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Researchers at Columbia Engineering have engineered probiotics to safely deliver immunotherapies within tumors. These include nanobodies against two proven therapeutic targets—PD-L1 and CTLA-4. The drugs are continuously released by bacteria and continue to attack the tumor after just one dose, facilitating an immune response that ultimately results in tumor regression. The versatile probiotic platform can also be used to deliver multiple immunotherapies simultaneously, enabling the release of effective therapeutic combinations within the tumor for more difficult-to-treat cancers like colorectal cancer. The study is published today in Science Translational Medicine.

Antibodies that target immune checkpoints, PD-L1 and CTLA-4, have revolutionized cancer immunotherapy treatments, achieving success in a subset of cancers. However, systemic delivery of these antibodies can also cause substantial side effects with high percentages of patients reporting adverse reactions. Furthermore, although combinations of these therapies are more effective than single therapy regimens, they also produce severe toxicities, sometimes leading to drug discontinuation. The team, led by Tal Danino, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, aimed to address these challenges.

“We wanted to engineer a safe probiotic vehicle capable of delivering immune checkpoint therapies locally to minimize side effects,” says Danino, who is also a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Data Science Institute. “We also wanted to broaden the versatility of the system by producing a range of immunotherapeutic combinations, including cytokines that could further elicit antitumor immunity, but are otherwise difficult to systemically deliver because of toxicity concerns.”

Mysterious-new-virus-unknown-origin-emerges-lake-Brazil.

Scientists have discovered a mysterious never-before-seen virus in a lake in Brazil and have named it after a mermaid who lured soldiers underwater to their death.

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IMAGE: Novosteo, a Purdue University-affiliated startup, is advancing a technology shown to repair bone fractures faster and at greater benefit to a patient. The image above shows fractured femurs at four… view more

Credit: Novosteo/Philip S. Low

Critics say the government is making a coronavirus episode worse by not being more forthcoming.

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US have uncovered the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of most viruses which plague mankind, and could soon develop a universal vaccine.

Vaccine research, development and testing takes a long time, as the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has shown, but that is because researchers devote their time, attention and resources to targeting specific viruses one-by-one. But now scientists at MGH have located what may prove to be a game-changing breakthrough for humanity which could strengthen our bodies and make them impervious to most viruses.

Apparently scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital are making some progress on identifying what they are calling a “universal vaccine” or the “Achilles heel” for viruses…

BOSTON — As the coronavirus outbreak shows, viruses are a constant threat to humanity. Vaccines are regularly developed and deployed against specific viruses, but that process takes a lot of time, doesn’t help everyone who needs protection, and still leaves people exposed to new outbreaks and new viruses.

Now, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have uncovered a novel potential antiviral drug target that could lead to treatments protecting against a host of infectious diseases — creating a pan, or universal, treatment. Their work suggests that the protein Argonaute 4 (AGO4) is an “Achilles heel” for viruses.

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A new review from the FDA says it finds no evidence linking the two, but that research should continue.

The findings: The report reviewed 125 experiments carried out on animals and 75 on humans between 2008 and August 2019. In summary, the FDA said that there’s “no consistent pattern” to link radiofrequency radiation, or RFR, to tumors or cancer.

Rats don’t use cell phones the way humans do. An overarching problem with the animal studies in the review is that they don’t mimic how humans actually use their phones. Animal studies often douse a rat’s entire body in radiation at levels that are far higher than what humans are normally exposed to when we use cell phones. The human studies were also flawed, relying only on questionnaires from family members or observational data.

Scientific studies continue to show us how exercise can bring a range of cognitive benefits, from limiting the risk of Alzheimer’s to giving an immediate boost to our learning capabilities. Researchers working in this area at the University of South Australia have turned their attention to neuroplasticity, finding two styles of workout in particular that give this key brain function the biggest boost.

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to rewire the neural connections as we go through life, whether that be in response to certain experiences, building memories, learning new skills or adapting to new environments. In this way, it is seen as critical to the development of a healthy brain from infancy all the way through to adulthood, and the authors of this new study set out to dig into how exercise can influence these vital pathways.

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