Sir Aaron Klug, OM, who has died aged 92, won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his work in charting the infinitely complex structures of chromosomes, the body’s largest molecules.
Human genes are made of nucleic acids such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). The acids are too small to be seen with an ordinary microscope and too large to be studied by examining them under X-rays.
In a study published in the journal Immunology, Southampton University researchers have shown that a new antibody that they have engineered is able to combine two different anticancer approaches: depleting regulatory T cells and activating killer T cells [1].
Abstract
The costimulatory receptor 4-1BB is expressed on activated immune cells, including activated T cells. Antibodies targeting 4-1BB enhance the proliferation and survival of antigen-stimulated T cells in vitro and promote CD8 T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity in pre-clinical cancer models. We found that T regulatory (Treg) cells infiltrating human or murine tumors expressed high amounts of 4-1BB. Intra-tumoral Treg cells were preferentially depleted by anti-4-1BB mAbs in vivo. Anti-4-1BB mAbs also promoted effector T cell agonism to promote tumor rejection. These distinct mechanisms were competitive and dependent on antibody isotype and FcgR availability. Administration of anti-4-1BB IgG2a, which preferentially depletes Treg cells, followed by either agonistic anti-4-1BB IgG1 or anti-PD-1 mAb augmented anti-tumor responses in multiple solid tumor models.
The latest podcast with Liz Parrish with Elite Man Magazine. Her story, how she intends to tackle disease, and how she views the future. Once we have cured all diseases, we can color our skin green and our eyes purple. Wow!
Check out this incredible interview with BioViva CEO Liz Parrish as she talks about how to stop aging, grow taller, build incredible muscle mass, and reverse disease using gene therapy!
Julie K. Andersen at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato as a speaker for the 2019 Undoing Aging Conference.
“Julie has been associated with SENS since its earliest days: she participated in the first workshop that I organised to discuss it, in 2000, and she was a co-author on the first SENS paper in 2002. We’re delighted to be funding her laboratory at the Buck Institute to explore new ways of eliminating neurofibrillary tangles from neurons of Alzheimer’s sufferers, and at UA2019 we will hear about their initial progress.” says Aubrey de Grey.
https://www.undoing-aging.org/news/dr-julie-k-andersen-to-sp…Qq6fZbArkM #
Desiccants kill more than plants. Herbicides like glyphosate also kill bacteria. You could just as easily call them “antibiotics.” Our gut bacteria are sensitive to antibiotics, which is why we should avoid eating herbicides. When our microbes are healthy, our immune system is stable. But when microbes are disturbed, diseases like obesity, Alzheimer’s, or celiac disease can result.
Driving down a grid road in central Saskatchewan, a machine that looks like a giant insect approaches me in a cloud of dust. The cab, hanging 8 feet above the road, is suspended by tires at least 6 feet tall, with wing-like appendages folded along each side. Should I drive around it or under it?
It is harvest season, and the high-clearance sprayer is on its way to desiccate a field. Desiccation may be the most widespread farming practice you’ve never heard of. Farmers desiccate by applying herbicide to their crops; this kills all the plants at the same time, making them uniformly dry and easier to cut. In essence, desiccation speeds up plant aging. Before desiccation, crops would have to dry out naturally at the end of the season. Today, almost all conventional crops are desiccated in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Chances are that most of what you ate today was harvested using a desiccant, but you’d never know.
Mike Shewchuk jumps down from his swather as I pull into his farmyard. He is a young farmer whose blond brush cut and a robust stride would have not been out of place 50 years ago. Along with his dad, uncles, and brother, he farms 15,000 acres an hour outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They recently received a century farm award, for having continuously farmed the land since the early 1900s.
For the first time, a human organ has been successfully transported between medical facilities by a drone. A team of scientists from the University of Maryland Baltimore used a research-qualified donor kidney as a test subject to shuffle back and forth on a remotely piloted hexacopter, testing the organ for changes throughout 14 flights. Its longest journey was 3 miles at a maximum speed of 40 mph, the duration and distance of which were suitable for demonstrating transportation between inner city hospitals.
Currently, organs have few options for transportation, and the process for moving them involves a network of couriers and commercial aircraft that are dependent on schedules and traffic patterns. When normal commercial schedules aren’t available, the cost of private charter transportation can be prohibitive. Even when cost isn’t a factor, the time involved in the process altogether can prevent a transplant from being completed as organs are very sensitive cargo.
To best ensure a successful transplant procedure, organs must be moved quickly between the donor and the recipient. The amount of time an organ can spend chilled after removal and when it’s warmed up and the blood supply restored, called cold ischemia time (CIT), is very limited. Some organs, such as the heart, only have as few as 4 hours available to be transported before they are no longer eligible for transplant. Up against airplane flight availability and traffic patterns, an improvement like what drone transportation could provide might have life saving implications.
