Thrivous

Two patients have been cured of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease, after their own genes were edited with CRISPR-Cas9 technology. This raises hopes for countless people all over the planet suffering from genetic diseases, and other diseases that may be open to genetic attacks. CRISPR-Cas9 technology pioneers Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 as reported in Pulse 173. Sickle cell disease is an inherited defect of hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body. Beta thalassemia is a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin. Sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia are major diseases in the world, notes a press release issued by University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). In Nigeria alone, five million people suffer from sickle cell disease. And many others suffer from this disease throughout Africa. 30% of transplants performed in India, which has 1.3 billion people, are to treat severe beta thalassemia. A research paper published in New England Journal of Medicine describes how CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing modified the DNA of stem cells by deleting the gene BCL11A. This is the gene responsible for suppressing fetal hemoglobin production. The first two patients to receive the treatment have had successful results and continue to be monitored. This gene-editing procedure has a huge potential, said Damiano Rondelli, Professor of Hematology at the UIC College of Medicine. “Cells of the same patient can be manipulated and can be transplanted without the risk of rejection or to cause immune reactions from the donor (graft-versus-host disease),” he said. “For the almost 900 patients with SC coming to our hospital, this should be great news.” Rondelli is on the steering committee for an international clinical trial. The trial is at an early stage. And the first patients will be followed for some time before expanding the numbers worldwide. This treatment could be a game-changer for world health. “The hope is that this treatment will be accessible and affordable in many low-middle-income countries [e.g. the Middle East, Africa, and India], and have an important impact in the lives of many people in these areas,” added Rondelli. Personalized Vaccine for Anti-Cancer Response Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Broad Institute have made advances in the development of a cancer vaccine. It is able to produce long-lasting anti-tumor responses in patients with melanoma. A study is published in Nature Medicine. It reports that, four years after patients with melanoma were treated with a personalized cancer vaccine, the immune response kindled by the vaccine remains robust and effective in keeping cancer cells under control. The vaccine is known as NeoVax. It works by targeting specific proteins on each patient's tumor cells. Four years after vaccination, all eight patients who participated in the study were alive. And six showed no signs of active disease. In two of the patients, cancer had spread to their lungs. They received an immune checkpoint inhibitor, a drug that loosens some of the restraints on the immune response to cancer. The researchers are persuaded that NeoVax can help control metastatic tumors, particularly when combined with immune checkpoint inhibition. Designer DNA May Treat Myeloma Scientists at UC San Diego School and Ionis Pharmaceuticals are researching how to treat myeloma. This is a type of blood cancer that eventually becomes resistant to existing treatments. The treatment silences IRF4, a gene that allows myeloma stem cells and tumor cells to proliferate and survive. A study is published in Cell Stem Cell. The scientists report their successes inhibiting IRF4 with an engineered piece of DNA, developed by Ionis and known as ION25. The treatment lowered disease burden, reduced myeloma stem cell abundance, and increased survival in laboratory mice ...

Scientists have stored data in the genomes of living bacteria, Nature reports. Researchers at Columbia University designed bacteria “that, when zapped with electricity, make distinctive changes to their genomes. The ‘electricity on’ and ‘electricity off’ genomic patterns serve as the equivalent of the 1s and 0s used in digital computers.” A research paper is published in Nature Chemical Biology. It describes a new “electrogenetic” framework for direct storage of digital data in living cells. The scientists encoded binary data in 3-bit units into CRISPR arrays of bacterial cells by electrical stimulation. To demonstrate the new technology, the scientists electrically encoded up to 72 bits of data and wrote the message, “Hello world!” “Imagine having cellular hard-drives that can compute and physically reconfigure in real time,” research leader Harris Wang told Singularity Hub. “We feel that the first step is to be able to directly encode binary data into cells, without having to do in vitro DNA synthesis.” This has evident applications to data storage. This “may give James Bond a new tool for hiding messages in plain sight,” notes a summary published in Science. But perhaps this research program will have even more spectacular applications in life sciences and medicine. Creating a direct interface between silicon and genomes “could significantly accelerate our ability to reprogram cells for our own devices,” notes Singularity Hub. “If you can get the cells to directly talk to a computer, and interface its DNA-based memory system with a silicon-based memory system, then there are lots of possibilities in the future,” Wang said. Disabling a Single Gene May Slow Aging A genome-wide CRISPR-based screening technology has identified a new driver of cellular