Category Archives: Arizona Stem Cells

SCIENTISTS have hatched mankind's ultimate insurance plan - involving the moon and LOTS of sperm.

Dubbed the "global insurance policy", the project is planning on sending seeds, sperm and ovaries to the Moon.

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A solar-powered ark would then cryogenically store the frozen samples from some 6.7 million species underground.

Taking inspiration from Noah's Ark, experts fear that Earth may not be safe enough to ensure the survival of the human race - or any species.

Prof Jekan Thanga, of University of Arizona, who proposed the idea in a paper earlier this year, says the human race must safeguard to world against global catastrophes.

He said: "Earth is naturally a volatile environment.

"As humans, we had a close call about 75,000 years ago with the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which caused a 1,000-year cooling period and, according to some, aligns with an estimated drop in human diversity.

"Because human civilisation has such a large footprint, if it were to collapse, that could have a negative cascading effect on the rest of the planet."

The scientist highlighted climate change, a global pandemic and nuclear war as possible causes of catastrophic disasters.

There is a similar project on Earth - the Svalbard Seedbank in Norway, dubbed the "doomsday vault" - which holds hundreds of thousands of seed samples.

But Thanga believes storing samples on our own planet is too risky.

The near-seven million samples would be sent to the moon in multiple payloads and then stored below the surface in vaults, CBS news reports.

The ark would be stored within a network of lava tubes - discovered in 2013 - formed after molten streams flowed beneath the lunar surface billions of years ago.

Experts believe these tubes could provide protection from solar radiation as well as meteors and other hazards on the surface.

And the moon's harsh environment "makes it a great place to store samples that need to stay very cold and undisturbed for hundreds of years at a time," the project team said.

Speaking on Room 104 earlier this year, Thanga said: "Hopefully when the costs of space travel comes down, we can start making moves on this, but we really need to start sending samples to the moon within the next 30 years or so."

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Thanga believes transporting the millions of seeds - totalling 335m samples - would take around 250 rocket launches.

By comparison, the International Space Station took 40 launches to build.

The ark would involve solar panels on the lunar surface for electricity which would be used to power features such as elevator shafts down into the vaults.

The seeds would be cooled to -292 degrees Fahrenheit and the stem cells to -320 degrees Fahrenheit.

The team has also proposed using robots on magnetic tracks to move around the facility.

More research needs to be done on the impact of a lack of gravity on seeds, reports say.

lvaro Daz-Flores Caminero, a University of Arizona student, said: "What amazes me about projects like this is that they make me feel like we are getting closer to becoming a space civilisation, and to a not-very-distant future where humankind will have bases on the moon and Mars.

"Multidisciplinary projects are hard due to their complexity, but I think the same complexity is what makes them beautiful."

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Inside the real life Noahs Ark designed to save mankind after the apocalypse with a back up vault on t... - The US Sun

Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are capable of dividing for long periods of time and can give rise to specialized cells under particular conditions. Embryonic stem cells are a particular type of stem cell derived from embryos. According to US National Institutes of Health (NIH), in humans, the term embryo applies to a fertilized egg from the beginning of division up to the end of the eighth week of gestation, when the embryo becomes a fetus. Between fertilization and the eighth week of gestation, the embryo undergoes multiple cell divisions. At the eight-cell stage, roughly the third day of division, all eight cells are considered totipotent, which means the cell has the capability of becoming a fully developed human being. By day four, cells begin to separate and form a spherical layer which eventually becomes the placenta and tissue that support the development of the future fetus. A mass of about thirty cells, called the inner cell mass, forms at one end of the sphere and eventually becomes the body. When the sphere and inner cell mass are fully formed, around day 5, the pre-implantation embryo is referred to as a blastocyst. At this point the cells in the inner cell mass have not yet differentiated, but have the ability to develop into any specialized cell type that makes up the body. This property is known as pluripotency. As of 2009, embryonic stem cells refer to pluripotent cells that are generally derived from the inner cell mass of blastocysts.

In November 1998, two independent publications announced the first successful isolation and culture of pluripotent human stem cells. While working at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, James A. Thomson and his team of researchers cultured human embryonic stem cells from the inner cell mass of donated embryos originally produced for in vitro fertilization. The characteristics of the cultured cells were consistent with previously identified features in animal stem cells. They were capable of long-term self-renewal and thus could remain undifferentiated for long periods of time; they had particular surface markers; and they were able to maintain a normal and stable karyotype. Thomsons team also observed derivatives of all the three germ layersendoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. Since the three germ layers precede differentiation into all the cell types in the body, this observation suggested that the cultured cells were pluripotent. The team published Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts, in the 6 November Science issue. Soon afterwards, a research team led by John D. Gearhart at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, published Derivation of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Cultured Human Primordial Germ Cells in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The paper detailed the process by which pluripotent stem cells were derived from gonadal ridges and mesenteries extracted from aborted five-to-nine week old human embryos. Gearhart and his team noted the same observations as Thomsons team. Despite coming from different sources, according to NIH, the resultant cells seem to be the same.

