Gene Editing Transforms Research Similar to Cut and Paste Tool

Latest gene editing research makes manipulating genes as easy as the cut-and-paste job

Gene Editing has always been dream of a number of the scientists and researchers but the real application of it was never such successful. The advancement made in the bio medical technology in the last decade and on-going research in the gene editing methodologies and techniques had given a ray of new hope to the researchers. Scientists have been altering genes for quite some time and it has been widely used in the field of agriculture and pharmaceuticals. However this is the first time that the researchers have been successful in performing gene editing with human embryo.
 

Better, precise and influential than ever before

 
The latest will be better and more precise to work with thereby allowing scientists to later the DNA of the living cells ranging from the plants, animals to humans. In simple word the new age technology will be just the cut-and-paste tool used in the modern programs.

Gene editing isn’t very fancy or dreadful area of the bio medical technology rather it is a fun, exciting and optimistic field of work. Herein scientists devote their time towards finding and fixing the defective genes through genetic therapies or gene editing methods. The latest tool called CRISPR-Cas9 brought a boom in the research as it got adopted in the laboratories across the globe quite faster than expected. Using this tool is extremely simple and requires minimal training but paves the way for the manipulation of multiple genes at the same time with higher success rate.

 

Overcoming the problems & issues

 
The major issue or problem associated with the gene editing is that it requires highest level of precision to bring desirable results. A minor mistake can lead to grave mistakes like accidently cutting the DNA. Researchers also make use of out-of-body treatments in order to ensure that they solve one problem but don’t end up in sparking another. Manipulation of genes in plants and animals using bio medical technology is not seen as the right thing to do by many and when it comes to human experiments then it becomes a matter of medical ethics.

Researchers and scientists wishes to do away with the defective genes in the human body by altering the genes in sperms, embryos and eggs and helps in spreading the changes in the future generations. This whole process is known as ‘germline engineering’ but a number of people believe that this is ethically not the right approach as we are taking the away the right to consent from our future generation by manipulating the genes. Secondly if any kind of long term negative effects are associated then it will come in foreground in the initial years and we will be designed corrupt genes unknowingly.

Embroiled in the ethics controversy stemming from the gene editing using bio medical technology, a number of nations have banned such researches. Like Europe doesn’t allow any kind of germline research when comes to human testing while Britain at most only allows scientists to carry out lab research.

Size matters: for bacteria, smaller is better for causing superbug infections

New Insight – Common Hospital Superbugs Cause Infection

A fresh understanding has been discovered into how one of the most public hospital superbugs tend to cause infection, something which could have been utilised to develop fresh antibiotic treatments, by the scientists at the University of Sheffield. Infection is harmful which can be due to micro-organisms that are considered as germs.

Micro-organisms or microbes are said to be living organisms which seem to be so miniature in size that they are not seen without the help of a very powerful microscope and they are microscopic. The micro-organisms which tend to cause infection are called pathogens. Bacteria viruses, pathogenic fungi together with the parasites are said to be some examples of micro-organisms which tend to cause the infection.

Led by researchers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, of the University of Sheffield had explored the Enterococcus faecalis, a kind of bacteria which is usually found in the digestive tracts of humans and multi-resistant to antibiotics, could overcome the other microorganisms causing life-threatening infections. E-faecalis is often responsible in causing hospital-acquired infection like urinary tract infections, heart valve infections and bacteraemia, but the scientist presently tend to have little knowledge regarding the same.

Study – Formation of Short Chains of Cells

The University of Sheffield-led research team has now established several difficult mechanisms directing the maintenance of the distinctive shape of E. faecalis which tend to form cell pairs or short chains of cells. The team has disclosed that the development of short chains of cells tends to be a vital element in stopping bacteria from being recognised as a risk by the immune system.

This in turn allows infection to spread. Dr Stephane Mesnage, leading the research from the University of Sheffield stated that `their study describes that the formation of short chains of cells by E. faecalis seems to be a critical step in causing an infection. Bacteria which tend to form long chains of cells are recognised efficiently and immersed by the host immune system while short chains of cells are efficiently recognised and immersed by the host immune system and spread in the host to cause infection’.

He further added that `E. faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen and is naturally resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, inclusive of synthetic penicillin derivatives. Following an antibiotic treatment, E. faecalis can out-compete other microorganisms in causing infection. Their work recommends that targeting the mechanisms controlling the formation of short chains of cells could be a novel strategy for developing new treatments to combat E. faecalis infections’.

Developing Radical Solutions

Bacterial size matters, research – multiple mechanisms controlling septum cleavage and diplococcus formation are said to be critical for the virulence of the opportunistic pathogen Enterococcus faecalis, has been published in PLOS Pathogens – Bacterial size matters (PLOS Pathogens journal. Discoveries from the study construct on the position of the University of Sheffield at the forefront of the world-class research into infectious diseases.

The scientists at the University have been developing radical solutions to the global threat of disease together with antimicrobial resistance as a means of signature research projects like Florey, Imagine and the Sheffield Antimicrobial Resistance Network – SHAMROK.

Moreover the University has also been training the next generation of highly skilled scientist through its undergraduate as well as postgraduate programmes in locating some new exciting approaches to bioscience in attempting some of the biggest biomedical issues in the world. Having almost 27,000 of the brightest students from across 140 countries and learning together with 1,200 of the best academics from all over the world, the University of Sheffield is said to be one of the most leading universities in the world.

Being one of the members of the prestigious Russell Group of leading-led institutions of UK, Sheffield tends to provide outstanding teaching and research excellence across an extensive range of disciplines.

Power of Discovery/Understanding – Means of Transforming the World

With the combination of the power of discovery together with understanding, staff and students at the university have been devoted in discovering new means of transforming the world in which we tend to live in. Sheffield is believed to be the only university to be included in The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisation to Work for 2017 and has been voted as number one university in the UK for Student Satisfaction by Times Higher Education in 2014.

 It has also won four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes in the last decade in recognition of the amazing contribution to the intellectual, economic, cultural as well as the social life, to the United Kingdom. It is said that Sheffield had six Nobel Prize winners among former staff as well as students and its alumni tend to be holding positions of exceptional responsibilities together with influence all across the globe thus making a significant contributions in their selected fields.

The global research partners together with the clients comprise of Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline, Siemens and Airbus together with many UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.

Cow Antibodies Bring Hope for eEfective AIDS Vaccine Soon

Potential HIV antibody detected in cows

The immune system provides human protection against all possible viruses. Researchers from the US found a solution to inject patients the antibodies. They are produced by cows. Cows could be the key to the development of an HIV vaccine. According to a new study, they are able to produce effective antibodies.

Special cows are given special treatment: "These are probably the most carefully watched and pampered cows around the world. Their entire diet are strictly controlled, their health is checked daily.

The animals, of whom Matthew Frieman speaks here, are drug factories on four legs, says the US Virology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. To make them, scientists have changed the genotype of cattle. "These transgenic cows have an additional chromosome in their cell nuclei, and they contain genes from humans that encode human antibodies, and the interesting thing about this technology is that if you vaccinate such a cow against a particular pathogen, it does not produce any cow antibodies against it”.

Despite years of research, there is still no vaccine against HIV infection. This is because the virus is constantly changing, even in the body of an already infected human being. Science is therefore feverishly searching for a so-called broadly neutralizing HIV antibody. This would protect against a variety of HIV strains.

An international research team has for the first time injected HIV proteins into four calves to test the response of the ruminant's immune system to the intruder. To the astonishment of the scientists, the cows produced within a very short time broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies. Already after 42 days, the cow antibodies neutralized 20 percent of the tested HIV strains. After 381 days it was as much as 96 percent, as the researchers reported in the journal "Nature".

