Lifeboat Foundation

Johns Hopkins researchers have identified minuscule particles that supercharge therapeutic cancer vaccines, which train the immune system to attack tumors. These new lipid nanoparticles—tiny structures made of fat—not only stimulate a two-pronged immune system response that enhances the body’s ability to fight cancer but also make vaccines more effective in targeting tumors.

“This research marks a pivotal turning point in our understanding of how lipid nanoparticles can be harnessed to optimize anticancer immunity,” said Hai-Quan Mao, director of Johns Hopkins’ Institute for NanoBioTechnology and professor in the Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “Our findings unlock new avenues for enhancing the efficacy of RNA-based treatments for cancer and infectious diseases.”

The team’s results appear in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

In a novel study, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have introduced LoGoFunc, an advanced computational tool that predicts pathogenic gain and loss-of-function variants across the genome.

Unlike current methods that predominantly focus on loss of function, LoGoFunc distinguishes among different types of harmful mutations, offering potentially valuable insights into diverse disease outcomes. The findings are described in Genome Medicine.

Genetic variations can alter protein function, with some mutations boosting activity or introducing new functions (gain of function), while others diminish or eliminate function (loss of function). These changes can have significant implications for human health and the treatment of disease.

This Perspective reviews large-scale genomics and longitudinal phenomics efforts and the insights they can provide into wellness. The authors describe their vision for the transformation of the current health care from disease-oriented to data-driven, wellness-oriented and personalized population health.

The targeted integration of large DNA payloads into primary human T cells can be efficiently achieved non-virally by leveraging Cas9-based editing and the DNA-repair pathway homology-mediated end joining.

Brain transplant is not a reality for humans or for any living organism. But there are human research experiments in which transplanted brain cells are used to help treat several diseases that affect the brain. So far, there are very few results and measured outcomes of brain cell transplant, but the concept of transplanting brain tissue has shown some promise in preliminary studies.

If you are interested in having a brain cell transplant procedure, you can talk to your healthcare provider and look for a university or research center where brain cell transplant procedures are being done. These procedures tend to be part of research studies, so you will likely need to enroll in a research study if you want to have this type of treatment.

The brain is composed of many different regions and cells. Neurons in the brain have dedicated functions, and they do not typically heal when they are damaged. Parkinson’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and head trauma are among the conditions for which brain cell transplant has been used for humans in an experimental setting.

Newly approved CRISPR treatment can change a person’s “blueprint.”

Scientists have discovered that bacteria can form memory-like mechanisms, informing strategies that lead to dangerous infections in humans. These strategies include antibiotic resistance and the formation…

A recent study published in JAMA Network Open investigates the level of usage of hemp-derived cannabinoids, including cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG), Delta 8-THC, and cannabidiol (CBD). The reason hemp-derived cannabinoids were chosen for the study was due to passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the definition of marijuana previously outlined in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, THC is still classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it’s still illegal under federal law, and despite the “de-scheduling” of hemp, there is presently no data regarding the estimated usage of hemp-derived cannabinoids.

“While the de-scheduling of hemp products initially opened up the market for CBD products, it also applies to the 100-plus cannabinoids also found in the plant,” said Dr. Kevin Boehnke, who is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan, and a co-author on the study. “That means, as with CBD, all of them can follow that same path and be sold in gas stations, as ingredients in cosmetics, as well as in dispensaries—there will likely be substantial proliferation of some of these compounds.”

For the study, the researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey study of individuals aged 18 and up inquiring about past-year use of hemp-derived cannabinoids. Of the 6,666 participants who received the survey, only 1,169 completed it. Of those 1,169 participants, the researchers found that 71.7 percent had heard of CBD compared to 41.2 percent, 18.4 percent, and 16.8 percent for Delta 8-THC, CBG, and CBN, respectively. Additionally, 21.2 percent of the participants reported using CBD within the past year compared to 11.9 percent, 5.2 percent, and 4.4 percent for Delta 8-THC, CBG, and CBN, respectively, with 25.5 percent of participants reporting using some type of emerging cannabinoid within the last year, as well.

New research from Oregon Health & Science University could one day lead to therapies that prevent or treat diseases and infections tied to a protein that’s found in all human cells.

A study published today in the journal Molecular Cell describes how the protein ubiquitin is modified during bacterial infection.

The study details the steps taken to create a form of the protein known as lysine 6 polyubiquitin, where a long chain of ubiquitin molecules are linked through the amino acid lysine. This form of ubiquitin helps cells communicate by sending a molecular message—communication that remains poorly understood.