Biotech/medical – Lifeboat News: The Blog

DARPA looking to develop new technology to ID cybercriminals

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical, cybercrime/malcode, government, law enforcement

May 7
2016

CRISPR to take bio- and dirty-bombs to new levels.
Great; however, QC needs to be front and center on this; or, I see a bunch of funding spent on research that will be render useless by the time it goes to market due to the progress in QC.

I truly feel bad for the labs who are having to tests for bio- and dirty-bomb material. Really a dangerous job.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking for research proposals to develop a system that would enable the government and law enforcement to identify the actual individual behind a cyber attack.

The Enhanced Attribution Program proposal is looking to create the technology that would allow not only the collection of data that could pinpoint the perpetrator, but do so in a way that would not put at risk the sources and methods used to find the person or group. From DARPA’s perspective the need for this is quite straightforward.

“Malicious actors in cyberspace currently operate with little fear of being caught due to the fact that it is extremely difficult, in some cases perhaps even impossible, to reliably and confidently attribute actions in cyberspace to individuals,” DARPA wrote in the 43-page proposal.

Garage Biotech: New drugs using only a computer, the internet and free online data

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in biotech/medical, computing, health, internet

May 6
2016

Garage startup (credit: Chase Dittmer)

By David Glance Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, University of Western Australia

Pharmaceutical companies typically develop new drugs with thousands of staff and budgets that run into the billions of dollars. One estimate puts the cost of bringing a new drug to market at $2.6 billion with others suggesting that it could be double that cost at $5 billion.

One man, Professor Atul Butte, director of the University of California Institute of Computational Health Sciences, believes that like other Silicon Valley startups, almost anyone can bring a drug to market from their garage with just a computer, the internet, and freely available data.

In a talk given at the Science on the Swan conference held in Perth this week, Professor Butte outlined the process for an audience of local and international scientists and medics.

Japanese scientists have used skin cells to restore a patient’s vision for the first time

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in biotech/medical, life extension

May 6
2016

Japanese scientists have reported the first successful skin-to-eye stem cell transplant in humans, where stem cells derived from a patient’s skin were transplanted into her eye to partially restore lost vision.

The patient, a 70-year-old woman diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – the leading cause of vision impairment in older people – received the experimental treatment back in 2014 as part of a pilot study. Now, closing in on two years after the transplant took place, the scientists are sharing the results.

The researchers took a small piece of skin from her arm (4 mm in diameter) and modified its cells, effectively reprogramming them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).

OrCam headset recognises faces, objects and reads words aloud

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical

May 6
2016

Something so simple and finally done to help so many.

Beautiful

Researchers at the University of California said the new system dramatically improves the ability of people with limited sight to read books, menus, newspapers and emails.

The camera is not limited to text: its makers said it can also recognise faces and products.

The research paper ‘Evaluation of a Portable Artificial Vision Device among Patients with Low Vision’ has been published in the US journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

Gene therapy could be potential treatment for neuropathic pain in cancer patients

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical

May 6
2016

Nice

A study providing new information about neuropathic pain afflicting some 90 percent of cancer patients who have had nerve damage caused by tumors, surgery, chemotherapy or radiation indicates gene therapy as a possible treatment.

The study in rats showed transfer of a gene known as KCC2 into the spinal canal restored chloride levels gone awry after nerve injury. Results from the research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, were published in the May 5 online issue of Cell Reports.

The results also could have implications for treatment of chronic pain due to diabetic neuropathy and spinal cord injury since neuropathic pain caused by these conditions is associated with reduced KCC2 activity.