The largest source of blastocysts for stem cell research comes from in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics. Used for reproductive purposes, IVF usually produces an abundance of viable blastocysts. Excess blastocysts are sometimes donated for research purposes after obtaining informed consent from donors. Another potential method for producing embryonic stem cells is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). This has been successfully done using animal cells. The nucleus of a differentiated adult cell, such as a skin cell, is removed and fused with an enucleated egg, an egg with the nucleus removed. The egg, now containing the genetic material from the skin cell, is believed to be totipotent and eventually develops into a blastocyst. As of mid-2006, attempts to produce human embryonic stem cells using SCNT have been unsuccessful. Nonetheless, scientists continue to pursue this method because of the medical and scientific implications of embryonic stem cells lines with an identical genetic makeup to particular patients. One problem faced in tissue transplants is immune rejection, where the host body attacks the introduced tissue. SCNT would be a way to overcome the incompatibility problem by using the patients own somatic cells.

Recent discoveries in cultivating human embryonic stem cells may potentially lead to major advancements in understanding human embryogenesis and medical treatments. Previously, limitations in access and environmental control have stunted research initiatives aimed at mapping out the developmental process. Insights into differentiation factors may lead to treatments into such areas as birth defects. Manipulation of the differentiation process may then lead to large supplies of stem cells for cell-based therapies on patients with Parkinsons disease, for example. In theory adult stem cells can also be cultivated for such purposes, but isolating and identifying adult stem cells has been difficult and the prospects for treatment are more limited than using embryonic stem cells.

Despite the potential benefits that may come about through human embryonic stem cell research, not everyone in the public embraces it. Several ethical debates surround this newly developing research field. Much of the debate stems from differing opinions on how we should view embryos: is an embryo a person? Should an embryo be considered property? Ethical concerns in embryonic stem cell research include destroying human blastocysts, laws surrounding informed consent, and particularly for SCNT, misapplication of techniques for reproductive cloning. For the latter concern, SCNT does produce a blastocyst which contains stem cell clones of an adult cell, but the desired application is in growing replacement tissues. Still, a portion of the public fears the hypothetical one day, when someone decides to use SCNT to develop and raise a human clone.

The public debate continues, advancing along with the changes in the field. As of 2006, public opinion polls showed that majority of religious and non-religious Americans now support embryonic stem cell research, but opinions remain divided over whether it is legitimate to create or use human blastocysts solely for research.

Wu, Ke, "Human Embryonic Stem Cells".

(2010-09-13). ISSN: 1940-5030 http://embryo.asu.edu/handle/10776/2055.

Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia.

Arizona Board of Regents Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

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Human Embryonic Stem Cells - Arizona State University

College is, essentially, a country club occupied by aging teenagers who have the mental capacity to understand stem cells and Sartre but lack the emotional capacity to talk to each other while sober. Mindy Kalings new HBO Max show The Sex Lives of College Girls understands this. Our heroines go to frat parties and emerge depressed, their sweaters saturated with pumpkin ale. They get friend-dumped. They fail to turn in problem sets. They have mediocre sex under dorm room posters of Seth Meyers.

Lets call the titleThe Sex Lives of College Girlswhat it is: porny. I had a job in college that required me to teach freshman girls how to, in a pinch, convert a condom into a dental dam, and I still think that name is a bit much. But this is less Girls Gone Wild and more Socrates and Sexuality. Or: Tarts of the Liberal Arts. Yes, we hit the classics: keg stands, red cups, a naked party. But the show also covers, in an un-gritty, cheery way, things that actually happen in college. Our heroines get laid, but they also lay out rules about who has to clean their shared mini fridge. They hook up, but they also get hooked on new ideas and experiences. Theres intercourse, but theres also discourse about wealth inequality. You get it!

We follow four roommates sharing a dorm during their first year at an elite New England college. Here a creator less interesting than Kaling would have introduced a quartet of stereotypes (the cheerleader! the nerd!). Instead we get Bela (Amrit Kaur): wildly horny but essentially a virgin, ambitious but not in the way her immigrant parents want her to be. Shes joined by Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), a soccer star and senators daughter whos been having good sex with terrible power dynamics. Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) is a small-town girl from Arizona who is simultaneously the shows kindest and most overtly feminist character and also its most racist. And then theres Leighton (Renee Rapp), who seems like a mean-girl clich (Rapp also starred as Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway) but reveals herself to be something much more interesting.

So which one is the fun, slutty character? Twist: Theyre all fun, and they all like sex. Kimberly does what Leighton calls grunt-y novice boinking. Bela dumps a guy because hes too into her sense of humor (What? Does he not appreciate her hot body???). Kimberly, Whitney, and Bela eye-fuck Leightons brother Nico (Gavin Leatherwood), a boy with a face you could write songs about. Theres a tender, poignant queer storyline. Theres also a storyline that I really, really think the writers should have reconsidered, in which a character exchanges sexual favors to get ahead in a male-dominated field. (Like, sure, I guess that could happen, but the comedy doesnt landmostly, women in male fields just deal with harassment and discrimination.)

