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Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 1381

Jan 22, 2021

New York City’s Rats Are Doing Just Fine

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Essentially nearly all the animals are fine and plants too just humans are affected by the virus.


When COVID hit New York and the city shut down, it upended life for rats, too. But, like always, they’ve adjusted.

Jan 22, 2021

Cancer can be precisely diagnosed using a urine test with artificial intelligence

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men. Patients are determined to have prostate cancer primarily based on PSA, a cancer factor in blood. However, as diagnostic accuracy is as low as 30%, a considerable number of patients undergo additional invasive biopsy and thus suffer from resultant side effects, such as bleeding and pain.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that the collaborative research team led by Dr. Kwan Hyi Lee from the Biomaterials Research Center and Professor In Gab Jeong from Asan Medical Center developed a technique for diagnosing from within only 20 minutes with almost 100% accuracy. The research team developed this technique by introducing a smart AI analysis method to an electrical-signal-based ultrasensitive biosensor.

As a noninvasive method, a using urine is convenient for patients and does not need invasive biopsy, thereby diagnosing without side effects. However, as the concentration of cancer factors is low in urine, urine-based biosensors are only used for classifying risk groups rather than for precise diagnosis thus far.

Jan 22, 2021

Quantifying Biological Age With Aging.ai: 24 Blood Tests Since 2009

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

The maximal reduction for biological age when using the biological age calculator, Phenotypic Age, is ~20 years. In other words, if I’m 80 years old and my biomarkers are all reflective of youth, the lowest possible biological age will be ~60 years old. One reason for that is the inclusion of chronological age in the prediction of biological age, which adds strength to the correlation while simultaneously limiting the maximal biological age reduction.

To account for the possibility that youthful biomarkers at an older chronological age can yield a biological age that is more than 20 years younger, it’s important to quantify biological age using a tool that doesn’t include chronological age in its calculation. Aging.ai fits that criterion, and in the video I present biological age data with use of aging.ai for 24 blood tests since 2009.

Jan 21, 2021

At-home COVID testing arrives

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The race is on. Tech startups across the globe are competing to deliver to the rest of us what Google employees already enjoy : regular at-home COVID tests.

At-home medical testing was gaining steam pre-pandemic and is now a red-hot market with more than two dozen companies developing at-home COVID tests.

Jan 21, 2021

‘Exercise protein’ doubles running capacity, restores function and extends healthy lifespans in older mice

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

A new study shows that humans express a powerful hormone during exercise and that treating mice with the hormone improves physical performance, capacity and fitness. Researchers say the findings present new possibilities for addressing age-related physical decline.

The research, published on Wednesday in Nature Communications, reveals a detailed look at how the encodes instructions for regulating physical capacity, performance and metabolism during aging and may be able to increase healthy lifespan.

Continue reading “‘Exercise protein’ doubles running capacity, restores function and extends healthy lifespans in older mice” »

Jan 21, 2021

Chinese scientists may have key to delaying ageing

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Scientists in Beijing may be one step closer to having the answer to living longer and reversing the effects of ageing. A group of biologists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences say they have developed a world-first new gene therapy and have been running tests on mice. It involved screening around 10000 genes in search of particularly strong drivers of cellular ageing. They identified 100 genes in that pool, but the one that really stood out was the kat7. They then inactivated that kat7 gene in the livers of mice, Professor Qu Jing explained some of their findings: “These mice show after six to eight months, they show overall improved appearance and grip strength and most importantly they have extended lifespan for about 25%.” Kat7 is one of tens of thousands of genes found in the cells of mammals. The scientists also tested the function of the gene in human stem cells, human liver cells and more. So far there have been no side effects of cellular toxicity. Despite this, the method still has a long way to go from being ready for human trials and will require a lot of funding and much more research. “In the end we do hope that we can find a way to delay ageing even by a very minor percentage we want to delay the human ageing in the future.” For now, there’s no final answer to cheating death, but the scientists plan on testing the function of kat7 in other cell types of humans and other organs of mice.

