Category Archives: Massachusetts Stem Cells

In India, many people keep fast for spiritual reasons on different occasions throughout the year. During Navratri festival most of the Hindus keep fast. Fasting is a deliberate reduction or cessation of all food, liquids, or both for a set period of time. Short-term fasting can have considerable health advantages, despite occasionally being perceived as unhealthy. Fasting is becoming more popular among fitness enthusiasts as a valid method of controlling weight and preventing disease. Fasting also provides some rather potent physical and mental health advantages.

Here are some important physical and mental advantages of fasting:

Physical Benefits:

Fasting helps to improve immunity and lowers blood sugar levels.

It aids digestion and reduces bloating.

It also helps to get a sound sleep.

With a conscious appetite, it can help you break through weight-loss plateaus.

According to a 2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study fasting improves stem cells ability to regenerate. This can help in reducing the impact of ageing and increase longevity.

It stimulates Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and regulates hemoglobin and insulin levels.

Fasting revitalises the body as it helps diseased cells to degrade, leaving healthy tissues behind.

Mental Benefits:

Fasting enhances focus. The brain can use the energy normally required for digestion during fasting. It safeguards the brain against mental disorders such as Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease.

It energises neurons, which increases brain power and as a result it improves clarity of mind.

Helps in improving your thinking by reducing pollutants in your blood and lymphatic system.

Fasting fosters a sense of spiritual and psychological well-being.

It brings peace and contentment by inculcating positivity. Keeping fast helps you to alleviate stress and depression.

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Heres How Fasting Benefits Your Mental and Physical Wellbeing - News18

This month, stem cell biotechnology company Asymmetrex launched a campaign to introduce the company's new online calculators for rapidly counting therapeutic tissue stem cells to cell culture core facilities at leading research colleges and universities. Today, September 20, Asymmetrex President and CEO, James L. Sherley M.D., Ph.D. will make the first introduction of the campaign in-person to users of the Cell Culture Core Facility at UMassAmherst.

BOSTON, Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Outside of the world of laboratory science, one of the most significant group of contributors to the excellence of U.S. biomedical research is not that well known to most people. This often-understated group is made up of the directors and technical staff of research core facilities.

Research core facilities catalyze and accelerate the research pursued by their users by providing scientific and technical expertise with the use of high-end instruments and technologies that are usually too expensive and too complex for individual research laboratories to obtain and utilize effectively on their own. Core facility personnel also play an important role in achieving the teaching mission of research institutions to train the next generations of excellent biomedical investigators.

Because of this central role in stem cell medical research played by cell culture core facilities at major research institutions, Asymmetrex selected them as the company's first focus for introduction of its new online calculators for rapid counting of therapeutic tissue stem cells. The standard research services of cell culture core facilities, including growing and counting human tissue cells, integrate directly into Asymmetrex's online portals for rapid stem cell counting.

Before Asymmetrex's technology was available, there was no method for routine, convenient counting of tissue stem cells, which are always found in mixtures with other tissue cells that obscure them from identification and counting. The need for a method to quantify tissue stem cells has significantly held back both stem cell research and stem cell medicine for more than a half century. Asymmetrex's counting technology is the first solution for this long-standing need for a means to monitor tissue stem cells in experiments and determine their dosage for more effective stem cell treatments.

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Today, September 20, Asymmetrex President and CEO, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D., is presenting the new counting technology to the users of the Cell Culture Core Facility in the Institute for Applied Life Sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His presentation will be the first seminar in the current academic year for the IALS Core Facilities Seminar Series.

The UMassAmherst core facility was the ideal choice for Asymmetrex's lead-off introduction to the capabilities and advantages of the new online stem cell calculators. Many of the validation studies for the new stem cell counting technology were performed by the UMassAmherst Cell Culture Core Facility under the direction of Michael P. Daley. Director Daley is one of the first core facility directors in the country who can now provide his users access to rapid counting of two different types of tissue stem cells widely used in stem cell research, umbilical cord blood stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells. In the future, through his core facility, faculty, students, trainees, and research staff at UMassAmherst will also be able to gain additional access to online calculators for counting many other types of important tissue stem cells used in their research.

Asymmetrex CEO Sherley has shared that he is looking forward to this first core facility introduction, which will be in-person. The company also plans a webinar series that will allow core facility directors anywhere in the U.S. to learn about doing what UMassAmherst has already started. "After UMassAmherst in-person, the first national webinar in the core facility introduction series is scheduled a week later on September 27!"