Side effects of cow digestion

Although a small percentage of people are able to produce broad-neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies, it takes three to five years. One reason for this is that antibodies that act against the HI virus differ strongly from normal human antibodies.

To effectively attach to a virus, it needs a chain of about 30 amino acids that protrudes from the antibody. This is twice as long as that of an ordinary human antibody. For a cow antibody, however, it is short. And so the researchers came to the idea of trying their luck in cows. The complex digestive system of ruminants, which are populated with pathogenic bacteria, may be due to the fact that cows are capable of producing such antibodies.

Hope for vaccine

 

The researchers now hope to use the obtained findings to bring the human body to produce antibodies with long amino acid sequences. This could be the basis for an effective vaccine, the researchers believe. It is also possible that the cow antibodies themselves could be used for a drug for HIV treatment should their effectiveness be confirmed in other organisms

Anthony Fauci, director of the American National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, supported the research, the BBC said: "Already at the beginning of the epidemic, we have recognized that the HI virus is very good at evading immunization. That is why exceptional immune systems that produce broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies are very interesting - whether they are human or cows. "

3 Tips on How to Protect & Prepare Your Business From Severe Weather

 
Severe weather can wreak havoc on a community, including the businesses within it. If you are a business owner in an area where severe weather can occur, check out these tips on how to protect your business from storms and other severe weather.

Preparation

In order to protect and prepare your business for severe weather, you need to be familiar with what type of severe weather your area can experience. Does your area experience tornados often? Perhaps your business is near the beach where hurricanes are a threat. Whatever the weather, you will need to know what to expect beforehand in order to prepare. Once you know what to expect, you can research ways to prep for the disaster and even contact local weather stations and emergency services for more specific tips.

Have a plan

Having a plan is essential to keeping your business safe during severe weather. Many commercial weather stations use software to detect severe weather and will alert the community accordingly, so being in tune with their updates is important. Your plan should include how to get your employees safely out of the building or to a safe space within the building, a stash of safety equipment and supplies that are checked frequently, training for employees on what to do during the emergency, assignment of employees for specific tasks, etc. Your employees should be aware of the plan and retrained consistently to keep the plan fresh in their minds.

Communication

Communication is the best way to keep safe during severe weather. Always communicate with your employees to let them know whether they should report to work or not and keep them aware through severe weather tracking systems. It is important that the communication is present in order for everyone to be on the same page.

Algorithm That Diagnoses Heart Arrhythmias

Cardiac arrhythmia is in most cases harmless extras without the disease. Both a slowing of the heart rate (bradycardia) and a speeding up of the heart rate (tachycardia) can also become life threatening. Nearly every person is affected by cardiac arrhythmia during his life.


These can be harmless or dangerous. Often they are only subjectively unpleasant ("stumbling-heart") and do not need treatment. However, untreated pre-fibrillation is accompanied by a marked increase in stroke risk. This makes it all the more important to have an early and reliable algorithm diagnosis. However, they can also lead to dangerous incidents and subsequent episodes.

But how can pre-fibrillation be detected when it occurs irregularly and the patient himself often does not notice it? An ECG - that is, the measurement of cardiac currents - is the gold standard in the algorithm diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. In that case, it can help measure cardiac currents over a longer period of time and keep the heart in view all the time. It is important that even small signals and short episodes can be perceived.

Definition and types of cardiac arrhythmia

The normal heart rate is 50 to 100 beats per minute. The heart rate is generally higher in young women than in men, presumably because in men the rest frequency decreases by frequent sports. A heart rate <50 a="" bradycardia="" called="" frequency="" is="" min="" slowed=""> 100 / min at rest is too fast (tachycardia). Both manifestations of cardiac arrhythmia can be life-threatening. They then usually occur as a result of severe structural heart disease, e.g. Heart attack, cardiac insufficiency, or heart valve defect, or in the case of congenital or severe hypertension caused by hypertension.

Cardiac arrhythmia can be divided into disturbances of stimulation and disorders of the excitatory conduction. Causes of ectopic stimulus formation can be increased automatization, abnormal automatism, and triggered activity. Excitation line disturbances can lead to arrhythmias in linear closed conduction pathways or also in the spatial whole cellular network.

Thanks to the computer scientists at Stanford, who developed an algorithm that diagnoses 14 types of Heart defects. These group of Stanford scientists led by Andrew Ng has developed this deep learning algorithm. With the collaboration with the iRhythm – the heartbeat monitoring company, roll up a solid data set that they used to teach a profound neural network model.

The new heart monitor has now been developed for this purpose. The special feature of this heart monitor, which can also be used on an outpatient basis, is its intelligent design. Its not only records the ECG, it also analyzes it and sends the most important episodes on the so-called home monitoring - a technology built into the implant - to the treating physician every day.

Thanks to this close-meshed observation of the cardiac rhythm, can be detected reliably. This is not only crucial for a safe diagnosis at the beginning of the therapy for cardiac arrhythmia- it may also be necessary to keep a close eye on the heart during treatment.

For example an ablation, that is, an intervention for the obliteration of the diseased cardiac muscle tissue, the doctor sees thanks to home monitoring, whether the procedure was successful or if again atrial fibrillation occurs. The physician can control the therapy better, and the patient gains safety.

Scientists Have Inserted a Gif of a Horse into Living Bacteria

Mind boggling DNA wonders!

As we know, basic Biology lessons in school and further, for people who have studied in the future, DNA has a wide spectrum usage in genomic studies as well as genetic dispositions in our entire human race. This technology news now run through our news feed every morning. Genes are what differentiates a human being from the rest of the crowd, genes are what we carry from our parents to future generations, and these molecular level proteins ultimately runs the living race in the world. From bacteria, to viruses and human beings- everything is governed by genes.

With inventions running in every genetic lab in the world, current genetic engineers and researches have managed to insert a GIF of a horse into live bacteria. Yes, shocking indeed.

Astonishing inventions!

A GIF of a moving horse has now been successfully incorporated into a bacterium, that too a live one! The genetic tool called CRISPR is often used in the genetic world for data storage purposes. It is a mind boggling wonder tool in the genetic tool which allows genetic professionals to explore the wide spectrum and possibilities of DNA and its uses in the near future. Medicine holds a lot of scope, thanks to this technology.
The technological news says that scientists in Harvard University have managed to incorporate CRISPR associated proteins called Cas1 and Cas2 as primers which will be programmed to work as a computer’s Ctrl-X tool. This enables scientists to manipulate with the DNA segments, interchange them and club them if needed.

Using the Cas1 and 2 sequences, the iconic horse GIF has been encoded and put together with high accuracy. What the CRISPR technology does is, it codes the pixel values of black and white horses and incorporates it into the genomic sequence of a live bacteria! Astonishing indeed!

The results showed spectacular multiplication of the bacteria and also hereditary patterns in the following generations.

The point of this invention is the purpose of data storage. DNA is a great device of data storage, and using this technology as per the technology news, we can access vital information about genomic studies with ease. The amount of data that a single gram of DNA can hold could possibly be information of the entire human race, all crammed into one room, which is truly insane.

DNA technologies have progressed highly over the years and will continue to do so. But with this GIF incorporation, a news meaning and growth of genomic studies and researches have been established. The wide spectrum and diversity of this technology will be a boon to the medicinal world and curing of lethal genetic diseases. Various novel syndromes and anomalies can be detected at such early stages, which would previously be unimaginable. With the hope of further growth of the technological wonders of DNA this new invention is cherished and will possibly change the way medicine is perceived.