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Mindy Kaling's 'The Sex Lives of College Girls' Is a Spot-On Depiction of College - Glamour

November 15, 2021

Karen Amos waited excitedly next to her research poster during this year's School of Life Sciences BioSci Southwest Symposium. In the Memorial Union on Arizona State University's Tempe campus, guests gathered around her poster about embryonic stem cells and listened to her explain her project, asking questions about her findings and research techniques.

But Amos wasnt on campus she was in Tennessee. The BioSci Southwest Symposium was hosted by the School of Life Sciences, a joint effort between its Graduate Programs and Undergraduate Research Program. The event included more than 40 poster presentations and 11 lightning talks by students to display their research conducted in ASU labs.

For the first time, the regional symposium was held as a hybrid event, utilizing innovative techniques to open the doors to both on-campus and online participants.

Theres a lot of really good science ideas that are stuck behind a computer screen, said Amos, who is a senior studying biochemistry through ASU Online.

Ive never had this type of opportunity before. We now have the opportunity for face-to-face research, which has been unheard of to online students.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to produce rapid accelerations in technology, and disciplines across ASU have been swift to adapt these tools to better serve the educational needs of students. The fusion of traditional, in-person event formatting with innovative virtual platforms has allowed online students to participate in an interactive research conference, an opportunity they have never had before.

On Oct. 29, the annual BioSci Southwest Symposium was held in the Arizona Ballroom of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus. The event included more than 40 poster presentations and 11 lightning talks by students to display their research conducted in ASU labs.

The symposium is hosted by the School of Life Sciences, a joint effort between its Graduate Programs and Undergraduate Research Program. The event gives students the opportunity to display their work in the community and practice their presenting skills to a broader audience.

Paula Baker, School of Life Sciences senior program coordinator,organized the symposium and ensured the event ran smoothly and efficiently.

Many of our online students are nontraditional in the sense that they might have families, full-time jobs, etc. Hybrid events allow them to connect in real time while decreasing barriers to attendance, Baker said.

Student researchers who were unable to attend in person sent their poster ahead of time to be printed and put on display in the ballroom. Next to their poster was a laptop, or tripod with a tablet computer, and a microphone. Guests walking through the presentations could plug their headphones into the device and engage in a live conversation with the online presenter.

The symposium also gave students the space to network with other researchers and ASU faculty members.

The event included a lecture by keynote speaker Judy L. Cannon, a researcher and associate professor from the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.Cannon studies immune responses, and she discussed the movement of immune cells and how it helps clear infections like the flu and COVID-19. She also shared her career path and offered advice for students who want to pursue a career in scientific research.

Following Cannons remarks, each student, or team of students, presented their poster, summarizing the research they conducted. Guests walked around the ballroom, observing various fields of research.

The symposium included one hour of lightning talks that were given between poster presentations. Eleven presenters gave five-minute slideshow presentations of their research in front of all the in-person and virtual attendees.

To allow greater access to each project, the poster presentations were divided into two sessions. Presenters each prepared both a virtual and physical poster. During the first session, half the groups presented in the ballroom, while half presented virtually through a platform called GatherTown.

GatherTown is a website for interactive virtual spaces. Individuals who attended the symposium virtually were able to log in to GatherTown and hear students present their research. By using the arrow keys on a keyboard, attendees could move an avatar across the screen to walk around a virtual, 2D symposium. As their avatar passed tables with the presenters name on them, the presenter was notified and their Zoom video feed automatically opened to begin presenting to the attendee.

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Bridging the gap between online and on campus - ASU Now

Unproven products marketed as stem cell therapies could be risky, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which analyzed bacterial infections from unapproved products derived from umbilical cord blood.

The case series study, published in JAMA Network Open, examined 20 bacterial infections in eight states. It involved reviewing medical records, sterility testing of products and whole-genome sequences of patient and product isolates for participants who developed bacterial infections after receiving stem cell treatments between August 2017 and September 2018.

The findings of this investigation show that stem cell therapies that are not FDA-approved or that are not used for the approved medical conditions can pose serious health risks to patients with no benefit, Kiran Mayi Perkins, MD, lead investigator with the CDCs Outbreak and Response Team, told Contagion. Currently, the only stem cell products derived from umbilical cord blood that are FDA-approved for use in the United States are approved for use in patients with disorders that affect the production of blood, but they are not approved for other uses. However, these products are often illegally marketed by clinics as being safe and effective for treating a wide range of diseases or conditions. Therefore, patients should be aware of the unproven benefits and the potential risks to their health when using unapproved and unproven stem cell products for conditions that they have not been shown to effectively treat.

All but one of the patients in the study required hospitalization after receiving stem cell treatment for conditions including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and injury. The CDC performed sterility testing on vials of product and compared bacterial isolates with those from the patients.

We were surprised by the magnitude of bacterial contamination found in the vials that we tested; over half of the vials of the stem cell product that we tested were contaminated with bacteria, and many of these vials had very high bacterial counts, Perkins said.