aging. This was reported in a press release issued by the Chinese Academy of Science. They added that this could form part of new strategies to delay aging and prevent aging-associated diseases. A research paper is published in Science Translational Medicine. It shows that disabling a gene called KAT7 by CRISPR can reduce cellular aging and senility. KAT7 is one of the catalysts for aging. The gene therapy is based on disabling a single gene or using KAT7 inhibitors. According to the researchers, this could extend mammal life. It could also slow down the aging of human liver cells and find applications in medicine against human aging. Nanoparticles for Vaccines Against Coronaviruses Caltech scientists are using nanoparticles to develop vaccines for a wide range of related coronaviruses. Their aim is to prevent future pandemics. The scientists have designed a protein-based nanoparticle onto which pieces of up to eight different types of coronavirus have been attached. The nanoparticle is shaped like a cage made up of 60 identical proteins. Each has a small protein tag that functions like a piece of Velcro. A research paper is published in Science. It reports that, when injected into mice, this nanoparticle induces the production of antibodies that react to a variety of different coronaviruses. They include similar viruses that were not presented on the nanoparticle. Only a Few Proteins Control Many Cancer Types By analyzing data from almost 10,000 patients, Columbia University researchers have found that tumors can be categorized into 112 subtypes. This is regardless of the cancer's origin. Within each subtype, “Master Regulator” proteins that control the cancer were virtually identical, independent of the specific genetic mutations of each patient. A paper is published in Cell. It indicates that the key genetic programs necessary for the survival of cancer cells are mechanistically controlled by only 24 Master Regulator modules. Each comprises just a handful of such proteins working in concert. The researchers are persuaded that this has the potential to streamline and improve cancer treatment in the future.

In 2016, researchers from the University of Padova in Italy published a study in the journal Nutrients. It demonstrated that a Mediterranean Diet, combined with a daily supplement of Curcumin and Boswellia Serrata Extract (BSE), has a protective effect against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress plays a major role in aging and the deterioration of health over time. The reason your mother taught you to eat your vegetables for the antioxidants is that they help combat oxidative stress. Curcumin and BSE are both powerful antioxidants, and Curcumin is anti-inflammatory as well. The Italian researchers behind the Nutrients study recruited a cohort of 47 male master cyclists — all healthy, high-performance athletes — to participate in the study. The cyclists made a useful study group because regular intensive exercise causes oxidative stress. That means these cyclists had pretty high baseline levels of the chemical markers the researchers were interested in. In athletes, oxidative stress can cause muscle damage and reduced athletic performance. It can also accumulate in the cells and tissues over time and accelerate age-related decline. The researchers wanted to see if diet and supplements could reduce the markers of oxidative stress in these athletes’ bodies. So they divided the athletes into two groups: The control group was prescribed a Mediterranean Diet. The treatment group was prescribed both a Mediterranean Diet and a daily supplement. The supplement was a tablet containing 140 mg of BSE and 10 mg of Curcumin, in a proprietary formula designed for easy cellular absorption. The researchers required all participants to keep a food diary and to return unused pills at the end of the trial, so they could verify compliance. Blood and urine samples were taken once at the beginning of the trial and once at the end, after 3 months. The blood and urine samples were examined for twelve different potential markers of oxidative stress. At the end of the study period, both the treatment and control groups exhibited a significant reduction in three of the twelve markers. This suggests that a Mediterranean Diet, by itself, goes a long way toward reducing oxidative stress. The treatment group also saw statistically significant reductions in two markers compared to the control group. They included a 47% reduction in total Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). This suggests that treatment with Curcumin and BSE provides a substantial benefit beyond what a Mediterranean Diet confers. Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) can either be derived from food or produced within the body, especially under conditions of hyperglycemia or oxidative stress. AGEs cause harmful stiffening of tissues, such as skeletal muscle, tendons, joints, bone, heart, arteries, lungs, and skin. They accumulate in cells and skeletal muscle tissue as we age. Levels of AGEs in older adults seem to predict an earlier death. So a safe supplement that reduces levels of AGEs could have powerful anti-aging benefits. Both Curcumin and BSE had previously shown promise for reducing AGEs in vitro and in animal studies. But the Nutrients study is the first to document this effect in humans. Thrivous Tenacity Arthroprotector contains both 500 mg of Turmeric Rhizome Extract (95% Curcumin) and 100 mg of Boswellia Serrata Resin Extract. Maybe you’re a master cyclist looking to maximize athletic performance. Or maybe you're just a regular person looking to stave off age-related decline. Either way, Tenacity can offer you valuable protection against the chemical effects of stress.

