Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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New strategy shows potential to block nerve loss in neurodegenerative diseases
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-10- ... -loss.html
by Julia Evangelou Strait, Washington University School of Medicine
Two new studies from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis support development of a broadly applicable treatment for neurodegenerative diseases that targets a molecule that serves as the central executioner in the death of axons, the wiring of the nervous system.

Blocking this molecular executioner prevents axon loss, which has been implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases, from peripheral neuropathies to Parkinson's disease, and glaucoma to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The new studies, both published Oct. 26 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, reveal surprising details about how the molecule—called SARM1—triggers axon death that underlies the development of neurodegenerative diseases. The research also points to new therapeutic approaches for diseases defined by axon loss.

"We desperately need treatments for neurodegenerative diseases," said co-senior author Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, Ph.D., the James S. McDonnell Professor and head of the Department of Genetics. "With the evidence of SARM1's central role in these diseases, we're very interested in finding ways to block this molecule—whether with small molecule inhibitors or gene therapy techniques. Our latest research suggests we also may be able to interfere with its ability to drive damaging neuroinflammation. We're hopeful this work will lead to effective new therapies across a range of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases."
weatheriscool
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Study reveals how naturally-occurring compound kills major drug-resistant bacteria

by University of Portsmouth
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-reveals-n ... stant.html
Scientists analyzing the effects of an organic compound on drug resistance bacteria have discovered how it can inhibit and kill a germ that causes serious illness or in some cases death.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a type of bacteria, often found in hospital patients, which can lead to infections in the blood, lungs (pneumonia), or other parts of the body after surgery.

Hydroquinine, an organic compound found in the bark of some trees, was recently found to have bacterial killing activity against the germ and several other clinically important bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The team behind the discovery, from the University of Portsmouth and Naresuan and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat Universities in Thailand, have now explored the molecular responses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains to hydroquinine. They did this by looking at which genes were switched on and which were switched off in response to the drug.

The new study, published in Antibiotics, revealed hydroquinine significantly alters the expression levels of virulence factors Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It also suggests the compound interferes with the assembly and movement of the bacteria.
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New research discovers new role for blood clotting protein in triggering inflammation

by Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11- ... ering.html
Research by Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences has discovered a new role for the blood clotting protein known as von Willebrand Factor (VWF), which could lead to the development of new treatments for patients with inflammatory and blood clotting disorders.

Published in Nature Communications, the research finds that VWF plays an important role in regulating immune responses at sites of blood vessel injury. This means that the protein has a newly discovered role in repairing damaged blood vessels in addition to its role in blood clotting.

Deficiency in VWF is called "von Willebrand Disease" and occurs in about 1 in 1,000 people in Ireland. People with this condition have increased risk of serious heavy bleeding. In contrast, people with high levels of the protein in their blood are at risk of developing serious blood clots. For example, very high VWF levels have been implicated in the unusual blood clots seen in the lungs of patients with severe COVID-19.

This research shows, for the first time, that VWF not only regulates blood clotting at the site of damage but also triggers local immune responses. Understanding this new biological role for VWF in regulating inflammatory responses may offer the opportunity to develop entirely new treatment options for patients with inflammatory and blood clotting disorders, such as von Willebrand Disease, deep vein thrombosis and myocardial infarction.

Lead author of the research Professor James O'Donnell, Director of the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology at RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, said, "For more than 50 years, it has been known that von Willebrand factor plays a key role in preventing bleeding by acting as a glue at the site of injury. This research now helps us to further understand the role that VWF plays in linking blood coagulation and inflammation and thereby paves the way for the development of new treatments."
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Yuli Ban
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The first time I remember hearing the words “biology’s century,” it was a sales pitch.

I was standing by the Long Island Sound in Sachem’s Head, Conn., in the shadow of an 11-foot-tall granite Stonehenge replica built by Jonathan Rothberg, a biotech entrepreneur, as he talked up his newest gadget, a tabletop DNA sequencer. It was 2010.

Near his monument to the ancient past, Rothberg was conjuring a vision of the future, one based on harnessing the power of biology and technology to transform the world. The phrase he uttered wasn’t new, having been in circulation since the Human Genome Project in the 1990s, and I’d been covering biotech for a decade. But that was the moment the phrase sunk in. I added it to my Twitter bio, where it has remained.

Over the next decade, I’d see even more amazing things. Genetically altered white blood cells that can cure cancer. A gene therapy that gave sight to blind children. Pills that wrench decades of life from a cancer death sentence or ease the breathing of patients with cystic fibrosis. And, of course, not one but several effective Covid-19 vaccines created only a year into a once-in-a-century pandemic.