Unapproved stem cell products have been marketed for conditions such as joint diseases, sports injuries and chronic pain and have become more prevalent as people seek products to prevent and treat COVID-19, the study noted. However, these uses are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

ReGen Series products processed by Genetech and distributed by Liveyon were recalled after bacterial infections were reported in Texas and Florida in 2018, and a national investigation was launched. Information was gathered about patients, product administration, infection control practices and product manufacturing and distribution.

The bottom line is that many stem cell clinics are offering unproven products that have the potential to be dangerous, Perkins said. There is good research that is being done on stem cell therapies, but there are also a lot of clinics that are selling stem cells for unproven uses. To date, the only stem cell treatments approved by the FDA are products made from a donors umbilical cord blood that are used to treat certain cancers and disorders of the blood and immune system. If the cells are being used to treat other conditions such as pain, orthopedic conditions, autism, anti-aging, or COVID-19, they are not approved and may not be safe. We urge all patients and health care practitioners considering stem cell therapies to ensure that the stem cell product is being used for the approved indication or under an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) and is on FDAs list of approved products.

The states in which confirmed bacterial infections were identified as of March 2021 are Texas, Florida, California, Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Colorado and Massachusetts.

The treatments were injected into the patients knees, shoulders, spine or digits or administered through intravenous infusion or as a nasal spray. Infections included 10 at the injection site, five bloodstream infections and five with both injection site and bloodstream infections. Most common bacteria were Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae.

CDC will continue to investigate any reports that it receives that are concerning for infectious risks to patients associated with the receipt of stem cell products and will report these to FDA, the agency that has regulatory oversight for these types of therapies, Perkins said.

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Bacterial Infections Linked with Unapproved Stem Cell Treatments - Contagionlive.com

ASU Associate Professor Dr. David Brafman is using personalized medicine to study the origins of Alzheimers. Dr. Brafman is tracing the origins of Alzheimers as a way to reprogram stem cells and potentially find a cure for the disease. We recently spoke to Dr. Brafman about his research.

What we use to model this disease is a special type of Stem cell called induced pluripotent stem cells and these cells are derived from patients and reprogram cells to essentially take on the characteristics of early development, Brafman said.

Brafman says this type of research can help his lab find the origins of the disease. He also says this research can help identify why some people are more predisposed to develop this disease, as well as commonalities between those who develop it.

A difficult aspect of treating Alzheimers is that by the time many develop noticeable symptoms, treatment becomes very difficult.

What were trying to identify is genetic diagnostic markers that might have profiles that predispose them towards Alzheimers disease so we could maybe introduce therapeutic interventions earlier, Brafman said

Another therapeutic strategy thought about is potentially swapping the harmful genes that lead to Alzheimers for less harmful ones. Brafman said his lab is looking at the potential for genome editing and genetic risk factors that may lead to the disease.

Brafman said this research could be used to trace the origins of other diseases down the road as well, and not just Alzheimers.

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ASU professor researches origins of Alzheimers to find a cure - Eight, Arizona PBS

DUARTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A gift from financial services executive and entrepreneur Jim Belardi and his wife, Leslie, will provide City of Hope, a world-renowned independent cancer and diabetes research and treatment center, with resources to aggressively advance research into the treatment of blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, which account for nearly 10% of new cancer cases each year in the United States.

The critical resources provided by the gift are designed to quickly move bold ideas from the laboratory to the patients bedside. The gift will support City of Hopes Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute (HMRI) and will have three areas of focus translational research, cellular immunotherapy and faculty recruitment.

In gratitude for the Belardis generous contribution, City of Hope is honored to name its new 100,000-square-foot administrative and leadership building the Belardi Family Pavilion.

City of Hope has a unique approach to research that empowers our scientists and physicians to discover and develop new therapies as quickly as possible, to save as many lives as possible, said Robert Stone, president and CEO, City of Hope, and the Helen and Morgan Chu Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair. Jim and Leslie Belardis gift demonstrates how much they share our passion for this mission in blood cancer research. We are incredibly grateful and honored for their support and partnership in this lifesaving work.

This transformative gift will support:

Cancer Survivor Gives Back to Extended Family That Gave Him a Second Chance at Life

Jim, who is currently chairman and CEO of Athene Holding Ltd., a leading financial services company specializing in retirement solutions, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in 2007, when there was no cure for the disease. His physician at City of Hope, hematologist/oncologist Stephen J. Forman, M.D., an international expert in leukemia and a pioneer in the development of bone marrow transplantation for treatment of cancer, recommended that he receive a novel transplant regimen developed at City of Hope that utilized total body irradiation in combination with the chemotherapy drug etoposide. That was followed by a transplant of bone marrow donated by Jims sister, Christa. As a result of the then-novel regimen and his sisters donation, Jim was successfully treated and remains cancer free following his treatment.

As an organization, City of Hope consistently demonstrates a rare combination of excellence, humility and kindness to everyone in their care, said Jim. During my battle with cancer, I received the best treatment possible from the best people, starting with Dr. Forman and his incredible team, and followed by the many other physicians, practitioners and nurses who really got to know us. Through a period of tremendous personal and familial adversity, the entire City of Hope team provided us with unparalleled care and support and, in turn, they became part of our extended family.