About Asymmetrex

Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. The company's U.S. and U.K. patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems stem cell-specific quantification and stem cell expansion that have stood in the way of more-effective use of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. Asymmetrex markets kinetic stem cell (KSC) counting, the first technology for determination of the dose and quality of tissue stem cell preparations for use in stem cell transplantation medicine and pre-clinical drug evaluations. Asymmetrex is a member company of the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute|BioFabUSA (ARMI) and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio). The company's development of online calculators for rapid stem cell counting has been funded by R&D grants from ARMI|BioFabUSA and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D., Asymmetrex LLC, 16179906819, jsherley@asymmetrex.com

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Asymmetrex Gives First Cell Culture Core Facility Introduction to Online Rapid Stem Cell Counting in the Institute for Applied Life Sciences at...

Though tissue stem cells are the critical factors in stem cell medicines, until now it was not possible to routinely determine their dosage in treatments. This month, stem cell biotechnology company Asymmetrex introduced the first online calculators for routine and rapid determination of the specific dosage of tissue stem cells not only in stem cell treatments, but also in stem cell biomanufacturing samples and stem cell research samples.

BOSTON, Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In 2020, when Asymmetrex published the seminal report of its innovation for counting therapeutic tissue stem cells for the first time, the company's President & CEO, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D., says, "the method was already very good, but anything but routine."

Before Asymmetrex developed the rapid stem cell-counting calculators formally introduced today, executing its stem cell-counting technology required 3 to 4 weeks of intensive, expensive cell culture procedures. However, the company used its earlier advance to define proprietary mathematical equations, which now power the company's online rapid-counting calculators. With an online calculator, a user can routinely get the stem cell dosage of cell preparations from any human tissue after culturing a small sample of the cells for only 72 hours.

Asymmetrex recently completed the validation of its technology head-to-head with the gold standard SCID mouse assay for estimating the dosage of human blood stem cells, which are widely used for approved stem cell transplantation therapies. The SCID mouse assay was never adopted for routine use because it is expensive, requires 30-40 mice for a single count, takes more than 16 weeks to complete, and is unreliable. It also only works for blood stem cells. In contrast, Asymmetrex's online rapid-counting calculators give an instant stem cell count from a user's input of conventional cell data from only 72 hours of inexpensive cell culture. And calculators are available for stem cells from all types of human tissues, not just blood stem cells.

There are custom calculators for different stem cell tissue sources and culture conditions. CEO Sherley relates that, "There are hundreds, if not thousands, of rapid stem cell-counting equations waiting to be mined by our software." The company is already offering generic calculators for five different types of stem cells commonly used in research, approved therapies, and many ongoing stem cell clinical trials. Asymmetrex can also develop proprietary counting equations for proprietary stem cell sources and production conditions.

Previously, many companies who produced and used tissue stem cell products and treatments were resigned to not knowing their stem cell dosage, because no convenient method was available to determine it. But dosage information was always needed to better ensure sufficient stem cells for effective treatment and to prevent the waste of scarce stem cells due to unaware excessive dosing.

Asymmetrex has produced educational online forums and podcasts to reform ideas in stem cell science and stem cell medicine on the importance of attention to stem cell dosage for accelerating progress in stem cell research and therapy. Says Sherley, "Our company's introduction of online rapid stem cell-counting calculators is the start of a reformation in stem cell science and medicine."

About Asymmetrex

Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. The company's U.S. and U.K. patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems stem cell-specific quantification and stem cell expansion that have stood in the way of more-effective use of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. Asymmetrex markets kinetic stem cell (KSC) counting, the first technology for determination of the dose and quality of tissue stem cell preparations for use in stem cell transplantation medicine and pre-clinical drug evaluations. Asymmetrex is a member company of the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute|BioFabUSA (ARMI) and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio). The company's development of online calculators for rapid stem cell counting has been funded by R&D grants from ARMI|BioFabUSA and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Media Contact

James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D., Asymmetrex LLC, 6179906819, jsherley@asymmetrex.com

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SOURCE Asymmetrex LLC

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Asymmetrex's Introduction of Online Calculators for Determination of the Dosage of Therapeutic Stem Cells Announced as a Reformation in Stem Cell...

The grant will create opportunities for students to access cutting-edge equipment for in-demand careers in life sciences industries.

