StemCell Therapy

COVID-19 has spread through global populations like a wild fire, consuming whole communities.

However, looking back on the first hundred days of coronavirus transmission in Australia, we have been spared much of this.

Australian government directives enforcing physical distancing and good community compliance have contained the spread of the virus and flattened the curve which has saved many lives.

As well as slowing the spread of coronavirus, these restrictions have also inadvertently slowed the spread of another highly contagious and deadly virus the seasonal flu. This is a very good thing.

Influenza is a serious viral disease that can kill many people in a severe season.

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In Australia, the 2019 season saw 312,978 lab-confirmed cases, 3,915 hospitalisations, with 6.3 per cent admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and 902 deaths.

During flu infection and even after recovery, patients are at high risk of contracting secondary infections and developing fatal pneumonia, but until recently we did not know why.

This is why patients are generally administered antibiotics. But this can encourage multi-resistant strains of bacteria in ICU.

Professor Jose A. Villadangos and his team at Bio21 Institute and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity have been trying to delve deeper, to uncover the underlying cause of this susceptibility to secondary infection after recovery from the primary infection.

They cast their eyes to the immune system.

Working with Dr Antoine Roquilly, a clinician scientist at the University Nantes in France and his group, the team observed what occurs after recovery from severe trauma, flu infection, sepsis (a life-threatening complication of an infection) and a period of time spent in the ICU.

Their new research discovered that recovery from this initial trauma or severe infection leaves an immunological scar that reduces the immune systems capacity to launch protective responses against subsequent infections.

This paralysis can last up to six months, making patients more susceptible to secondary infections like pneumonia.

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We humans have not evolved to cope with the level of inflammatory assault that would send a person to ICU. Modern medicine is the only reason we survive.

But this comes at a cost: the same processes that are normally at work to stop inflammation after the resolution of infection, can overshoot in ICU survivors, leaving them immunosuppressed.

Building on the teams previous work, they found that macrophages (a type of white blood cell of the immune system) in the lungs also show similar immunosuppression after a severe infection or trauma.

Usually macrophages are very good at scavenging and swallowing bacteria, viral particles and debris floating around and in between cells, in a process called phagocytosis.

They belong to cells that form the first line of defence of the immune system our innate immune system. They send out alarm signals to activate the immune response and help keep infection at bay before the specific, or adaptive immune system kicks in.

But, after a severe lung infection, the teams research has shown that macrophages are impaired in their ability to phagocytose bacteria.

The new research has also identified the molecular switch that results in macrophages being reprogrammed in this way. The program is initiated when the switch is flicked on early in the infection by a signal regulatory protein called Sirp-alpha.

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This establishes an immunosuppressed environment in the lung tissue, affecting all of the macrophages residing in the lungs and has long-lasting effects up to six months after the initial infection.

It means that once a person recovers from the flu, sepsis or other trauma and leaves ICU, the weeks following their recovery are still an extremely vulnerable time, because their macrophages are unable to effectively respond to bacterial infection.

Having identified this switch, the team wanted to see whether they could turn it off. The study found that when Sirp-alpha are blocked with antibodies, macrophages phagocytic ability to gobble up bacteria was restored.

This changes our thinking about how best to manage patients in ICU.

Rather than treating the patient with antibiotics, that have not been very effective and lead to antibiotic resistant strains emerging, we could be treating the immune system directly by preventing the Sirp-alpha switch for immunosuppression from being flicked.

Just a few weeks ago, the world held its breath with the news that the British Prime Minister tested positive to COVID-19 and had been admitted to ICU.

This was a textbook case for the trajectory of the disease when it can go badly for people: after one week of relatively mild symptoms that included fever, the disease took a dramatic dip in the second week, requiring hospitalisation and intensive care.

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Fortunately, Boris Johnson recovered, leaving the ICU without having to be ventilated. He was very lucky.

But for many people around the world, particularly in high risk groups like the elderly, this stage of their disease is fatal.

Why? What is happening here?

Clinical reports are describing a case where, as a result of the viral infection, the immune system has gone into overdrive; a so-called cytokine storm.

When a virus infects the body, the immune systems cells strike the alarm. This alarm takes the form of chemical messengers called cytokines released by the front-line immune cells, the dendritic cells and macrophages.

Cytokines or chemokines are responsible for a range of symptoms of inflammation, that we associate with being sick: raised body temperature, dilating blood vessels and pain.

Inflammation has been classically described in the following terms: dolor (pain), calor (heat), tumor (swelling) and rubor (redness), like a fire burning through the body, drawing attention to the underlying infection.