Jims treatment regimen was developed at City of Hope by Forman and Karl Blume, M.D., the founder of the City of Hope transplant program, who together helped to transform the standard of care for bone marrow transplant patients. Jim credits his recovery to both the science and the hands-on care he received from Forman and his team, as well as the steadfast devotion of his family his sister, Christa, donated perfectly matched stem cells, enabling his bone marrow transplant without hesitation, and Leslie was constantly by his side during his extended stay.

Because we know that work in cancer is never complete, Leslie and I are delighted that our donation will be put to immediate use in the lab to develop new treatments that will help save lives faster, as well as support the next generation of leading care providers at City of Hope, added Jim. Our family believes City of Hope is the best place to push the frontiers of science to bring hope and healing to more people like us.

Not everyone is as lucky as Jim to find a perfect match in a relative. In fact, 70% of patients must rely on an unrelated donor through registries like Be the Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. He hopes his story will draw attention to this need and encourage people to join the registry. Finding a donor match is particularly challenging for mixed-race individuals, so there is an urgent need for mixed-race donors.

Leadership in Advanced Research and Treatment

City of Hope operates one of the largest bone marrow and stem cell transplantation programs in the U.S. and has performed more than 17,000 transplants. The program has some of the best survival outcomes in the U.S. and is the only entity in the nation to exceed outcome expectations for 15 consecutive years. A pioneer in advancing research and care for blood-related cancers, City of Hope helped to set the standard of care for transplant patients worldwide.

City of Hope is also a global leader in the development of novel CAR T, NK CAR and T cell therapies for blood cancers, with nearly 80 active or completed trials. Its work in cellular therapy dates back to the late 1990s and builds on Formans pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation. City of Hope has launched several first-in-human CAR T trials for blood cancers and currently offers all five commercially approved CAR T therapies.

The Vital Role of Philanthropy to Discovery

The support of donors like Jim and Leslie Belardi is crucial to enabling City of Hope to fund its early stage discovery efforts and clinical trials. With more than 1,000 physicians and scientists focused on cancer, more than 725 clinical trials conducted in the last year and three Food and Drug Administration-approved drug manufacturing facilities, City of Hope stands out among comprehensive cancer centers for its ability to move new therapies quickly from the lab to the patients bedside.

Our patients and their families cannot afford to wait when it comes to receiving lifesaving cancer treatments and care, said Kristin J. Bertell, chief philanthropy officer, City of Hope. Philanthropic support allows us to help more people, faster. We are deeply grateful to the Belardi family for their partnership in advancing our goal to deliver tomorrows cures to patients today.

About City of Hope

City of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. City of Hopes translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution. A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nations Best Hospitals in cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Its main campus is located near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona. Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) became a part of City of Hope in 2016. AccessHope, a subsidiary launched in 2019, serves employers and their health care partners by providing access NCI-designated cancer center expertise. For more information about City of Hope, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

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City of Hope to Accelerate Blood Cancer Research Through a Transformational Gift from Leukemia Survivor James Belardi and His Wife Leslie Belardi -...

DetailsCategory: DNA RNA and CellsPublished on Monday, 16 August 2021 17:11Hits: 496

LA JOLLA, CA, USA I August 16, 2021 I Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company with novel allogeneic stem cell platforms for delivery of oncolytic viruses, together with the University of Chicago and City of Hope, a world renowned NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, based in Duarte, California, have entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for patents covering cutting edge therapies using an oncolytic adenovirus in combination with a clinical grade allogeneic neural stem cell line.

City of Hope (COH) scientists, led by Dr. Karen Aboody in collaboration with Dr. Maciej Lesniak's team at University of Chicago, and later Northwestern University, have used COHs exclusive GMP grade immortalized, clonal human neural stem cell line, to selectively deliver an oncolytic adenovirus to tumor sites. Dr. Aboody and Dr. Lesniak, together with Dr. Rachael Mooney at COH, have spent 13 years in a passionate effort to translate promising pre-clinical results into the clinic, attaining FDA approval for commencing a first-in-human Phase-1 trial in recurrent glioma patients.

We are very excited about the partnership and collaboration with Calidi Biotherapeutics. Their deep understanding and expertise using allogeneic stem cells as a delivery platform to protect, deliver, amplify, and potentiate oncolytic virotherapy, can potentially result in a significantly more effective treatment for cancer patients with invasive tumors, commented Dr. Karen Aboody, Professor, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, City of Hope National Medical Center & Beckman Research Institute.

The first wave of Oncolytic Viruses were novel, but lacked the ability to efficiently deliver the virus to tumor sites, due to the human complement immune system inactivating the viruses, usually within one hour of patient injection, thus resulting in a lack of efficacy, stated Allan Camaisa, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Calidi Biotherapeutics. We believe this collaboration with City of Hope will allow us to implement Calidis proprietary techniques together with City of Hopes novel approach to glioblastoma and other malignant tumors, using neural stem cells combined with an oncolytic adenovirus. This FDA approved Investigational New Drug (IND), planned for patient trials in the first quarter of 2022, increases Calidis drug pipeline and gives our company a tumor-tropic stem cell line to use for oncolytic virus delivery in cancer patients.