Psychologists at Anglia Ruskin University, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, and Perdana University have found that spending time outdoors and switching off our devices is associated with higher levels of happiness during a period of COVID-19 restrictions. The psychologists measured levels of happiness amongst a group of 286 adults three times a day, at random intervals, over a 21-day period. The results of the study, published in Journal of Happiness Studies, indicate that levels of happiness were higher when participants were outdoors rather than indoors. In addition, more daily screen time and higher levels of loneliness were both associated with lower levels of happiness. The impact of loneliness on happiness was also weaker when participants were outdoors. "Our results are important in this context because they show that being able to spend time outdoors under conditions of lockdown has a beneficial impact on psychological wellbeing," said research co-leader Viren Swami. "Our findings have practical health policy implications." "Given that further lockdown restrictions have now become necessary in the UK, public health messages that promote getting some fresh air instead of staying indoors and staring at our screens could really help to lift people's mood this winter." I can personally testify that this is true, or at least that these are the remedies that I instinctively adopted with good results to avoid lockdown unhappiness. Since the lockdowns started, I spend much more time outdoors. I am lucky enough to have easy access to the unspoiled woods. And I hike daily for hours with my wife & doggy. That results in spending much less time online. More true views, less fake news. If you find yourself unhappy, consider doing that. Nanoparticle COVID19 Vaccine in Development Scientists at Stanford University are developing a single-shot COVID-19 vaccine that does not require a cold-chain for storage or transport. The new vaccine is expected to be cheap to produce. And the target population is low- and middle-income countries. The new vaccine is described in a paper published in ACS Central Science. It contains nanoparticles loaded with the same proteins that comprise the virus' distinctive surface spikes. After a single dose, two nanoparticle vaccine candidates both resulted in high antibody levels in laboratory mice. The scientists are persuaded that this is a solid starting point for what could be a single-dose vaccine regimen. And it wouldn't rely on using a virus to generate protective antibodies following vaccination. Nanoparticles Break Blood Clots from Inside Out Engineering researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for eliminating particularly tough blood clots. The technique uses engineered nanodroplets and an ultrasound drill to break up the clots from the inside out. The technique has not yet gone through clinical testing. In vitro testing has shown promising results, as described in a study published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering. In related news, scientists at German Cancer Research Center and Heidelberg University have found that using anticoagulants to eliminate blood clots is helpful against metastatic brain cancer in laboratory mice. It prevents the tumor cells from penetrating into the brain tissue. This link between blood clots and cancer is explored in a study published in Blood. Chemotherapy Plus Magnetic Nanoparticles Scientists at University College London have found that loading a chemotherapy drug onto tiny magnetic particles can heat up cancer cells while delivering the drug to them. This was up to 34% more effective at destroying cancer cells than the chemotherapy drug without added heat. A research paper is published in Journal of Materials Chemistry B. It reports that the scientists used magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles that carry the chemotherapy drug and release heat when exposed to an alternating magnetic field. Once the nanopart ...