As a result, like the emergency services to a crash site, immune cells rush to the site of infection. Its dangerous for the invader, but also potentially dangerous for the body, if this powerful army is not kept in check.

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In the case of a cytokine storm, rather than retreating when the threat has been eliminated, the immune systems army keeps fighting. Its toxic weaponry starts to wreak havoc on its own body, destroying cells and tissues and causing organ failure.

A fine balance needs to be struck between reacting quickly and forcefully enough to defeat the infection, but not overreacting.

In COVID-19, we are seeing deaths because a persons immune system is not controlling the viral infection, it is preparing to respond even more strongly.

This represents the other end of the spectrum to the immunosuppression the team investigated. But research is only starting to understand the triggers and switches that govern the behaviour of the front-line cells of the innate immune system, the dendritic cells and macrophages.

And research is only just beginning to decode the cytokine messages they emit that determine the severity of disease progression for bodily trauma and severe infections like flu, sepsis and COVID-19.

Like a pendulum, these messages can swing too far in both directions: a cytokine storm is one extreme and immune suppression is the other. But both extremes are deadly.

The teams research, although it was focussed on flu and sepsis, can provide valuable clues to what may be occurring during a severe case of COVID-19 and recovery afterwards.

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Understanding the response of our immune systems powerful army - Pursuit

It wont be long before the flu and the common cold meet to parlay with COVID-19. While health appears to be the main topic of conversation, it is easy to let the concerns about our countrys recovery overshadow the simple things we can do to boost our own immune systems.

Two experts share ways to put your own health first without a whole lot of effort.

Nutrient shortfalls which affect a persons health can be found with Vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3 and L-theanine, says food and nutrition expert Nancy Graves, Ed.D., RDN, LD, associate professor at the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

Vitamin D is important to regulate immunity, control inflammation, supports muscle health, promotes bone health, regulates insulin secretion and is important for lung health, she says.

There are easy ways to add more of this to your diet, Graves says. Research indicates that adults should consume 1,500 to 2,000 IU, or international units, each day.

Some examples of nutrient-rich foods:

The most important thing is to eat a well-balanced diet to provide your immune system with the proper tools (nutrients) for an optimum, properly regulated response, says Dr. Christopher Jolly, associate professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Jolly adds that fortified cereals are another good source of vitamin D. And nut lovers, keep eating them.

Nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews) and meats in general are good for zinc, and dairy products are fortified in vitamin D, explains Dr. Jolly.

To regulate the nervous system, build bone and teeth, drive metabolism, Graves says you need magnesium. It regulates the heartbeat and is being studied for the impact or brain health.

Graves offers some examples of magnesium sources:

Also, omega-3 fatty acids promote brain health, eye health, heart health, and help maintain healthy blood pressure. Graves says there are two specific omega-3 fatty acids, EPA, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, and DHA, Docoshexaenoic Acid, which can be found on product labels.

Being aware of your water intake has health advantages.

Hydration is always important with water being the number one source. Sixty percent of the human body is water, so a 150-pound individual carries 90 pounds of water, he said. Hydration is important because every function of the body happens in an aqueous (water) environment. In fact, water is considered one of the essential nutrients (most people do not realize this).

The pandemic is a reminder that we should all strive to maintain optimum health through proper nutrition and mental health in order for us to have the best chance to successfully deal with whatever life may bring our way regardless of age, says Dr. Jolly.

Graves also suggests protein to fight illness.

The body uses protein to make antibodies. Antibodies form in response to the presence of antigens which are foreign proteins or other large molecules that invade the body, Graves says.

The foreign protein may be part of a bacterium, a virus or a toxin, or it may be something present in food that causes a reaction, which is called an allergy. The body, after recognizing that it has been invaded, manufactures antibodies that deactivate the foreign substance. Without sufficient protein to make antibodies, the body cannot maintain its resistance to disease, Graves says.

Each antibody is uniquely designed to destroy a specific foreign substance. The body then develops immunity to the specific virus strain, Graves explains.

A healthy diet is better than relying heavily on supplements, Dr. Jolly says.

Another important point is that many people say, I can get these things through supplements. However, foods contain potentially many as yet unidentified bioactive compounds with health benefits. So if you dont get your proper nutrition through diet, you are missing out.

Throughout your day, keep fruit and veggies in mind. They are antioxidant-rich foods that make a difference toward immune system health.

Two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables, Graves says. One being deep orange and one being dark green; with three servings of whole grains; reduce solid or saturated fat; reduce sodium to less than 2,000 mg; calcium can be included through fortified dairy or plant-based beverages and probiotic food. All can contribute to the overall health of individuals, Graves explains.