Jan 21, 2021

Israeli-made mask eliminates over 99% of coronavirus, lab tests suggest

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology, transportation

The SonoMask displayed an ability to neutralize the novel coronavirus at an effectiveness of 99.34% within trials performed by the ATCCR Testing laboratory in China, Ramat Gan-based Israeli fabric maker and developer Sonovia announced on Saturday. Sonovia’s reusable anti-viral masks are coated in zinc oxide nanoparticles that destroy bacteria, fungi and viruses, which it says can help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Results from the most recent round of testing showed that the mask has the ability to neutralize fallen traces of SARS-COV-2 within 30 minutes after making contact with the fabric. The SonoMask was also proven to maintain its protective properties throughout 55 wash cycles.” Following this outstanding result – the product of several months of dedicated anti-viral sonochemistry formulation – we can now assure the public that our SonoMask is working continuously, permanently and rapidly to neutralize the spread of COVID-19,” said Sonovia CEO Joshua Hershcovici. “We are proud of our latest accomplishment that will help people feel safe and protect their loved ones, all the while remaining the most ecologically sound option upon the PPE market.” Sonovia also participated in trials with Adler Plastic in Italy earlier this year, working toward creating a solution for carpets and other types of fabrics. The company boasted a 99.999% efficiency rate against bacteria during the pilot testing round. Furthermore, the Israeli fabric maker has attracted the cooperation of top brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Adidas, working on the Fashion for Good Plug and Play accelerator project – and earning a $250000 investment for their innovation.” We see our breakthrough technology transforming our everyday life, implemented in all textiles surrounding us: from the clothes we wear, to the textiles in our home, the textiles in our public spaces, in public transportation and of course as a protective measure in the workplaces & medical institutes – in a manner that ensures safer surroundings during these unusual times,” said Sonovia’s Chief Technology Officer Liat Goldhammer.

Jan 21, 2021

A genome-wide CRISPR-based screen identifies KAT7 as a driver of cellular senescence

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Whereas cellular senescence is known to promote aging, many of the mechanisms controlling this process remain poorly understood. Using human mesenchymal precursor cells (hMPCs) carrying pathogenic mutations of the premature aging diseases Werner syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, the authors conducted a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9–based screen to identify genes that could affect cellular senescence. They identified KAT7, a histone acetyltransferase gene, as a driver of senescence. Inactivation of Kat7 in mice aging normally and in prematurely aging progeroid mice extended their life span. Although KAT7 requires further study in other cell types, these experiments highlight the utility of genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens and shed further light on mechanisms controlling senescence.

Understanding the genetic and epigenetic bases of cellular senescence is instrumental in developing interventions to slow aging. We performed genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9–based screens using two types of human mesenchymal precursor cells (hMPCs) exhibiting accelerated senescence. The hMPCs were derived from human embryonic stem cells carrying the pathogenic mutations that cause the accelerated aging diseases Werner syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Genes whose deficiency alleviated cellular senescence were identified, including KAT7, a histone acetyltransferase, which ranked as a top hit in both progeroid hMPC models. Inactivation of KAT7 decreased histone H3 lysine 14 acetylation, repressed p15INK4b transcription, and alleviated hMPC senescence.

Jan 20, 2021

The lightning-fast quest for COVID vaccines — and what it means for other diseases

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, futurism

But by the start of December, the developers of several vaccines had announced excellent results in large trials, with more showing promise. And on 2 December, a vaccine made by drug giant Pfizer with German biotech firm BioNTech, became the first fully-tested immunization to be approved for emergency use.

That speed of advance “challenges our whole paradigm of what is possible in vaccine development”, says Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at the University of Florida in Gainesville. It’s tempting to hope that other vaccines might now be made on a comparable timescale. These are sorely needed: diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and pneumonia together kill millions of people a year, and researchers anticipate further lethal pandemics, too.

The COVID-19 experience will almost certainly change the future of vaccine science, says Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. “It shows how fast vaccine development can proceed when there is a true global emergency and sufficient resources,” he says. New ways of making vaccines, such as by using messenger RNA (mRNA), have been validated by the COVID-19 response, he adds. “It has shown that the development process can be accelerated substantially without compromising on safety.”

Jan 20, 2021

NHS patients among first to access new CAR T cell therapy for lymphoma

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, policy

NHS clinicians in England will be among the first to offer a cutting-edge personalised cancer treatment to some people with lymphoma, after the CAR T cell therapy was approved for NHS use.

Tecartus – a immune-boosting treatment that engineers a patient’s own immune cells to kill their cancer – has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for people with a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

NICE estimates that around 100 people a year with mantle cell lymphoma could be treated with this therapy. Kruti Shrotri, head of policy development at Cancer Research UK, said the news will be welcomed by people with mantle cell lymphoma.