Engineered stem cells clear barrier to potential one-time treatment of ALS
April 20, 2023 -- Researchers have used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to overcome a barrier to the supply of a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and retinitis pigmentosa. Read More
FDA approves cell therapy treatment for transplantation in blood cancer patients
April 19, 2023 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved the product Omisirge, a cell therapy treatment, for transplantation in blood cancer patients. The phase III trial results, published October 21, 2021, in the journal Blood, found the efficacy of Omisirge transplantation superior to standard umbilical cord blood transplantation. Read More
Mayo Clinic, National Resilience to create center for biomanufacturing regenerative technologies
August 16, 2022 -- The Mayo Clinic and biotech company National Resilience have announced a strategic collaboration in biomanufacturing to deliver novel biotherapeutics for rare and complex conditions, with a focus on therapies derived from biologics for use in medicines. Read More
Discovery of widespread DNA damage in stem cell lines spurs call for pre-use sequencing
August 12, 2022 -- More than 70% of stem cell lines derived from human skin cells have damage to their DNA that could compromise their use in research and cell-based therapies, according to a study published August 11 in Nature Genetics. Read More
Enzyme shown to restore cell volume after exposure to external stressors
November 1, 2022 -- Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have shown that with-no-lysine (WNK) kinases activate a "switch" to restore cell volume after exposure to an external stressor, such as high levels of salt or sugar. Read More
New computational method maps architecture of human tissues in unprecedented detail
October 31, 2022 -- Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have developed a new computational method to map the architecture of human tissues in unprecedented detail, with the potential to accelerate studies on organ-scale cellular interactions and enable powerful new diagnostic strategies for an array of diseases. Read More
Triggering memory B cells directly in lungs seen as way to improve vaccines
June 29, 2022 -- How can the efficacy of vaccines used to protect against viral respiratory diseases such as influenza and COVID-19 be increased? The triggering of memory B cells directly in the lungs could be a promising method, according to scientists. Read More
PrecisionLife, Sano Genetics partner on studying long COVID
May 12, 2022 -- PrecisionLife is joining forces with Sano Genetics to better understand the long-term effects of the coronavirus (long COVID). PrecisionLife’s proprietary combinatorial analytics platform will identify risk factors and potential drug targets by analyzing Sano Genetics’ data from 3,000 U.K. adults suffering from long COVID symptoms. Read More
New AI-based framework holds promise for drug discovery
December 1, 2022 -- Using the artificial intelligence (AI) method of convolutional neural networks, researchers in China developed a new framework for finding novel drug candidates. Read More
Computerized approach may boost drug discovery
November 29, 2022 -- University of Texas at Dallas and Novartis Pharmaceuticals researchers have created a computer-based platform that could make the currently lengthy and expensive drug discovery process more effective, more efficient, and less costly. Read More
Machine learning used to encode commands for immune cells
December 9, 2022 -- Researchers at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with a team at IBM Research, have developed a virtual molecular library of thousands of “command sentences” for cells, based on combinations of “words” that guide engineered immune cells to seek out and kill cancer cells without pausing. Read More
Salk Institute scientists identify oncogene activation
December 8, 2022 -- Researchers at the Salk Institute have zeroed in on the mechanisms that activate oncogenes, showing that genetic mutation activity depends on the distance between a particular gene and the sequences that regulate the gene. Read More
Antiviral-antibody combination improves influenza outcomes in mice
August 17, 2022 -- Researchers at McMaster University found in a mouse study that combining a class of well-known antiviral drugs and neutralizing antibodies was more effective than either approach alone, which they contend could be used to treat seasonal influenza and help prevent the next flu pandemic. Read More
Research furthers understanding of how cellular waste supercharges immune system
August 17, 2022 -- Van Andel Institute researchers have discovered that immune cells are much more flexible than previously thought in selecting the nutrients that fuel their function, including what was previously considered cellular waste. Read More
Ribosome profiling expands pool of potentially protein-coding regions of DNA
July 14, 2022 -- Using ribosome profiling, researchers from 20 institutions worldwide have identified more than 7,200 previously unrecognized gene segments of the human genome that may code for new proteins. Read More
U.K.-Swiss team uncovers poxvirus immunosuppressing protein mechanisms
July 14, 2022 -- Poxviruses infect a host by delivering a package of proteins that directly interferes with the body’s immune system even before it has begun to replicate, using proteins specifically designed to target key components of a host’s immune response, according to research published in PLOS Pathogens. Read More
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