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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2701

Awesome!

University of Oklahoma researchers will apply a new analytical technology that could ultimately provide a powerful tool for improved treatment of cancer patients in Oklahoma and beyond. Using mass spectrometry, an analytical instrument for sensitive detection and accurate identification of molecules, the team will quantitate the amount of anti-cancer drugs present in individual cancer cells, including those in bladder cancer cells isolated from patients undergoing chemotherapy. The method will provide a means to establish ideal dosing regimens that delivers effective chemotherapeutic concentrations to patients with minimal toxicities.

Anthony Burgett and Zhibo Yang, assistant professors in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the OU College of Arts and Sciences, and affiliates of the Stephenson Cancer Center, in collaboration with Jonathan E. Heinlen, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Urology at the OU Health Sciences Center and a Stephenson Cancer Center researcher, will fully develop the novel first-in-class mass spectrometric technology—the Single Probe—capable of performing single-cell mass spectrometry of compounds inside of living single cancer cells as a bioanalytical method to improve efficacy and toxicities of chemotherapy in patients.

“One clear lesson from scientific progress is that new technologies often lead to major advances. This new single cancer cell mass spectrometry analysis could propel us forward to a new frontier in biological analysis, and we are excited to see where this technology, with its possible scientific and biomedical applications, could lead,” said Burgett.

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I told many people that this was coming a few years ago; so glad. Wait until you see smart meds that people can never become addicted or overdose on because the smart med reads your system and knows when enough is enough.

The security solutions company uses botanical-DNA based tools to tag, track, and trace products for an array of industries. Now with the hire of a personal care supply chain management expert, the company is set to expand its engagement with the industry.

This week the Stony Brook, New York–based company announced that Barbara Brockway has accepted the role of Director of Personal Care.

Besides her experience in supply chain management, Brockway is also well versed in cosmetics formulation, food science, and branding, according to the company bio included in the statement announcing her appointment.

Continue reading “Applied DNA Sciences to grow its cosmetics, fragrances, and personal care business” | >

Interesting.

A team of Melbourne researchers believe they have discovered a new immune cell which is able to fight the infectious and potentially lethal bacteria, Legionella.

A team of specialist immunologists and microbiologists from the University of Melbourne and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity conducted a study which was able to determine a new cell type responsible for combating the attack of the bacteria.

The team was able to break down the impact of the legion of immune cells in the lung, which communicate to destroy the legionella bacteria.

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When cancer hits, your immune system shuts down. Over the past 5–10 years, research into cancer has therefore increasingly focused on helping the immune system start up again. Because if we succeed in that, there is much to indicate that this approach will prove significantly more effective than the aggressive, all encompassing chemotherapy treatments we currently use.

One of the initiatives in this area is the work of Professor Thomas Andresen from DTU Nanotech. He has recently been awarded a grant from Innovation Fund Denmark for a project in which biological nano-drones are used to train the immune system to recognize cancer cells; and kill them.

This is something it cannot do on its own, because cancer cells are adept at concealing themselves. It is true that when chemotherapy or radiotherapy is used to kill cancer cells today, the immune system steps in afterwards to clear away the dead cells, but it doesn’t learn anything from the process. This is what Thomas Andresen is looking to change.

“The strategy is for us to start by using radiation therapy to kill a small number of cancer cells. While the immune system is working to clear up after the attack, we send in our drones, which emit substances that place the immune system in ‘emergency response mode’. It then orders the body’s T-cells to attack the cancer cells. And because cancer cells are slightly different to other cells in the body, we can make them react to specific proteins on the surface of these cells, so only the hazardous cells are targeted,” explains Thomas Andersen.

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After axonal injury, nearby mitochondria become incapable of producing ATP, as indicated by their change in color from yellow (healthy) to green (damaged) (credit: Zhou et al., 2016)

Boosting the transport of mitochondria (cell energy suppliers) along neuronal axons enhances the ability of mouse nerve cells to repair themselves and regrow after injury or disease, researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke report in The Journal of Cell Biology.

Neurons need large amounts of energy to extend their axons long distances through the body. This energy — in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — is provided by mitochondria.

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Cereal plant, 7-grain bread, wholegrain food (credit: iStock)

A meta-analysis of 45 studies (64 publications) of consumption of whole grain by an international team of researchers, led by Dagfinn Aune, PhD, at Imperial College London, found lower risks of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease overall, as well as deaths from all causes and from specific diseases, including stroke, cancer, diabetes, infectious and respiratory diseases.

The researchers say these results “strongly support dietary recommendations to increase intake of whole grain foods in the general population to reduce risk of chronic diseases and premature mortality.”

The results have been published in an open-access paper in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

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Provided the variants for intelligence can be figured out and the genetic editing tools sufficiently refined (no small matter, in either case), Hsu thinks there’s an incredible potential for improvement. He’s written for the science magazine Nautilus that his calculations from the work at BGI indicate a potential for “very roughly, about 100 standard deviations of improvement, corresponding to an IQ of over 1,000.”

That’s a level of intelligence beyond what we can comprehend right now.

At the same time, we’re not just working on improving biological intelligence. We’re also working on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Smarter humans might be better able to solve those problems, helping us create smarter machines. Smart machines capable of processing big data are already essential for efforts to understand millions of human genomes. These things work together.

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Excellent article on iPS. Imagine many of us in our lives have designed or researched and develop new technologies or solutions to solve a specific set of problems or to address a specific set of opportunities; and ended up to our surprise to take in a different direction. This is one of those stories.

Induced pluripotent stem cells were supposed to herald a medical revolution. But ten years after their discovery, they are transforming biological research instead.

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List of the who’s who are leading some of key bio programs around nextgen bio/ living cell technologies.

According to GEN’s experts, synthetic biology isn’t yet plug-and-play, but cellular processes are being engineered into biosensing systems as well as biologics production. Soon, for tasks from theranostics to regenerative medicine, “there will be a synbio app for that.”

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