This is good news for all those who fear pain after dental surgery. Orally administered magnesium seems to significantly reduce postoperative pain. The results of this trial show a statistically significant pain level reduction and greater mouth opening ability for the participants who received magnesium preparations, compared to placebos. New Study: Effect of orally administered magnesium on postoperative pain level and trismus after surgical removal of the lower third molars: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03398382. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated the effect of orally administered magnesium on postoperative pain and trismus after surgical removal of the lower third molars. The results of the study indicate that orally administered magnesium (either lozenges or tablets) before and after a lower third molar surgical removal significantly reduces pain intensity and the degree of trismus in the postoperative period. Alpha Lipoic Acid May Promote Weight Loss New Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Long-Term (R)-alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplementation Promotes Weight Loss in Overweight or Obese Adults without Altering Baseline Elevated Plasma Triglyceride Concentrations This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00765310. α-Lipoic acid (LA) is a dietary supplement for maintaining energy balance. The conclusions of the trial indicate that long-term LA supplementation results in body mass index (BMI) loss, greater antioxidant enzyme synthesis, and less potential for inflammation in overweight adults. Improved cellular bioenergetics is also evident in some individuals given (R)-α-lipoic acid (R-LA). Caffeine and Theanine May Improve Performance New Study: Effects of acute caffeine, theanine and tyrosine supplementation on mental and physical performance in athletes This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03019523. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the acute ingestion of a supplement containing caffeine, theanine, and tyrosine improves mental and physical performance in athletes. The results of the investigation indicate that a combination of a low-dose of caffeine with theanine and tyrosine may improve athletes' movement accuracy surrounding bouts of exhaustive exercise without altering subjective variables. Based on this finding, supplementation with caffeine, theanine, and tyrosine could potentially hold ergogenic value for athletes in sports requiring rapid and accurate movements. Turmeric and Boswellia May Support Joint Comfort New Study: Efficacy of high-dissolution turmeric-sesame formulation for pain relief in adult subjects with acute musculoskeletal pain compared to acetaminophen: A randomized controlled study Management of joint comfort with plant-based nutrients has remained suboptimal due to an absence of data supporting acute relief of pain. In this study, it was hypothesized that high-dissolution liquid treatment of black sesame extract oil, Curcuma longa, and Boswellia serrata may provide pain relief in people with acute musculoskeletal pain. The results of the study show that the treatment may act as a natural, fast acting, and safe alternative to promote joint comfort, comparable to acetaminophen. And results indicate that the treatment may act as quickly as acetaminophen (paracetamol), which is one of the most commonly used over-the-counter drugs. Thrivous Supplements Thrivous develops supplements that incorporate Magnesium, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Caffeine, L Theanine, Turmeric, and Boswellia: Serenity Nightly Nootropic provides a clinical dose of Magnesium Glycinate and L Theanine, along with Melatonin, to enhance relaxation and sleep. Alpha Neuroprotector provides a clinical dose of R Alpha Lipoic Acid with complementary nutrients to support healthy brain and nerve function. Surge Acute Nootropic provides clinical doses of Caffeine and L Theanine to ...

The government of the United Kingdom has accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorize Oxford University and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use. “This follows rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA, which has concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness,” notes a press release issued by the U.K. government. The vaccine, called AZD1222, joins the growing family of COVID-19 vaccines approved for use. “The MHRA’s decision was based on independent advice from its Commission on Human Medicines following a rolling review of trial data that included an interim analysis of the Phase III programme led by the University of Oxford,” reports a press release issued by AstraZeneca. The trial data were also published in The Lancet on 8 December 2020. Time explains that AZD1222 “uses a ‘viral vector,’ introducing a harmless virus - in this case a virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees - modified with the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein to stimulate an immune response.” AZD1222 is not the most effective COVID-19 vaccine, according to the published trial results. Stage 3 clinical trials suggest it prevents COVID-19 symptoms about 70% of the time vs. about 95% for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. But “it’s cheaper and easier to handle and store." AZD1222 will cost $3 to $4 per dose around the world. And it remains viable for up to six months with standard refrigeration. Therefore, the vaccine is expected to make a big difference in the less developed regions of the world. AstraZeneca hopes to make 3 billion doses of AZD1222 in 2021. With the current two-dose regimen, that’s enough to vaccinate nearly 20 percent of the world’s population. On January 4, dialysis patient Brian Pinker, 82, became the first person to receive the AZD1222 Covid-19 vaccine, as reported by BBC News. “Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast the Oxford vaccine rollout was a ‘pivotal moment’ in the fight against coronavirus, saying: ‘It's going to be a tough few weeks ahead, but this is the way out.’” New Ways to Sensitize Cancer to Immunotherapy Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have learned how cancer cells avoid immune defenses and metastasize (spread). A paper is published in Cancer Discovery. It indicates that immune reactions triggered by cancer cells fail to eliminate cancer due, in part, to a molecule sitting on the outside of the cancer cells that destroys the warning signals before they ever reach neighboring immune cells. The findings help to explain why some tumors do not respond to immunotherapy. And they suggest ways to sensitize tumors to immunotherapy, opening up potential new avenues for treatment. The researchers showed that this approach was effective in laboratory mice. Drug Improves Leukemia Survival Results from a clinical trial called QUAZAR, led by Monash University, show that a drug called CC-486 delivers a 30% improvement in survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). And it significantly improves survival in older patients, over the age of 55. AML is the most acute blood cancer in adults. And its incidence increases with age, with a poor prognosis. With current treatments, the majority of older patients will die of their disease within 2 years of diagnosis. After intensive chemotherapy, the risk of AML relapse is high. The QUAZAR trial involved 472 patients, with an average age of 68 years. They were either given CC-486 or a placebo. A study is published in New England Journal of Medicine. It indicates that the patients receiving the drug had an average survival of almost 25 months after chemotherapy. That's compared to those who did not take the drug, whose average survival was almost 15 months. New Compounds Outperform Antibiotics Scientists at Wistar Institute have discovered a new class of compounds. They uniquely combine direct anti ...

