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Category: biotech/medical

Netherlands-based technology companies Avy and Wattlab have conducted the first test flight of a drone prototype that is planned to be used in medical projects in Africa.

Wattlab, a Dutch clean-tech start-up founded by Sweden-based power utility Vattenfall and Delft University of Technology, and Netherlands-based drone manufacturer Avy have announced that a drone equipped with special solar foils produced by Wattlab has successfully performed its first test flight.

“The solar-powered prototype is designed to be used for urgent medical transportation, emergency services, and nature conservation,” the two companies stated, adding that the solar films were installed on the wings while maintaining aerodynamics and without increasing significantly the weight. “The solar technology developed in this project is fully integrated into the wing shape and adds no extra weight,” explained Bo Salet, founder of Wattlab.

In the future, the two tech companies are planning to reduce the wings’ weight, increase their surface, and deploy more solar films. “Solar cells with a higher efficiency will be tested in the coming month,” they further explained.

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Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-obligate precursor of breast cancer, and it only progresses to invasive breast cancer in around 40% of patients. While immune infiltrates have been observed in these early cancer lesions, their potential prognostic value is still unclear. Regulatory T (Treg) cells accumulate in advanced breast cancers, and predict poor outcome. We have shown before that ablation of Treg cells in established tumors leads to significant decrease in primary and metastatic tumor burden. In this work, we sought to investigate Treg cell function in the progression from non-invasive to invasive breast cancer lesions. To this end, we used the murine mammary tumor virus polyoma middle T (MMTV-PyMT) murine model of spontaneous, stage-wise breast carcinogenesis crossed to Foxp3DTR knock in mice, allowing Treg cell ablation by administration of diphtheria toxin. Transient targeting of Treg cells at the in situ carcinoma stage resulted in a significant increase in the number of tumor-bearing mammary glands and size of growing tumors compared with control mice. Whole mammary gland mounts and histological examination confirmed larger emergent tumor area in Treg cell-ablated mice, and revealed that these tumors were characterized by a more advanced tumor staging, with presence of early invasion, increased desmoplasia and collagen deposition. Furthermore, Treg cell ablation increased the percentage of cancer stem/progenitor cells in the mammary compartment. Interestingly, Treg cell ablation resulted in increased inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-5 with a concomitant reduction in classically activated tumor associated macrophages. This TH2-biased immune regulatory mammary inflammation was consistent with the enhancement in tumor promotion that we observed. Overall, our study demonstrates that Treg cells oppose breast cancer progression at early stages, raising a cautionary note regarding the consideration of immune intervention targeted at boosting immune responses for DCIS.

While death from breast cancer has slowly declined in the past few years, mammographic screening has led to a dramatic increase in the detection of pre-invasive breast lesions in women (1–3). This paradoxical observation can be explained by the fact that only a low percentage of early breast disease progresses to invasive, metastatic carcinomas. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a heterogenous group of neoplastic lesions confined to the breast ducts, and can remain indolent for life in up to 60% of cases. Patients diagnosed with DCIS undergo breast-conserving therapy or mastectomy, frequently accompanied by radiotherapy and in some cases, hormonal therapy. Thus far, there are no reliable parameters to distinguish those cases that will progress, resulting in significant overtreatment.

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The Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) located in the city of Odessa in West Texas, announced this week their community is participating in a program to help students and their families have access to the internet. The school district along with the Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) will collaborate with SpaceX to provide broadband connection to the community, that is located in a rural area where traditional internet is unreliable and too expensive for locals to acquire —“Similar to other rural communities, many residents of Ector County have limited to no connectivity. This issue was brought to the forefront for the school district earlier this year when COVID-19 forced school building closures and nearly two in five students did not have access to reliable high-speed internet at home,” SpaceX representatives wrote on October 21, “Starting in 2021, Starlink will connect up to 45 households in the community as part of the pilot program. As network capabilities continue to grow, it will then expand service to an additional 90 households in the school district.”