This exclusive license agreement, which was executed by the University of Chicagos Polsky Center for Entrepeneurship and Innovation, transferred the COH/University of Chicago IND to Calidi for the commercial development of a licensed product. The agreement grants to Calidi commercial exclusivity in using neural stem cells with the adenovirus known as CRAd-pk-S-7 for oncolytic virotherapy.

Calidis scientific and medical teams are very excited to contribute in the development of this promising technology that has significant potential to help many patients with advanced tumors, said Boris Minev, MD, President, Medical and Scientific Affairs at Calidi Biotherapeutics. We are delighted to collaborate with the outstanding researchers and clinicians who developed this novel oncolytic virotherapy approach.

About Calidi Biotherapeutics

Calidi Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company with proprietary technology that is revolutionizing the effective delivery of oncolytic viruses protected by stem cells for targeted therapy against difficult-to-treat cancers. Calidi Biotherapeutics is advancing a potent allogeneic stem cell and oncolytic virus combination for use in multiple oncology indications. Calidis off-the-shelf, universal cell-based delivery platform is designed to protect, amplify, and potentiate oncolytic viruses currently in development leading to enhanced efficacy and improved patient safety. Calidi Biotherapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, please visit http://www.calidibio.com.

About University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a leading academic and research institution that has driven new ways of thinking since its founding in 1890. As an intellectual destination, the University draws scholars and students from around the world to its campuses and centers around the globe. The University provides a distinctive educational experience and research environment, empowering individuals to challenge conventional thinking and pursue field-defining research that produces new understanding and breakthroughs with global impact.

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation applies world-class business expertise from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to bring new ideas and breakthrough innovations to market. Home of the Universitys technology transfer office, the Polsky Centers dedicated team of professionals with deep technical expertise enabling technology commercialization perform market analysis, manage intellectual property, identify partners, and negotiate partnerships and licenses for discoveries and inventions developed by faculty, researchers, and staff. Learn more at polsky.uchicago.edu and follow us on Twitter @polskycenter.

About City of Hope

City of Hope is an independent biomedical research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy. City of Hopes translational research and personalized treatment protocols advance care throughout the world. Human synthetic insulin, monoclonal antibodies, and numerous breakthrough cancer drugs are based on technology developed at the institution. Translational Genomic research (TGen) became a part of City of Hope in 2016. AccessHope, a wholly owned subsidiary, was launched in 2019, dedicated to serving employers and their health care partners by providing access to City of Hopes exceptional cancer expertise. A National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope is ranked among the nations Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Its main campus is located in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California and in Arizona. For more information about City of Hope, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram.

SOURCE: Calidi Biotherapeutics

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Calidi Biotherapeutics Announces Exclusive License Agreement with City of Hope and the University of Chicago for Novel Oncolytic Virotherapy...

In 2010, Jim McMahon was getting results from what he thought was a routine examination for workers compensation. The doctor asked him, When did you break your neck?

Suddenly, the former quarterbacks mind shot back to when he played one season for the Vikings in 1993. In a 17-10 playoff loss to the Giants in New York on Jan. 9, 1994, McMahon was battered and knocked out of the game twice but returned each time.

I said, I have a pretty good idea, McMahon said in a phone interview.

On the second play of the third quarter, with the Vikings leading 10-3, McMahon was sandwiched by defensive linemen Mike Fox and Keith Hamilton, the latter belting him in the head. McMahon was down on the field for nearly two minutes, and CBS play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall later said on the air he had been diagnosed with a mild concussion.

I believe thats the game that I broke my neck, McMahon said. I remember lying on the field for quite a while. I had all my senses but I was like, Dont touch me. I cant feel my legs.

McMahon eventually was able to get up and slowly walked off the field. He was replaced by Sean Salisbury but returned on Minnesotas next series.

I remember rolling out to throw a pass and (Fox) jumped up to block the pass, McMahon said of a play late in the third quarter. He brushed against my helmet, and then my legs went numb again.

McMahon was down again for more than a minute, and again was replaced by Salisbury. But McMahon returned with five minutes left in the game after CBS analyst John Madden had said on the air he should sit out the rest of the afternoon.

McMahon went on to play three more NFL seasons.

After that game, you go back to Minnesota and you see the coach (Dennis Green), and he says, Have a good summer, and then you leave, McMahon said. I guess they never caught (the neck injury) with any X-rays the next three years because I passed every physical. They told me (in 2010) that the C6 and C7 vertebrae were cracked and compressed, which means they were squished together and cracked at the ends.

McMahon was beaten up plenty while playing in the NFL from 1982-96, suffering other neck injuries, numerous concussions and shoulder injuries. He had 12 knee surgeries and suffering bruised ribs and a lacerated kidney. In 2012, McMahon, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., was diagnosed as being in the early stages of dementia but said he has felt better in recent years.

