Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists have successfully engineered functional artificial cells in the lab that behave like living cells.

Advances in the development of cytoskeletal-like materials with modular structures and mechanics are pivotal for the engineering of synthetic cells. Now actin-mimetic supramolecular peptide networks have been designed using programmable peptide–DNA crosslinkers, giving rise to tunable tactoid-shaped bundles and mechanical properties that control spatial localization, the diffusion of payloads and shape changes within artificial cells.

Read how Congress is pressing the DEA to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III.

Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning these are “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” However, a team of 21 bipartisan congressional leaders from both the Senate and House of Representatives hopes to change that as they recently sent a letter to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) pushing them to “promptly remove marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)”, noting that almost eight months had passed “since the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III — and 18 months since President Biden directed HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to begin the process of reviewing marijuana’s scheduling.”

Examples of other Schedule I drugs include heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote, while Schedule III drugs include Tylenol, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone. Additionally, the penalties between Schedule I and Schedule III drugs also demonstrate stark contrasts, as well.

Continue reading “Bipartisan Effort Demands DEA Action on Marijuana Scheduling” »

Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice before most cancer surgeries, but a study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, using data from mouse models demonstrated that chemotherapy can paradoxically enhance cancer progression.

A newly developed nanomaterial that mimics the behavior of proteins could be an effective tool for treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The nanomaterial alters the interaction between two key proteins in brain cells—with a potentially powerful therapeutic effect.

The innovative findings, recently published in the journal Advanced Materials, were made possible thanks to a collaboration between University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists and nanomaterial engineers at Northwestern University.

The work centers around altering the interaction between two proteins that are believed to be involved in setting the stage for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

A New Jersey woman is the second living recipient of a pig kidney.

In the quest for more efficient and sustainable energy solutions, a multi-university research team has reached a significant milestone in capacitor technology. Researchers from the University of Houston, Jackson State University and Howard University have developed a new type of flexible high-energy-density capacitor, which is a device that stores energy.

Though the prototype device is just 1-inch by 1-inch, scaled-up versions of this innovation could potentially revolutionize energy storage systems across various industries, including medical, aviation, auto (EV), consumer electronics and defense.

The researchers shared the study details in a paper titled “Ultrahigh Capacitive Energy Density in Stratified 2D Nanofiller-Based Polymer Dielectric Films,” published in the journal ACS Nano.

Scientists champion global genomic surveillance using the latest technologies and a ‘One Health’ approach to protect against novel pathogens like avian influenza and antimicrobial resistance, catching epidemics before they start.

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. In fighting it, one of our most important weapons was genomic surveillance, based on whole genome sequencing, which collects all the genetic data of a given microorganism. This powerful technology tracked the spread and evolution of the virus, helping to guide public health responses and the development of vaccines and treatments.

But genomic surveillance could do much more to reduce the toll of disease and death worldwide than just protect us from COVID-19. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Science, an international collective of clinical and public health microbiologists from the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) calls for investment in technology, capacity, expertise, and collaboration to put genomic surveillance of pathogens at the forefront of future pandemic preparedness.

A new project unites world-leading experts in quantum computing and genomics to develop new methods and algorithms to process biological data.

Researchers aim to harness quantum computing to speed up genomics, enhancing our understanding of DNA and driving advancements in personalized medicine

A new collaboration has formed, uniting a world-leading interdisciplinary team with skills across quantum computing, genomics, and advanced algorithms. They aim to tackle one of the most challenging computational problems in genomic science: building, augmenting, and analyzing pangenomic datasets for large population samples. Their project sits at the frontiers of research in both biomedical science and quantum computing.

Xaira has recruited a group of researchers who developed the leading models for protein and antibody design while in Baker’s lab. The company aims advance these models and develop new methods that can “connect the world of biological targets and engineered molecules to the human experience of disease.”

“Driven by growing data sets and new methods, there has been accelerating progress in artificial intelligence and its applications to medicine, biology and chemistry, including seminal work from David Baker’s lab at the Institute for Protein Design,” said Foresight’s Dr Vikram Bajaj. “In starting Xaira, we have brought together incredible multidisciplinary talent and capabilities at the right time to reimagine our entire approach, from drug discovery to clinical development.”

Boasting proficiency in handling vast and multidimensional datasets, Xaira claims it will enable comprehensive characterization of disease biology at various levels, from molecular to clinical. Drawing from Illumina’s functional genomics R&D effort and integrating a key proteomics group from Interline Therapeutics, the company aims to gain new insights into disease mechanisms.