The World Health Organization hopes to test an experimental Marburg vaccine in Equatorial Guinea, which announced its first outbreak of the virus Monday.
Nine deaths have been confirmed, while 16 suspected patients are in quarantine. Health officials are also monitoring 15 asymptomatic close contacts of infected people.
No vaccine or antiviral treatment is approved to treat Marburg virus disease, which has an average death rate of around 50%, according to the WHO.
Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have removed a major roadblock to better understanding of mpox (formerly, monkeypox). They developed a mouse model of the disease and used it to demonstrate clear differences in virulence among the major genetic groups (clades) of mpox virus (MPXV).
The research, appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, was led by Bernard Moss, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Genetic Engineering Section of NIAID’s Laboratory of Viral Diseases.
Historically, mpox, a disease resembling smallpox, was only occasionally transmitted from rodents to non-human primates or people, and was observed primarily in several African countries. Mpox rarely spread from person to person. That pattern changed in 2022 with an outbreak in which person-to-person mpox transmission occurred in more than 100 locations worldwide.
Posted in biotech/medical, genetics, health, neuroscience
One question for Brad Ringeisen, a chemist and executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute. Founded by Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Jennifer Doudna, it aims to bridge revolutionary gene-editing tool development to affordable and accessible solutions in human health and climate.
Will CRISPR cure cancer?
We’re always thinking about: What are those targets in the future? Cancer is one of those things. The biggest impact is going to be what’s called systemic delivery, or in vivo delivery. There’s been one example of this in the community right now—to treat a liver disease. Intellia Therapeutics, a biotech company, has shown that you can actually intravenously apply CRISPR-Cas9 treatment. (CRISPR is the guide RNA, the targeting molecule, and Cas9 is the cutting molecule that edits DNA.) It can go to the liver and target the liver cells, and make edits at a high enough efficacy to treat genetic liver disease. The problem is that the liver is the easiest. It’s like the garbage can of the body. Pretty much anything that you put into the body is ultimately going to find its way to the liver. So that’s absolutely the easiest tissue to deliver to. But trying to deliver to a solid tumor, or to the brain, is much more difficult.
Dr. Seol Seung-Kwon’s Smart 3D Printing Research Team at KERI and Professor Lim-Doo Jeong’s team at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) developed core technology for smart contact lenses that can implement augmented reality (AR)-based navigation, with a 3D printing process.
A smart contact lens is a product attached to the human eye like a normal lens that provides various information. Research on these lenses is currently focused mainly on diagnosing and treating health problems. Recently, Google and others are developing smart contact lenses for displays that can implement AR. Yet many obstacles to commercialization exist due to several technical challenges.
In implementing AR with smart contact lenses, electrochromic displays that can be driven with low power are necessary, and a “pure Prussian blue” color, with cost competitiveness and quick contrast and transition between colors, is attracting attention as the lens’ material. In the past, the color was coated on the substrate in the form of a film using the electric plating method, which limited the production of advanced displays that can express various information (letters, numbers, images).
Posted in biotech/medical, health
Illustrated is the power of combined interference with different DNA damage response processes to combat cancer: Homologous recombination, which is selectively deficient in the tumour due to the BRCA defect, and base excision repair of single strand breaks, which is blocked by the administration of PARP inhibitors.
Client:
Dr. Rini de Crom.
Dr. Marja Miedema.
www.erasmusmc.nl, 2014
Funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission in the theme Health.
Losing as little as 6–7 minutes per day to sedentary behavior or low-intensity activities has been linked to a decline in cognitive function, according to recent research.
The daily time spent in moderate and intense physical activity is linked to mid-life brain power, according to new research published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
The results indicate that the optimal level for working memory and mental tasks, such as planning and organization, is at this intensity level. Replacing it with just 6–7 minutes of light-intensity activities or sedentary behavior per day is linked to decreased cognitive performance.
Israeli scientists have developed a substance that overcomes antibiotic resistance by “pricking bacteria to death,” researchers at Ben Gurion University told the Times of Israel on Friday, in a breakthrough that could help combat a major threat to global health.
The substance contains “nano needles” which have a lethal effect on bacteria, and will be developed into topical creams and antibacterial coatings for surfaces, the scientists said, noting that it has shown 90% effectiveness in killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in lab conditions.
When bacteria stop being affected by antibiotics, it is known as antibiotic resistance, and these pathogens are sometimes colloquially called superbugs.
Though no one died in the accident, the catastrophe serves as a wake-up call to the potential for more deadly freight rail derailments, public health advocates warn. By one estimate, 25 million Americans live in an oil train blast zone, and had the derailment occurred just a few miles east, it would be burning in downtown Pittsburgh, with tens of thousands of residents in immediate danger.
Ineffective oversight and a largely self-monitoring industry that has cut the nation’s rail workforce to the bone in recent years as it puts record profits over safety is responsible for the wreck, said Ron Kaminkow, an Amtrak locomotive engineer and former Norfolk Southern freight engineer.
“The Palestine wreck is the tip of the iceberg and a red flag,” said Kaminkow, who is secretary for the Railroad Workers United, a non-profit labor group that coordinates with the nation’s rail unions. “If something is not done, then it’s going to get worse, and the next derailment could be cataclysmic.”
Researchers from The University of Queensland have discovered the active compound from an edible mushroom that boosts nerve growth and enhances memory.
Professor Frederic Meunier from the Queensland Brain Institute said the team had identified new active compounds from the mushroom, Hericium erinaceus. This type of edible mushroom, commonly known as the Lion’s Mane Mushroom, is native to North America, Europe, and Asia. It is commonly sought after for its unique flavor and texture, and it is also used in traditional Chinese medicine to boost the immune system and improve digestive health.
Researchers have discovered lion’s mane mushrooms improve brain cell growth and memory in pre-clinical trials.
Over the past decade, I’ve kept a close eye on the emergence of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Throughout, one truth remained constant: Despite all the hype, AI-focused startups and established tech companies alike have failed to move the needle on the nation’s overall health and medical costs.
Finally, after a decade of underperformance in AI-driven medicine, success is approaching faster than physicians and patients currently recognize.
The next version, ChatGPT4, is scheduled for release later this year, as is Google’s rival AI product. And, last week, Microsoft unveiled an AI-powered search engine and web browser in partnership with OpenAI, with other tech-industry competitors slated to join the fray.
It remains to be seen which company will ultimately win the generative-AI arms race. But regardless of who comes out on top, we’ve reached a tipping point.
