Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Researchers develop a new peptide system for the targeted transport of molecules into living mammalian cells
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by Bayreuth University
https://phys.org/news/2022-07-peptide-m ... cells.html
A novel peptide developed at the Universities of Bayreuth and Bristol is eminently suited for the targeted transport of molecules⁠—for example, of active substances and dyes⁠—into the cells of mammals. The peptide is characterized by a dual function: It can enter the cell from the outside and interact there with a partner peptide. The partner peptide must have previously been placed inside the cell exactly where the transported molecules are to take effect. The transport system presented in the journal Nature Chemical Biology exemplifies the promising potential of a de novo design of peptides and proteins.
Last edited by weatheriscool on Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
weatheriscool
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Team invents new anticoagulant platform, offering hope for advances for heart surgery, dialysis, other procedures
https://phys.org/news/2022-07-team-anti ... heart.html

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by University of North Carolina at Charlotte

While blood clotting is important to prevent blood loss and for our immunity, coagulation also can cause health issues and even death. Currently, one in four people worldwide dies from diseases and conditions caused by blood clots. Meanwhile, anticoagulants used to reduce risks can also cause significant issues, such as uncontrolled bleeding.

Now, a new biomolecular anticoagulant platform invented by a team led by UNC Charlotte researcher Kirill Afonin holds promise as a revolutionary advancement over the blood thinners currently used during surgeries and other procedures. The team's discoveries are reported in the journal Nano Letters, first available online on July 5.

"We envision the uses of our new anticoagulant platform would be during coronary artery bypass surgeries, kidney dialysis, and a variety of vascular, surgical and coronary interventions," Afonin said. "We are now investigating if there are potential future applications with cancer treatments to prevent metastasis and also in addressing the needs of malaria, which can cause coagulation issues."
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Bears Got Hibernation Power in Their Blood but Identity of ‘Superhero’ Components Still a Mystery
July 16 , 2022

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Japanese scientists observed “muscle gain” in cultured human skeletal muscle cells infused with serum from hibernating black bears, confirming that unique factors activated in these creatures’ blood during winter trigger their remarkable ability to prevent muscular atrophy despite months of inactivity.

But what these key blood components are remain unknown.

Hibernating bears can lie still for 5-7 months a year inside their dens without eating or drinking. In humans, just three weeks of inactivity is enough to lose muscle mass. Prolong it and it could lead to sedentary lifestyle-related diseases like obesity and diabetes — and even early death. Bears, however, survive their hibernation with limited muscle loss, minimal metabolic dysfunction, and unharmed physical functions.

“The ‘use it or lose it’ phenomenon is a well-accepted physiological principle for the skeletal muscle, which is highly plastic in response to functional demands. Disuse typically leads to skeletal muscle loss and metabolic dysfunction in many animal species, including humans,” study first-author Mitsunori Miyazaki, associate professor at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, explained.

“In contrast, hibernating animals are likely better described to be under the ‘no use, but no lose’ phenomenon, in that there is potential resistance to muscle atrophy during continued disuse conditions.”
Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/958940
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Defibrillators to be installed in all English state schools by end of next school year
Sun 17 Jul 2022 00.01 BST

All state schools in England will have a defibrillator by the end of the 2022/23 academic year, the government has announced.

Department for Education (DfE) officials met campaigners including Mark King, whose 12-year-old son Oliver suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while competing in a swimming race in 2011.

King and former England footballer Jamie Carragher have been working together to push for mandatory defibrillators in all schools.

Research shows that accessing a defibrillator within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival by over 40%.

Since meeting King, who set up the Oliver King Foundation in memory of his son, the government has worked with charities such as the British Heart Foundation to identify the scale of need across schools in England.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... chool-year

I don't know why they weren't installed within schools years ago.
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weatheriscool
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A tear-soluble contact lens with silicon nanoneedles to treat eye diseases
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07- ... edles.html
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress
A team of researchers from Purdue University and the University of Michigan, both in the U.S., working with colleagues from Hanyang University, Hongik University and the Kumoh National Institute of Technology, all in the Republic of Korea, has developed a type of contact lens with embedded nanoneedles for treating eye diseases. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes how they made their contact lens and how well it worked when tested on rabbits.

Current methods of delivering medications to the eye involve therapies that are applied directly to the outer eye or are injected into it. Neither method is optimal—applied medicines do not penetrate deep enough into the eye and injected medicines are painful and often lead to inflammation. In this new effort, the researchers have come up with a new approach—application of a nanoneedle infused contact lens.

The researchers began with the notion of imbedding nanoneedles into the eye that degrade over time, releasing medication—and the nanoneedles would be so small that they would not cause pain or discomfort. To get the nanoneedles into the eye, they would attach them to a contact lens that would dissolve soon after application to the eye.
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Two new treatments for Crohn's disease equally effective
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07- ... ctive.html
by Will Doss, Northwestern University

Two new treatments for Crohn's disease showed roughly equal performance in a clinical trial, according to findings published in The Lancet.