Omega-3 fatty acid-enriched foods include flaxseed oil, canola oil, English walnuts and cold water marine fish (Atlantic salmon, herring, sardines), Dr. Jolly says.

A healthy balanced diet contributes to ones overall wellbeing, but this is only one aspect of taking care of oneself and ones immune system.

Exercise, meditation and adequate sleep also contribute to a persons health. Sleep disorders and chronic inflammation can negatively affect the immune system. Disrupted sleep increases fatigue, and an inability to cope with stressors disrupts sleep. Graves says, There are recommendations of the length of time to sleep by age categories. Adults should sleep between 7 to 9 hours every day. Deep sleep is necessary for 1 to 2 hours each night.

Graves says L-theanine, found in tea leaves, may support the immune system and allow the body a higher quality of sleep, reduce stress, help relax the body and improve mental focus.

It is recommended for adults to consume 200 mg each day. One cup of green or black tea contributes from 25 to 60 mg.

Melatonin is not a nutrient but is important to the body, says Graves. It might be a surprise to some that light regulates melatonin production. The New York Times has a guide on how to use melatonin safely as a sleep aid and to help regulate timing sleep.

Looking to plan a menu and reduce your trips to the grocery store? Graves recommends http://www.choosemyplate.gov, which is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. She says it is a handy resource for keeping yourself and your family healthy.

So the next time you prepare dinner, keep your immune system in mind.

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Ways to Fuel Your Immune System Not Just to Fight Off the Coronavirus - Reform Austin

A biotechnology firm based in Singapore has joined in the global effort to find a vaccine against Covid-19.

Immunoscape has tied up with partners here and overseas on two studies to find out how patients' immune systems react to the coronavirus which causes Covid-19.

The goal of the projects, which started earlier this month, is to study the behaviour of Covid-19-specific immune cells, which recognise and kill cells infected by the virus.

The studies will involve using immune profiling technology developed by Immunoscape that can screen a few hundred antigens - molecules from the coronavirus that stimulate an immune response.

The research will take a few months and will also delve deeper into how T-cells, which fight and kill viruses, are activated.

Dr Alessandra Nardin, Immunoscape's chief operating officer, said: "We want to know the functions and properties of T-cells against the coronavirus - their numbers, potency, how long they persist. The knowledge of what makes a good immune response is important for vaccine development."

Vaccine development involves identifying and developing a new antigen into a final product that provides immunity.

Immunoscape's first project is with infectious disease immunologists, Dr Antonio Bertoletti from Duke-NUS Medical School and Dr Carlo Ferrari from the University Hospital of Parma in Italy.

The aim is to study Covid-specific T-cells in about 50 patients who have recovered from the disease, using Immunoscape's techniques. Most of the samples are from Italy and some are sourced locally.

Dr Nardin said the study will also compare the T-cell response in patients who had mild and severe Covid symptoms, and if there were differences.

"This can provide hints about the immune response that is needed to control the disease early," she said.

Scientists around the world are rushing to produce a Covid-19 vaccine, and there could eventually be several different ones on the market. Researchers in Singapore, working with overseas players, are part of this effort.

The second project, with infectious disease expert Patrick Reeves, from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, in the United States, aims to understand how the immune system itself contributes to the progression of Covid-19 to a more severe stage.

The target is to collect between 30 and 50 samples from patients with acute infections in Boston, and send over Immunoscape's reagents - prepacked solutions used for testing - to the US for tests to be carried out in a laboratory there.

The study hopes to track these patients over time, from the point of diagnosis to a couple of weeks later, and after they recover.

The purpose is to see if there is any abnormal activation of immune cells that triggers the disease progression, said Dr Nardin.

"It would be important to see if there are early signs of the abnormal activation, so that we can predict which patients might get a severe disease," she said.

Reports have shown that some patients start with mild symptoms for a while before their condition worsens.

Dr Yannick Simoni, associate director and head of Immunoscape's technology development, said: "It's called a cytokine storm - the idea is that your immune system reacts inappropriately to the virus and becomes overactivated, causing inflammation."

This happens with flu too, he said, adding that a vaccine is critical for Covid-19, because it will train the immune system to quickly respond to the infection and avoid the side effects, just like flu vaccines.

Immunoscape's chief executive Ng Choon Peng said three-quarters of its 20 staff here have taken on Covid-19 work since last month, with seven of its scientists and research officers working on it in its lab in Biopolis.

"Whatever new information we gather about underlying immune response will help vaccine developers, and hopefully speed up the process," said Mr Ng.

The company is in talks with four to five such developers in the US, Europe and Australia. "We're also targeting to publish some of the data so the global community will benefit," said Mr Ng.

