Lifeboat Foundation

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Thanks to a new experimental gene therapy, one teen’s previously incurable leukemia is now entirely undetectable, marking an incredible breakthrough in genetic immunotherapies. Alyssa, 13, from Leicester in the UK, was told that the only remaining options were end-of-life care to ensure she was comfortable as the aggressive T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia took hold – but the experimental CAR-T base editing therapy was able to modify her immune system to clear all detectable cancer cells.

T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia is a type of cancer that affects T-lymphocytes, an immune white blood cell that is created in the bone marrow. In this type of fast-moving leukemia, these cells divide uncontrollably and enter the bloodstream, traveling to the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. This can cause death in a short span of just months or even weeks without treatment.

Continue reading “Experimental Gene Therapy Cures Teen’s ‘Incurable’ Cancer” »

‘Most complicated therapy ever’ tailors bespoke, genome-edited immune cells to attack tumours.

A true embodiment of French Gothic expression in architecture, Chartres Cathedral sits some 50 miles southwest of Paris, in the commune of Chartres. The cathedral was built to be higher and bigger than other cathedrals of the era.

One of the cathedral’s most famous features is its intricate labyrinth located in the nave. Little is known about the cathedral builders, therefore little is known about the motives behind one of the most enigmatic labyrinth depictions in the world.

Construction of the Chartres Cathedral unfolded rather faster than was the case with other cathedrals at the time. For instance, the Notre Dame in Paris took almost two centuries to accomplish, starting from 1160. On the Chartres site, activities reportedly began in 1,194 and finished in 1221.

Most of us underestimate how quickly electric vehicles (EVs) will take over the car market. It’s mostly down to the plummeting cost of batteries. They have only become cost-competitive in the last few years and have fallen in price 98% since the 1990s. (99% if you include inflation.)

This gave me a combined series of the unit cost of lithium-ion batteries from 1991 to 2022 in $2022. I’ve plotted it as a chart here. And here is the logarithmic version.

Calculating the cost of EV batteries

Continue reading “Electric vehicle batteries would have cost as much as a million dollars in the 1990s” »

The body constantly replaces used materials and breaks them down for disposal. MPS VI patients are missing an enzyme essential to breaking down the mucopolysaccharide dermatan sulfate. These materials remain stored in the body’s cells, causing progressive damage. Babies may show little sign of the disease (so better testing is needed), but as cells sustain damage, symptoms start to appear.

Its sad when people have disorders that have a low life expectancy in their 20’s and 30’s EnzymeMaroteaux-Lamy syndrome Is one such affliction, however their is enzyme replacement treatment, but more needs to be done.

Enzyme Replacement Treatment.

Continue reading “MPS VI” »

Google has released OSV-Scanner, an open-source front-end interface to the Open Source Vulnerability (OSV) database. The OSV database is a distributed, open-source database that stores vulnerability information in the OSV format. The OSV-Scanner assesses a project’s dependencies against the OSV database showing all vulnerabilities relating to the project.

A team of researchers has discovered at least two new minerals that have never before been seen on Earth in a 15 tonne meteorite found in Somalia — the ninth largest meteorite ever found.

“Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what’s been found before,” says Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection. “That’s what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science.”

The two minerals found came from a single 70 gram slice that was sent to the U of A for classification, and there already appears to be a potential third mineral under consideration. If researchers were to obtain more samples from the massive meteorite, there’s a chance that even more might be found, Herd notes.

As gasoline continues to lose its cachet as a reliable energy source, auto manufacturers have started to turn toward cleaner-burning fuels. However, they’re still trying to figure out how to use the cleanest fuel of all — the air we breathe.

Year 2021 face_with_colon_three

Illinois Institute of Technology Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Mohammad Asadi has developed solutions to two major problems facing lithium-air batteries. Lithium-air batteries hold more energy in a smaller battery size than their more common counterpart, the lithium-ion battery, but until now, lithium-air batteries have been overlooked in commercial applications because lithium-air batteries tended to die after fewer recharges and require a lot more energy to charge than can be generated by the battery later.

After almost a decade working in the oil and gas industry, Asadi turned his focus to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, particularly caused by the transportation industry, which consumes around 38 to 40 percent of the world’s energy. “With more widespread use of electric vehicles, you can drastically reduce transportation-based carbon emissions,” says Asadi. “But to put more electric vehicles on the road, we’ll need batteries—lots of them.”

Continue reading “Breakthrough in Lithium-air Batteries Could Help Put More Electric Vehicles On The Road” »