UMass Dartmouth recently received a $750,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to connect students in one of the Universitys most diverse science programs, Medical Laboratory Science (MLS), to resources that will further their careers in the life sciences. The grant was part of the Baker-Polito Administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announcement of 39 grants totaling more than $14.6 million.

Stepping Stones: Achieving Greater Diversity in Life Sciences through Laboratory Science focuses on UMass Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Centers shared commitment to increase diversity in the life sciences. Funding will be used to add advanced technologies to the Universitys laboratory spaces, including microbiology testing stations, blood testing equipment, and cell manipulation hardware. Students in the program will utilize these new pieces of equipment and methodologies that are the same as employers use in Massachusettss burgeoning life sciences sector.

By making investments in STEM workforce and educational opportunities, we can sustain and strengthen Massachusetts leadership in the life sciences and other STEM industries, said Governor Charlie Baker in a press release. We are grateful to partners across the Commonwealth for working with our administration to create more career pathways for students in these growing fields.

UMass Dartmouth is committed to growing our learning and research opportunities in the life sciences, said Chancellor Mark A. Fuller. This generous grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center will help our diverse student body enter the workforce prepared to continue the Commonwealths worldwide leadership in these crucial industries.

Growing the life sciences is a critical focus of our university and region, said Ramprasad Balasubramanian, vice chancellor for research and innovation at UMass Dartmouth. With a highly-skilled workforce and lab space a fraction of the cost of Boston area facilities, the SouthCoast is only expected to grow its impact in the life sciences industry.

With a 100% employment rate and a 100% pass rate on MLS professional certification, UMass Dartmouths MLS program is ranked as one of the top programs in the country. While traditionally employed in health care facilities, students in the MLS program increasing focus on careers in life science.

The College of Nursing & Health Sciences is very excited and appreciative of this grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, said Dean of the College of Nursing & Health Sciences Kimberly Christopher. The funding provides the opportunity to update student learning laboratory facilities and expand our capacity to address current and future medical laboratory and life sciences workforce needs.

Students in the MLS program analyze blood, body fluids, cells, tissues, and other specimens to determine diseases causes and their appropriate treatments. The skills acquired by students are highly translatable to life sciences labs. The UMassD program, one of the largest in the nation, is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, which makes students eligible for national certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

We are incredibly grateful to Mass Life Sciences Center for their support of Stepping Stones, said Professor Frank Scarano, chair of the Medical Laboratory Science department. The demand for skilled laboratory scientists in both the life sciences and health sciences continues to grow, and our highly-motivated, hard-working, diverse students need to learn on the same equipment used in modern labs.

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UMass Dartmouth awarded $750000 Massachusetts Life Science grant to diversify the field - New Bedford Guide

From left:Amylyx Co-founders and Co-CEOs Justin Klee and Josh Cohen/Courtesy Amylyx

Wednesday offers a rare opportunity for Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, which will go before the FDAs Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee in a second attempt to win recommendation for its amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug, AMX0035.

The FDA provided briefing documents Friday, and despite the unusual second adcomm, it does not appear to be convinced. To be approved, AMX0035 must meet substantial evidence of effectiveness, which may be derived by either a single very persuasive trial or a single adequate and well-controlled study plus confirmatory evidence, the documents state.

In March, the PCNSDAC voted 6-4 that the Phase II CENTAUR trial was not sufficient to prove efficacy in ALS. This trial, made up of 137 participants, showed a median overall survival (mOS) rate of 4.8 months compared to placebo.

Amylyx subsequently submitted additional analyses of the survival data from this trial and an open-label extension study. The agency considered this new data a major amendment and extended the drugs review time by three months. Recognizing the substantial unmet medical need in ALS, it again convened the PCNSDAC and here we are.

Wednesday's vote carries a higher burden for Amylyx to prove - that the data supporting AMX0035 is sufficient to "support approval".

The Case

Amylyx will present new analysis using the Rank Preserving Structural Failure Time Model (RPSFTM) to adjust for the effect of treatment crossover. This refers to patients who swtiched from treatment to placebo following the Phase II trial. In this analysis, the mOS in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population is 9.7 months.

The company also submitted analyses using natural history as a control to estimate survival time, as well as biomarker evidence from the Phase II PEGASUS trial of AMX0035 in Alzheimers disease (AD).