It's time for good resolutions for the new year. Psychologists at the University of Rochester suggest that we should set goals that aim to help others. Working toward such goals will also add to our own well-being. “If you want to make a New Year’s resolution that really makes you happy, think about the ways in which you can contribute to the world,” says professor emeritus Richard Ryan. “We found that when people are focused on giving to others they experience deeper satisfactions than when their goals are more self-oriented,” adds Ryan. “For example, experiments show that doing something benevolent for others, even when you will never meet the beneficiary, increases your positive mood and energy. Most recently, we published a study about what we call people’s ‘integrative span.’” The study is published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “We discovered that your happiness increases as your focus of concern and care gets wider,” continues Ryan. “If your main concerns and cares are narrow and selfish - just about ‘me and the people very close to me,’ versus about ‘my family and my community,’ versus about ‘the larger world and everything in it’ - the less happy you are prone to be. A broader scope of caring and concern for others, in contrast, predicts a higher well-being.” So, go ahead and make New Year’s resolutions that aim to help others and contribute to the world in small (or big) ways. And don’t be too harsh on yourself when you encounter the inevitable setbacks, lapses, and failures. Ryan’s final advice is, “remember to be a compassionate self-coach.” CRISPR Used to Develop Vaccine for Parasite Scientists at University of Zurich are developing a (harmless) experimental live vaccine for Toxoplasma gondii. The widespread parasite puts people with a weakened immune system at risk and can trigger malformations in the womb. To this end, the scientists are using modified CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing scissors. They permit making alterations to the genetic material of single-cell organisms that are indistinguishable from natural mutations. A research paper is published in Journal of Biological Methods. It describes a modified CRISPR-Cas9 that can deactivate a gene without errors and unintended genetic alterations, in a way which is indistinguishable from naturally occurring mutations. Gene Therapy for Deafness Works in Lab Mice Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed an innovative treatment for deafness. It's based on the delivery of genetic material into the cells of the inner ear. The genetic material replaces a genetic defect and enables the cells to continue functioning normally. A study is published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. It describes how the researchers created a harmless synthetic virus and used it to deliver genetic material (a normal version of a defective mutated gene) to the inner ear of laboratory mice. The treated mice developed normal hearing, with sensitivity almost identical to that of healthy mice without the mutation. According to the researchers, this novel therapy could lead to a breakthrough in treating children born with various mutations that eventually cause deafness. Common Anti-Diarrhea Drug Could Treat Cancer Two years ago, scientists led by Goethe University found evidence indicating that the common anti-diarrhea drug loperamide could be used to induce cell death in glioblastoma cell lines. The drug is sold under the brand name Imodium, among others. The scientists have now deciphered the mechanism of action of the drug. Glioblastoma is a very aggressive and lethal type of cancer in children and adults. And it responds poorly to chemotherapy. A research paper is published in Autophagy. It indicates that loperamide triggers a mechanism, known as autophagy-dependent cell death, that drives cancer cells to “digest themselves.” The scientists are persuaded that the loperamide-induced death of glioblastoma cells could help in the development of new therapeutic approaches for t ...

