Lifeboat Foundation

For children suffering from rare diseases, it usually takes years to receive a diagnosis. This “diagnostic odyssey” is filled with multiple referrals and a barrage of tests, seeking to uncover the root cause behind mysterious and debilitating symptoms.

A new speed record in DNA sequencing may soon help families more quickly find answers to difficult and life-altering questions.

Continue reading “Rapid DNA Sequencing Tech Breaks the Speed Record for Reading Whole Genomes” »

Available treatments work equally well against the variant.

A newfound variant of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has been uncovered in the Netherlands and appears to cause faster disease progression compared with other versions of the virus.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects and destroys immune cells called CD4 cells in the body, causing the number of these cells to plummet. If left untreated, the infection then progresses to AIDS. In people infected with the newfound HIV variant, called the VB variant, the CD4 counts fall at about twice the rate as those of people infected with closely related HIV strains, meaning those of the same genetic subtype (B).

Concetta Antico is the world’s most famous tetrachromat, meaning she has four types of color receptors (cone cells) in her eyes. Most of us have three types. As a result of this mutation, Antico can see around 100 million colors, 100 times more than other people. Antico is an artist and she says that her psychedelic color paintings depict what she perceives. I wonder though what her paintings look like through her eyes. From The Guardian:

According to Dr Kimberly Jameson, a University of California scientist who has studied Antico, just having the gene – which around 15% of women have – is not alone sufficient to be a tetrachromat, but it’s a necessary condition. “In Concetta’s case … one thing we believe is that because she’s been painting sort of continuously since the age of seven years old, she has really enlisted this extra potential and used it. This is how genetics works: it gives you the potential to do things and if the environment demands that you do that thing, then the genes kick in.”[…]

Continue reading “Meet the artist whose genetic mutation means she can see 100 times more colors than you” »

Long-lasting leukemia remission prompts doctors to call CAR-T cell therapy a ‘cure’ for some.

Another E5 update. At the moment there is a great difference between the control and treated rats. The treated rats are nearing their expected lifespan. And it looks like E5 human trials are trying to be set up.

In this video we report on the Feb 2022 update from Dr. Katcher’s experiment with E5, where he is testing to see how long the rats will stay alive if they are given an E5 injection every 90 days.

Continue reading “Dr Katcher’s E5 Experiment” »

VICE.

BitMouseDAO has exactly two investors and almost no money, but they do have a wild idea.

Researchers from the University of Illinois developed GPU-accelerated software to simulate a cell that metabolizes and grows like a living cell.

Every living cell contains its own bustling microcosm, with thousands of components responsible for energy production, protein building, gene transcription and more.

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have built a 3D simulation that replicates these physical and chemical characteristics at a particle scale — creating a fully dynamic model that mimics the behavior of a living cell.

Continue reading “NVIDIA GPUs Enable Simulation of a Living Cell” »

What are biomarkers? They are medical signals that can measure health in an accurate and reproducible way. Common examples include blood pressure readings, heart rate, and even genetic test results.

Modern digital devices measure several health parameters. Fitbit trackers use sensors such as accelerometers to tell how many steps we’ve taken in a day or how fast we’ve been walking. When can such novel health measures function as medical biomarkers?

Continue reading “The Future Of Medicine: Fighting Deadly Diseases With Smart Devices And Digital Biomarkers” »