Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: biotech/medical – Page 74

The most complex engineering of human cell lines ever has been achieved by scientists, revealing that our genomes are more resilient to significant structural changes than was previously thought.

Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Imperial College London, Harvard University in the US and their collaborators used CRISPR prime editing to create multiple versions of human genomes in cell lines, each with different structural changes. Using genome sequencing, they were able to analyze the genetic effects of these structural variations on .

The research, published in Science, shows that as long as essential genes remain intact, our genomes can tolerate significant structural changes, including large deletions of the genetic code. The work opens the door to studying and predicting the role of structural variation in disease.

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Tune Therapeutics, a Durham biotechnology startup co-founded by a Duke professor, announced the completion of its Series B fundraising round on Jan. 12, in which it raised $175 million to support clinical trials for its epigenome editor.

The company will use the funding to advance clinical trials for Tune-401, the epigenetic silencing drug for treating chronic Hepatitis B — a viral infection that damages the liver and affects millions globally. The investment will also support the development of various other therapies, including additional gene, cell and regenerative therapy programs.

“The goal is to epigenetically repress the virus to prevent it from being able to replicate and make the viral proteins that it would normally produce,” said Charles Gersbach, John W. Strohbehn distinguished professor of biomedical engineering and cofounder of Tune Therapeutics.

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A major trial in frontotemporal dementia patients has found that oxytocin can help improve symptoms of apathy. A new study led by Western researchers suggests that frequent treatment with intranasal oxytocin—a hormone linked to empathy—may help reduce apathy in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

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A small medical jet carrying six people crashed in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood Friday evening, officials said, causing an explosion and setting several homes ablaze. It’s unclear if anyone aboard survived. Several people on the ground were injured, Philadelphia police said.

The plane, a Learjet 55, had just departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport bound for Springfield, Missouri, when it went down, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane crashed into a neighborhood near the Roosevelt Mall just moments after leaving the airstrip at approximately 6:07 p.m. The first emergency calls went out about five minutes later, at 6:12 p.m. The crash occurred in the area of Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia police confirmed.

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OpenAI, in partnership with Retro Biosciences, has recently made significant strides in human longevity research with the development of GPT-4b Micro. This advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model could potentially revolutionize cellular reprogramming and open new avenues in the field of biology. Although this innovation is exciting, it still requires thorough scientific validation to establish its true potential.

For decades, scientists have been endeavoring to unlock the secrets of cellular processes. In 2020, Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold marked a significant breakthrough by predicting protein structures with astonishing accuracy. Now, OpenAI has entered the fray with GPT-4b Micro, a model expressly designed to analyze biological data and hasten scientific discoveries.

According to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, “Hyper-intelligent AI tools could revolutionize science and lead to advancements we could hardly have imagined.” With Retro Biosciences, which specializes in longevity research, the goal is lofty: to extend the average human lifespan by a decade.

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Summary: A new study finds that the bacteria Streptococcus anginosus is more abundant in the saliva and gut of people who have had a stroke and is associated with a higher risk of death and major cardiovascular events. Researchers compared 189 stroke patients with 55 non-stroke participants, finding that this bacterium increased stroke risk by 20%.

Meanwhile, beneficial bacteria like Anaerostipes hadrus and Bacteroides plebeius were linked to a reduced stroke risk. The findings highlight the importance of oral hygiene in stroke prevention, as Streptococcus anginosus contributes to tooth decay.

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From being a promising yet underexplored approach in the 1990s, mRNA therapeutics have evolved dramatically. The discovery of chemical modifications to overcome mRNA’s instability and immunotoxicity enabled these therapeutics to reach clinical trials and the forefront of modern medicine. The platform’s scalability, rapid production and relatively straightforward manufacturing process mean that mRNA therapeutics are a powerful alternative to traditional small molecule drugs and DNA technology.

Enzymes are a vital tool that make in vitro transcription possible and refine the reaction products to generate highly pure, homogeneous mRNA. In this ebook, we provide an in-depth review into:

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Experimental findings indicated that activating T cells for 48 hours in combination of certain stimuli could encourage aerobic glycolysis. The highest level of aerobic glycolysis was noted with a combination of three stimuli, namely T cell receptor (TCR) triggering, CD28 costimulation, and hyper-physiologic concentrations of IL-2.

To generate an ‘‘in vivo-activated’’-like state and enhance efficacy, freshly isolated TCR-Tg pmel-1 CD8+ T cells were activated using antigen-presenting cells, cognate peptide (gp100), and IL-2. A 7-day T cell conditioning with DCA reduced extracellular lactate and increased total acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) by changing glycolytic flux.

To assess the effects of DCA conditioning on the potency of therapeutic T cells in cancer immunotherapy, these cells were used to treat mice bearing B16 melanoma. Cytotoxicity assays showed a small but significant improvement in the therapeutic potential of DCA-conditioned T cells.

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