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Category: biotech/medical – Page 469

ARPA-H fast tracks development of new cancer implant tech

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has awarded $45 million to rapidly develop sense-and-respond implant technology that could slash U.S. cancer-related deaths by more than 50%.

Announced today, the award to a multi-institutional team of researchers, including Carnegie Mellon University, will fast-track development and testing of a new approach to cancer treatment that aims to dramatically improve immunotherapy outcomes for patients with ovarian, pancreatic, and other difficult-to-treat cancers.

schematic of the implant technology
Source: Brandon Martin/Rice University. The “hybrid advanced molecular manufacturing regulator,” or HAMMR, a “closed-loop,” drug-producing implant smaller than an adult’s finger is being developed to treat ovarian, pancreatic, and other difficult-to-treat cancers. The implant, which is small enough to be implanted with minimally-invasive surgery, will be able to continuously monitor a patient’s cancer and adjust their immunotherapy dose in real time.

Dietary Advice For Individuals with Diabetes

The chapter summarizes the current information available from a variety of scientifically based guidelines and resources on dietary advice for those with diabetes. It is a practical overview for health care practitioners working in diabetes management. The chapter is divided into sections by content and includes sources for further reading. A primary message is that nutrition plans should meet the specific needs of the patient and take into consideration their ability to implement change. Often starting with small achievable changes is best, with larger changes discussed as rapport builds. Referral to medical nutrition therapy (MNT) provided by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) program is highlighted. For complete coverage of all related areas of Endocrinology, please visit our on-line FREE web-text, WWW.ENDOTEXT.ORG.

New brain-mapping tool may be the “START” of next-generation therapeutics

A new brain-mapping tool just dropped!

LA JOLLA—Scientists at the Salk Institute are unveiling a new brain-mapping neurotechnology called Single Transcriptome Assisted Rabies Tracing (START). The cutting-edge tool combines two advanced technologies—monosynaptic rabies virus tracing and single-cell transcriptomics—to map the brain’s intricate neuronal connections with unparalleled precision.

Using the technique, the researchers became the first to identify the patterns of connectivity made by transcriptomic subtypes of inhibitory neurons in the cerebral cortex. They say having this ability to map the connectivity of neuronal subtypes will drive the development of novel therapeutics that can target certain neurons and circuits with greater specificity. Such treatments could be more effective and produce fewer side effects than current pharmacological approaches.

The study, published on September 30, 2024, in Neuron, is the first to resolve cortical connectivity at the resolution of transcriptomic cell types.

LEV Foundation

The LEV Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the field of rejuvenation biotechnology with the goal of reversing biological aging. Under the leadership of renowned gerontologist Aubrey de Grey, the foundation focuses on conducting early-stage research on animals, specifically testing combination therapies that aim to dramatically extend lifespan. LEV Foundation stands out in the aging research community by targeting middle-aged mice, developing treatments that could one day be applied to humans, helping achieve longevity escape velocity — the point at which aging can be controlled through medical interventions.

Antiviral innate immune memory in alveolar macrophages following SARS-CoV-2 infection ameliorates secondary influenza A virus disease

Pathogen encounter can result in epigenetic remodeling that shapes disease caused by heterologous pathogens.

The therapeutic potential of antigen-independent innate immune memory (IIM) is of particular relevance in the context of respiratory viruses with pandemic potential. Lercher et al. find that antiviral IIM in alveolar macrophages following SARS-CoV-2 infection ameliorates disease caused by a secondary unrelated pathogen, influenza A virus.

Sex Hormones Modulate the Immune System to Influence Disease Risk Differently, study finds

Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently.

Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London have shown for the first time which aspects of our immune systems are regulated by sex hormones, and the impacts this has on disease risk and health outcomes in males and females.

It is well established that diseases can affect men and women differently, due to subtle differences in our immune systems. For example, the immune condition systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is nine-times more likely to affect women, or with COVID-19, males are known to have a greater risk of acute first-time infections, while females have a greater risk of long-COVID.

Novel FABP4+C1q+ macrophages enhance antitumor immunity and associated with response to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in NSCLC via AMPK/JAK/STAT axis

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) immunotherapy facilitates new approaches to achieve precision cancer treatment.

Zhang, D., Wang, M., Liu, G. et al. Novel FABP4+C1q+ macrophages enhance antitumor immunity and associated with response to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in NSCLC via AMPK/JAK/STAT axis. Cell Death Dis 15, 717 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-024-07074-x.

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US scientist reveal mouth swab that can gauge your risk of death

U.S. researchers developed CheekAge, a tool that reliably estimates mortality risk.

Researchers in the United States have created a next-generation tool named CheekAge, which uses methylation patterns found in easily obtainable cheek cells.

In a groundbreaking discovery, the team has demonstrated that CheekAge can reliably estimate mortality risk, even when epigenetic data from different tissues are utilized for analysis.

Epigenetic markers are chemical changes to DNA that don’t alter the genetic code but can affect how genes work. Methylation is one such change, often linked to aging. Scientists use these patterns to create “age clocks” that estimate biological age, revealing how fast someone is aging.