While Amylyx is presenting the above as confirmatory evidence, the FDA wrote, The presented RPSFTM analysis is not independent data and is simply a new method for analyzing the same survival data presented in the original NDA submission."

Of the biomarker analysis, the regulator said, The submitted biomarker data are not clear evidence of a CNS effect or a potential clinical benefit in patients with ALS.

AMX0035 is currently being assessed in a Phase III trial and the FDA expressed an inclination to wait until its completion, which is expected late next year or in early 2024. The PHOENIX trial will enroll approximately 600 individuals across the United States and Europe.

This places the Agency in a challenging situation of potentially making a regulatory decision that may not be subsequently aligned with the results of the ongoing study, the FDA stated.

For its part, Amylyx released the following statement Friday: AMX0035 is the first drug candidate to show benefit on function and survival in ALS in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, as a standalone therapy or when added to existing approved treatments.

Thought Leaders Weigh In

In ALS, which carries a typical death sentence of 3-5 years after diagnosis, any survival increase is enticing, particularly in a space that has seen little progress in recent years. BioSpace reached out to ALS thought leaders and drug developers prior to the adcomm for their perspectives.

Based on the data presented from their phase II trial, the Amylyx drug appears to offer a benefit in terms of slowing of disease progression and a possible survival benefit, said Stan E. Abel, CEO of ProJenX Inc., in an email.

ProJenX is in Phase I development with Prosetin, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP4K) inhibitor targeting endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a common feature in sporadic and familiar forms of ALS.

Given the benign safety profile, it is encouraging to see the FDA take a careful look at all the data, Abel continued. This was an area of consensus between Amylyx and the FDA in March, with both concluding AMX0035 did not pose a safety risk to patients.

There is another potential wrinkle in the case of AMX0035. In June, Amylyx notched its first regulatory approval when Health Canada approved the drug, now known as Albrioza, conditional on the results of the PHOENIX trial.

If AMX0035 does not receive approval in the U.S. or other countries, Abel noted it would add uncertainty and confusion to an already challenging clinical trial environment. He added that people living with ALS would likely seek treatment across borders which adds a significant burden to managing their care and [would put] more strain on the drug importation phenomenon.

Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS and chief of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, shared her thoughts in an email.

A positive phase II study like Centaur where there is slowing of loss of function, prolongation of life - a survival benefit - and no safety issues is something we need to be able to get to our patients in the U.S., Cudkowicz said.

With recent breakthroughs in the space, there is a sense of momentum right now. If AMX0035 is ultimately approved, it will provide much needed positive news in the space and encourage further investment in other new promising therapies, Abel said.

Regulatory Flexibility for ALS

The ALS community has been calling for regulatory flexibility since the FDA approved Biogen's Aduhelmfor Alzheimers in June 2021.

Of the Sept. 7 adcomm, Stacy Lindborg, Ph.D., EVP and chief development officer at BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics said, We hope that a positiverecommendation would encourage the FDA to exercise regulatory flexibility.

BrainStorm is in the final stages of completing a BLA for NurOwn, an ALS candidate made up of autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and neurotrophic factors (NTFs). Lindborg noted that the totality of evidence for NurOwn [brings] to light valuable insights on the nature of ALS research and biomarkers as predictors of clinical response.

In June, the FDA unveiled its Action Plan for Rare Neurodegenerative Diseases including ALS.The five-year strategy intends to improve and extend the lives of people living with rare neurodegenerative diseases by advancing the development of safe and effective medical products and facilitating patient access to novel treatments.

Cudkowicz made a comparison to the FDAs approval process for drugs in serious cancer indications.

The oncology branch of FDA approves drugs with smaller effects on survival based on a single study, and it would be a huge step forward in ALS if single studies like this could be approved conditional on future studies, she wrote in the same email.

Abel shared his thoughts on both the adcomm and the Action Plan.

The action plan for rare neurodegenerative diseases and this second Amylyx adcomm are both important steps that signal the FDAs willingness to apply thoughtful regulatory standards which take disease-specific considerations into account," he said.

Lindborg concurred, stating, FDAs release of the plan is an important step in adopting an outlook that prioritizes action to move potential therapies forward.

SVB Senior Research Analyst Marc Goodman provided a summary of his most recent note on Amylyx.

Significant unmet need in ALS with only two existing SOC (standard of care) agents that dont work very well should drive expedited regulatory approvals of AMX0035 and strong uptake, in combination with SOC agents," he wrote.