The Ector County School District “is the first school district in the United States to work with SpaceX in harnessing its Starlink satellite constellation to deliver high-speed, low-latency Internet access for ECISD students,” school representatives wrote. The first 45 families that SpaceX will provide Starlink internet to next year are living in the Pleasant Farms area of south Ector County. All families will be selected by the school district based on their location and needs. ECISD officials will be responsible for deploying the Starlink user dish terminals to their homes.

SpaceX will initially offer service in cities situated in northern latitudes, as the company deploys more Starlink satellites to orbit it will develop the capacity to provide a broader broadband coverage. Cities located in southern latitudes will be covered in 2021. When this happens, an additional 90 families in West Texas will receive free broadband service from the school district. “This innovative partnership represents bold and unprecedented action for our school district and our community,” the ECISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Scott Muri said in a statement released by the district. “Our research clearly indicates the lack of broadband access is a crisis in Ector County. In collaboration with SpaceX, we are providing space-based Internet service to students and families that have few, if any, options. The partners with us share our vision for equity and access for all students.

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Dr. Adam Freund PhD., Calico Life Sciences, Discussing Google Quest to Solve Aging.

Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador interviews Dr Adam Freund, PhD, Principal Investigator at Calico Life Sciences (Calico). https://www.calicolabs.com

Ira Pastor comments:

Calico is a research and development focused biotechnology company founded and backed by Google / Alphabet with the goal of combating aging and associated age-related diseases.

Calico has a billion dollar partnership with the bio-pharma giant AbbVie, focused on aging and age-related diseases, such as neuro-degeneration and cancer. Calico also has partnerships with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and 2M Companies (regarding drug development for neurodegenerative disorders), the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (to advance research on age-related diseases and therapeutics), and a partnership with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

Calico has also announced a partnership with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) based on researching the biology of aging and identifying potential therapeutics for age-related diseases, as well as and one with Ancestry-DNA based on conducting research into the genetics of human lifespan.

Dr. Adam Freund, Ph.D., is a Principal Investigator at Calico Life Sciences studying aging on the systems biology level.

With a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology, from the University of California at Berkeley, and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, Dr. Freund’s lab works to identify and test post-developmental interventions that slow or reverse aspects of aging, as well as understand whether aging is regulated by similar mechanisms in diverse tissue compartments. To accomplish these goals, his lab develops automated, high content methods to quantify longitudinal decline and build tools to modulate targets with spatial and temporal precision in preclinical models, including gene delivery as well as small and large molecules. They use these tools to test hypotheses of aging in rapid, functionally relevant ways.

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CJD happens when proteins called prions, which form incorrectly, find their way into the brain. Prions have the unfortunate, destructive ability to deform the proteins around them as well. As the prions gradually eat away at neurons, they create sponge-like holes in the brain. This leads to dementia, loss of bodily function, and eventually coma and death.

A new study — published last month in the journal Scientific Reports — looked at national data on people 50 years and older from Japan between the years 2005 and 2014 and found a gradual rise in the country’s CJD cases and deaths. The increase in both was most prominent among those older 70, but the Okayama University scientists behind the research saw a rise of CJD even after the data had been corrected for age.

“Given this trend in aging of population, the disease burden of CJD will continue to increase in severity,” the scientists wrote in their paper. “Our findings thus recommend that policymakers be aware of the importance of CJD and focus on preparing to address the increasing prevalence of dementia.”

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A gene therapy that could restore the fading sight of the elderly is being tested on humans for the first time after positive results in blind mice.

It could be used to treat age-related macular degeneration, a common condition that usually first affects people in their 50s and 60s, scientists said.

It involves a one-time injection of a modified virus into the eye. This viral vector is altered to contain a synthetic gene that produces a protein that plays a critical role in the perception of light.

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A new Tesla software leak revealed that the automaker is planning to bring a HEPA filter, enabling Tesla’s Bioweapon Defense Mode, to Model Y.

With the Model X and later the Model S, Tesla has started to put massive HEPA-rated air filters inside its vehicles.

The idea is for Tesla to put efforts into developing a more powerful air filtering system in order to not only contribute to the reduction of local air pollution with electric vehicles but also to reduce the direct impact of air pollution on the occupants of its vehicles.

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