Grape-Based Compounds Kill Colon Cancer Stem Cells in Mice

Resveratrol – Grape Seed Extract – Treatment of Colon Cancer

As per a team of researchers, compounds from grapes could destroy Colon Cancer stem cells in a petri dish as well as in mice. Resveratrol, the compound that is found in grape skins as well as seed could ultimately also lead to treatments of supporting in the prevention of colon cancer according to Jairam K.P. Vanamala, associate professor of food sciences, Pen State.

The second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. is colorectal cancer as per The American Cancer Society. Vanamala, who is a faculty member at the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, had commented that the combination of resveratrol together with grape seed extract is said to be very effective in destroying colon cancer cells and what is learnt is that the combination of these compounds is not toxic to healthy cells.

The researchers reporting their discoveries in a recent issue of BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine recommended that the discoveries tend to make way for clinical testing of compounds on the colon cancer of human. This is said to be the second most common cancer among women and the third in men. If it tends to be successful, the compounds could be utilised in a pill in assisting in the prevention of colon cancer as well as reduce the relapse of the ailment in colon cancer survivors.

Shotgun Approach to Cancer Prevention

Vanamala had commented that they are mainlyconcerned in aiming stem cell since as per cancer stem-cell theory, cancerous tumours are driven by cancer stem cells which are capable of self-renewal, cellular differentiation and also maintain their stem cell-like appearances even after invasion and metastasis.

According to researchers, if taken in low doses, separately, resveratrol together with grape seed extract does not seem to be as effective against cancer stem-cell suppression when they are combined together.According to Vanamala, the combined effect of grape seed extract together with resveratrol could provide clues to the reasoning of why cultures with plant-based diet seems to have lower colon cancer rates.
These diets may naturally be offering a shotgun approach to cancer prevention on utilising an extensive variety of valuable compounds to aim on numerous pathways which cancer stem cells utilise to live.

Advantageous in Promoting Bacterial Diversity

Vanamala further added that this also links well with a plant-based diet which is structured in order that the person gets a bit of diverse categories of plants, of various parts of the plant with different colours of the plant.

 According to Vanamal this could be advantageous not only in promoting bacterial diversity but also in averting chronic diseases together with eradicating the colon cancer stem cells. If the human trials tend to be successful, the compound can be taken in low doses with the prevailing available supplements for grape seed extract as well as resveratrol that are also found in wine.

But he added that there seems to be some more work to be done in order to comprehend the mechanism behind the anti-cancer properties of the grape extract together with the other colourful fruits and vegetables. More study would be focused in discovering the precise anti-cancer compounds as well as enhanced understanding on how those compounds seem to work synergistically in creating much more effective colon-cancer prevention and treatment approaches.

Apollo Mission to Drive Therapeutic Innovation

Image Credit:Taema

Age of Mounting Biomedical Invention

 Stimulations of a rebellion has given way through hundreds of laboratories which are aiming to cause new medicines that will be faster with less disappointments. This is being led by three UK universities together with three global pharmaceutical corporations. A four strong team has over the past year indulged in hundred meetings with scientist at three UK universities and towards the end of this year would probably tend to have another hundreds of such meetings.

They have been storing the maximum complete sense of what tends to occur at the bench across the three UK universities namely Cambridge, Imperial College London and University College London – UCL, which anyone had ever accumulated. Their task is to detect research which seems to have the greatest possibility of making it all the way through in being a new medicine and thereafter in supporting it to occur.

The team headed by Dr Richard Butt has explained that the drive behind their meetings are that they tend to live in an age of rapidly mounting biomedical invention, an age where the development of new medicine needs to be at an all-time high though the number of new drugs that are developed seems to be largely static.

 Valley of Death

  The time between getting promising results in an academic lab, in drug discovery, and receiving real interest from an investor or pharmaceutical corporation seems to be known as the `Valley of Death’ and with a good reason. Discerning as well as developing likely new medicines needs not only money but also knowledge together with quick delivery of industrial-kind science.

Several of the drug patients tend to succumb along the way before it is known whether they have fulfilled an unmet remedial requirement. The tech transfer offices – TTOs of Cambridge, Imperial College and UCL, had joined forces with three global pharmaceutical corporations, AstraZeneca (AZ) GSK and Johnson & Johnson, in January 2016, to develop a £40m collaboration known as Apollo Therapeutics.

According to Butt, their focus was in streamlining the academia-to-industry pipeline by discovering the best translatable science funding it fast and running the right development programme in making it appealing to industry. Apollo in consequence, tends to focus in maximising the opportunity wherein a probable drug would be developed from emerging basic science on investment of a state-of-the-art drug discovery programme which pharma company would find it appealing to license.

  Apollo Approach – New & Revolutionary

  Dr Iain Thomas, head of Life Sciences of Cambridge Enterprise – Cambridge’s TTP has commented that the Apollo approach is completely new and revolutionary. One could say that Apollo is building reassurance and the hardest part of the job at Cambridge Enterprise is selling good technology to pharma.

It relates to the psychology of buying and people do not tend to purchase complicated stuff with plenty of risks without much scrutiny. Guarantee tends to come in from being engaged with an opportunity for a long time. Partnership and engagement seems to be at the heart of the Apollo model.

Initially, Butt’s team spoke to the academics and TTOs of the universities in recognizing thrilling predictions before taking some of the ideas to the wider team of investors, comprising of the three companies together with the TTOs. He commented that as scientists, they would always be happy in spending time engaging in discussion with any academic regarding their job. He added that as drug discoverers, they had been very particular on what to take forward. They have filtered aggressively to maximise the opportunity of success.

  Goal – Finding New Medicines for Patients

  Apollo and the academics would work together, once a project has been designated for investment, to develop the discovery to a phase which will be appealing to a company to license and then take it ahead. This labour could occur in the laboratory of academic or in one of the Pharma Corporation or in a contract company. Moreover it could also take place at the Milner Therapeutics Institute, research laboratories which would open on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus towards 2018 devoted to adopting close combined connections between academia and industry.

Dr Ian Tomlinson, Chair of Apollo had informed that the significant is bringing together the skill sets, philosophies together with expertise of those who discover with those who know what to do with that discovery and that they are all motivated by the goal of finding new medicines for patients.

 He further added that the conventional pipeline functions thus – an academic does some great science, takes it as far as they are capable to within the limits of the lab and thereafter if they need to take it further, it either forms a spin-out or licenses to pharma.

 This tends to have its place though it would take time and is expensive. If the team of Richard tends to bring the investment team with a good idea, Apollo could fund it and be working with the academic within a few weeks.

  Drug Improvement Programme

  Amidst the Butt and his three colleagues they have more than 60 years of experience in the pharma industry. He informed that they saw the boom of the late 80s/early 90s of drug approvals and then genomics, high-throughput screening together with a seeming wealth of targets led to the mind-set of `we can scale this success’ – if we run thrice more projects and be three times more successful.

The basic biology nearly ended to matter. Projects seem to run which should not have been and R&D costs mounted though the output of new drugs flat-lined or even dropped. His team has already recognized eight projects all over the three universities to receive Apollo subsidy.

The first to be supported originated from a 20-year search by Dr Ravi Mahadeva at Cambridge’s Department of Medicine to treat Alpha-1 trypsin deficiency – AATD, for a small molecule drug. AAT is said to be a protein which usually protects the lungs and in AATD, a single genetic mutation causes it to aggregate in the liver. The outcome affects the liver and lungs are disabling leading to serious problems.

Presently there is no effective long-term treatment for this ailment. Apollo funds, for professor Randall Johnson, has meant that his research in Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience tends to have been constant effortlessly through a drug improvement programme without the need of stop-start of waiting for subsidy, licensing or creation of a spin-out.

