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A few years ago, Jürgen Knoblich and his team at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) have pioneered brain organoid technology. They developed a method for cultivating three-dimensional brain-like structures, so called cerebral organoids, in a dish. This discovery has tremendous potential as it could revolutionize drug discovery and disease research. Their lab grown organ-models mimic early human brain development in a surprisingly precise way, allowing for targeted analysis of human neuropsychiatric disorders, that are otherwise not possible. Using this cutting-edge methodology, research teams around the world have already revealed new secrets of human brain formation and its defects that can lead to microcephaly, epilepsy or autism.

In a new study published in Nature Biotechnology, scientists from Cambridge and Vienna present a new method that combines the organoid method with bioengineering. The researchers use special polymer fibers made of a material called PLGA) to generate a floating scaffold that was then covered with human cells. By using this ground-breaking combination of engineering and stem cell culture, the scientists are able to form more elongated organoids that more closely resemble the shape of an actual human embryo. By doing so, the organoids become more consistent and reproducible.

“This study is one of the first attempts to combine organoids with bioengineering. Our new method takes advantage of and combines the unique strengths of each approach, namely the intrinsic self-organization of organoids and the reproducibility afforded by bioengineering. We make use of small microfilaments to guide the shape of the organoids without driving tissue identity, ” explains Madeline Lancaster, group leader at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and first author of the paper.

Leading bipartisan moonshots for health, national security & functional government — senator joe lieberman, bipartisan commission on biodefense, no labels, and the centre for responsible leadership.

Senator Joe Lieberman, is senior counsel at the law firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres (https://www.kasowitz.com/people/joseph-i-lieberman) where he currently advises clients on a wide range of issues, including homeland and national security, defense, health, energy, environmental policy, intellectual property matters, as well as international expansion initiatives and business plans.

Continue reading “Senator Joe Lieberman — Leading Bipartisan Moonshots For Health, National Security And Government” »

A CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia looks close to 100% effective three years after infusion.

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The embedded #electron can simplify medical diagnostics.#technology #SmartNews

Circa 2018 immortality of the kidneys.

Kidney regeneration from pluripotent stem cells is receiving a lot of attention because limited treatments are currently available for chronic kidney disease (CKD). It has been shown that uremic state in CKD is toxic to somatic stem/progenitor cells, such as endothelial progenitor and mesenchymal stem cells, affecting their differentiation and angiogenic potential. Recent studies reported that specific abnormalities caused by the non-inherited disease are often retained in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived products obtained from patients. Thus, it is indispensable to first assess whether iPSCs derived from patients with CKD due to non-inherited disease (CKD-iPSCs) have the ability to generate kidneys.

Circa 2021 First breakthrough in immortality of the eyes of rats using the inducing of pluripotent stem cells in the eye. Which will eventually lead to immortality of the human eye.

The retina is neural tissue located in the posterior part of the eye and is an extension of the central nervous system (CNS), which has limited regenerative potential once damaged¹. Therefore, to maintain homeostasis of the retinal microenvironment and protect itself from harmful stimuli, the retina has a unique structure consisting of inner and outer blood-retinal barriers (BRBs)^2,3,4. The outer BRB is mainly composed of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which support photoreceptor cells, the primary neurons in the retina, and play a significant role in the pathogenesis of retinal degenerative disorders, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP)^5,6,7,8,9. These disorders are commonly characterized by the irreversible loss of photoreceptor cells and RPE cells, and the only fundamental treatment for these retinal degenerative disorders is replacement of damaged or atrophied cells^10,11,12. Thus, regenerative treatments, such as stem cell transplantation, are emerging as attractive options for targeting retinal degeneration that was previously considered untreatable¹³.

RP refers to a set of hereditary retinal degenerative disorders that initially involve photoreceptors and leads to subsequent RPE cell damage; it affects 1 in 4,000 individuals worldwide⁹. Due to its inherent nature, extensive genetic studies are ongoing, and more than 50 causal genes have been identified¹⁴. Among the causal genes, PDE6B is a gene that encodes rod cGMP-phosphodiesterase, which is a critical component of the biochemical light transduction pathway⁹. Although various molecular and genetic studies have identified the pathomechanisms of RP, attempts to restore vision in patients with RP have failed. To overcome this issue, preclinical stem cell-based studies involving transient dosing or permanent implantation of pluripotent stem cells are being conducted^10,11,15,16.

Continue reading “Long-term effects of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal cell transplantation in Pde6b knockout rats” »

A new generation of scientists is growing up with CRISPR technology. Here’s how some high school students learn to edit genes.

Our bodies can’t plug-and-play organs like replacement computer parts. The first rule of organ transplant is that the donor organs need to “match” with the host to avoid rejection. That is, the protein molecules that help the body discriminate between self and other need to be similar—a trait common (but not guaranteed) among members of the same family.

The key for getting an organ to “take” is reducing destructive immune attacks—the holy grail in transplantation. One idea is to genetically engineer the transplanted organ so that it immunologically “fits” better with the recipient. Another idea is to look beyond the organ itself to the source of rejection: haemopoietic stem cells, nestled inside the bone marrow, that produce blood and immune cells.

DISOT’s theory is simple but clever: swap out the recipient’s immune system with the donor’s, then transplant the organ. The recipient’s bone marrow is destroyed, but quickly repopulates with the donor’s stem cells. Once the new immune system takes over, the organ goes in.

Yet when faced with enormous protein complexes, AI faltered. Until now. In a mind-bending feat, a new algorithm deciphered the structure at the heart of inheritance—a massive complex of roughly 1,000 proteins that helps channel DNA instructions to the rest of the cell. The AI model is built on AlphaFold by DeepMind and RoseTTAfold from Dr. David Baker’s lab at the University of Washington, which were both released to the public to further experiment on.

Our genes are housed in a planet-like structure, dubbed the nucleus, for protection. The nucleus is a high-security castle: only specific molecules are allowed in and out to deliver DNA instructions to the outside world—for example, to protein-making factories in the cell that translate genetic instructions into proteins.

Continue reading “In Its Greatest Biology Feat Yet, AI Unlocks the Complex Proteins Guarding Our DNA” »