Here’s what “biology’s century” means to me: In the same way the 20th century belonged to physics, the 21st is biological. But while physics in the 20th century brought airplanes, personal computers, and posters of Albert Einstein, it also meant the atom bomb and a complete transformation of the social order.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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raklian
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Lab-grown red blood cells transfused into patient in world-first clinical trial

Laboratory-grown red blood cells have been transfused into a person in a world-first clinical trial.

If proved safe and effective, manufactured blood cells could revolutionise treatments for people with blood disorders such as sickle cell and rare blood types.

It can be hard to find well-matched donated blood for many with these disorders - and lab-grown red blood cells would mean people who require regular transfusions could need fewer in the future.

Ashley Toye, director of the NIHR Blood and Transplant Unit in red cell products, said: "This challenging and exciting trial is a huge stepping stone for manufacturing blood from stem cells.

"This is the first-time lab-grown blood from an allogeneic donor has been transfused and we are excited to see how well the cells perform at the end of the clinical trial."
https://news.sky.com/story/lab-grown-re ... l-12740703
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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Nanotechandmorefuture
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Life extension tech, synth blood that can be infused with anything like nanotech, and so much more. Would be cool someday to reconstruct someone as needed as in Mass Effect or even Deus Ex. I think even Star Citizen has that as well or any of the space games on here which is one heck of a job put in to an even more marvelous concept.
weatheriscool
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Unusual type of antibody shows ultrapotent activity against Zika
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11- ... -zika.html
by Weill Cornell Medical College

An unusual type of antibody that even at miniscule levels neutralizes the Zika virus and renders the virus infection undetectable in preclinical models has been identified by a team led by Weill Cornell Medicine, New York-Presbyterian and National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigators.

Because Zika can cause birth defects when passed from a pregnant person to their fetus, this discovery could lead to the development of therapies to protect babies from the potentially devastating effects of this disease.

In research published Nov. 18 in Cell, the investigators isolated an ultrapotent immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody—a five-armed immune protein that latches onto the virus— using blood cells taken from pregnant people infected with Zika. In experiments with mice, they determined that the antibody not only protected the animals from otherwise lethal infections, but also suppressed the virus to the point that it could not be detected in their blood.

Zika is currently circulating at low levels in many tropical countries, but that will inevitably change, according to co-senior author Dr. Sallie Permar, the Nancy C. Paduano Professor in Pediatrics and chair of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital. Dr. Mattia Bonsignori, chief of the Translational Immunobiology Unit of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, is a co-senior author.
weatheriscool
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A possible vaccine against the bacteria that cause UTIs
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11- ... -utis.html
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress
A team of researchers at Duke University has developed a vaccine against uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), the type of bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) in humans. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes how they made their vaccine and its performance when tested in mice and rabbits.

Urinary tract infections are most common in women and can produce extreme pain during urination—they can also lead to other complications that, if not treated, can be fatal. Such infections are generally treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, some women develop chronic infections, which means they experience UTIs several times a year.

In such circumstances, it becomes problematic to continue to prescribe antibiotics because they kill all the bacteria in the gut, which tends to cause other intestinal problems. In this new effort, the researchers have taken a new approach to dealing with UTIs, avoiding antibiotics in general and instead creating a pill that targets only the bacteria behind the infection.

Scientists have been trying for many years to create a vaccine for UTIs, but have failed, mainly due to problems with getting a medication to penetrate the cellular mucosa that coats the walls of the mouth, throat and urinary tract. To overcome this problem, the researchers tried a variety of approaches that involved manipulating drugs that were able to penetrate cellular mucosa.
weatheriscool
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AI tailors artificial DNA for future drug development
https://phys.org/news/2022-11-ai-tailor ... uture.html
by Chalmers University of Technology
With the help of an AI, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have succeeded in designing synthetic DNA that controls the cells' protein production. The technology can contribute to the development and production of vaccines, drugs for severe diseases, as well as alternative food proteins much faster and at significantly lower costs than today.

How genes are expressed is a process that is fundamental to the functionality of cells in all living organisms. Simply put, the genetic code in DNA is transcribed to the molecule messenger RNA (mRNA), which tells the cell's factory which protein to produce and in which quantities.

Researchers have put a lot of effort into trying to control gene expression because, among other things, it can contribute to the development of protein-based drugs. A recent example is the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, which instructed the body's cells to produce the same protein found on the surface of the coronavirus.

The body's immune system could then learn to form antibodies against the virus. Likewise, it is possible to teach the body's immune system to defeat cancer cells or other complex diseases if one understands the genetic code behind the production of specific proteins.

Most of today's new drugs are protein-based, but the techniques for producing them are both expensive and slow, because it is difficult to control how the DNA is expressed. Last year, a research group at Chalmers, led by Aleksej Zelezniak, Associate Professor of Systems Biology, took an important step in understanding and controlling how much of a protein is made from a certain DNA sequence.
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