Lifeboat Foundation

BEIJING — Chinese officials are scrambling to stop a deadly African swine fever outbreak with the potential to ravage the country’s pig population.

Since early August, the virus — which does not threaten humans — has spread to four provinces and has been detected in areas about 750 miles apart. The budding epidemic could endanger the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of hog farmers and jeopardize China’s enormous pork industry.

China has about 700 million pigs, half the world’s pig population. Pork is the country’s primary protein source.

Continue reading “China races to corral an outbreak of deadly African swine fever” »

A team of researchers in China has used a form of the CRISPR gene editing technique to repair a genetic defect in a viable human embryo. In their paper published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the group describes their work and how well it worked.

Only three years ago, CRISPR was first used on a human embryo. In that work, a Chinese team attempted to use the technique to repair a genetic fault. Though the work made headlines around the world, it had a low success rate—just four out of 54 embryos that survived the technique carried the repaired genes. Since that time, a new variation of CRISPR has been developed—it is called base editing, and works in a more efficient way. Instead of snipping DNA strands and replacing removed bits with desired traits, the new method does nothing more than swap DNA letters—trading out an A for a G, for example. In this new effort, the researchers used this new method to correct a gene mutation that results in humans having a condition called Marfan syndrome, in which people have an A instead of a G in the FBN1 gene. It is a disorder that causes problems with connective tissue, leading to a myriad of problems for those born with it.

The new research is unique in that the scientists used viable embryos created using in vitro fertilization. The team could have implanted these viable gene-edited embryos into a woman’s uterus, had they chosen to do so.

In a new study, researchers have identified a direct link between mitophagy and inflammation.

A NEW scan can predict heart attack risks five years in advance.

Experts say the “game-changing” advance spots problems in one in ten patients currently getting the all-clear.

It scours ordinary CT scans to detect missed warning signs.

Continue reading “Breakthrough scan can predict risk of heart attacks five years in advance” »

If your BMI is higher than 30, you’re technically obese. These maps show how many people per European country (and U.S. state) suffer from that medical condition.

CELLINK proudly presents the LAMININ-SERIES in collaboration with BIOLAMINA

Laminins are proteins composed of three subunits referred to as a α-chain, β-chain and γ-chain. They are a major component of the basal lamina that lines the external surface of cell membranes. This protein is characterized by its cross-like structure that serves as a structural foundation for many tissues. Laminins play an important role in cell differentiation, migration, adhesion and also involved in supporting healthy tissue. Several laminins have been identified, which all have been related to different tissues and organs in the human body.

Our CELLINK LAMININ SERIES consists of five tissue-specific bioinks that have been developed for improving maintenance and survival of tissue. The bioinks contain laminins to mimic the basal lamina and the natural tissue environment. These bioinks retain the excellent printability and ease of cross-linking found with the universal CELLINK® bioink.

Need more evidence that blockchain isn’t the cure-all for Corporate America? Well, a new report from PwC says adoption of the technology is stalling.

Hidden tunnels which link the human skull to the brain have been discovered by scientists, leading to hopes the breakthrough may help in stroke and Alzheimer’s research.

Researchers believe that the passages provide a quick channel for immune cells to reach the brain from the bone marrow in the skull.

Previously it was through that immune cells formed in the bone marrow of the limbs was transported up to the brain to clear out infection.

Continue reading “Secret immune cell tunnels found in human skulls” »

If you’ve ever experienced jet lag, you are familiar with your circadian rhythm, which manages nearly all aspects of metabolism, from sleep-wake cycles to body temperature to digestion. Every cell in the body has a circadian clock, but researchers were unclear about how networks of cells connect with each other over time and how those time-varying connections impact network functions.

In research published Aug. 27 in PNAS, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and collaborating institutions developed a unified, data-driven computational approach to infer and reveal these connections in biological and chemical oscillatory networks, known as the topology of these complex networks, based on their time-series data. Once they establish the topology, they can infer how the agents, or cells, in the network work together in synchrony, an important state for the brain. Abnormal synchrony has been linked to a variety of brain disorders, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Jr-Shin Li, professor of systems science & mathematics and an applied mathematician in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, developed an algorithm, called the ICON (infer connections of networks) method, that shows for the first time the strength of these connections over time. Previously, researchers could only determine whether a connection existed between networks.