McMahon, 61, goes to a chiropractor in New York every three months to have his neck aligned to help the flow of spinal fluid. And last December he went to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York to have 275 million stem cells added into both shoulders, both elbows, both knees, and his neck, spine and brain.

McMahon helped lead the Chicago Bears to a 15-1 record in 1985, and a resounding 46-10 win over New England in Super Bowl XX. Had he not been sidelined by injuries in three Chicago seasons after that, the Bears might have won another Super Bowl or two.

McMahon doesnt watch the NFL much now. The Bears will face the Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, and McMahon isnt expected to watch. But he likely will check out the score.

Even though he played just one season with the Vikings and it didnt end well, McMahon has fond memories of Minnesota. He has returned to the Twin Cities twice in the past two years for autograph shows and to play golf.

I enjoy Minnesota, he said. I like to go up there and see some old teammates and have a beer and have some laughs.

McMahons latest visit was in September, when he stayed at the Blaine home of Buddy Becker, a friend and real-estate agent. Becker is friends with Tommy Kramer, a Vikings quarterback from 1977-89 who has been living at his home. Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, right, who played with the Minnesota Vikings in 1993, visits with Tommy Kramer, a Vikings quarterback from 1977-89, at an autograph signing at Route 47 Pub & Grub in Fridley in September 2020. (Courtesy of Buddy Becker)

McMahon and Kramer got to know each other a bit when their teams faced each other twice a season in the old NFC Central Division. A few years ago, they started tweeting at one another, and since have become much closer.

Theyre golf, drinking and singing buddies, Becker said. When Jim was here in September, I have a video of him and Tommy singing the Waylon Jennings song, Good Hearted Woman. They were singing to their exes.

McMahon and Kramer faced off in what was perhaps the most memorable regular-season game of McMahons career. Entering the Sept. 19, 1985, game at the Metrodome, the Bears and the Vikings were both 2-0.

The game was played on a Thursday night and televised nationally by ABC with its Monday Night Football broadcasting team of Frank Gifford, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson. McMahon had been in the hospital for two days during the week with a pinched nerve in his neck and head coach Mike Ditka had announced that Steve Fuller would start at quarterback.

I had been in the hospital in Chicago in traction, and Ditka told me I wasnt going to play, McMahon said. The night before the game, I was sitting in my (Twin Cities hotel) room icing my shoulder, my back and my neck. Then one of the coaches comes up and says, Ditkas ticked off. Why arent you at (a team) meeting? So, I had to go down and listen to Ditka rant and rave about me, and I said, Why do I have to be here? You told me Im not playing.

McMahon said he was given painkillers before the game, and that once the game got underway, he started bugging Ditka the whole first half that you better let me play.

With the Bears trailing 17-9 midway through the third quarter and Fuller ineffective, Ditka finally inserted McMahon. The quarterback joked that he probably did so because Ditka was tired of being pestered on the sideline.

On the first play, a screen pass was called, McMahon said. I was a little wobbly when I dropped back because of all the painkillers I had taken. But I saw a blitz, and downfield Willie Gault was 10 yards past his man, so I threw it to him instead.

The speedy wide receiver scored on a 70-yard reception to cut the deficit to 17-16. But Ditka wasnt happy.

When I came off the field, he grabbed me and said, What play did you call? Why did you throw it to (Gault)? I said, Because he was open.

On Minnesotas next possession, Kramer threw an interception. On the next play, McMahon tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon for a 23-17 Bears lead.

Later in the third quarter, McMahon threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to McKinnon for a 30-17 lead. That made it three TD passes in a span of 6 minutes, 40 seconds, and the Bears were on their way to a 33-24 win.

We should have won that game, Kramer said. McMahon hadnt even been on the field and then comes in and nobodys guarding Willie Gault. Willie Teal was supposed to be on him.

The win helped springboard the Bears to a 12-0 start before they lost their only game of the season, 38-24 at Miami. McMahon completed 8 of 15 passes for 236 yards.

It was a fun third quarter, McMahon said. It was awesome. People got to see that we were more than just a defensive football team.

Between 1985-88, McMahon was 29-3 as Chicagos starting quarterback but missed about as many games as he played. So, the Bears traded him to San Diego, where he played one forgettable season.

McMahon then went to Philadelphia to serve as Randall Cunninghams backup from 1990-92 but had 12 starts. Then it was on to Minnesota in 1993. There, he started a career-most 12 games and went 8-4. He missed four games due to a dislocated shoulder, and the Vikings finished 9-7. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jim McMahon reacts after a third-down pass intended for Quadry Ismail falls incomplete, forcing Minnesota to punt in an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome in Minneapolis on Sept. 26, 1993. Vikings placekicker Fuad Reveiz kicked a 22-yard field goal his fifth of the game with four seconds left to lift Minnesota to a 15-13 victory. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)

We had a pretty good defense, and offensively we had some weapons in Cris Carter and Anthony Carter, McMahon said. My biggest memory that season was beating the Packers twice and the Bears twice.

The Vikings beat the Bears 10-7 at the Metrodome in Week 2 and 19-12 in Week 8 on Monday Night Football at Chicago. It marked the only times in McMahons career he defeated the Bears as a starter.