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that coronaviruses can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). The researchers believe that the UV-LED technology will soon be available for private and commercial use. "The entire world is currently looking for effective solutions to disinfect the coronavirus," said lead researcher Hadas Mamane. "The problem is that in order to disinfect a bus, train, sports hall, or plane by chemical spraying, you need physical manpower, and in order for the spraying to be effective, you have to give the chemical time to act on the surface. Disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, can be installed in the ventilation system and air conditioner, for example, and sterilize the air sucked in and then emitted into the room.” A study is published in Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology. It reports that LED bulbs with a wavelength of 265 nanometers required less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9 percent of coronaviruses. These bulbs are cheap compared to those for other wavelengths. This sounds like a final solution to the problem of how to remove coronaviruses from human habitats. It is important to ensure that people are not directly exposed to UV light, which is dangerous. However, UV LED bulbs installed in air conditioning systems would be able to efficiently disinfect large surfaces and spaces. "We discovered that it is quite simple to kill the coronavirus using LED bulbs that radiate ultraviolet light," said Mamane. "We killed the viruses using cheaper and more readily available LED bulbs, which consume little energy and do not contain mercury like regular bulbs. Our research has commercial and societal implications, given the possibility of using such LED bulbs in all areas of our lives, safely and quickly." Protein Stops Relapse in Cancer Immunotherapy Mount Sinai scientists have explained why cancer immunotherapy completely eliminates tumors in many patients. And it works even when not all the cells in tumors have the molecular target that the therapy is aimed at. This is shown in a research paper published in Cancer Discovery. Cancer immunotherapies target antigens, or proteins, on the surface of tumor cells. But they also kill adjacent tumor cells that lack the targets. This is due to the presence of a protein called fas. Regulating fas may be a route to preventing relapse in cancer immunotherapy patients. CRISPR Engineers Mice for Vaccine Research Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard University have developed a one-step method to produce mice with genetically engineered human B cell receptors in just a few weeks. B cell receptors are specialized antibodies bound to the B cell membrane. And they are an important component of the immune system. The method uses CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. And it is described in a paper published in The EMBO Journal. Using the method, researchers could produce genetically engineered mice for pre-clinical vaccine evaluation in dramatically shortened timelines (weeks instead of years). The researchers are persuaded that the new method may allow scientists studying vaccines and antibody evolution to tremendously speed up their research. And this would enable them to respond much more quickly and flexibly to new developments in the field. Herbal Compound May Kill Pancreatic Cancer Researchers at Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, have suggested that a compound derived from thunder god vine is able to kill cancer cells. The herb has been used in China for centuries to treat joint pain, swelling, and fever. The results of a pre-clinical study are published in Oncogenesis. They indicate that a water-soluble compound, called Minnelide, appears to attack pancreatic cancer. The compound is based on the medicinal plant's key ingredient, triptolide. According to the researchers, this approach may provide a ...

It is often said that emotional well-being depends on innate traits that can’t be learned. But scientists at the Center for Healthy Minds of University of Wisconsin, Madison, have presented scientific evidence to the contrary, published in PNAS. It suggests that emotional well-being can be cultivated through practice in daily life. For example, awareness appears to decrease stress and increase positive emotions. And it can be strengthened through mental training practices like meditation. "There are qualities of a healthy mind that many people don't know are even trainable," says lead researcher Cortland Dahl. "We don't think of them as skills. Many of us have thought we are hardwired to be like this or that, but the reality is these qualities are much more trainable and malleable than we think. It's a very empowering view of the human mind - we can learn to be in the driver's seat of our own mind." Insight can be trained by getting curious about one’s own preconceived thoughts and opinions. According to Center for Healthy Minds director Richard Davidson, "this has tremendous potential to heal the division and 'othering' that we see in today's society." Another trainable trait that contributes to emotional well-being is purpose in life. It's associated with positive biological and physical health outcomes. "It's really the 'how' of well-being," says researcher Christy Wilson-Mendenhall. "Traditionally, the focus in psychology research has been on treatment of mental illness. We're hoping to broaden the conversation to advocate cultivating well-being at any stage, even when you're relatively healthy." Magnetic Bacteria Delivers Cancer Drug to Tumors Researchers at ETH Zurich have investigated how to use a magnetic field to control magnetic bacteria. This may be a way to precisely deliver cancer drugs to tumors. Microrobots inspired by bacteria, small enough to be inserted into blood vessels, are able to tweak the blood flow and direct the transport of drugs. But the ETH researchers are studying how to use real magnetic bacteria, directed by magnetic fields. A study is published in Advanced Functional Materials. It reports that, with many bacteria in a swarm, it proved possible to move the fluid surrounding them. The bacteria produce an effect similar to that of a micropump. This means they are able to move active substances present in the fluid in different directions. For example, they can move substances from the bloodstream into the tumor tissue. Future applications could use synthetic biology to combine the advantages of several bacterial species. Personal Genomics Device and iPhone App Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have built a mobile genome sequence analyzer. This makes DNA analysis portable and accessible anywhere in the world. A new iPhone app called iGenomics can be used with a handheld DNA sequencer paired to the iPhone. It allows users to create a mobile genetics laboratory. The iPhone app was developed to complement the tiny DNA sequencing devices being made by Oxford Nanopore. A research paper is published in GigaScience. It reports that the iGenomics algorithm can quickly map DNA sequences of viral pathogens. And it can identify mutations important for diagnosis and treatment. iGenomics is available for free on Apple's App Store. And the open source code of the application is available from GitHub. Therapy Activates Immune Cells Against Cancer Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have proposed a new approach to cancer therapy. A study is published in Nature Communications. The study shows that a commonly used chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine, can be transformed into a drug that kills cancer cells. This is done in a specialized way, activating immune cells to fight the cancer. The study reports that gemcitabine, combined with the anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib, was transformed into an immunogenic drug. And the scientists are persuaded that the immune response will perform even better after a ...