Science without borders is needed to solve the mystery of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders

Unpublished research at Symposium developed to fast-track prevention, together with treatment as well as cure for the unbearable disease affecting 1 in 3 seniors has been shared by 16 of the top Alzheimer’s scientists of the world.

Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Rohit Varma had welcomed the elite group to the 4th annual Zilkha symposium on Alzheimer Disease & Related Disorders. Varma had stated that he is delighted to host this conference that tends to bring together the best and the brightest physician-scientists from across the globe for studying new, basic, translational as well as clinical efforts in the field of Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative disorders.

He expects that with their wisdom, insight together with hard work they would put an end to the menace of this disease. Rudolph Tanzi of Harvard University, David Holtzman – Washington University, John Trojanowski and Virginia Man-Yee Lee - University of Pennsylvania, Kaj Blennow – University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Roger Nitsche – University of Zurich, Christer Betsholtz – Uppsala Universitet in Sweden and Ronald Petersen – Mayo Clinic college of Medicine are said to be some of the researchers that have joined Keck School of Medicine scientists Berislav Zlokovic and Paul Aisen in presenting their new discoveries.

Symptoms – 15 Years After Sticky Amyloid Proteins – Dull the Brain

According to Aisen, director of the USC Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute that leads eight clinical trials on the disease, states that the symptoms of Alzheimer’s tends to appear around 15 years after sticky amyloid proteins seem to dull the brain.

Quoting data from the on-going Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study, Aisen had informed that around 80% of the participants having amyloid deposits in their brain but no symptoms of Alzheimer’s have developed symptoms of the disease within the next nine years.

Relatively only about 20% of the people devoid of amyloid deposits had later on developed related symptoms. He further added that he was of the opinion that they needed to carry this study further till they would feel that almost everyone with elevated amyloid would progress to symptomatic AD.

 Moreover it seemed reasonable to anticipate that they tend to start the trashy of anti-amyloid, 15 years prior to the expected onset of symptoms, they would be capable of preventing the development of clinical Alzheimer’s disease. In order to the trace the development of the disease over a period of time, Aisen has been enrolling healthy individuals having no symptoms of Alzheimer’s in clinical studies.

Biomarkers in Blood

In comprehending the disease and its progress would assist in the development of a `liquid bipsy’ blood test which would bring about an insight to the doctors wherein individuals could be at high risk for Alzheimer’s. In future, once the doctors tend to identify that a patient has early build-up of amyloid, they will be capable of prescribing a drug that could destroy the same.

 Thereafter, individuals could take a drug like a BACE- inhibitor in order to prevent amyloid build-up according to Aisen. Aisen had also added that doctors will ultimately be in a position of identifying people likely to develop Alzheimer’s through biomarkers found in blood draws, which will simplify preventive treatment. Director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Zlokovic had challenged the amyloid hypothesis of Aisen stating that amyloid is not ground zero for neurodegeneration.

Zlokovic had commented that he is a bit worried if they consider Alzheimer’s is exclusively amyloid-derived neurodegeneration. He would state that this is a very complex, multifactorial disease which is motivated by genetic, vascular and environmental factors that all can effect disease inception and progression. He further added that disease inception may or may not include amyloid at all.

Healthy Brain – Healthy Blood Vessels

He explained that according to latest studies, issues in brain circulation like subtle damage to the smallest brain vessels, capillaries, loss of cerebrovascular integrity as well as blood flow changes taking place early could be vital to disease progression and lead to amyloid and tau pathology.

Zlokovic has been performing pioneering research on how leaks in the vascular system of the brain, the blood-brain barrier, tend to cause a flow of issues, inclusive of amyloid build-up. Zlokovic had mentioned that health epidemic of the 21st century is age-linked small vessel disease of the brain. Small vessel disease is said to contribute to around 45% of all dementias all over the world including Alzheimer’s.

Zlokovic recently had installed as the Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha Chair in Alzhemier’s Disease Research further commented that a healthy brain needs healthy blood vessels. The blood-brain barrier averts the entry into the brain of blood deprived toxic products, pathogens and cells. Over 70 USC researchers over a range of disciplines have been inspecting the health, societal as well as political effects and its implications of Alzheimer’s.

 Zlokovic had informed that they would be looking forward to hosting this symposium again the next year and that it is critical for top experts of Alzheimer’s to come together and share their unpublished discoveries, concept and state-of-the art approaches in order that scientific barriers are eliminated and all tend to work together in arresting and reversing this devastating disease.

Human Stem Cells Model the Kidney Filtration Barrier

Glomerular filtration chip devised by the human stem cells differentiation

Well, it is a relief for the ailing ones especially the kidney patients. The glomerular filtration is the new addition in terms of the kidney related diseases. The best part is that a new chip has been designed which consists of the glomerulus itself and it could bring a smile for the kidney affected persons. The therapeutic therapy has been given a new dimension post this chip manufacturing.

The kidney is one of the most important organ in our body. It is quite essential and performs a lot of functions for our body. The filtering of blood is the most important one and also helps in removing waste elements via urine. It retains the elements in the form of proteins in our body which is beneficial for the circulation of blood and proper metabolism of the body.

THE STRUCTURE

The main thing that helps in achieving all the above mentioned activities is none other than the glomerulus itself. There is a membrane which is thin and separates the matrix. It filters the material. The researches go on in every field. The medical field is no exception. We had recently some of the greatest discoveries in the medical arena. It has really got advanced and helped to cut down the mortality rate by a huge margin by inventing new drugs or machines.

This has been possible with the combination of science and technology which has revolutionised the world. The stem cells were under the microscope for a long time which can convert to podocytes. These can be really very helpful for the medical field. Well, the glomerular filtration was not successful when podocytes were taken into consideration in order to culture cells.

THE SOLUTION

Where there is a way, there is a will. Well, certainly there is and nothing is impossible in this digital world. The solution was figured out by the scientists and developers for the glomerular filtration. The new process is something different where the podocytes which are considered to be mature are formed by separating the stem cells of human which have been induced by pluripotent.

THE WORKING

And it works as a wonder as the success rate is close to 90 percent. Now these were embedded on a chip and a model of the glomerulus of the human as created. In this fashion, the filtration process reached a new height and all the proteins and toxic elements could be differentiated. This chip which has been developed by the researchers will play a promising role in the near future.

This will also play a key role for more research in terms of experiments and other tests. The aspect of biology will get broader and widened now a bit with the development of the glomerular filtration chip. Well, we need to have patience till the chip is finally rolled out for the treatment purposes. The differentiation is the key to develop such a chip which would save kidney patients in future.

New Transplant Technology Could Benefit Patients with Type 1 Diabetes

Technology being used to cure Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes is being noticed as a very obvious disease in people across the globe. The disease is the store house of several other diseases, and it slowly degenerates your body. The immediate consequences of diabetes may not be severe, but it has gruesome long term measures and can make you subjected to further health issues. It includes lot of restrictions in terms of food habits.

A diabetic person needs to follow a strict diet, as that would only help him to survive this serious ailment. Several approaches are being developed to free the world from this malicious disease. Many medical developments are taking place in this regard.

Approximate 1.25 million residents of America suffer from type 1 diabetes, which is also denoted as juvenile diabetes. This is disease is known for the body’s inability to generate insulin. In order to bring type 1 diabetes under control; patients are advised to test the level of glucose in their body on a frequent basis, and sometimes they are even advised to inject themselves with insulin, so that a safe balance is maintained and the body remains less prone to diseases. But some patients are reported to suffer from life-threatening consequences because of diabetes that is symptoms of hypoglycemic disorders are found.

To avoid all the fatal consequences of this ailment Garcia and collaborators along with post doctorate researchers and most importantly Jessica Weaver, is out for their venture to locate a restricting measure of diabetes. They are up for an innovative measure that would include transplantation of cells.

