Researchers use hIL-6 protein to restore walking in paralyzed mice by promoting neural circuit plasticity rather than fiber regrowth.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 3
In Vivo RNA Delivery to Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells via Targeted Lipid NanoparticlesClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
A nicely concise paper on antibody-linked lipid nanoparticles which target hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in vivo, important yet tricky cell types to transduce for hematological gene therapy.
Ex vivo autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy has provided new therapies for the treatment of hematological disorders. However, these therapies have several limitations owing to the manufacturing complexities and toxicity resulting from required conditioning regimens. Here, we developed a c-kit (CD117) antibody-targeted lipid nanoparticle (LNP) that, following a single intravenous injection, can deliver RNA (both siRNA and mRNA) to HSCs in vivo in rodents. This targeted delivery system does not require stem cell harvest, culture, or mobilization of HSCs to facilitate delivery. We also show that delivery of Cre recombinase mRNA at a dose of 1 mg kg–1 can facilitate gene editing to almost all (∼90%) hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in vivo, and edited cells retain their stemness and functionality to generate high levels of edited mature immune cells.
Anthropic research warns AI could build itself by 2028
In this exclusive interview, Axios co-founder Mike Allen sits down with Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark to discuss his warning that by 2028, AI systems may be able to improve and build better versions of themselves.
Clark explains why Anthropic is preparing for the possibility of an “intelligence explosion,” how advanced AI could accelerate breakthroughs in science and medicine, and why governments, companies and researchers need new plans for cyber threats, bio risks, economic disruption and the future of work.
Timestamps:
00:00 — Introduction: the future of AI
00:41 — The 2028 prediction: AI building itself.
01:49 — The risks of rapid acceleration.
03:11 — The 3D printer metaphor.
05:21 — Intelligence explosion and fire drill scenarios.
06:55 — Building a \.
Novel diabetic wound treatment turns cells into manufacturers
Spread the love Diabetes affects more than 40 million people in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association. For many, the chronic condition means a lifetime of pain as worsening circulation leads to nonhealing ulcers in the extremities, especially the legs and feet. Chronic inflammation, difficulty in forming nutrient-carrying capillaries, and overzealous immune cells…
New MRI technology maps 20-plus brain biomarkers in a single 14-minute scan
New multiplexed imaging technology using standard clinical MRI systems can simultaneously map more than 20 biomarkers in high resolution, providing a comprehensive view of the brain with a single scan.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrated the multiplexed MRI technology (MRx) by characterizing brain tumors and multiple sclerosis lesions—revealing different structural, physiological and molecular changes within the diseases. Led by Zhi-Pei Liang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and a member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I., the team has reported its findings in the journal Nature.
“MRx can be a powerful tool for noninvasive tissue characterization, helping to advance personalized, precision and predictive medicine,” Liang said. “By providing rich, multidimensional biomarkers to capture disease progression and treatment response, this capability could open new opportunities for more precise diagnosis, individualized treatment planning and improved patient outcomes.”
Study of a Million Blood Cells Helps Explain Why Women Face More Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune diseases, where the body’s own immune system mistakenly goes on the attack, are much more common in women – and a new study analyzing more than 1.25 million blood cells goes a long way to explaining why.
The analysis, led by a team from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia, revealed over 1,000 genetic ‘switches’ in immune cells that work differently depending on sex.
In short, these variations in gene activity mean that inflammatory pathways that respond to threats are likely to be busier in women, leading to a greater risk of conditions like lupus and multiple sclerosis.
A gene that keeps intestinal stem cells stable offers insight into how tissues repair themselves
Years before he conducted the research that would earn him a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, Shinya Yamanaka, MD, Ph.D., was a postdoctoral scientist at Gladstone Institutes, studying genes. There, he helped discover a gene (now called eIF4G2) that’s essential for early embryonic development.
Then, the story pauses. Without the technology needed to develop an animal model to further investigate the gene, Yamanaka moved on to develop induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells—adult cells that have been reprogrammed into an embryonic state. That work earned him the Nobel Prize, but he never forgot his first gene.
Now, 30 years since his postdoc, Yamanaka has circled back to eIF4G2.
LED light unlocks 3D optical fingerprints inside materials without lasers
Researchers have developed, for the first time in the world, incoherent dielectric tensor tomography (iDTT), a technology that can read complex three-dimensional optical fingerprints inside materials using only everyday LED illumination.
The study is published in Nature Photonics, and the research team was led by Professor YongKeun Park of the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Professor Seung-Mo Hong’s team at Asan Medical Center and Professor Seokwoo Jeon’s team at Korea University.
Some materials possess an inherent property called optical anisotropy, in which the refractive index changes depending on the direction in which light passes through. This is a decisive optical fingerprint that reveals the internal structure and molecular arrangement of the material.