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Biotech company studying immune response to Covid-19, Health News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Although COVID-19 commands the headlines today, tuberculosis (TB) remains the biggest infection killer in the world and multiple drug resistant TB, which does not respond to regular antibiotics, continues to be a major threat to global health.TB is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis kills over 4,000 individuals daily throughout the world; while here in Ireland resistant and highly complex cases of TB continue to rise year after year, with cases numbering over 300 annually.

Now, scientists at Trinity College Dublin and St Jamess Hospital, Dublin have discovered how the iron chelator, DFX, which functions by attaching to iron, drives the immune system to deal with tuberculosis (TB).

Iron is crucial for daily human function but is also an essential element for the survival of viruses and bacteria. For some time, scientists have known that depriving infections of iron can limit bacterial burden and help improve patient outcomes.

The research team, led by Professor Joseph Keane, has shown for the first time how DFX supports lung immunity against TB by driving the activation of a key metabolic pathway called glycolysis. The process of glycolysis helps immune cells make energy to fight infection which in turn drives several signals that improve the macrophages (white blood cells) ability to address TB infection.

By helping immune cells turn on glycolysis, DFX has the potential to aid in developing more lung targeted treatment of pulmonary infection, which is the ultimate goal of this research group; by boosting the patients immune response using the iron binding agent, DFX.

Dr James Phelan, Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College and Senior Author of the study said:

Infectious disease experts globally agree on the important role metabolic processes play in eradicating a variety of infections; DFX helps infected immune cells to readily switch on metabolism which could help immune cells fight the infection.

Indeed, a clinical trial is underway using DFX to treat COVID-19, yet it is unclear how DFX might help the human lung fight infection; this research has the potential to greater understand this. In related experiments, the Trinity investigators demonstrate that DFX also works in a cellular model of sepsis, which broadens the appeal of this DFX strategy in fighting other infectious diseases and supports the clinical trial underway of DFX for COVID disease.ReferencePhelan et al. (2020). Desferrioxamine Supports Metabolic Function in Primary Human Macrophages Infected With Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Frontiers in Immunology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00836

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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How Iron Binding Drives the Immune System To Deal With Respiratory Infections - Technology Networks

May 17, 2020 5:55 PM

LaShanda McCuin

Posted: May 17, 2020 5:55 PM

CUERO, TexasBy now, chances are you know the advice on protecting yourself and others from COVID-19: Keep your distance. Wear a mask. Wash your hands and so on but heres one bit of advice to think about too, eat healthy foods.

Eating nutritiously has always been a way to stay healthy. Eating well strengthens your immune system, and a strong immune system helps protect you from illness and while no one food or diet can prevent illness or the coronavirus, eating healthy can help your body prevent, fight, and recover from infections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What does healthy eating look like?

Of course, its best to keep your immune system healthy all the time, not just when a virus is going around. That means focusing on a well-balanced diet, filled with healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, these nutrients can help strengthen your immune system:

Beta carotene: This can be found in plant foods like sweet potatoes, spinach, and carrots.

Probiotics: These good bacteria can be found in cultured dairy products like yogurt.

Protein: This may be especially helpful in healing and recovery. You can find this in plant and animal products, such as milk, eggs, beef, chicken, fish, nuts, beans, and seeds.

Vitamin A: This helps regulate the immune system and protect against infections. Look for it in broccoli, spinach, eggs, or milk and cereal fortified with vitamin A.

Vitamin C: Look for this in citrus fruits. It helps the immune system by increasing the amount of antibodies in your system.

Vitamin D: Find it in fatty fish and eggs, as well as drinks fortified with vitamin D.

Vitamin E: This works as an antioxidant. Antioxidants decrease inflammation. Find vitamin E in fortified cereals, sunflower seeds, vegetable oils, and peanut butter.

Zinc: This may help wounds heal. You can find it in wheat germ, beans, and tofu. But zinc is best absorbed from animal sources like beef and fish.

The best way to get the nutrients your immune system needs is to include a wide variety of healthy foods in your diet. Thats usually a better option than a supplement. Overloading on specific nutrients wont give your immune system a super boost. And taking too much of some of them can actually do more harm than good.

Take an all-around approach

Eating nutritious foods is just one way to strengthen your immune system. Other good habits include:

Getting a good amount of sleep each night.Being active every day.Maintaining a healthy weight.Coping with stress and anxiety in healthy ways, like deep breathing or exercise and, of course, a healthy diet isnt a replacement for other steps to protect yourself from COVID-19. Its still essential to:

Stay home as much as possible.Stay at least 6 feet away from others in public.Wash your hands often.Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.Keep away from sick people.Cover your coughs and sneezes.Clean and disinfect shared surfaces daily.Wear a cloth face mask in public.To learn more ways to keep yourself and your family safe and healthy during the pandemic, click here.

