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Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 1606

May 13, 2020

Dynamics of gut bacteria follow ecological laws

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, finance, mathematics

As expected, they discovered large fluctuations in the composition and daily changes of the human and mouse gut microbiomes. But strikingly, these apparently chaotic fluctuations followed several elegant ecological laws.

“Similar to many animal ecologies and complex financial markets, a healthy gut microbiome is never truly at equilibrium,” Vitkup says. “For example, the number of a particular bacterial species on day one is never the same on day two, and so on. It constantly fluctuates, like stocks in a financial market or number of animals in a valley, but these fluctuations are not arbitrary. In fact, they follow predictable patterns described by Taylor’s power law, a well-established principle in animal ecology that describe how fluctuations are related to the relative number of bacteria for different species.”

Other discovered laws of the gut microbiome also followed principles frequently observed in animal ecologies and economic systems, including the tendency of gut bacteria abundances to slowly but predictably drift over time and the tendency of species to appear and disappear from the gut microbiome at predictable times.

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May 13, 2020

U.S. Likely to Get Sanofi Vaccine First If It Succeeds, CEO Says

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Americans will likely get Sanofi’s Covid-19 vaccine before the rest of the world if the French pharmaceutical giant can successfully deliver one.

May 13, 2020

Germany’s coronavirus infections dropped after a spike, and its R0 figure for infections is back below 1, as it grapples with safely getting out of lockdown

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

After a worrying spike, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute said new coronavirus infections have dropped again.

May 13, 2020

A new biomarker for the aging brain

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

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan have identified changes in the aging brain related to blood circulation. Published in the scientific journal Brain, the study found that natural age-related enlargement of the ventricles—a condition called ventriculomegaly—was associated with a lag in blood drainage from a specific deep region of the brain. The lag can be detected easily with MRI, making it a potential biomarker for predicting ventriculomegaly and the aging brain, which can then be treated quickly.

Ventriculomegaly is an abnormal condition in which fluid accumulates in the ventricles of the without properly draining, making them enlarged. Although ventricular enlargement within normal range is not itself considered a disease, when left unchecked it can lead to ventriculomegaly and dementia resulting from normal pressure hydrocephalus. In their study, the team found that ventriculomegaly was associated with changes in circulation of the brain. “We found an age-related perfusion timing shift in the brain’s venous systems whose lifespan profile was very similar to, but slightly preceded that of ventricular enlargement,” explains first author Toshihiko Aso.

After blood circulates through the brain providing necessary oxygen, the deoxygenated blood must return to the heart though our veins. This happens through two pathways, one draining blood from regions close to the surface of the brain, and the other from areas deep in the brain. By using MRI to measure changes in , the team at BDR recently found that as we age, the time it takes for blood to drain through these two pathways becomes out of sync. The result is a time lag between the deep drainage and the surface pathway, which increases with age.

May 13, 2020

Eybna and CannaSoul, Top Cannabis R&D Firms, Join Forces to Prove a Proprietary Terpene Formulation for Treating Viral Infections via Modulation of Cytokine Storm

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Prof. Dedi (David) Meiri, Chairman and CSO of CannaSoul and Nadav Eyal, Co-founder and CEO of Eybna Technologies Ltd, announced today the companies have jointly engaged in a mutual assays of CannaSoul’s (through its Myplant-Bio subsidiary) Cytokine Storm Assay and Eybna’s Novel NT-VRL™ formulation dedicated for treatment and prevention of viral infections — specifically for high-risk populations and treatment of actively ill patients.

May 13, 2020

Could cannabis terpene formulation treat COVID-19?

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A unique formulation of cannabis terpenes is being tested for its efficacy in treating viral infections, including COVID-19.

May 13, 2020

New anti-COVID-19 nanocoating surface developed

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers are developing safe anti-viral nanoparticle coatings that demonstrate significant potential in preventing active surface infection with SARS-CoV-2.

May 13, 2020

Germany’s first drive-in social-distancing rave amid coronavirus pandemic

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

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While nightclubs have closed in Germany as part of its coronavirus restrictions, a club held the country’s first drive-in social-distancing rave on May 9, 2020.

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May 13, 2020

Op-Ed: We’re in the middle of a mental-health crisis. Many were struggling before the pandemic

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, finance, health, neuroscience

Others are being hit hard by the impact of quarantine — feeling overwhelmed while trying to balance work with childcare, being stuck at home with an abusive partner or parent, or being alone for extended periods of time.

Since it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, here are some tips to help you cope with the crisis:


More from Invest in You: Young adults confront fears, stress as they navigate pandemic Over-eating, self-medicating lead to skyrocketing grocery bills How to help out others without breaking your own bank

Continue reading “Op-Ed: We’re in the middle of a mental-health crisis. Many were struggling before the pandemic” »

May 12, 2020

Scientists show MRI predicts the efficacy of a stem cell therapy for brain injury

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

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Loma Linda University Health have demonstrated the promise of applying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the efficacy of using human neural stem cells to treat a brain injury—a first-ever “biomarker” for regenerative medicine that could help personalize stem cell treatments for neurological disorders and improve efficacy. The researchers expect to test the findings in a clinical trial evaluating the stem cell therapy in newborns who experience a brain injury during birth called perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HII). The study was published in Cell Reports.

“In order for stem cell therapies to benefit patients, we need to be thoughtful and scientific about who receives these treatments,” says Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at Sanford Burnham Prebys, and corresponding study author. “I am hopeful that MRI, which is already used during the course of care for these newborns, will help ensure that infants who experience HII get the best, most appropriate treatment possible. In the future, MRI could help guide the use of stem cells to treat—or in some instances, not treat—additional disorders such as spinal cord injury and stroke.”

Scientists now understand that, in many instances, human neural stem cells are therapeutic because they can protect living cells—in contrast to “re-animating” or replacing nerve cells that are already dead. As a result, understanding the health of brain tissue prior to a is critical to the treatment’s potential success. Tools that help predict the efficacy of neural stem cell therapy could increase the success of clinical trials, which are ongoing in people with Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury and additional neurological conditions, while also sparing people who will not respond to treatment from an invasive procedure that offers false hope.