If AMX0035 does receive FDA approval, Cudkowicz said, It would strongly encourage more trials of other therapeutic approaches in ALS and would be a huge positive for the field. A negative opinion, she said, would be hugely disappointing for people living with ALS today and for ALS clinicians. It could risk putting the field back with less interest from industry.

BioSpace will have continued coverage of the Amylyx adcomm this week.

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ALS Thought Leaders Weigh in Ahead of Second Amylyx Adcomm - BioSpace

For transplant candidates from ethnic minorities, the wait for an acceptable organ can be even more grueling than for others.

Type B blood is more common in minority communities, making type A organs incompatible.

But a breakthrough by Cambridge researchers could dramatically change the rules for transplant compatibility.

In a recent experiment, they changed a kidneys blood type from A to the universal type O making it theoretically available for any patient, including those with type B blood.

Type B blood is more common in minority communities, making type A organs incompatible.

We know that people from minority ethnic groups can wait much longer for a transplant as they are less likely to be a blood-type match with the organs available, Aisling McMahon, the executive director of research at charity Kidney Research UK, which funded the work, said.

This research offers a glimmer of hope to over 1,000 people from minority ethnic groups who are waiting for a kidney.

I feel sad at the thought of waiting so long: Ayesha was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease in 1998, and lived with the disease until the pandemic, when her kidneys began to deteriorate quickly.

Put on the transplant list, she was told she may need to wait twice or even three times as long as a white patient.

They explained that because of my ethnicity my wait for a deceased donor will be longer than for a white person, she told Cambridge.

In the UKs Muslim commnuity, kidney disease is common but not talked about, says Ayesha, who recently began volunteering for Kidney Research UK.

I feel sad at the thought of waiting so long for a transplant, I understand a transplant isnt a cure, but it would make my body a lot stronger and give me a second chance at a healthy life.

The Cambridge work, led by professor of transplant surgeon Mike Nicholson and PhD student Serena MacMillan, may help patients like Ayesha become eligible for kidneys much faster, if it is proven safe and effective in the clinic.

To your body, transplanted organs need to be attacked like viruses or tumors, and non-matching blood types exacerbate the issue.

Changing types: To your body, a transplanted organ is something alien that needs to be attacked just like bacteria, viruses, tumors, and parasites.

Non-matching blood types exacerbate this issue.

One of the biggest restrictions to who a donated kidney can be transplanted to is the fact that you have to be blood group compatible, Nicholson said.

The reason for this is that you have antigens and markers on your cells that can be either A or B. Your body naturally produces antibodies against the ones you dont have.

To change a kidney to type O which can be universally accepted the team took aim at those antigens.

Using a machine called a normothermic perfusion machine, they flushed three deceased donor kidneys with blood containing an enzyme that works like a pair of molecular scissors, slicing out those A or B antigen blood markers.

With those markers stripped away, the kidneys became type O in just a few hours.

Our confidence was really boosted after we applied the enzyme to a piece of human kidney tissue and saw very quickly that the antigens were removed, MacMillan said, referring to an earlier experiment.

After this, we knew that the process is feasible, and we just had to scale up the project to apply the enzyme to full-size human kidneys.

The teams research is scheduled to be published in coming months in the British Journal of Surgery. Similar work has previously been performed in lungs.

The great hurdle: In my previous reporting on the field, Ive been told that rejection of organs is, essentially, the only limit to transplant surgery, according to top-flight transplant surgeons at Massachusetts General, Johns Hopkins, and South Africas Stellenbosch University.

The immune systems attack on alien tissue can be defeated in various ways, including the standard approach: lifetime immunosuppression. While this often works, it also leaves the body highly vulnerable to infection and still does not guarantee the organ wont be rejected eventually.

The team flushed the kidneys with special enzymes to convert them to blood type O the universal donor.

Researchers are racing to find other ways to prevent organ rejection, including transplanting bone marrow tissue at the same time, to fool the body into thinking the organ is natural known as mixed chimerism and, more rarely, essentially transplanting a whole new immune system via stem cells.

The Cambridge researchers hope their technique may join that growing toolbox, although it is important to note the research is still ongoing.

Using the same machine they used to change the kidneys blood type, the team will now test how the freshly christened type O kidneys react to blood of different types, a simulation of what will happen when introduced to a patient.

From there, they will begin figuring out how to test the technique with transplant patients.