(This information is from the Cuero Regional Hospital Facebook page)

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Cuero Regional Hospital provides a list of foods that will keep the immune system strong - Crossroads Today

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a refocus on building and maintaining a healthy immune system. Information on the way in which fresh grapes contribute to both is now available in one place for easy reference.

The health info-sheet combines results of health research on the benefit grapes provide to brain, heart, and colon health with data from two professors at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy showing how healthy diets that include grapes can help flatten the COVID-19 curve. In addition, two recent magazine articles summarize a number of ways grape consumption positively impacts health.

The first magazine article, from Good Housekeeping titled, 10 Health Benefits of Grapes Thatll Make You Want to Eat the Whole Bunch, highlights how grapes help regulate blood pressure, lower the risk of diabetes, and can help with weight loss or management.

The second article, Feast Upon the 100 Best Foods for Men, from Mens Health, highlights the antioxidant power of grapes to help fight disease.

In fact, grapes have over 1,600 phytonutrients that may also help maintain health in a variety of ways from promoting antioxidant activity to enhancing cell-to-cell communications which help maintain the health of cells.

The health info-sheet comes as the 2020-21 California table grape season gets underway in the next few days and runs into January.

To read the health information sheet, click here.

For more information:Jeff CardinaleCalifornia Table Grape CommissionEmail: jeffc@grapesfromcalifornia.comwww.grapesfromcalifornia.com

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Table grapes help build and maintain healthy immune system - FreshPlaza.com

The Netherlands is busy adapting in all kinds of ways in order to deal with the corona pandemic. But are our corona measures effective at all? What are the benefits of testing? And why does a vaccine take so long to develop? Biomedical chemist Willem Mulder offers answers to these questions. And he explains how his research is contributing to a solution to the pandemic.

For the past fifteen years, Mulder (43) has been conducting research into nanomaterials that can regulate how the immune system functions. His main focus is on the development of new treatment methods for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and post-transplant rejection. Although his work can also be applied to many other diseases, including the novel coronavirus. But how can research into new treatments for combatting cancer and carrying out transplants be of any use in the current pandemic? In order to understand this, we need to explain Mulders work method.

Normally Mulder travels back and forth between New York and Eindhoven. In New York, he is Professor of Radiology and Professor of Oncological Sciences at the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In Eindhoven, he works part-time as a professor of Precision Medicine at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Furthermore, he is co-founder of Trained Therapeutix Discovery, a company that develops immune therapies which are based on nanomaterials.

On both sides of the ocean, the work of Mulder and his fellow scientists focuses on guiding our immune system to fight diseases. We use nanotechnology to regulate the immune response. Immune cells are produced by stem and precursor cells in the bone marrow. We take control of this production process, so to speak. This allows us to ensure that the immune system achieves whats called a tolerant immune status when the immune system is suppressed. This is very important in organ transplants, for example, so that a patients body will not consequently reject a transplanted organ. The opposite is true for cancer. Then the immune system needs to be intolerant towards a tumor. In these situations, we actually want to trigger immunity, Mulder explains.

Mulders work is best understood when you keep these two scenarios in mind. In one case, you want a patients immune system to have a specific level of tolerance for a transplanted organ. In the other, you want to induce an aggressive immune response against tumor cells. Both scenarios can be applied to many different pathologies, including the novel coronavirus. The regulation of the immune response is crucial when dealing with SARS-CoV-2 infections. A properly functioning immune system can prevent or in case of infection swiftly eradicate the infection. On the other hand, the infection can cause COVID-19 disease in infected patients whose immune system is not functioning adequately. With potentially disastrous consequences. There are plenty of parallels with COVID-19. We see many similarities between hyperinflammation in COVID-19 patients and the immune response after transplants, Mulder continues.

Now, about our immune system. It comprises two parts. The congenital (or non-specific) part is mainly made up of phagocytes. These are cells that can, as it were, eat bacteria, viruses, and fungi. This part of the immune system is our first line of defense and is ready to fight off an invasion of our bodies. When someone has mild symptoms after becoming infected with the coronavirus, that persons natural immune system is perfectly capable of getting rid of the virus.

