Researchers have confirmed cases of the disease among two unconnected West African populations of chimpanzees, in Guinea-Bissau and the Ivory Coast.
Analysis published in the journal Nature shows the strains of leprosy are different, and both are uncommon among humans.
The origins of the infections are unclear, but the research team – led by the University of Exeter and the Robert Koch Institute – say the findings show leprosy is probably circulating in more wild animals than was previously suspected, either as a result of exposure to humans or other unknown environmental sources.
Cell culture is an essential in vitro experimental tool. An attempt to recapitulate the body in a dish, in two and three dimensions, it has provided the basis for decades of research and probably thousands of PhDs. When it goes wrong, however, whether through accident, infection, misidentification, cross-contamination or uncontrolled differentiation (for stem cells), it can be very stressful, especially in the case of longer-term experiments or when using hard-to-replace cell lines. Another important consideration is reproducibility, which is an acknowledged life sciences industry issue. A 2015 PLOS Biol ogy study, for example, reported in an analysis of previous studies that the prevalence of irreproducible research was over 50% – equivalent to USD $28 billion per year on irreproducible preclinical research.1Inconsistencies in cell culture approaches are a potential issue in this regard, as if cells are not maintained or used in a consistent way, or are contaminated with an infection (like mycoplasma), this can negatively impact results and make it more difficult to reproduce and/or accurately interpret data.
“Quality control (QC) is a key part of assuring the quality of outputs from any cell culture process, and is an essential part of assuring reproducibility of scientific quality in research as well as assurance of the quality and safety of cell culture-derived products,” comments Glyn N Stacey, International Stem Cell Banking Initiative, Cambridge, UK, and the Institute for Stem Cells and Regeneration and National Stem Cell Resource Centre, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. “These topics are currently very much in the minds of journal editors, research funders and regulators and are thus of crucial significance to researchers.”
This article will look at these different aspects of cell culture quality control and the types of protocols that can be implemented to help ensure reliable and reproducible results.
AI & computational technology for improving drug discovery & development — mati gill, CEO, AION labs.
Mati Gill is the Chief Executive Officer, of AION Labs (https://aionlabs.com/), a company recently launched and backed by a coalition of pharma and tech leaders, including AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer, Teva, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and the Israel Biotech Fund (IBF) and Israel Innovation Authority, to improve the whole drug discovery & drug development process with AI and computational biology.
Mati has an MBA (Healthcare & Innovation) and BS degree in law from Reichman University / IDC Herzliya, and has over a decade of experience in leadership roles in the biopharma industry, including most recently as Head of Government Affairs, Corporate & International Markets, at Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Mati also spent 4 years as Member Of The Board Of Advisors and Directors, at Sanara Ventures, a healthcare investment platform backed by Philips & Teva, providing Pre-seed, Seed and A round financing to young companies.
Prior to teva, mati was chief of staff to israel’s minister of public security.
Covid-19 patients who were given the low-cost antidepressant fluvoxamine were significantly less likely to require hospitalization compared with those who weren’t, according to a new study.
A drug used to treat agitation in people with dementia is no more effective than a placebo, and might even increase mortality, according to a new study. A drug used to treat agitation in people with dementia is no more effective than a placebo, and might even increase mortality, according to a ne.
Cambridge researchers have developed ‘mini brains’ that allow them to study a fatal and untreatable neurological disorder causing paralysis and dementia – and for the first time have been able to grow these for almost a year.
A common form of motor neuron disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often overlaps with frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD) and can affect younger peo… See More.
This is far from the first study that aimed to use approaches associated with aging research in order to spur regeneration. For example, we have previously reported that removing senescent cells aids in spinal cord regeneration in a rodent model, at least partially because of the associated reduction in inflammation.
The COVID-19 crisis led to fundamental changes in how we conduct business. The big question today is whether these innovations will be sustained and built upon after the crisis.
Circa 2020 o.o Basically a molecular printer could make your own vaccine for any disease.
Tesla Inc is building mobile molecule printers to help make the potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by CureVac in Germany, the electric-car maker’s Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, tweeted on Wednesday.
Dr. Ann Marie Kimball (https://epi.washington.edu/faculty/kimball-ann-marie/) is a physician, epidemiologist and currently holds the roles of Associate Fellow at the international affairs think tank Chatham House, and Vice Chair, COVID 19 task force, at The Rotary Foundation / Rotary International.
Previously, Dr. Kimball served as a strategic advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation, supporting the strengthening and development of strategies for Ebola, post-Ebola, and health crisis response, including planning and guiding the formation of a regional disease surveillance network in collaboration with Connecting Organizations for Regional Disease Surveillance (CORDS).
Before joining the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Kimball served as technical and strategic lead for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation surveillance strategy formation.
Prior to Gates, Dr. Kimball served as Professor of Epidemiology for the University of Washington (UW), School of Public Health, with adjunct appointments in Medicine (Bioinformatics and Infectious Diseases) and the Jackson School of Foreign Affairs. During her tenure at UW, Dr. Kimball founded and directed the APEC Emerging Infections Network, and led research and training programs in Surveillance and Informatics in Peru and Thailand.
Dr. Kimball’s research focus on global trade and emerging infections earned her a Fulbright New Century Scholars award and a Guggenheim Scholars award.
Dr. Kimball is also the author of Risky Trade: Infectious Diseases in an Era of Global Trade, which was highly reviewed by NEJM, Emerging Infections and Lancet. She has authored numerous scientific publications, and served on numerous Institute of Medicine panels. She is also a fellow in the American College of Preventive Medicine and member of the National Biosurveillance Advisory group (NBAS) from the Centers for Disease Control.
