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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,567

New DNA Technology Is Shaking Up The Branches of The Evolutionary Tree

If you look different to your close relatives, you may have felt separate from your family. As a child, during particularly stormy fall outs you might have even hoped it was a sign that you were adopted.

As our new research shows, appearances can be deceptive when it comes to family. New DNA technology is shaking up the family trees of many plants and animals.

The primates, to which humans belong, were once thought to be close relatives of bats because of some similarities in our skeletons and brains. However, DNA data now places us in a group that includes rodents (rats and mice) and rabbits. Astonishingly, bats turn out to be more closely related to cows, horses, and even rhinoceroses than they are to us.

Epilepsy drug found to thwart nervous system tumor growth

What if an already-Food and Drug Administration-approved drug could help treat a particularly troublesome disorder? Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found just such a use for one drug, according to a press release by the institution published earlier this month.

An old drug with a new purpose

The condition is neurofibromatosis type 1 (Nf1) and the drug is lamotrigine, an epilepsy drug. People suffering from Nf1 develop tumors on nerves throughout their bodies that are usually benign but can still cause serious medical issues such as blindness.

The Origins of Our Blood May Not Be What We Thought

‘Barcoding’ studies discovered two independent sources for blood cells in mice. If confirmed in humans, our understanding of blood cancers, bone marrow transplants, and the aging immune system will change.

The origins of our blood may not be quite what we thought. Using cellular “barcoding” in mice, groundbreaking research finds that blood cells originate not from one type of mother cell, but two, with potential implications for blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and immunology. Fernando Camargo, PhD, of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital led the study, published in the journal Nature on June 15, 2022.

“Historically, people have believed that most of our blood comes from a very small number of cells that eventually become blood stem cells, also known as hematopoietic stem cells,” says Camargo, who is also a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and a professor at Harvard University. “We were surprised to find another group of progenitor cells that do not come from stem cells. They make most of the blood in fetal life until young adulthood, and then gradually start decreasing.”

Scientists Find One of the Most Massive Black Holes With 34 Billion Times The Mass of Our Sun

Merging COVID-19 + MonkeyFox +????

Martin Chartrand https://www.nbcnews.com/…/who-monkeypox-public-health…

Scientists have recently reported discovering what they believe is the most massive black hole ever discovered in the early Universe.

It is 34 billion times the mass of our Sun, and it eats the equivalent of one Sun every day.

Armored Cadillac Escalade doubles as a leather-lined, bulletproof, rolling safe room

The latest in the company’s series of AddArmor vehicles, the 2022 B6 Escalade features lightweight B6 AR 500 bullet-resistant material in every body panel that offers B6-level protection, plus B6-level reinforced glass that can sustain prolonged strikes from rocks, bats, or other blunt objects, the company claims. A PA siren system (to disperse crowds) and run-flat tires also help prepare the Escalade for dangerous situations. B6 protection is the highest level of civilian pr… See more.

The 2022 B6 Cadillac Escalade will let drug kingpins travel with the peace of mind that shots from an assault rifle can’t penetrate their luxury SUV.

Monkeypox Has Evolved at an ‘Accelerated’ And Unexpected Rate, Study Finds

The monkeypox virus has mutated at a far faster rate than would normally be expected and likely underwent a period of “accelerated evolution,” a new study suggests.

The virus, which has infected more than 3,500 people in 48 countries since its detection outside Africa in May, may be more infectious due to dozens of new mutations. In all, the virus carries 50 new mutations not seen in previous strains detected from 2018 to 2019, according to a new study published June 24 in the journal Nature Medicine.

Scientists usually don’t expect viruses like monkeypox to gain more than one or two mutations each year, the study authors noted.

An Ancient Killer Is Rapidly Becoming Resistant to Antibiotics, Scientists Warn

Typhoid fever might be rare in developed countries, but this ancient threat, thought to have been around for millennia, is still very much a danger in our modern world.

According to new research, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever is evolving extensive drug resistance, and it’s rapidly replacing strains that aren’t resistant.

Currently, antibiotics are the only way to effectively treat typhoid, which is caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi). Yet over the past three decades, the bacterium’s resistance to oral antibiotics has been growing and spreading.

Lipid nanoparticles carry gene-editing cancer drugs past tumor defenses

As they grow, solid tumors surround themselves with a thick, hard-to-penetrate wall of molecular defenses. Getting drugs past that barricade is notoriously difficult. Now, scientists at UT Southwestern have developed nanoparticles that can break down the physical barriers around tumors to reach cancer cells. Once inside, the nanoparticles release their payload: a gene editing system that alters DNA inside the tumor, blocking its growth and activating the immune system.

The new , described in Nature Nanotechnology, effectively stopped the growth and spread of ovarian and liver tumors in mice. The system offers a new path forward for the use of the gene editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9 in , said study leader Daniel Siegwart, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry at UT Southwestern.

“Although CRISPR offers a new approach for treating , the technology has been severely hindered by the low efficiency of delivering payloads into tumors,” said Dr. Siegwart, a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Human Longevity and Freedom Acquisition in merger talks

Human Longevity Inc, which was built by the pioneers of the human genome sequencing effort, and Freedom Acquisition Corporation, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have announced that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed business combination that would result in HLI becoming a publicly listed company. Assuming everything ticks along as planned, the parties currently expect to seek approval from Freedom’s shareholders by the first quarter of 2023.

Longevity. Technology: Unicorns are the stuff of legends and headlines, and while there can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be entered into or that the proposed transaction will be consummated, the speculation is delicious because longevity start-ups with billion-dollar valuations mean more visible, accelerating progress for the sector.

The proposed transaction values the combined company at approximately $1 billion, providing HLI with funding to pursue growth and technology innovation – watch this space!

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