When the congenital part of the immune system is unable to get rid of an infection, the adaptive part of the immune system takes over the defense task. A virus is made up of a genetic code (RNA) that is packaged in tiny globules of lipids and proteins. Certain types of phagocytes referred to as antigen-presenting cells break down a virus into small molecular fragments called antigens. Cells of the adaptive immune system (lymphocytes) recognize the antigens and are thereby activated. This triggers a cascade of processes that generate a specific immunological memory where antibodies play an important role.

Consequently, those people who experience few issues after infection with SARS-CoV-2 may not be able to build up a high enough level of immunity. When the natural immune system is able to clear the infection itself, there is no strong adaptive immune response needed in order to achieve immunity.

When asked why the elderly in particular are not resistant to COVID-19, Mulder answers: Although it does happen, the amount of young people dying from this virus is statistically negligible. That may be because the immune system doesnt function as well as it should since the number of lymphocytes in the blood declines with age. This is also often the case with people with underlying conditions. For example, the immune systems of people who are overweight, diabetic, or have cardiovascular diseases tend to age much faster. Thats why we suspect that COVID-19 patients with underlying conditions are more susceptible to the disease process spiraling out of control.

Mulder says that it is especially important now to use tests as a means of gaining insight into whether herd immunity is being built up or not. In order to do this, it is essential to know how many people among the population have antibodies. Mulder: Because the only people who have been tested in The Netherlands are those who have had the disease get out of hand, you tend to get a distorted picture. Now it seems as if it is mainly the elderly who are infected. We want to know exactly how the disease progresses in people who have no noticeable symptoms. So far, our policy is based on one-sided data.

In countries where a lot of testing has been done, we see that lots of young people have been infected. From the outset of the crisis, I couldnt understand why no investment was being made into testing on a large scale. It is only then that its actually possible to gain proper insights into how immunity works when it comes to SARS-CoV-2.

Mulder is concerned about the future course of the corona crisis. He emphasizes that the pandemic has just begun. And that we will experience the consequences of the subsequent (economic) damage for a long time to come. Its now just a matter of waiting for a vaccine before we can fully get back to the normal order of the day. As well as a definitively stamp out any new infections. Mulder points out that there are viral infections such as HIV where its never been possible to produce a vaccine. However, he is hopeful that this will succeed for SARS-CoV-2 because it has now been proven that laboratory animals can be vaccinated against the virus.

Making a vaccine is a very complicated and time-consuming process. Mulder explains: A vaccine ensures that you build up immunity and produce antibodies yourself. These antibodies can also be obtained in other ways. One way to do this is to take plasma from people who have been infected and who, as a result, have developed antibodies. Or you could develop antibodies in a lab. The latter has been done by research teams at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and Utrecht University here in The Netherlands. This type of antibody therapy can certainly provide some relief. However, it is laborious, costly, and difficult to implement on a large scale.

The development of a vaccine takes a long time because it requires a method of getting a pathogen into a person without making that person sick. The pathogen has to be recognized by the immune system in order to trigger an immune response that ultimately provides immunity. Various strategies are possible for achieving this. A vaccine can be based on weakened strains of the pathogen, e.g. by using harmless viruses, by using the genetic code of antigens or by producing the antigens themselves.

The complexity of our immune system makes it extremely difficult to predict which strategy is most likely to succeed. In any event, a considerable amount of time is needed to test the vaccines and produce them on a large scale. Normally, it can take up to 10 years to develop a successful vaccine. Hopefully, that will now happen faster. At the moment, there are about a hundred serious initiatives underway for this at major pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson as well as at start-ups and universities, Mulder adds.

Reports have appeared in the media about the use of the malaria medication hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. The immune response to COVID-19 can get out of control with hyperinflammation as a result. Drugs such as hydroxychloroquine may help. Nephrologist Raphal Duivenvoorden of the Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) is researching the effects of this drug on the immune system.

Willem Mulder is also participating in that study. It is a cheap drug with relatively few side effects. However, the timing of the treatment is very important because the immune systems response can worsen the disease. We expect to complete our study this month. Incidentally, there are plenty of medications that are undergoing testing at the moment. Take, for example, those immune therapies that specifically render immune-regulating molecules harmless.

Since the start of the lockdown, The Netherlands has been working hard to make the one-and-a-half-meter society part and parcel of daily life. Some have been critical of the measures introduced by the government and prefer a Swedish corona policy whereby the economy is kept going for the most part.

Mulder understands the decisions made by the Dutch government: Its new territory. We didnt know how the virus would behave or what the long-term effects would be. When you get the flu once in a while, your immune system is quite capable of maintaining a certain level of immunity against new flu strains.