The research will offer so much hope to minority groups still waiting for a transplant and could help to save many lives, Ayesha said.

Wed love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at [emailprotected]

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Scientists convert kidney to universal O blood type - Freethink

A recent study from MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear explored Covid-19 patients who reported on-set symptoms of hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness and balance problems after infection.

The study provided evidence that the virus can infect cells of the inner ear, particularly hair cells.

Researchers conducted the study on 10 Covid-19 patients who reported a variety of ear-related symptoms with the most important symptom being hearing loss.

Each individuals hearing loss ranged from mild to profound; nine of the patients experienced tinnitus and six patients experienced vertigo.

Using adult human inner ear tissue from donor patients who had surgery to treat severe vertigo and hadnt had Covid-19, as well as self-developed novel cellular models of the inner ear, they were able to conduct the study and share their findings.

They found a pattern of infection seen in human inner ear tissue that is consistent with the patients symptoms.

Because its very difficult to collect human inner ear tissue, the team developed models to use for further investigation. They were able to create the inner ear tissue models by taking cells from human skin, reprogramming the cells to become stem cells and then directing the stem cells to develop into precursors of hair cells or Schwann cells.

Anatomy of the ear.

Co-leading the study were Dr. Lee Gehrke and Dr. Konstantina Stankovic. Gehrke is the Hermann L.F. von Helmholtz Professor in MITs Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. Stankovic is a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School and former Chief of Otology and Neurotology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, who is now the Bertarelli Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Minjin Jeong, the lead author of the paper which appeared in Communications Medicine on October 29, 2021, is a former Postdoctoral student in Stankovics laboratory at Harvard Medical School, and is now a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford Medical School.

Healthy and damaged hair cells inside cochlea.

Findings

For an individual to be infected by SARS-CoV-2, they must have specific proteins on their cell surfaces.

Researchers found the proteins on the two types of human inner ear cell samples: hair cells and Schwann cells. Hair cells function to sense sound waves for hearing and motion for maintaining balance while Schwann cells provide electrical insulation for nerve cells in the inner ear.

Similar to the inner ear samples collected from donors, the same cell precursors produced by researchers had the proteins required for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The virus mainly infected the hair cell precursors. The Schwann cells were less affected.

The results from the experiments strongly suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can infect the inner ear and cause hearing and balance issues associated with Covid-19, although the overall percentage of Covid-19 patients who experienced ear-related issues is unknown.

Health and wellness

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Case Study: SARS-CoV-2 Virus Infecting the Inner Ear - Victoria News

Evidence is growing that lysergic acid diethylamide the psychedelic drug better known as LSD or by various street names like "acid" has significant cognitive benefits.

Previous findings have suggested that psychedelics like LSD can help people suffering with traumatic brain injury and even promote cardiac health and, provocatively, even improve memory and cognitive flexibility.

Adding further to that body of work, new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Experimental Neurologyclaims thatseems to shore up the hypothesis that the drug can help increase brain plasticity, improving both learning and memory in rats and humans.

The team, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Federal University of Espirito Santo, used behavioral examples from rats on LSD, synthetic brain organoids grown from human stem cells and even a neural network model to make their case.

In all three cases, including in human trials designed to test memory retention, there were at least slight improvements in cognitive performance. However, researchers did note that results may have been weakened by the relatively mild single dose they use, so more research is needed.

Given the history of psychedelics, though, that's a tall order, according to one of the researchers behind the study.

"Psychedelics have been demonized since the 1960s, and in the past decade they have returned to biology and medicine through the front door," co-author Sidarta Ribeiro,a researcher at Espirito Santo, told PsyPost yesterday. "However, the utility of psychedelics is not restricted to the treatment of patients with a pathological condition. They can also be very useful to improve the cognition of healthy individuals, i.e., they should be seen not just as medicine, but also as part of human life at large."

We already know people love having therapeutic, spiritual experiences using psychedelics so research like this could pave the way to making those tools even more accessible.

