractions, sees a lot of visitors throughout the year. However, ever since the country was put under lockdown, the streets are deserted and there is very less boat traffic on the city’s canals where people often enjoy the gondola rides. But surprisingly, the lockdown has helped in clearing the city’s canals. As reported By CNN, the locals have noticed a huge difference in the clarity of the water. The air quality has improved in the city.

COVID-19: the immune system can fight back

Hope on the horizon:

1. Researcher make a breakthrough: Professor Katherine Kedzierska leads research at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity that discovers how the human body overcomes coronavirus.

Melbourne researchers have mapped immune responses from one of Australia’s first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, showing the body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection.

Lead researcher Professor Kedzierska (Microbiology and Immunology) said the antibodies released by the human immune system to overcome coronavirus are very similar to those it uses to combat influenza — despite it never having being exposed to the disease.

First Report of Human Monoclonal Antibody That Blocks SARS-CoV-2

A preprint of a study conducted by researchers from Utrecht University, in collaboration with Erasmus MC and Harbor BioMed, outlines the first report of a human monoclonal antibody that can block SARS-CoV-2.

Understanding antibodies: Terms and definitions

Antibodies are proteins that are produced by certain cells of the immune system known as B cells. They are able to bind to “foreign” material that tries to invade the body, such as pathogens, and directly neutralize them or trigger an immune response. This is achieved by binding of the antibody to an antigen, a specific molecule present on the pathogen.

New kind of CRISPR technology to target RNA, including RNA viruses like coronavirus

Now, in an important new resource for the scientific community published today in Nature Biotechnology, researchers in the lab of Neville Sanjana, PhD, at the New York Genome Center and New York University have developed a new kind of CRISPR screen technology to target RNA.

The researchers capitalized on a recently characterized CRISPR enzyme called Cas13 that targets RNA instead of DNA. Using Cas13, they engineered an optimized platform for massively-parallel genetic screens at the RNA level in human cells. This screening technology can be used to understand many aspects of RNA regulation and to identify the function of non-coding RNAs, which are RNA molecules that are produced but do not code for proteins.

By targeting thousands of different sites in human RNA transcripts, the researchers developed a machine learning-based predictive model to expedite identification of the most effective Cas13 guide RNAs. The new technology is available to researchers through an interactive website and open-source toolbox to predict guide RNA efficiencies for custom RNA targets and provides pre-designed guide RNAs for all human protein-coding genes.

Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Available in 90 Days

While the CDC has a vaccination in clinical trials Israel claims they could have a COVID-19 vaccination available within 90 days:

Israeli Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis confirmed Thursday that scientists are close to developing the first vaccine against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

The vaccine could be ready within a few weeks and available in 90 days if all continues going according to plan, Akunis noted.

“Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting breakthrough. I am confident there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat,” Akunis is quoted as saying, the Jerusalem Post reported.