Lifeboat Foundation

A daring effort is under way to create the first children whose DNA has been tailored using gene editing.

And so it begins…

HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life. If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics. A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming other genes. Many mainstream scientists think it’s too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report as human experimentation.

Gene editing may be able to do what medications can’t.

The genetic engineering debate is heating up again, 15 years after mass protests curbed the use of the technology.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The next generation of biotech food is headed for the grocery aisles, and first up may be salad dressings or granola bars made with soybean oil genetically tweaked to be good for your heart.

By early next year, the first foods from plants or animals that had their DNA “edited” are expected to begin selling. It’s a different technology than today’s controversial “genetically modified” foods, more like faster breeding that promises to boost nutrition, spur crop growth, and make farm animals hardier and fruits and vegetables last longer.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has declared gene editing one of the breakthroughs needed to improve food production so the world can feed billions more people amid a changing climate. Yet governments are wrestling with how to regulate this powerful new tool. And after years of confusion and rancor, will shoppers accept gene-edited foods or view them as GMOs in disguise?

Continue reading “Next generation of biotech food heading for grocery stores” »

As the shock-absorbing cartilage discs between our vertebrae degenerate due to aging, accidents or overuse, severe back pain can result. While some scientists have developed purely synthetic replacement discs, a recent test on goats indicates that bioengineered discs may be a better way to go.

In a study published in the journal Immunology, Southampton University researchers have shown that a new antibody that they have engineered is able to combine two different anticancer approaches: depleting regulatory T cells and activating killer T cells [1].

Abstract

The costimulatory receptor 4-1BB is expressed on activated immune cells, including activated T cells. Antibodies targeting 4-1BB enhance the proliferation and survival of antigen-stimulated T cells in vitro and promote CD8 T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity in pre-clinical cancer models. We found that T regulatory (Treg) cells infiltrating human or murine tumors expressed high amounts of 4-1BB. Intra-tumoral Treg cells were preferentially depleted by anti-4-1BB mAbs in vivo. Anti-4-1BB mAbs also promoted effector T cell agonism to promote tumor rejection. These distinct mechanisms were competitive and dependent on antibody isotype and FcgR availability. Administration of anti-4-1BB IgG2a, which preferentially depletes Treg cells, followed by either agonistic anti-4-1BB IgG1 or anti-PD-1 mAb augmented anti-tumor responses in multiple solid tumor models.

Continue reading “Dual-Action Antibody Might Improve Immunotherapy Outcomes” »

What is Immortality?

https://www.guidebooktolife.com/are-we-close-to-immortality?…rl10y2xoME

https://upjourney.com/exciting-healthcare-startups-to-watch-…6Ah4-sGT_c