They are intending to develop a new hydrogel substance made of polymer, which could be easily degradable. This would be used to deliver cells through injection into the human body and it would consist of a gel based protein identified as vascular endothelial growth factor, that would result in strengthening the blood vessels into the cells transplanted in the body.

Garcia, after the experiment reported that this transplanted cells would require a lot of oxygenation and the connection to the body’s circulatory system should be high so that it grabs the sense of the level of glucose in one’s body and transport the insulin accordingly.

She has also observed that other than transporting insulin it is also capable of forming new blood vessels to nourish the existing cells. In this way, the immune syndrome of one’s body that gets shattered due to diabetes; is restored back.

Though, this measure seems innovative, yet it is not that easy as it sounds. Doctors from several decades have been trying to transplant pancreatic islets into the human body, but about 60 percent of the islets die immediately after they are transplanted because they are separated from the supply of blood while transplanting and are killed by the body’s immune response because of suddenly and directly being injected into the blood stream and fortunately those that survive, die within few months. So, the process is risky and chances of success is very less, but certainly it builds the ground for more innovations in treating type 1 diabetes.

Two Part System Turns Stem Cells into Whatever You Want

Well, the science and technology has taken the world to a different level. Each day we are embraced with a new kind of discovery and invention. This has made our lives more safe and comfortable. We are now living our dreams and a much better life with reduced tensions. Recently, by using the embryonic or stem cells which are adult were used to change the target cell for reproduction. However, it is now as easy as the process is thought to be. To make things easy, a team comprised of international scientist have indulged themselves in this development. They have developed a two-part system which is able to covert the stem cells to the targets and then have the remnants removed. So only the required DNA is left behind in order to replicate.

THE PROCESS OF TWO PART SYSTEM STEM CELLS

There are few complexities with the process as it involves a bit of hard work and perfection. The human pluripotent stem cells can’t be used directly so this is a great disadvantage. This type of cells can mutate to any kind of cells within the human body. But this series of change is a bit complex which the DNA controls, once it gets triggered. In the past, many processes were followed but there were remains of the DNA as usual. So the process is bit complicated and it takes a good amount of time for the scientists.

Due to patience of the scientists, we are able to witness all these wonderful discoveries and inventions which have shaped our life in a great deal. The current method has a change as the DNA in this method is used to turn the colour of the cell green with the usage of blue light. This makes the conclusion that the plasmid of the DNA is placed in the body of the cell and it gets removed completely.

THE INITIATIVE

Well, there are many fields to explore in this world and hence the scientists are doing the same. They are trying their best to go beyond the limits and the effect of conversions after the DNA is removed. The earlier methods took into consideration the DNA to switch the conversions but it was not successful in removing the DNA completely that was placed inside. The new method is somewhat a bit different and it helps in removing the DNA completely. This makes the work or the process function completely and successfully.

THE MATERIALS

The researchers have devoted a lot of time for this and they are currently completing the process with the help of a system known as Tet-On 3G inducible PiggyBac which is basically a plasmid that has been named XLone in order to get the objectives done.

The basic objectives are inserting, activating and removing of the DNA. The system Tet-On 3G inducible PiggyBac takes into consideration to insert the DNA into the DNA of the Cell. With information containing the correct signalling, the Tet-On 3G inducible PiggyBac system allows the stem cells to become sensitive when doxycycline is used to activate the process.

Zika Transmitting Mosquitoes have Resistance to Commonly Used Insecticides

The world has witnessed some of the greatest virus that has taken a huge number of lives. The countries of Africa are the worst affected. To help them, the WHO has come forward but when it comes for a new type for virus like the ZIKA or the DENGUE, the WHO has also failed. We were only allowed to stay in dark. But recently a renowned professor from The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech University has stated that there is high possibility that the world would be shaken by the outbreak of ZIKA virus. The person himself is not sure where the breakout may be. He believes it can be in States or it can be in any isolated place. But whatever may be in the future, he is ready to fight with all resources.

THE RESOURCES

He has decided to start the most important research and for this he is getting funded by whooping amount of $2000000 from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The main objective is to get the knowledge of the mosquito insecticides and its effectiveness for which it has been used against the ZIKA virus and other dangerous diseases. The primary objective is to eliminate the virus as it has already taken a huge number of lives. So, it has to be stopped before another outbreak creates a chaos in the world. If not eliminate them, the virus has to be controlled in the most efficient manner. This would help in preventing the spreading of the virus. For the researchers, the baffling question is whether the virus is resistant to mosquito insecticides. If they are resistant to mosquito insecticides, then it is a great matter of concern.

THE TESTS

Presley, who has already tested the ZIKA outbreak much before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology in May 2016, has been a part of the committee who has been working for bringing mosquito diseases under control and the transmission of disease. They have been working very hard in order to restore the momentum but it has only got worse.

EXPECTATIONS

However, the time will decide whether the virus have become resistant to the mosquito insecticides. They have been used in the state of Texas and the reports would reveal everything. So, we need to keep our patience as this is a major concern in terms of health and immunity all over the world. If the reports are positive, then it would be very helpful to combat the dangerous effect and threat of the ZIKA virus.

PREVENTION

Brazil was literally taken down by the ZIKA virus last year. The most important and basic thing is that we need to keep the mosquitoes out from the house by taking various methods. It is better to keep windows closed after evening and have the room air-conditioned. The virus keeps on mutating and gets adapted to the changes and this makes the condition even worse.

Scientists Develop Synthetic Cell

Synthetic cells - Towards the giant leap from molecules to life

The cell is one of the most unique creation where on one hand it can be seen as just a group of molecules in a membrane while on the other it is a collection of macro-molecular machine which produces and helps molecules grow, multiply and transfer information. These molecules along with chemical reactions help create life. The mechanism behind this is being studied by Professor Marileen Dogterom of the Bio-nanoscience field, to eventually form synthetic cells by re-creation of cellular machineries. According to her theory, these synthetic cells could provide the insight required to modify and restore human cells which could be used in treatment of cure of diseases easily.

Synthetic cells Extremely Active and Vibrant

Drug research helps in finding out which aspect in the cell is to be treated or worked upon to restore it back to the original version of it that was harmed by the disease. Professor Dogterom says that there will be a lot of trials and errors in drug research as long as the mechanisms in the cell are not fully understood. Once the necessary mechanisms are recreated, there will be a better understanding to how and where diseases originate from. At the same time, this will help reveal how exactly do medications work and how cell mechanisms are repaired. It would, in all probability, lead to more focused drug researches and give an in-depth understanding to disease processes with less detrimental side effects.

The number and intricacy of cell mechanisms that can be reconstructed outside cells has increased vastly in recent years. Dogterom thus is optimistic about the future saying that this will help put together something that has the basic abilities as life within the next two decades. The basic competences of life are the ability to create and use molecules, also known as metabolism, tranfering of cellular information to progeny via DNA and cell evolution and multiplication. Currently the researches are focused on mainly these three competences separately.

How Does Synthetic cells Give Inspiration to Researches?

The combination of these three separate mechanisms might be accessible once they are mastered. Once this combination is achieved there will be a tremendous breakthrough in synthetic cells research, says Dogterom. The research on synthetic cells is very vital and is still a small step in arena of vast possibilities. Dogterom concludes that it is helpful to know what information from the research is relevant to clinicians along with letting the research community know about her works so that both can work hand in hand in the field of researching on synthetic cells. It is inspiring as with their feedback, more progress can be made in this area within a reasonable amount of time.

