Biotech/medical – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Apr 8
2025

Evaluation of Primary Stability of Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty Based on Finite Element Analysis

As the number of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) procedures increases, so does the incidence of revision surgery. Baseplate-related complications account for the highest proportion of these revisions, and it has been reported that improving baseplate fixation reduces the likelihood of failure. The present study aims to evaluate the initial stability of the baseplate to the glenoid after RSA. A finite element analysis (FEA) was performed using LS-DYNA models of the scapula and the SMR shoulder system, with a load of 30 N applied in both abduction and flexion, using the baseplate implantation surface as the reference. Micromotion was defined as the difference in displacement between the baseplate and the scapular fossa. The results demonstrated that micromotion between the glenoid and the baseplate diminished with increasing elevation in both abduction and flexion. It is hypothesised that in the SMR shoulder system, the screws are pressed into the glenoid during abduction, thereby contributing to enhanced initial stability.

RSA, rTSA, Baseplate, Finite Element Methods, Micromotion.

Apr 7
2025

No Longer Extinct? Colossal Biosciences’ Dire Wolf Project

The return of the Dire wolves?

Colossal Biosciences’ project to revive the once-extinct dire wolf could also prevent existing but endangered animals from slipping into extinction themselves.

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Apr 7
2025

The Return of the Dire Wolf

Colossal Biosciences has genetically engineered the first dire wolf to live in over 10,000 years. Here’s what that means for other extinct species.

Apr 7
2025

Scientists Find MRI Scans Could Leave Toxic Metal Behind in Your Body

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis can cause a thickening and hardening of the skin, heart and lungs—and cause painful contracting of the joints.

Apr 7
2025

Q&A: Scientists uncover process behind plastic’s dangerous fragment shedding

The world is littered with trillions of micro- and nanoscopic pieces of plastic. These can be smaller than a virus—just the right size to disrupt cells and even alter DNA. Researchers find them almost everywhere they’ve looked, from Antarctic snow to human blood.

Apr 7
2025

Metabolic changes may drive estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered previously unknown metabolic changes that may contribute to the development of estrogen receptor–negative (ERneg) breast cancer, according to recent findings published in Science Advances.

The study, led by Susan Clare, ‘90 MD, ‘88 Ph.D., research associate professor of Surgery, and Seema Khan, MD, the Bluhm Family Professor of Cancer, has the potential to inform new targeted preventives and therapeutics for patients who currently have limited treatment options.

Mariana Bustamante Eduardo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Khan/Clare laboratory, was lead author of the study.

Apr 7
2025

Abstract: Understanding the pathogenesis of NUP98-fusion mediated leukemia—

Suming Huang & team show the HoxBlin c long non-coding RNA serves as an oncogenic regulator that controls 3D nuclear organization, chromatin accessibility and gene transcription related to leukemogenesis.

The figure shows H&E staining of sternum and spleen from WT and B-ALL HoxBlin c Tg mice.

¹Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.

²Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

³Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Apr 7
2025

Reactivation of retrotransposable elements is associated with environmental stress and ageing

In this Review, Della Valle et al. discuss the role of retrotransposable elements (RTEs) in the onset and progression of ageing and ageing-related disease, including evidence that environmental stressors act through RTEs to shift the trajectory towards unhealthy ageing.

Apr 7
2025

Aurora: a Machine Learning Gwas Tool For Analyzing Microbial Habitat Adaptation

A primary goal of microbial genome-wide association studies is identifying genomic variants associated with a particular habitat. Existing tools fail to identify known causal variants if the analyzed trait shaped the phylogeny. Furthermore, due to inclusion of allochthonous strains or metadata errors, the stated sources of strains in public databases are often incorrect, and strains may not be adapted to the habitat from which they were isolated. We describe a new tool, aurora, that identifies autochthonous strains and the genes associated with habitats while acknowledging the potential role of the habitat adaptation trait in shaping phylogeny.

Apr 7
2025

Scientists discover new inhibitors of inflammation-related enzyme

Using computational tools and virtual screening, researchers at the Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma) have identified new inhibitors of the enzyme human 15-lipoxygenase-2 (h15-LOX-2). This protein plays an important role in inflammatory and metabolic processes and contributes to cellular homeostasis.

The discovery, described in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, could open up new avenues for investigating the biological and pathological functions of the enzyme and provide promising candidates for the development of new drugs.

“Although h15-LOX-2 is a potential biological target, it’s scarcely been explored for this purpose. Our work contributes to new inhibitors that have structural diversity among themselves and with respect to inhibitors already described in the literature. What’s more, they have similar drug properties according to predictions based on computational models,” says Lucas Gasparello Viviani, first author of the article.