More on medical news: Experimental Synthetic Cornea Restores Vision for 20 Patients

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Evidence Is Growing That LSD Improves Learning and Memory - Futurism

The inventors of Rice Universitys tiny, cancer-killing drug factory implants are teaming with surgeons from Baylor College of Medicine to create a version of the technology that can heal injuries caused by heart attacks.

vial alginate beads like those used in drug factory implantsTiny alginate bead implants invented in the laboratory of Rice University bioengineer Omid Veiseh can be loaded with cells that produce cytokines, proteins that play a major role in immune response. The bead implants act as drug factories that deliver highly localized, highly concentrated doses of cytokines. Veiseh and collaborators at Baylor College of Medicine are developing versions of the 1.5-millimeter-wide implants that could heal heart muscle injuries caused by heart attacks. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the United States. In each, an artery that supplies blood to the heart becomes blocked, and heart muscle tissue dies. In up to 30% of patients, this can lead to a condition called heart failure, where the heart cannot pump with the necessary strength to supply the needs of the body.

Rice and Baylors new treatment will target inflammation that can worsen the downward spiral of heart failure.

In this project, we will engineer cells to produce cytokines that can reduce inflammation and help heal the heart, said Rice bioengineer Omid Veiseh.

Veiseh is partnering with Baylor cardiothoracic surgeon Ravi Ghanta on the project, which is funded by a grant from the American Heart Association. The cytokine-producing cells will be loaded by the tens of thousands into 1.5-millimeter-wide alginate beads that can be placed directly on the surface of the heart with minimally invasive surgery. The project includes animal testing that could support a future application for a human clinical trial, Veiseh said.

Once in place, the beads act as drug factories that deliver highly localized and concentrated doses of cytokines precisely where theyre needed, said Ghanta.

Veiseh said the beads will shield the cytokine-producing cells from the immune system and should allow the drug factories to keep working for weeks.

Our goal is to deliver effective doses of cytokines for up to six months, Veiseh said.

In a previous study, Ghanta and Veiseh showed beads loaded with stem cells produced 2.5 times greater heart healing in rodents following heart attack than treatment with stem cells unshielded by beads.

Veiseh joined Rice in 2016 thanks to a recruitment grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). He has spent years developing encapsulation systems that avoid activating the immune system, and is also using the technology to create treatments for cancer and Type 1 diabetes.

Avenge Bio, a Massachusetts-based startup Veiseh co-founded, this week announced plans to begin a human clinical trial for ovarian cancer later this year. It is the first clinical trial of the drug factory technology.

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Rice University: Rice, Baylor developing implants to heal heart attack injuries | India Education | Latest Education News | Global Educational News |...

When you think of inventors, how often does a womans name pop in your mind? Not as often as youd like. Read on to know the story of some women inventors who are behind commonplace inventions we see every day, thanks to all these inventors and pioneers!

What: Beer

Who: Mesopotamian women

When: 1800 BC

Author Jane Peyton claims that beer was invented by ancient Mesopotamian women. They were the first to develop, sell, and even drink beer. In fact, the first-ever known beer recipe is considered to be the Hymn to Ninkasi, circa 1800 BC Ninkasi was the Sumerian goddess of beer. Historians hold that beer predates that recipe - archaeologists have placed its first consumption at roughly 9,000 years ago. Right from the beginning, brewing, a kitchen task, was womens work. Both the Sumerians and Egyptians praised beer goddesses and associated brewing with women.

What: Aquarium

Who: Jeanne Villepreux-Power

When: 1832

Villepreux-Power was a French naturalist trying to prove that the Paper Nautilus - a kind of octopus - grows its own shell. To observe this creature for an extended period of time and to study marine life, she invented a glass aquarium to aid her study findings.

What: Ice Cream Freezer

Who: Nancy Johnson

When: 1843

During the mid-1800s, ice cream was made using a 'pot freezer' method. This proved to be time-consuming with unsatisfactory results - lumpy ice cream. Johnson created a device that used hand-cranked spatulas inside a cylinder to scrape ice crystals from the walls of the cooled container. She later patented the design which is still used today for making ice cream by hand.

What: Flat Bottom Paper Bags

Who: Margaret Knightwood

When: 1868

During her time working at a paper bag plant, Margaret Knightwood came up with the idea of a machine that could fold and glue paper to form flat-bottomed brown paper bags. She even fought a man who tried to patent the idea before her and won the case. The machine invented by her is used to date!

What: Globes

Who: Ellen Fitz

When: 1875

As a tutor in Canada, Ellen Fitz designed a globe mount that could display the earth's daily rotation in correlation with the path of the sun not only by day and night but also throughout the year.

What: Life Raft

Who: Maria Beasley

When: 1882

Beasley had already made a fortune on a barrel-hooping machine patent. It wouldnt be long before his serial inventor went on to also design an improved life raft with guard rails that was fireproof and foldable for easy storage. Her invention was used on the Titanic and saved over 700 lives.