Scientists at UC San Francisco have found that just a few doses of an experimental drug called ISRIB can reverse age-related declines in memory and mental flexibility in laboratory mice. A study published in eLife reports rapid restoration of youthful cognitive abilities in aged mice. The change was accompanied by a rejuvenation of brain and immune cells that could help explain improvements in brain function. “ISRIB’s extremely rapid effects show for the first time that a significant component of age-related cognitive losses may be caused by a kind of reversible physiological 'blockage' rather than more permanent degradation,” said Professor Susanna Rosi. “We’ve seen how ISRIB restores cognition in animals with traumatic brain injury, which in many ways is like a sped-up version of age-related cognitive decline... asking whether the drug could reverse symptoms of aging itself was just a logical next step.” ISRIB (ISR InhiBitor) was discovered in 2013 in Professor Peter Walter ’s lab. It works by rebooting the protein production machinery of cells damaged by “Integrated Stress Response” (ISR). The drug has already been shown in laboratory studies to restore memory function months after traumatic brain injury. It may also reverse cognitive impairments in Down Syndrome, prevent noise-related hearing loss, fight certain types of prostate cancer, and even enhance cognition in healthy animals. UCSF has licensed ISRIB to Calico. Calico is a company founded by Google to research potential applications to combat aging. “The data suggest that the aged brain has not permanently lost essential cognitive capacities, as was commonly assumed, but rather that these cognitive resources are still there but have been somehow blocked, trapped by a vicious cycle of cellular stress,” said Walter. “Our work with ISRIB demonstrates a way to break that cycle and restore cognitive abilities that had become walled off over time.” Vision Restored in Old Mice Harvard Medical School scientists have successfully restored vision in laboratory mice. They did this by reprogramming aged eye cells in the retina to recapture youthful gene function. A research paper is published in Nature. It reports that the scientists used an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver into the retinas of mice three “youth-restoring” genes that are normally switched on during embryonic development. Besides resetting the cells’ aging clock, the scientists successfully reversed vision loss in animals with a condition mimicking human glaucoma. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness around the world. According to the scientists, this represents the first demonstration that it may be possible to safely reprogram complex tissues, such as the nerve cells of the eye, to an earlier age. According to Nature News, this suggests a new approach to reversing age-related decline. When some cells are reprogrammed to a ‘younger’ state, they are better able to repair or replace damaged tissue. Gigantic AI Leap Solves Protein Folding Problem DeepMind is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) company and research laboratory founded in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2014. It has announced that its AI system, AlphaFold, is able to solve the protein folding problem. It can determine a protein’s 3D shape from its amino-acid sequence. Solving the protein folding problem is very important because what a protein does largely depends on its unique 3D structure. Therefore, the ability to predict the 3D structure of a protein is expected to be a very significantly boost to drug discovery and analysis, among other things. The CASP evaluation group stated in a press release that AlphaFold “has proved capable of determining the shape of many proteins... to a level of accuracy comparable to that achieved with expensive and time-consuming lab experiments.” According to experts interviewed by Nature, this is a gigantic leap that will “change everything” and a game changer for life sciences and medicine. Designer Virus ...