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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,754

Expert warns ‘cancer moonshot’ could open the door to DNA bioweapons

Scientists around the world have long been searching for a cure for cancer, and recent advancements in technology coupled with rigorous new efforts such as Joe Biden’s ‘cancer moonshot’ have ignited hopes that it could soon become a reality.

But, experts warn that such a breakthrough, despite its obvious benefits, could have unexpected global consequences.

According to Intel’s chief medical officer John Sotos, effectively fighting cancer will require the use of ultra-precise DNA-altering technology – and the same approach could be used to overcome the challenges standing in the way of bioweapons.

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We Should Be Optimistic But Not Complacent About Progress

In the last year or so we have seen remarkable progress with a number of interventions that target the aging processes to prevent and treat age-related diseases.

Senescent cell clearance has enjoyed lots of media attention and is entering human clinical trials later this year with Unity Biotechnology. We have LysoClear from Ichor Therapeutics moving towards the clinic with a therapy based on the LysoSENS approach advocated for by the SENS Research Foundation, which seeks to treat age-related blindness caused by the accumulation of waste products in the retina cells of patients. Dr. David Sinclair is moving into human trials this year with a therapy aimed at repairing DNA damage, one of the main reasons we are thought to age.

We have had amazing progress in immunotherapy, where the immune system is taught to detect cancer and other diseases far more efficiently. For instance, immunotherapy has been used to allow the immune system spot cancer that uses the same “Do not eat me” signals that healthy cells use to avoid destruction.

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More Colorful Vegetables and Fruits Can Protect You From Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Neal Barnard

Dr. Neal Barnard says: “More colorful vegetables and fruits, a 40-minute brisk walk, vitamin E and less dairy products, cheese, and milk can protect you from alzheimer’s and dementia.”

Dr. Neal Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Barnard has authored over 70 scientific publications as well as 17 books.

“We can change our diet, we don’t really need that cheese and that bacon. There’s plenty of healthy things that we can eat. Let’s bring in the colorful vegetables and fruits, let’s make them part of our everyday fair. Let’s lace up our sneakers, let’s exercise together.”

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9 Dangerous Diseases That Could be Prevented

One of the best defenses we have against viral infections is the vaccine.

Vaccines prime the body’s immune system to fight an incoming infection; they’ve been credited with the widespread eradication of smallpox and the near-eradication of polio.

There have been many major advances to vaccines since their inception in the 1700s, but there are still many diseases for which no vaccine exists.

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The Era of Human Gene Editing Is Here—What Happens Next Is Critical

Scientists in Portland, Ore., just succeeded in creating the first genetically modified human embryo in the United States, according to Technology Review. A team led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Science University is reported to “have broken new ground both in the number of embryos experimented upon and by demonstrating that it is possible to safely and efficiently correct defective genes that cause inherited diseases.”

The U.S. team’s results follow two trials—one last year and one in April—by researchers in China who injected genetically modified cells into cancer patients. The research teams used CRISPR, a new gene-editing system derived from bacteria that enables scientists to edit the DNA of living organisms.

The era of human gene editing has begun.

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Professor George Church – Turning Back Time to End Age-related Diseases

Many of you will likely already know who Professor George Church is and that he is an important and senior member of the research community engaged in treating the aging processes to prevent or reverse age-related diseases, not to mention all kinds of other applications for genetic engineering. For those who are not familiar with him a short bio follows.

George Church is a professor at Harvard & MIT, the co-author of over 425 papers, 95 patent publications and the book Regenesis. He developed the methods used for the first genome sequence back in 1994 and he was instrumental in reducing the costs since then using next generation sequencing and nanopores plus barcoding, DNA assembly from chips, genome editing, writing and re-coding.

He co-initiated the Genome projects in 1984 and 2005 to create and interpret the world’s only open-access personal precision medicine datasets. He was also involved in launching the BRAIN Initiative in 2011.

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