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Category: biotech/medical – Page 231

Taking a responsible path to AGI

We’re exploring the frontiers of AGI, prioritizing readiness, proactive risk assessment, and collaboration with the wider AI community.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI that’s at least as capable as humans at most cognitive tasks, could be here within the coming years.

Integrated with agentic capabilities, AGI could supercharge AI to understand, reason, plan, and execute actions autonomously. Such technological advancement will provide society with invaluable tools to address critical global challenges, including drug discovery, economic growth and climate change.

VEXAS syndrome: More common, variable, and severe than expected

A recently discovered inflammatory disease known as VEXAS syndrome is more common, variable, and dangerous than previously understood, according to results of a retrospective observational study of a large health care system database. The findings, published in JAMA, found that it struck 1 in 4,269 men over the age of 50 in a largely White population and caused a wide variety of symptoms.

“The disease is quite severe,” study lead author David Beck, MD, PhD, of the department of medicine at NYU Langone Health, said in an interview. Patients with the condition “have a variety of clinical symptoms affecting different parts of the body and are being managed by different medical specialties.”

Dr. Beck and colleagues first described VEXAS (vacuoles, E1-ubiquitin-activating enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome in 2020. They linked it to mutations in the UBA1 (ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme 1) gene. The enzyme initiates a process that identifies misfolded proteins as targets for degradation.

Organoid model integrates microglia to study inflammation in brain

Organoids have revolutionized science and medicine, providing platforms for disease modeling, drug testing, and understanding developmental processes. While not exact replicas of human organs, they offer significant insights.

The Siegert group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) presents a new model that reveals details of the developing nervous system’s response to viral infections, such as Rubella. This model could influence pharmaceutical testing, particularly benefiting drug safety for pregnant women.

Microglia are special cells in the human brain. Like a diligent ranger overseeing a forest and dealing with infestations and wildfires, scan the brain environment for germs and initiate an anti-inflammatory response to remove them. They also monitor the quantity of neurons () and their connections to ensure optimal brain function in adulthood.

Key brain differences can explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Nearly 16 million American adults have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but evidence suggests that more than 30% of them don’t respond well to stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall.

A new clinical trial provides a surprising explanation for why this may be the case: There are in how our are wired, including the chemical circuits responsible for memory and concentration, according to a new study co-led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and performed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center.

Our brain cells have different types of chemical receptors that work together to produce optimal performance of brain function. Differences in the balance of these receptors can help explain who is likely to benefit from Ritalin and other stimulant medications. That is the finding of the new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

New antibiotics discovery could turn tide against drug-resistant bugs

Lariocidin was efficient against strains of E. coli, including drug-resistant ones, according to the new study.

Researchers say they have discovered a new class of antibiotics that could treat drug-resistant bacteria, the first to reach the market in nearly three decades.

The new molecule, called lariocidin, works by targeting a part of a bacteria’s cell called the ribosome and can disrupt the cell’s functions.

Atsena raises $150M for ocular gene therapies with Bain, Sofinnova in tow

Atsena Therapeutics has raised $150 million in an oversubscribed series C financing, with hopes that the funds can carry the biotech’s gene therapy designed to reverse or prevent blindness through a potential market approval.

The funding round was led by new investor Bain Capital, with participation from Sofinnova Investments, Abingworth, Wellington Management, Lightstone Ventures, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Hatteras Venture Partners, Osage University Partners and the Manning Family Foundation, according to an April 2 release.

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