We are born in a situation where both the flu and a certain degree of immunity to it already exists. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 is completely new. Anyone can get infected. Then it is only logical that strict measures are introduced even when the mortality rate is relatively low. However, its quite difficult to compare countries and regions. Sweden is a sparsely populated country. The Netherlands is not. Population density is also the reason that there are so many infections and deaths in a huge city like New York.

Mulder goes on to add that he finds the introduction of corona measures somewhat worrying: A lockdown was necessary, but I hope it doesnt become the new normal. Governments in the West are now assuming a great deal of power. Freedoms are being taken away from young people while statistically, the problem does not rest with this group. We did what was necessary during the lockdown. I think the quid pro quo answer to this should be that this should not be abused. I hope that people are keeping a watchful eye on this.

More information about nanotechnology can be found here.

Also, check out these animations made by Willem Mulder:

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Leading scientist Willem Mulder: 'Frequent testing is crucial for predicting immune reactions' - Innovation Origins

We try every possible thing to stay fit and healthy. After all, a healthy body and sane mind is all we need to survive the challenges of this fast paced world. Right from exercising to eating healthy, we try our best to stay abreast with all fitness trends. But we often end up overlooking those little things and we binge to relieve our stress, and even when we pay heed to all this, we feel that our workout and healthy habits would save us from the adversities.

As the world battles the deadliest virus attacks of all time, this phase has been an awakening for most of us. With no accurate line of treatment or vaccination, the only way to stay safe is by building a rock solid immune system. As they say, Rome wasnt built in one day, building a strong immune system needs a lot of effort along with that parting ways with food that slowly weaken your metabolism and immunity. Heres a low down on foods that we eat almost every now and then to please our taste buds without realising how they affect our immunity in the long run.

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These foods can slowly weaken your immune system - Times of India

We've had some really nice weather days over the last week or so. Days where it would be nice to open up some windows and air out the house thanks to the cool spring breeze.

The only problem is if, like me, your seasonal allergies are conspiring against your urge to enjoy nature right now.

This past Saturday I would have loved to open up all of my windows and enjoy the late spring air, but even with the windows closed and locked, and yes even a new filter in my HVAC unit, my eyes and throat were itching like I'd just taken a face first dive into a bucket of fresh pollen.

I even broke out an inhaler that I rarely use.

A quick visit to The Weather Channel's pollen counter for Toms River shows that the grass pollen count will remain moderate through at least Wednesday.

But it's the tree pollen that's really doing a number on our allergies, with the red Very High marker on the list through at least the middle of the week.

So, when will it end?

Well, you might not want to read this AccuWeather article from this past February, which predicted a spring 2020 allergy season that will be, "brutal".

Better stock up on those tissues!

Read the original:
Pollen Is Through The Roof In Ocean County Right Now - wobm.com

The healthcare provider organization is a crucial participant in a fast-evolving ecosystem around precision medicine, which includes pharma and biotech companies, medical device manufacturers, national research organizations, academic medical centers, patient advocacy groups, and others.

According to the Precision Medicine Initiative, precision medicine is an approach for disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyles.

Precision medicine and personalized medicine often are used interchangeably, but have slightly different connotations with the former focused more on the clinical realm of genomics and the latter taking a more expansive view of social and behavioral health.

Both hold huge potential for better health outcomes but also require complex and challenging technology deployments, changes to clinical workflow, and education for physicians and patients alike.

It is important that the provider CIO help to lead their organization into this new world by considering how existing technologies can be optimized and how new, disruptive technologies can be anticipated over multiple years of capital budget investments, said Dan Kinsella, managing director, healthcare and life science, at consulting giant Deloitte.

Of paramount importance to the typical provider CIO is how to operationalize precision medicine at the point of care. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for healthcare providers, but there are leading practices to consider whether you are an academic medical center, an integrated delivery network or a community hospital.

In this special report, seven precision medicine technology experts from Accenture, CereCore, Chilmark Research, Deloitte and Orion Health offer healthcare provider organization CIOs and other health IT leaders best practices for optimizing this technology.

Some optimization techniques for precision medicine technologies can take place during system implementation. Implementing precision medicine technology is no different from any other IT implementation project, said Ian McCrae, CEO of Orion Health, a healthcare technology company delivering interoperability, population health and precision medicine systems.

Healthcare CIOs and other health IT leaders must get the basics of change management right by following seven steps, McCrae advised.

Ian McCrae, Orion Health

First, know what problem you are trying to solve, he said. Have this clearly defined from the outset. Dont make the mistake of trying to implement the tech if you havent identified what you will be using it for. Second, ensure the solution makes life easier and delivers a better outcome. If the project fails in either of these areas, then it will fail overall. If the precision medicine tech doesnt make life easier for clinicians, or deliver a better outcome for patients, then why are you implementing it?

