The COVID-19 pandemic showed the value of changing direction in research. It should be incentivized, encouraged and celebrated.
A new study suggests that the questions you ask and your interest in lifelong learning may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. What’s the secret to aging well? It might be as simple as staying curious. A new international study, including researchers from UCLA, found that certain types o
A new study led by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh geologist Timothy Paulsen and University of Colorado Boulder thermochronologist Jeff Benowitz advances the understanding of the geologic history of Transantarctic Mountains bedrock, with implications for understanding the evolution of landscapes lying beneath the ice sheets covering Antarctica.
The team of researchers analyzed the chemistry of mineral grains commonly found in igneous rocks, like granite, from the Transantarctic Mountains. The research team includes other scientists from the University of Arizona, St. Louis University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The study was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Researchers at the Ragon Institute have made a significant discovery about how antibodies can directly enhance the body’s ability to fight Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (TB). Despite decades of research, TB remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide, with about 10 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths annually. Currently, there is no highly effective vaccine, highlighting the urgent need for new insights and treatments.
In a study published today in Immunity, Ragon faculty member Galit Alter, Ph.D. and previous post-doctoral trainee Patricia Grace, Ph.D., now at University of Pittsburgh, partnered with Bryan Bryson, Ph.D., associate member Sarah Fortune, Ph.D. and a team of collaborators, to collect the largest library of monoclonal antibodies to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.
The team identified specific antibody features that significantly limit the growth of Mtb. This research reveals critical new insights into how antibodies interact with immune cells in the lungs to restrict Mtb infection, laying the groundwork for potential antibody-based therapies or vaccines against tuberculosis, both of which are urgently needed.
Novel Treatment Based on Gene Editing Safely and Effectively Removes HIV-Like Virus from Genomes of Non-Human Primates
Posted in bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics | Leave a Comment on Novel Treatment Based on Gene Editing Safely and Effectively Removes HIV-Like Virus from Genomes of Non-Human Primates
(Philadelphia, PA) – A single injection of a novel CRISPR gene-editing treatment safely and efficiently removes SIV – a virus related to the AIDS-causing agent HIV – from the genomes of non-human primates, scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University now report. The groundbreaking work complements previous experiments as the basis for the first-ever clinical trial of an HIV gene-editing technology in human patients, which was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022.
The preclinical study, published online in the journal Gene Therapy, tested EBT-001, an SIV-specific CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing therapy, in rhesus macaques. The study shows that EBT-001 effectively excises SIV from reservoirs – cells and tissues where viruses like SIV and HIV integrate into host DNA and hide for years – without any detectable off-target effects in animals. The work is a significant advance in the generation of a cure for HIV/AIDS in humans.
“Our study supports safety and demonstrates evidence of in vivo SIV editing of a CRISPR gene-editing technology aimed at the permanent inactivation of virus in a broad range of tissues in a large, preclinical animal model, using a one-time injection of the treatment,” said Kamel Khalili, PhD, Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation, Director of the Center for Neurovirology and Gene Editing, Director of the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and senior investigator on the new study.
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