What: Alphabet Blocks

Who: Adeline DT Whitney

When: 1882

We all have had our set of alphabet blocks to play with, right? These were invented by a woman from Massachusetts, Adeline DT Whitney who was also a poet and a writer.

What: Windshield Wiper

Who: Mary Anderson

When: 1903

While riding a streetcar, Anderson watched the conductor repeatedly reach through his side window to clear snow and sleet from the windshield by hand. This made her design a wiper operated by a handle. But the invention proved unsuccessful with car companies, who believed this would distract drivers. Anderson never profited from her invention, even when the wipers later became standard on all cars. She did finally get some credit in 2011 when she was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame.

What: Monopoly

Who: Elizabeth Magie

When: 1904

A game played by generations around the globe had its rules invented by Magie who wanted to demonstrate the problems of capitalism. Her design was called The Landlords Game but was patented in 1904. A man named Charles Darrow is often credited with creating this popular board game that was published in 1935 by the Parker Brothers, who discovered that Darrow was not the sole creator and had, for just $500 (385), bought Magie's patent and, well, monopolised the game.

What: Retractable Dog Leash

Who: Mary A Delaney

When: 1908

An American inventor, Delaney received a patent for her invention of the retractable dog leash. Her invention was aimed to ease the lives of dog owners. It is attached to the collar, keeping pooches under control, while giving them some freedom to roam.

What: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who: Ruth Wakefield

When: 1938

These gooey goodies were accidentally invented by Ruth Wakefield when she ran out of baker's chocolate while baking a batch of Butterdrop Do (their OG name) cookies for her guests. She imagined they would melt into the butter but instead, this classic dessert was born.

What: Wireless Transmission Technology

Who: Hedy Lamarr

When: 1941

The Austrian actress, famous for her acting and beauty, also invented a system of wireless communication called 'spread spectrum' to fight the Nazis during the Second World War. This technology was later used as the foundation for modern WiFi and mobile phones.

What: Disposable Diapers

Who: Marion Donovan

When: 1951

Donovan changed parenting forever with Boater. The waterproof diaper cover, originally made with a shower curtain, was first sold at Saks Fifth Avenue. She sold the patent to the Keko Corporation for $1 million and then created an entirely disposable model a few years later. Pampers was born a decade later in 1961.

What: Invisible Glass

Who: Katharine Burr Blodgett

When: 1953

A chemist by profession, she invented 'invisible' glass by adding layers of film to both sides of a sheet of glass until the visible light reflected by the layers cancelled that reflected by the glass. This unique technology is now used in windshields, movie cameras, and even computer screens.

What: Computer Software

Who: Grace Hopper

When: 1950s

After joining the US Navy during the Second World War, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper was assigned to work on a new computer, called the Mark 1. It wasn't long before she was at the forefront of computer programming in the 1950s. She was the face behind the compiler, which could translate instructions into code that computers can read, making programming quicker and ultimately revolutionising how computers worked.

What: Kevlar

Who: Stephanie Kwolek

When: 1965

Kwolek created synthetic fibres of exceptional strength and stiffness, known as Kevlar. This material which is five times stronger than steel is now used in manufacturing bulletproof jackets as well as boats, aeroplanes, ropes and cables. It can also be found in products ranging from household gloves and mobile phones to suspension bridges.

What: Home Security System & CCTV

Who: Marie Van Brittan Brown

When: 1966

A nurse, who was often home alone, Brown came up with an idea that would make her feel safer. Along with her husband Albert, she developed the first home security system in response to the rising crime rates and slow police responses of the 1960s.

What: Caller ID & Call Waiting

Who: Dr Shirley Ann Jackson

When: 1970s

An American theoretical physicist, her breakthroughs in telecommunications also enabled others to invent portable fax, fibre optic cables and solar cells. She is the first African-American woman to gain a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lead a top-ranked research university.

What: Stem Cell Isolation

Who: Ann Tsukamoto

When: 1991

Her patent was awarded in 1991 and since then Tsukamoto's work has led to great advancements in understanding the blood systems of cancer patients, which could lead to a cure for the disease. Tsukamoto is currently conducting further research into stem cell growth and is the co-patentee on several other inventions.

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Iconic everyday inventions and the women behind them - YourStory