Lifeboat Foundation

Amidst rising hopes for using CRISPR gene editing tools to repair deadly mutations linked to conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease, a study in Communications Biology describes a new innovation that could accelerate this work by rapidly revealing unintended and potentially harmful changes introduced by a gene editing process.

“We’ve developed a new process for rapidly screening all of the edits made by CRISPR, and it shows there may be many more unintended changes to DNA around the site of a CRISPR repair than previously thought,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., director of ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute and the principle author of the study.

The study describes a new tool developed at the Gene Editing Institute that in just 48 hours can identify “multiple outcomes of CRISPR-directed gene editing,” a process that typically required up to two months of costly and complicated DNA analysis.

Computer scientists from Duke University and Harvard University have joined with physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Wisconsin to develop a machine learning model that can predict which patients are most at risk of having destructive seizures after suffering a stroke or other brain injury.

A point system they’ve developed helps determine which patients should receive expensive continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) monitoring. Implemented nationwide, the authors say their model could help hospitals monitor nearly three times as many patients, saving many lives as well as $54 million each year.

A paper detailing the methods behind the interpretable machine learning approach appeared online June 19 in the Journal of Machine Learning Research.

Awesome!

A new approach to programing cancer-fighting immune cells called CAR-T cells can prolong their activity and increase their effectiveness against human cancer cells grown in the laboratory and in mice, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The ability to circumvent the exhaustion that the genetically engineered cells often experience after their initial burst of activity could lead to the development of a new generation of CAR-T cells that may be effective even against solid cancers—a goal that has until now eluded researchers.

Continue reading “Researchers program cancer-fighting cells to resist exhaustion, attack solid tumors in mice” »

Over 116,000 people in the US are on organ transplant waiting lists because of a shortage in healthy donated organs. Dr. Wells and his team have been harnessing the power of stem cells to grow miniature versions of human organs in the laboratory. Today, mini organs are being used to help diagnose patients and improve care and Dr. Wells and colleagues are working to generate lab grown organs for future transplantation into patients. Screen reader support enabled. FB: James Wells, LinkedIn: James Wells As a Developmental Biologist, Jim Wells has spent the past two decades trying to uncover how a single cell gives rise to tissues, organs and eventually a whole organism. With this information as a roadmap, he has pioneered approaches to generate mini organs (organoids) from stem cells in the laboratory. Dr. Wells is now part of a team that is using tissue engineering to generate bigger and more functional organs in the lab that can be used for transplantation into patients in the future. Dr. Wells is a professor of Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He is in the Division of Developmental Biology and where he established the human pluripotent stem cell facility. He is also the Director for Basic Research in the Division of Endocrinology and was appointed Chief Scientific Officer of the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine. As a Developmental Biologist, Jim Wells has spent the past two decades trying to uncover how a single cell gives rise to tissues, organs and eventually a whole organism. With this information as a roadmap, he has pioneered approaches to generate mini organs (organoids) from stem cells in the laboratory. Dr. Wells is now part of a team that is using tissue engineering to generate bigger and more functional organs in the lab that can be used for transplantation into patients in the future. Dr. Wells is a professor of Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He is in the Division of Developmental Biology and where he established the human pluripotent stem cell facility. He is also the Director for Basic Research in the Division of Endocrinology and was appointed Chief Scientific Officer of the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years.

An early barrage of illness in the South has begun to spread more broadly, and there’s a decent chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say.

The last flu season to rev up this early was in 2003–2004 — a bad one. Some experts think the early start may mean a lot of suffering is in store, but others say it’s too early to tell.

Biological weapons could be built which target individuals in a specific ethnic group based on their DNA, a report by the University of Cambridge has warned.

Researchers from Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) said the government was failing to prepare for ‘human-driven catastrophic risks’ that could lead to mass harm and societal collapse.

In recent years advances in science such as genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous vehicles have opened the door to a host of new threats.

A new pacemaker membrane reduces fibrotic build-up around the implants in pigs. In people, this would simplify surgeries to replace the devices.

This robot works in assisted living homes so carers can focus on patients more.

Though we can’t predict the future, some current technologies could lead to interesting modifications decades down the road that could do everything from curing diseases to simply helping you open your front door without a key.