Synthetic Cells for Building Synthetic Bone Implant

This same research has been applied by scientists to develop synthetic bone tissue that could change the face of bone marrow transplants, which usually produces a lot of undesirable side effects, according to a Medical Xpress report. Patients who require a bone marrow transplant are stereotypically required to undergo radiation treatment. The radiation kills the stem cells in the marrow that would conflict with the donor cells and makes space.

Among the many side effects, patients suffer from nausea, tiredness and infertility resulting from this treatment. As a solution to these problems, a bone-like implant was created using synthetic cells by bio-engineers from the University of California San Diego. This implant allows the donor cells their own space where they can live and grow without any interference from the existing stem cells in the marrow. As a result, the existing stem cells are not required to be killed, thus preventing the use of radiation on patients.

Experiments and researches were conducted on mice, where it was discovered that the implanted bone marrow was fully functional and it allowed the donor cells to grow and live for a long period of time even in the company of host cells. Both the host and the donor cells could travel between the blood circulating through the network of blood vessels formed in the implant tissue and the implant itself. However, there are certain restrictions to its implementation as the bone implants cannot be applied to patients with malignant bone marrow diseases with cancerous cells that have to be killed off.

Raised Stakes in the Quest to Harness Synthetic Life

Craig Venter, a Genomics entrepreneur, has formed synthetic cells that hold the tiniest genomes of any known, independent life form. This discovery is a landmark in his team’s research, spanning about 20 years of time, in making an in-depth study of life’s bare essentials and understanding the process of evolution of life from scratch. He is a co-founder of a company that researches in harnessing synthetic cells for use in the industrial field. His whole research is based on the idea that instead of making a brand new life form, we can build on what already exists and base the research on that.

The first synthetic cells were made in 2010 where an existing bacterial genome was copied and was transplanted into another cell. Unlike those, the minimal cells’ genome is like nothing ever seen in nature and is made up of a whole new and artificial species. In order to test his ideologies, Venter and his team proceeded to build a minimal genome starting from basics by connecting together chemically synthesised DNA segments. With the help of new technologies, they put in efforts in making an exact copy of a genome.

After overcoming many setbacks and obstacles, Venter and his team had a breakthrough where they discovered a gene design which had all the essential genes required for cellular activities such as making proteins, duplicating DNA and constructing cellular membranes. However, their research still had many unsolved puzzles which they yet had to unlock.

This genome designing techniques are believed to be useful by researchers for applications such as editing a genome to include new amino acids. This will be the new favourable approach to conduct therapies. Venter acknowledged that he stumbled upon his find and that it was completely through trial and error instead of being based on a carefully studied approach on how to build an operative genome. However, he said he sees quick improvements in the future and the preferred approach for manipulating life would be the process of genome synthesis from scratch.

Birth Control Made Easier: Scientists Found Sperm’s Power Switch—And a Way to Turn It Off

The ancient birth control techniques ranging from using linen to animal bladder sheaths have evolved with time and new age discoveries. The effective and safe contraception or fertility control methods were available from the twentieth century including condoms, IUDs, birth control pills, vasectomy and tubal ligation. Scientists knew very little about the process of fertilization on a molecular level. Discovery of the crucial mechanism of the reproduction can pave the way for new fertility treatments which will eventually improve the fertility rates. Alternatively, it can lead to the production of unisex contraceptive.


In simpler words, sperms need to be kept away from eggs. But putting up a barrier is not the only way. Sperm cells are good in both swimming and drilling. The most common birth control tool is the condom. Proper use of condom actually helps in targeting the swimming portion of the process of pregnancy thereby controlling the sperm cells. But recent discoveries have shown that scientists have been able to find a way to stop the sperm cells in the drilling task. The result would be an effective treatment that would work equally for both men and women.


The sperm cells travel at a high speed to the fallopian tube from the cervix through the uterus moving their tails side to side. It swims around 24000 times of their own length of their body to reach the egg. Now the egg is covered in a thirty-micron thick protective layer known as the zona pellucida which is impossible for the five micron long headed human sperm to penetrate.

The sperm cells then turn into a direction and corkscrewing their head forward pierces through the viscous outer layers of the egg. This process is termed as the " power kick" by the scientists which means a huge amount to calcium ions are dumped into the sperm's tail. A particular enzyme on the tails of these hyperactive sperms responds to progesterone, the female sex hormone, which helps in activation of the power kick which in turn boosts the swimming speed of the sperms. It is believed that progesterone affects the progression the sperms. Scientists in a recent development introduced small electrodes that were attached to the tails of the sperm cells to record their responses to various hormones.


The power kick banks upon the Catsper despite the presence of thousands of different kinds of ion channels. When the sperm gets close to the unfertilized egg the CatSper activates to let in the calcium and encounters the progesterone. Few chemical compounds bind with the CatSper and helps in prevention of the calcium ions dump required for the power kick. There are two most promising compounds that come from plants consumed by the humans - lupeol found in the mangoes, grapes etc.


The previous male contraceptives have either failed or dropped due to its side effects. This new discovery would make a compelling pitch for drug makers. However, vasalgel is an exception here. It is a gel like barrier used to block sperms. It has passed the primate trials and has shown positive results.

Researchers Find New Source of Dangerous Electrical Instability in the Heart

Worldwide, at least 30 million people are living with slogans. In spite of improved treatment options, patients with pre-fibrillation still suffer from stroke, develop heart failure, and die prematurely. On the initiative of the Competence Network, and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), an international expert group has now developed a plan to improve the quality of the treatment of pre-slurries. The AFNET / EHRA consensus report is published today in the journal EP Europace.

 More than 70 experts from almost every continent participated in the conference and exchanged their experiences. "In view of the great diversity of health systems worldwide, the different countries can learn from each other and develop better models for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. We hope that this plan, which has been created by specialists from different parts of the world, will help to improve the treatment of squibs in Europe and the world, "said Prof. Gerhard Hindricks, President of EHRA.

Several million people in the world have unidentified and therefore untreated pre-fibrillation, combined with a high risk of stroke and death. The AFNET / EHRA Roadmap recommends the introduction of a large-scale pre-screening screening for over-65s and high-risk populations to enable early diagnosis and treatment of pre-fibrillation.

Anticoagulants (anticoagulant drugs for stroke prevention) can only be effective if taken regularly. Therefore, strategies must be defined to minimize disruption or discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy.

Enlightened patients

For a successful therapy of atrial fibrillation - the experts agree on this - all patients should be involved in the decisions about their treatment. The prerequisite for this is that the patients are well informed. In order to achieve this, the authors recommend to improve the availability of free information on pre-ventilations and associated complications and treatment options.

 Patient-friendly initiatives, such as the EHRA-developed patient website, available in five European languages, are considered to be very helpful to the inclusion of the Patients. In addition, "patient reported outcomes" should be used to capture symptoms and consequences of pre-fibrillation from the patient's perspective.

Structured treatment

Adequate treatment of pre-fibrillated patients is complex. Prof. Andreas Gotte, member of the board, said: "Such a aid of pre-fibrillation should check that all patients are offered information based therapy." Therefore, the AFNET / EHRA Plan recommends a structured approach guided by interdisciplinary teams Of care plans for all vaccine patients. Improved therapy

Several million people in the world have unidentified and therefore untreated pre-fibrillation, combined with a high risk of stroke and death. The AFNET / EHRA Roadmap recommends the introduction of a large-scale pre-screening screening for over-65s and high-risk populations to enable early diagnosis and treatment of pre-fibrillation. Anticoagulants (anticoagulant drugs for stroke prevention) can only be effective if taken regularly. Therefore, strategies must be defined to minimize disruption or discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy.

The experts recommend the development of standards with which the quality and success of the pre-flax ablation can be measured uniformly. Frequently, the rhythm disturbance is not completely eliminated by an ablation. Further studies are needed to find the best treatment for patients with presumptive relapse after ablation.