It was nice to play back home, McMahon said of the win at Soldier Field. They gave me a nice ovation. The fans always treated me well in Chicago. But the sweetest revenge was getting a victory.

During his 1982-88 Chicago tenure, McMahon had the image of being a punk rocker, which he attributed to one bad haircut. He said he didnt write any lyrics for The Super Bowl Shuffle video in which he sang, Im the punky QB known as McMahon. And he said the sunglasses he regularly wore were for medical reasons.

McMahon said his image with the Bears was a media creation, and Minnesota teammates never saw it.

He had that image of wearing sunglasses and the headband and all those kind of things, but he was just a normal guy, said Brad Johnson, Minnesotas third-string quarterback in 1993. Wed go over to his house and play darts and cards. I remember him as just a really good guy, a good teammate.

That season marked the only time McMahon led a team other than Chicago to the playoffs. He completed 60.4 percent of his passes, a career best as a starter, and threw for 1,968 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He was tough, like a Scott Studwell playing quarterback, said former Vikings cornerback Carl Lee, referring to the rugged former linebacker. He got beaten up a lot, but he never wanted to miss a play.

That attitude was on display to start the playoffs at Giants Stadium, when the temperature was 20 degrees with a 21-mph wind that made the wind-chill factor 4 degrees. Going against a rugged defense that featured legendary linebacker Lawrence Taylor, McMahon completed 12 of 25 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown.

He got knocked around a lot in that game, but I didnt know he broke his neck, said Roger Craig, then a Vikings running back. Thats crazy. Thats wild. He was a tough, tough guy, and he was great leader. If I broke my neck, man, that would have made me retire right away.

Of course, McMahon didnt know it then and played three more seasons.

After the Vikings opted to bring in quarterback Warren Moon in 1994, McMahon spent that year as backup in Arizona. He then moved on to Green Bay to serve as Brett Favres backup in 1995 and 1996. In his final NFL game, he watched from the sidelines as the Packers beat New England 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI, earning McMahon a second championship ring.

McMahon still keeps up with Favre. He reached out to him when he saw that Beckers home has a urinal in a basement bathroom with a Packers logo at the bottom of the bowl.

Jim got a kick out of it, and the first thing he did was send a picture of it to Brett Favre, and Brett sent a text back laughing, Becker said. Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon, who played with the Minnesota Vikings in 1993, on the beach in Cabo, Mexico on Dec. 17, 2020. (Courtesy of Jim McMahon)

McMahon spends much of his time now at his Arizona home, and recently bought a house in Mexico. He said he still at times gets bad headaches because the spinal fluid is acting up and must go into a dark room for relief. But hes been able to keep that mostly under control by going regularly to Rock Hill, N.Y., to have adjustments made by chiropractor Scott Rosa.

McMahon said he also has been helped by the visit to a clinic last December in Medellin, Colombia, when the stem cells were added, and by having a medical prescription for marijuana. McMahon said hes looking himself to get into the cannabis business.

My body is actually feeling a heck of a lot better now, he said.

McMahon was battered plenty in the NFL, most famously when Packers defensive end Charles Martin body slammed him to the turf in Week 12 in 1986. That ended his season due to a shoulder injury.

Not as well documented has been the beating he took seven years later with the Vikings in the playoffs. Any regrets?

I went back in, like an idiot, he said.

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Jim McMahon broke his neck playing for Vikings, and found out about it 17 years later - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Across the northern hemisphere, leaves are currently turning from deep summer green to the most brilliant shades of red and orange, yellow and gold.

Its quite the show, and for leaf peepers in the Lower 48, its possible to take a look at a virtual, interactive map to see just where the tree leaves are at their brilliant best.

At SmokyMountains.com, publicly accessible data such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration precipitation forecasts, temperature forecasts, and average daylight exposure gets collated and synthesized in order to create a map that changes color according to where the most colorful scenes might be seen across the States.

Co-founder of the map, David Angotti, noted that its predictions arentquite perfect. It might show amazing fall colors happened in the middle of Arizona, but if there are no deciduous trees in that areaof course there wont be much of a show.

I wish I could make fall happen in South Florida or in the desert, Angotti told the Washington Post, but at the end of the day, the math is basically showing when the temperature and precipitation trendswouldcause peak fall to occur in each of these areas.

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So just why do leaves change their color? According to SmokyMountains.com, As the fall days begin to get shorter and shorter, the production of chlorophyll slows to a halt, eventually giving way to the true color of the leaf.

When it gets cold, the trees then slowly close off the veins that carry water and nutrients to and from the leaves with a layer of new cells that form at the base of the leaf stem, protecting the limbs and body of the tree.

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Once the process of new cell creation is complete, water and nutrients no longer flow to and from the leafthis enables the leaf to die and weaken at the stem, eventually falling gracefully to the ground.

Graceful is the word. We hope its beautiful where you are right now.

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Want to Know Where The Best Fall Colors Are in Your Area? Check Out This Interactive US Map - Good News Network