Lifeboat Foundation

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman asserts that not only do we invent our own personal views of reality, it’s an evolutionary necessity.

MeiraGTx’s founders were interested in those uses; the biotech’s programs today are in diseases of the eye, salivary gland and brain.

But “we wanted to have a broader perspective on how you could potentially use gene therapy” too, CEO Alexandria Forbes says.

That vision is a high-tech, futuristic one, in which the human body can essentially become a medicine-making factory, enabled by gene therapy. But it’ll require more research, and is still years from fruition.

Continue reading “‘It’s the next rising platform’: 2 promising technologies backed by billion-dollar drugmakers could transform the human body into a disease-destroying machine” »

The experiments could create a new kind of monkey — and a big ethical dilemma.

Apr 25

Stem cells are pluripotent cells, having a property of differentiating into various types of cells of human body. Several studies have developed mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from various human tissues, peripheral blood and body fluids. These cells are then characterized by cellular and molecular markers to understand their specific phenotypes. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are having a MSCs phenotype and they are differentiated into neuron, cardiomyocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, liver cells and β cells of islet of pancreas. Thus, DPSCs have shown great potentiality to use in regenerative medicine for treatment of various human diseases including dental related problems. These cells can also be developed into induced pluripotent stem cells by incorporation of pluripotency markers and use for regenerative therapies of various diseases. The DPSCs are derived from various dental tissues such as human exfoliated deciduous teeth, apical papilla, periodontal ligament and dental follicle tissue. This review will overview the information about isolation, cellular and molecular characterization and differentiation of DPSCs into various types of human cells and thus these cells have important applications in regenerative therapies for various diseases. This review will be most useful for postgraduate dental students as well as scientists working in the field of oral pathology and oral medicine.

Keywords: Human dental pulp stem cells, Mesenchymal stem cells, Dentin, Pluripotency, Stem cell therapy, Molecular markers.

Core tip: Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have shown a potentiality for the treatment of various human diseases including dental related problems. The review will overview the information about DPSCs, their isolation, cellular and molecular characterization, differentiation into various types of cells and their applications in regenerative therapies for various diseases. This review will be most useful for postgraduate dental students as well as the scientists working in the field of oral pathology, oral medicine and regenerative medicine.

Continue reading “Human dental pulp stem cells: Applications in future regenerative medicine” »

This book demystifies and rectifies the problems inherent in autism by examining in clear terms the whole panorama of the subject, not just individual bits, beginning with its history and including practical advice at every level, yet without being an overblown medical-type textbook.

(Editor’s note: This podcast is from The Not Old – Better Show.)

As part of our Inside Science and Technology interview series, today’s show is an interview with Dr. Pradeep Reddy, a research scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

As we all know in the Not Old Better Show audience, aging is a leading risk factor for a number of debilitating conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few. This makes the need for anti-aging therapies all the more urgent. Now, Salk Institute researchers have developed a new gene therapy that is showing promise as a possible way to decelerate the aging process in humans. It uses CRISPR genome-editing technology.

Continue reading “New Gene Therapy Could Slow Aging in Humans” »

Scientists found a way to tap into a brain region called the cingulum and activate unbridled joy.

In a recent study in mice, researchers found a way to deliver specific drugs to parts of the body that are exceptionally difficult to access. Their Y-shaped block catiomer (YBC) binds with certain therapeutic materials forming a package 18 nanometers wide. The package is less than one-fifth the size of those produced in previous studies, so it can pass through much smaller gaps. This allows YBCs to slip through tight barriers in cancers of the brain or pancreas.

The fight against cancer is fought on many fronts. One promising field is gene therapy, which targets genetic causes of diseases to reduce their effect. The idea is to inject a nucleic acid-based drug into the bloodstream—typically small interfering RNA (siRNA)—which binds to a specific problem-causing gene and deactivates it. However, siRNA is very fragile and needs to be protected within a nanoparticle or it breaks down before reaching its target.

“siRNA can switch off specific gene expressions that may cause harm. They are the next generation of biopharmaceuticals that could treat various intractable diseases, including cancer,” explained Associate Professor Kanjiro Miyata of the University of Tokyo, who jointly supervised the study. “However, siRNA is easily eliminated from the body by enzymatic degradation or excretion. Clearly a new delivery method was called for.”

Continue reading “New nanomedicine slips through the cracks” »