Personalized treatment

Further research is needed to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the pre-fibrillation. The experts propose to evaluate genetic factors, specific biomarkers, and ECG parameters to identify different subtypes of atrial fibrillation in individual patients and to develop more targeted therapies.

For example, new biomarkers or ECG information could be used to better estimate the individual risk of anticoagulation in patients with a medium or low risk of stroke. At present, it is not yet known whether these patients benefit from anticoagulation therapy or not. Prof. A. John Camm, the future president of the EHRA and co-organizers of the Fifth AFNET / EHRA Conference, concludes: "We believe that the proposed research activities can aid to hone the treatment of atrial fibrillation and the treatment for many patients around the world to improve. There is an imperative need for long-term research funding to enable the implementation of sufficiently large studies

First Arrival Hypothesis in Darwin’s Finches Gets Some Caveats

The finch species of the Galapagos Islands became the crowning testimonies of Darwin theory.
Already more than 200 years ago, many scholars had noticed that the living creatures are using all imaginable survival recipes - today one would say to fill all the biological niches - and that the multitude of species could not have all been fit for Noah's Ark. There must have been a development of the species.

In addition, it was already known at the time that innumerable species, which could be reconstructed from fossils, had to have perished. It could not be that the species were created and then not changed. Since skeletons of living beings were found in the fossil-bearing layers, which had to be clearly related to species living today, the idea that there must be a development of the species was obvious. In the sequence of the geological layers, it was also clear (mostly) that the fossils embedded in it were all the more primitive the older the layers were.

Thus, mammals have only existed since the Cretaceous, fish appear later than molluscs, etc. One could even use the fossils to define a sequence of the geological ages; one could use the fossils of a stratum to roughly estimate their age. The idea that first came to the fore was that the life is derived from simple monks who have split up into many species.

Suddenly, nature invented a multicellular organism, probably from a colony-forming single cell, and began the era of the multicellular. At first, "simple" animals such as jellyfish, hollow animals or worms emerged, later (next stage of development) animals with internal skeletal (skeletal) or external skeleton (arthropods) developed And birds, there is a similar sequence for the plants.

Anyone who has slipped over the Pacific waves of Santa Cruz to the neighboring island Isabela without help from the travel agent with the postboat of the Galapagos Islands feels like Darwin. You have finally solid ground under your feet, and the sea sickness leaves you a first time in peace.

The young British naturalist enters the firm's volcanic ground in September 1835, the year when the first railroad line is put into operation on the European mainland in Belgium, the printer Carl Bertelsmann founds a publishing company in Gutersloh, and the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank in Munich And Hegel's "Lectures on Aesthetics" appear in book form. 1835 is, however, the year in which Charles Darwin collects those impressions, animal bellies and deeper insights that are decisive for Darwin theory of evolution.

This is what the legend says: On every island, the naturalist sees new species of animals which are very similar to those of the neighboring island. He concludes that these different species had a common ancestor, so that species are altered and not created by God, as the Bible says. Especially a group of animals is supposed to have given him this revolutionary insight when he made island hopping together with Captain Fitz-Roy: the finches living there with their different sized beaks.

The so-called "Darwin-Finches" today, together with illustrations, appear in every textbook, along with the explanation of how they came to their different beaks. On one of the young volcanic islands, which were still bird-free, there had once been a swastika of a mainland, almost a thousand miles distant. It. Their descendants colonize the island. And like the storm that once brought the Eve-Finkin over it, in the following millennia, the Founder-Finch also travels from there to the other islands. And depending on the food supply - insects, cacti, hard-shell fruits - the animals adapt themselves for generations, especially in the form of their beaks. They find their respective ecological niche.
This is Darwin theory of evolution - not in a nutshell, but in a few finches. How do species develop? Not by millions of creatures, but by other means. Why do they arise? Because, when the environmental conditions change, they also have to adapt. How does this adjustment come about? Through "natural selection". The individuals of a species differ slightly from one another, and the characteristics which are of advantage in the respective environment are determined by generations. Why are there so many species? Because of a kind of new species, for example by an "adaptive radiation", in which different ecological niches are occupied by the offspring. Just as the finches have done on Galapagos

New Model Could Speed Up Colon Cancer Research

Colon cancer buster

Gene editing science has been an area of growth for genetic engineers and researchers across the globe. With progressing research studies, newer treatment options are being devised and successfully delivered. One such research conducted by MIT researchers have used new gene-editing systems to generate colon tumors, resembling human tumors. A new approach to a pre-existing method in genetic sciences. This paves the path for further investigation into knowledge about disease progression.

Metastases and detection:

The highest cause of death due to colon cancer is metastases, which is difficult to detect. The disease progression is so high, that fatality is hard to control even after various treatment procedures. A recent study by the director of Koch Institute, Tyler Jacks, uses similar CRISPR- based technology to build mouse models of the disease, revolutionizing research in the field of oncology.

Various approaches have been used for modeling cancer, one of them being the usage of cancer cell lines in lab dishes. This poses a lot of limitations. Another method used is mutations, which is then genetically engineered in the mice.

Recent studies involving CRISPR, which consists of DNA- cutting enzyme Cas9 and short RNA guide strands, which specialize in targeting specific genome sequences. Using the same method scientists can make targeted mutations, by either removing or adding genes. The genes for Cas9 are packaged into lentiviruses, which are then injected into target organs of the mice, transferred by colonoscopy.

What follows?

Gene editing makes this procedure possible. By virtue of which, after establishment of the tumor, mutations can be added or deleted, making the study process more complicated and informative. The information includes the aspects of metastases, initiation and progression of the tumor from liver to various parts of the body. This also helps in studying the pattern of metastases which again is peculiar in human colon.

The MIT team delivered organoids with a mutated form of the APC gene, which when established, were introduced in a mutated form of KRAS, commonly found in colon and many other cancers. These new approaches have cut short research time and has sped up the process of gene editing.

Implications:

Gene editing, this newest form of development in the field of oncology helps in drug testing, making it more successful. This ensures widening of treatment options. Factors such as age, metabolism, sex etc are also taken into consideration while conducting the study. This helps scientists choose best options for individual patients.

The mice are studied over a period of time to gain results, even though the study is supposed to be prolonged, various new discoveries and science have made it easier and faster. This helps in minimizing of side-effects post treatment and other health implications by three folds.

Genetic research shows a progressive growth over the years, showing immense scope and employment options. Diseases are getting detected sooner and treatment delivered on time. This in turn saves a lot of time, cost, manpower and patient care excels automatically.

How Can We Measure Human Oxytocin Levels?

Smart way to measure the human oxytocin levels

Oxytocin is known in a number of ways as the hype hormone or simply a love and trust chemical. It might seem awkward but this thought process resulted in a number of studies which has tried to find the relationship between the oxytocin and feeling of trust. This particular research paper has been published as a meta-analysis by a group of Norwegian researchers who discovered that level of oxytocin present in blood doesn’t actually result in clearly measuring the same present in the brain. In short the presence of the said hormone in the blood has no relation with its levels in the central nervous system in the normal conditions so measuring it from the blood is quite contradictory.

Research brings some remarkable results

This group of researchers were led by Mathias Valstad who helped in combining the results of 7 different studies wherein the hormone present in the blood was compared against the hormone present in the central nervous system. Central oxytocin is usually measured in the cerebrospinal fluid which is taken from the spinal tap and during the course of their research it was made clear that the there is no evidence which shows a correlation between the said hormone present in the blood and the brain.
They also came to the conclusion that blood works a definite tool for simply assessing the impact of any kind of treatment on oxytocin but it isn’t helpful in studying the hormone in its best state. Usually the treatment utilized for increasing the hormone level included intrasanal oxytocin and blood plasma.