This allows clinicians and patients to make treatment choices based on tolerance, according to Stephen Hanauer, MD, the Clifford Joseph Barborka Professor and a co-author of the study.

"The safety and efficacy of two agents with different mechanisms of action appears to be quite comparable over one year," said Hanauer, who is also a professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, progressive inflammatory bowel disease, causing abdominal pain, weight loss and fatigue. Treatment for CD has typically focused on alleviating symptoms to achieve clinical remission using corticosteroids or immunomodulators, but a need for more effective treatment remains, Hanauer said.
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U.S. announces $1.2 billion healthcare crackdown tied to telehealth, cardiovascular tests
Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department unveiled a $1.2 billion healthcare fraud crackdown on Wednesday, revealing criminal charges against 36 defendants for alleged fraudulent billing schemes tied to telemedicine, genetic and cardiovascular testing, and equipment.

The criminal charges, which were unsealed across 13 federal districts between July 11 through July 20, target clinical laboratory owners, marketers, medical professionals and telemedicine executives.

Prosecutors said the schemes intended to bilk Medicare out of $1.2 billion, though the actual losses are closer to $440 million.

"The cases announced today include charges against people who brazenly used Medicare funds to purchase luxury items, medical professionals who corruptly approved testing and equipment, and business owners who submitted false and fraudulent claims for services patients did not need," Kenneth Polite, the head of the department's criminal division, told Reuters in a statement.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-announces- ... 48014.html
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Watchdog fines Pfizer and Flynn £70m for overcharging NHS for epilepsy drug
Thu 21 Jul 2022 12.39 BST

The drugmakers Pfizer and Flynn Pharma have been fined a total of £70m for overcharging the NHS for a life-saving epilepsy drug.

The UK’s competition watchdog fined New York-based Pfizer £63m and imposed a £6.7m penalty on Flynn, a smaller UK pharmaceutical firm based in Stevenage. Both companies said they would appeal.

The fines are the result of an in-depth investigation carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which concluded that Pfizer and Flynn charged “unfairly high prices” for phenytoin sodium capsules for more than four years.

The firms de-branded the drug, previously known as Epanutin, and sold it as a generic. That meant it was no longer subject to price regulation and they could set prices at their discretion.

The CMA said because Pfizer and Flynn were the dominant suppliers of the drug in the UK at the time, the NHS had no choice but to pay the inflated price for the important anti-epilepsy medicine.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... lepsy-drug
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weatheriscool
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'Smart necklace' biosensor may track health status through sweat

by Tatyana Woodall, The Ohio State University
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-07-sma ... ealth.html
Researchers have successfully tested a device that may one day use the chemical biomarkers in sweat to detect changes in a person's health.

In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, a team from The Ohio State University demonstrated a battery-free, wireless biochemical sensor that detected the blood sugar—or glucose—humans excrete from their skin when they exercise.

The Ohio State team fabricated a "smart necklace"—complete with a functional clasp and pendant—which, once placed around their necks, was used to monitor the glucose level of study participants as they exercised.

Instead of a battery, it works using a resonance circuit, which reflects radio frequency signals sent out by an external reader system. After engaging in indoor cycling for 30 minutes, participants took a 15-minute break, during which they drank sugar-sweetened beverages, before resuming cycling.

The researchers knew that glucose levels in the sweat should rise after drinking the sugary beverages—the question was whether this new sensor would pick it up, said Jinghua Li, co-author of the study and assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State.

The results showed the sensor did track the glucose levels successfully, which suggests it will work to monitor other important chemicals in sweat.

"Sweat actually contains hundreds of biomarkers that can reveal very important information about our health status," said Li. "The next generation of biosensors will be so highly bio-intuitive and non-invasive that we'll be able to detect key information contained in a person's body fluids."
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Scientists identify 'bottleneck' in drug delivery pathways in stem cells
https://phys.org/news/2022-07-scientist ... hways.html
by Cat Diamond, Xi'an jiaotong-Liverpool University
Our bodies have evolved formidable barriers to protect themselves against foreign substances—from our skin, to our cells and every component within the cells, each part of our bodies has protective layers. These defenses, while essential, pose a significant challenge for pharmaceutical drugs and therapies, such as vaccines, that have to bypass multiple barriers to reach their targets.

Although these barriers are vitally important in pharmaceutical science and drug design, much is still unknown about them and how to overcome them.

In a recent study, researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and Nanjing University in China, and Western Washington and Emory University in the U.S., shed some light on why the delivery of therapeutics to cells can be so difficult.

Overcoming barriers

With COVID-19 vaccines, which hundreds of millions of us have been injected with, mRNA has to be enclosed within protective fatty bubbles—lipid nanoparticles—so it can pass through the body's defenses and reach the intended target in our cells.

Some types of cells, such as stem cells, immune cells, and nerve cells, have barriers that are particularly difficult to overcome, so the delivery of particles into these cells is even more challenging.
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