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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,132

Is platelet-rich plasma therapy beneficial in treating chronic respiratory disease?

In a recent study published in the journal Cureus, researchers conducted a literature review to determine whether platelet-rich plasma therapy could help slow disease progression through lung regeneration in patients with chronic respiratory disease.

Chronic respiratory disease comprises many disorders related to the respiratory system, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and interstitial lung fibrosis, of which COPD is the most fatal, causing close to 3.23 million deaths worldwide in 2019. Statistics suggest that approximately 37 million people in the United States live with chronic respiratory disease, and over 150,000 individuals in the country succumbed to the disease in 2020.

Chronic bronchitis and emphysema as the two prominent disorders constituting COPD, causing abnormal airflow into and out of the lungs. Emphysema causes the destruction of the alveoli, which is where the exchange of gases occurs in the lungs, while chronic bronchitis causes excessive mucus production and obstruction of airways.

This surgical knife can ‘smell tumours’, detects womb cancer ‘in seconds’: Here’s how it works

Scientists at Imperial College London, UK have proved that a modern surgical knife dubbed iKnife can “smell tumours”, effectively detecting womb cancer within seconds. The breakthrough could enable thousands of women to get an earlier cancer diagnosis.

“The iKnife reliably diagnosed endometrial cancer in seconds, with a diagnostic accuracy of 89%, minimising the current delays for women whilst awaiting a histopathological diagnosis,” said the researchers in the finding published in the journal Cancers.

Notably, the iKnife is already being used to treat breast and brain cancers, reported the Guardian, and now it can also accurately detect the presence of endometrial cancer.

Study assesses microbiome of male genital mucosa

Compared to other areas of microbiome research, fewer studies have examined the microbiome of the male genital mucosa. However, recent studies suggest that the information about the male genital tract microbiome is important since it is indicative of men’s fertility and sexual behavior. As the most important and adaptive structure of the male reproductive system, the male genital mucosa triggers a range of immune responses.

Understanding the composition of healthy male genital mucosa microbiome and its variations is essential since it might contain determinants such as risk factors for viral and bacterial infections. A few studies have assessed the male reproductive tract microbiome’s role but focus mainly on the coronal sulcus or urine.

A new study in the journal Microorganisms aimed to identify and analyze studies on the composition of the microbial community on different parts of the healthy and diseased male genital mucosa.

Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness

𝐋𝐚𝐛-𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 “𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚” 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙙𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨.𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 “𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚” 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙙𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨.

Retinal cells grown from stem cells can reach out and connect with neighbors, according to a new study, completing a “handshake” that may show the cells are ready for trials in humans with degenerative eye disorders.

Over a decade ago, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a way to grow organized clusters of cells, called organoids, that resemble the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. They coaxed reprogrammed to act as to develop into layers of several types of retinal cells that sense light and ultimately transmit what we see to the brain.

“We wanted to use the cells from those organoids as for the same types of cells that have been lost in the course of retinal diseases,” says David Gamm, the UW-Madison ophthalmology professor and director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute whose lab developed the organoids. “But after being grown in a laboratory dish for months as compact clusters, the question remained—will the cells behave appropriately after we tease them apart? Because that is key to introducing them into a patient’s eye.”

The Human Digital Twin

We are living a data revolution in the biomedical field, and scientific research is advancing at an unprecedented speed to improve modern medicine. One of the key aspects of such medicine is the tailoring of treatments to each patient, by analising the specific changes that led to disease along with the unique characteristics with which the person was born. The use of supercomputers is essential to make sense of the vast amounts of data, and to simulate aspects of our bodies to calculate for instance which drug is more appropriate for each patient for a given disease.

This video showcases some of the research done at the Life Sciences Department of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, contributing to a better understanding of our bodies in health and disease, and to a future where a Human Digital Twin can help to live healthier and longer.

New study reveals 2.6-billion-year-old resurrected enzymes can still edit cells

“This research signifies an extraordinary advance in knowledge about the origin and evolution of CRISPR-Cas systems.”

An international research team reconstructed the CRISPR-Cas system for the first time, dating back to 26 billion years ago. Their findings imply that the revived systems are functional and more adaptable than the previous iterations.

Led by teams from the Spanish National Research Council, the University of Alicante, the Rare Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Center (CIBERER), the Ramón y Cajal Hospital-IRYCIS, and other national and international institutions are working with Ikerbasque research professor Rául Pérez-Jiménez of CIC nanoGUNE.

Apollo Astronaut Walter Cunningham Dies at 90

He was also a physicist and a night fighter pilot.

Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who flew on Apollo 7, an 11-day mission manned mission in 1968 that paved the way for the first human landing on the Moon, has died at the age of 90, NASA said on its website. Cunningham died of natural causes at a hospital in Houston on Tuesday.

Born in 1932, Walter Cunningham joined the U.S. Navy in 1951, where he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and flew 54 missions as a night fighter pilot In Korea before retiring at the rank of a colonel. He then graduated with Honors in Physics in 1960 and followed it up with a distinction in Physics a year later at the University of California at Los Angeles. astronaut Walter Cunningham, who flew into space on Apollo 7, the first flight with crew in NASA’s Apollo Program, died early Tuesday morning in Houston. He was 90 years old.

10 Reasons Why Collaboration With China Will Help Billions Of People Worldwide Live Longer And Healthier

In 2021, one of the record years in biotechnology investments, about 50 drugs were approved by the FDA. 36 of these were small molecules. In my opinion, only about 5 of these were truly innovative targeting novel mechanisms and novel targets. The 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) contained 55,000 codes for diseases, injuries and conditions. Even if we assume that there are only 10,000 diseases, 50 FDA approvals per year seems to be an extraordinarily small number.

The reason for this small number of innovative and effective therapeutics is the long time, high cost, and low probability of success of drug discovery and development. On average, this process takes 12 years, costs over $2 Billion dollars and fails over 90% of the time. The most innovative therapeutics with novel targets have even higher probability of failure. To get these 50 drugs approved in 2021, the pharmaceutical companies globally spent over $100 Billion and over a decade.

The biotechnology industry is very different from any other industry and it is important to understand how it works, and the role China plays in delivering safe and effective medicines to suffering patients worldwide. Sharing risk, expenses, and infrastructure will result in acceleration of global biotechnology and increase the number of innovative drug approvals. Closer collaboration between the US and China in biotechnology would allow investors to share huge risks and returns while benefiting everyone on the planet and making this world a much better place.

Where Are All The Scientific Breakthroughs? Forget AI, Nuclear Fusion And mRNA Vaccines, Advances In Science And Tech Have Slowed, Major Study Says

Despite surges in fields like AI, medicine and nuclear energy, major advances in science and technology are slowing and are fewer and farther between than decades ago, according to a study published in Nature.

The researchers analyzed some 45 million scientific papers and 3.9 million patents between 1945 and 2010, examining networks of citations to assess whether breakthroughs reinforced the status quo or disrupted existing knowledge and more dramatically pushed science and technology off into new directions.

Across all major scientific and technological fields, these big disruptions—the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, which rendered earlier research obsolete, is a good example of such research—have become less common since 1945, the researchers found.