Researchers prove that mood swings aren’t related to plasma oxytocin

Over the time it has been seen a wide amount of research has been attempting to link that particular hormone concentration in the blood with the psychiatric disorder and physiological phenotypes. This has resulted in cementing the unwanted assumption that the effects of the hormone tends to rise or increase in relation to it amount in the blood. The present data collected by the researcher disputes these assumptions and asks for making different experiments for measuring the amount of hormone from the brain to the blood for better benefit of the human kind.

Earlier studies are quite disruptive in their assumptions

The current finding of the Norwegian researcher’s team has shed light on a number of false assumptions and results being crafted by the researchers in the past which helped in bringing a biased opinion for oxytocin. There are a number of studies which offers literally worse assumption like the psychological wellbeing is directly related to the urinary oxytocin. This can be interrelated example as the hormone tends to enter the urine from the blood itself. But this hormone is a proxy of the blood or plasma oxytocin and in no way it shows any relation with hormone present in the brain. It should be noted that this particular doesn’t question all the hormone related studies conducted over the years rather it tries to offer an answer whether the hormone is related to the trust or psychological traits in humans.

Why Our Brains are Split Into Right And Left

The reason behind our brain being split into right and left

For ages we have been taught that the right part of the human brain is associated with creativity while left brain is logical. This particular widely accepted dichotomy very cleverly dissects the brain into two equal proportion which deals with very specific set of intelligence but a recent has revealed that such division is wrong. In other words research has simply pointed that human brain can’t be divided into hemisphere as well as labelled with specific set of intelligence which defines a human being.
The left and right hemisphere of brain

Physically both hemisphere of the brain happens to be nearly identical and it was in 19th century when physicians started noticing there are some definite differences between the two hemispheres. Researchers were trying to answer the universal question of why the human brain is split in two hemispheres.

The reason behind our being divided two different hemispheres is fairly simple as it helps in delegating different tasks to different sides of the brain. This shows the might of the brain in handling the complexities of the world in a smart and influential manner. Further humans can also make use of the both the sides of the brain to focus on a single tasks or at different tasks without any issues.

With the evolution our brains had become adapted in using both hemispheres at the same time even for different work which is also known as parallel processing. But as an individual grows he started depending or showing preference to one side of the brain more than the other which has helped in shaping the common notion that left side is widely associated with creativity while right is associated with logic. 

Lots of experiments & researches yet fewer answers

Over the years a number of research works has been done to find right kind of asymmetries to define how the human brain works. Quite interestingly experiments with the genes has helped in affirming that the lateral asymmetries of the brain known to influence our decisions to a great extent.

 It is fascinating to note that more than 40 genes get implicated in order to determine whether an individual turn to be a right or left handed and certainly the environmental factors also plays a vital role in it. Some genetic studies have even stated gender also plays a crucial role along with the genes in order to determine which hand we are likely to prefer.

Researchers have found a unique bias in human for the right side, which is not just contained to the hands. It will come as a surprise that the babies likely to suck their right thumb and happens to turn their heads in the right direction while lying down.

A vast majority of people had been seen turning their heads towards the right side while going for a kiss. So it can be easily assumed that environmental factors play a major role rather than the genes when it comes to choosing the right or left side preference.

Untreatable Superbug Infections on the Rise

Life-Taking Superbug is on the Go! 

With the increase in pollution, global warming, malnutrition, hybridization of vegetables and fruits the entire world is being engulfed by the vicious circle of health disorders. As per the data provided by NHS depicts, that there is a continuous increase in incurable superbug and this leads to the increase in number of sick people affected by CPE. The figures were where much less in 2002, where only 3 were heard to be affected by CPE per annum in 2002 and that has now increased to 2000 per annum. The data reveals that the life of almost every individual is at stake. The health syndromes are declining day by day with the rise in superbugs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based in US has suggested that 40 to 50 % of the patients inflicted by CPE infection in blood loses their life. The figures seem to increase day by day, as the 66 NHS Trusts in England, Public Health England said that since 2009, approximately 81 number of people succumbed to this deadly CPE disease and the numbers of death are increasing day by day heading up to 2000 every year.

The matter seems to get worst in coming days as Professor Nigel Brown, who is a member of the society for General Microbiology, says that the bacteria that carries CPE is almost everywhere. He also revealed an astonishing fact to the Sky News, saying that this bacterium is very much present in our guts and some of these CPE bacteria is strong enough to completely shatter the Carbapenem antibiotic by nullifying its capacity to fight these infectious superbugs.

These bacteria are so powerful that it gets transmitted into your blood from the gut and makes you sick enough to send you to the hospital and it is so infectious that it gets transmitted from one person to another by just a minor contact and once you are inflicted by these disease they spread rapidly and overpowers your entire body attacking your blood and then it finally becomes almost next to impossible to get immediate relief from its consequences. It breaks down your metabolism and curbs down the functioning of your entire system and the final destination is the hospitals bed and if the situation is not brought under control immediately then the patient can even die.

The death and survival rates are still not clear to depict that whether the survival rates have decreases or increased, as some health institutions have still not provided the accurate figures of death and survival rates so that a conclusion can be drawn to denote who is on the winning side the deadly superbug or the advanced medical treatments.

Emily Morris, who has survived in the case of superbug infection depending on antibiotics, shares her experience and she has acclaimed this sickness to be more powerful and hence it cannot be defeated so easily and in most cases death is inevitable. So, proper measures should be taken by the health experts to save the world from this life taking bug.

Artificial Womb That Can Keep the Premature Babies Alive

Test tube babies will become a thing of past with this innovation and breakthrough made by the scientists which might scare some people or make them happy altogether. Scientists had come up with an artificial womb which can keep pre term babies alive outside of the womb. The look and build of this device will remind the people of coming out right from any science fiction but it has been tested successfully on the baby lambs with impressive results. Very soon it will be made available for trails on the critically ill human babies coming from the age group of three to five years.

How does the artificial womb works?

The artificial womb is way ahead of the traditional incubators due to the use of the extra uterine support device which helps in closely replicating the conditions of the real womb. The next best thing introduced in this device is the presence of the external gas exchange machine which works just like the mother’s placenta and helps in keeping the blood circulation in the heart and body at optimum level. Scientists have ensured that there is no mechanical pump present in the device because studies have shown that even a gentle artificial pressure can turn fatal for the underdeveloped heart.

Scientists have made use of the synthetic amniotic which is filled with nutrients which essentially flows in as well as out of the temperature controlled of the bio bag kept in the near-sterile state. The aim of the scientists were to produce such an environment which can keep the premature babies safely outside the womb while their critical internal organs like lungs and heart develops to their best ability.

It is worth noting that babies born prematurely within 23 weeks posses a very weak chance of making through that alive. Thereby this system will certainly help in increasing the chances of the premature babies to develop healthily. This system is way superiors than the traditional technology and equipments available at the hospitals to take of the 23 week old baby.

Health industry experts are enthralled

One of the health industry experts has stated that there is certainly no technology which will eventually end up in replacing the mother’s womb right at the earliest stages of the fetal development. There are theories which are doing round in the past years wherein human can be reproduced artificially from the embryo completely. But such a thing is far from reality at the moment as human beings are way different from the lambs.

It is worth noting that lambs tend to grow faster taking just about five months to their full terms while it takes eight months for human. Secondly the lambs are way larger than the human baby at three times. One of the experts has also explained that this artificial womb is not designed to replace the womb required in the first half of the pregnancy rather it will help in specifically treating the extremely premature babies in a new ways.