Lifeboat Foundation

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐍𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

The method was effective in lab tests against human cervical cancer-and breast cancer-derived cells, and against malignant melanoma cells from mice. The team created a pair of chemically synthesized, hairpin-shaped, cancer-killing DNA. When the DNA pairs were injected into cancer cells, they connected to microRNA (miRNA) molecules that are overproduced in certain cancers.

Once connected to the miRNA, they unraveled and joined together, forming longer chains of DNA which triggered an immune response. This response not only killed the cancer cells but prevented further growth of cancerous tissue. This method is different from conventional anticancer drug treatments and is hoped to bring about a new era of drug development.

Exclusive: study is first to compare pioneering targeted treatment on difficult-to-treat tumours with standard radiotherapy.

As cells perform their everyday functions, they turn on a variety of genes and cellular pathways. MIT engineers have now coaxed cells to inscribe the history of these events in a long protein chain that can be imaged using a light microscope.

Cells programmed to produce these chains continuously add building blocks that encode particular cellular events. Later, the ordered protein chains can be labeled with fluorescent molecules and read under a microscope, allowing researchers to reconstruct the timing of the events.

This technique could help shed light on the steps that underlie processes such as memory formation, response to drug treatment, and gene expression.

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland Evolution and Psychiatry Special Interest Group welcomed Dr Randolph M Nesse to present a talk titled “Why hasn’t natural selection eliminated mental disorders: Knowing the five reasons improves clinical care as well as research” during their meeting on Friday, 4 February 2022.

The Special Interest Group is open to all College members and Psychiatry trainees.

Continue reading “What hasn’t natural selection eliminated mental disorders?” »

Altos Labs just redefined big in biotech. Where to start? The $3 billion in investor support? The C-suite staffed by storied leaders—Barron, Bishop, Klausner—identifiable by one name? Or the wildly ambitious plan to reverse disease for patients of any age? Altos is all that and more.

Early details of Altos leaked out last year when MIT Technology Review reported Jeff Bezos had invested to support development of technology that could “revitalize entire animal bodies, ultimately prolonging human life.” The official reveal fleshes out the vision and grounds the technology in the context of the nearer-term opportunities it presents to improve human health.

“It’s clear from work by Shinya Yamanaka, and many others since his initial discoveries, that cells have the ability to rejuvenate, resetting their epigenetic clocks and erasing damage from a myriad of stressors. These insights, combined with major advances in a number of transformative technologies, inspired Altos to reimagine medical treatments where reversing disease for patients of any age is possible,” Hal Barron, M.D., said in a statement.

Summary: Study finds a link between poor hydration in adults and an increased risk of chronic health conditions and advanced biological aging.

Source: NIH

Adults who stay well-hydrated appear to be healthier, develop fewer chronic conditions, such as heart and lung disease, and live longer than those who may not get sufficient fluids, according to a National Institutes of Health study published in eBioMedicine. .

Psychedelic drugs were a hot topic at this year’s Society for Neuroscience meeting. Researchers hope the drugs can help people with disorders like depression and PTSD.

Viruses impact host cells and have indirect effects on ecosystem processes. Plankton such as ciliates can reduce the abundance of virions in water, but whether virus consumption translates into demographic consequences for the grazers is unknown. Here, we show that small protists not only can consume viruses they also can grow and divide given only viruses to eat. Moreover, the ciliate Halteria sp. foraging on chloroviruses displays dynamics and interaction parameters that are similar to other microbial trophic interactions. These results suggest that the effect of viruses on ecosystems extends beyond (and in contrast to) the viral shunt by redirecting energy up food chains.

Unprecedented views of the interior of cells and other nanoscale structures are now possible thanks to innovations in expansion microscopy. The advancements could help provide future insight into neuroscience, pathology, and many other biological and medical fields.

In the paper “Magnify is a universal molecular anchoring strategy for expansion microscopy,” published Jan. 2 in the journal Nature Biotechnology, collaborators from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Brown University describe new protocols for dubbed Magnify.

Continue reading “New expansion microscopy methods magnify research’s impact” »