Third, have clear roles and responsibilities, including data stewardship, governance and ethics, he suggested. The principles of data governance and stewardship are critical, and must not be overlooked if a project is to be successful, he said.

What are your guidelines for governing the data you will extract? he asked. These guidelines should be clearly aligned with your organizations strategic vision and values. Ethics of data use is another critical area: informed patient consent, the right to withdraw, confidentiality, objectivity the list is long.

Fourth, CIOs need to connect the dots with precision medicine technologies, McCrae advised.

Providing a better prediction without a means to act on it will be a recipe for frustration, he said. Once you have the technology to enable improved predictions, will you also have the resources to apply the learnings? If you cant deliver a better outcome for patients, then its likely your project will fail. Fifth, remember accuracy isnt necessarily the most important thing.

We often compare solutions by how often they get the answer right, without understanding what people want to do with the answer, he added. Knowing that someone is 61.3% likely to get cancer versus 59.8% isnt as important as how quickly you can know it, and what you can do when you find out.

Sixth, stick to the plan and do not get distracted by failures along the way, he said.

We find it hard to continue the development of something when the first stage isnt as successful as we had hoped, he noted. If we are aiming to make precision medicine the gold standard across different fields but the first application isnt successful, that doesnt mean you should throw out the goal.

And seventh, start with specialties where the application is clear, said McCrae. Rather than aiming to implement the tech into a multitude of areas, select one or two specialties where the value of precision medicine is clear. Learn from those before expanding into new areas.

Dr. Charles Bell, chief medical officer at CereCore, a health IT consulting firm, advised that getting the foundational infrastructure established before precision medicine can be applied via the EHR is one best practice for optimizing the use of the technology.

Precision medicine relies on genomics genomics, including pharmacogenomics, has created a vast amount of data, whereas the advent of the EHR has established an enormous data repository, he said. The success of advancing the technology is dependent on the genomic data residing in a repository that the EHR can readily provide access to. Therefore, there is a foundational infrastructure that must be established before precision medicine can be applied leveraging the EHR platforms.

Dr. Charles Bell, CereCore

Genomic medicine is currently informing clinical care. Notable examples are in the treatment of some cancer types, cystic fibrosis and heart disease.

The integration of the EHR, the data repository and the genomics medicine platform becomes essential to translate relevant and crucial data to drive precision medicine care, Bell said. A streamlined workflow must be established that allows clinicians to provide appropriate care from within the EHR using genomics and precision medicine.

Precision medicine requires capturing and analyzing complex data so that it is actionable at the point of care. Evolution of clinician workflow to support precision medicine use cases even those that are relatively simple, such as pharmacogenomics requires multidisciplinary change-management efforts and thoughtful systems integration, said Kinsella of Deloitte.

Furthermore, the challenges of leveraging next-gen sequencing data in clinical decision support exceeds the capability of current EHR systems, except in certain use-cases such as pharmacogenomics, said Kinsellas colleague Connor OBrien, manager at Deloitte Consulting.

Dan Kinsella, Deloitte

This requires external decision support analysis, which often is a manual process, such as the outputs of diagnostic review boards, although we are seeing many attempts at automation being applied, such as the decision-support platforms being deployed by GenomOncology, 2bPrecise, Syapse and others.

When it comes to oncology and other service line roadmaps, health IT leaders should work with their service-line leaders to understand any gaps they have in the technology required to enable excellence in care delivery, Kinsella suggested.

With oncology specifically, ensure that genomic requirements are understood as the capital investments may require multiple fiscal years, he said. Refine your technology roadmap for tumor boards as the future state is likely to include a variety of external contributors such as leading academic medical centers and drug and biotech companies.

Then there are social determinants of health (SDoH). Precision requires understanding of variability in environment and lifestyle in addition to genetics. While most provider organizations are oriented to patients, expansion to the notion of member as an individual who may or may not have a medical record is required, Kinsella insisted.

Value-based contracts with payers define specific cohorts (members) for whom the provider has assumed a level of accountability, he explained. Background and lifestyle questions not typically the focus of most EHR-centric workflows are crucial to the personalization of the care we deliver.

With precision medicine comeinstitutional alliance relationships, said Kinsellas colleague Kate Liebelt, a manager with the Precision Medicine Community of Practice at Deloitte Consulting.

In addition to having the logo on your website, what is the essence of your relationships with your external partners? she asked. Are you sending your data out to a registry without distilling the value of that information for care of your own patients? Increasingly, providers are licensing proprietary data to industry partners. For example, Cancer Commons is a not-for-profit network focused on connecting patients, physicians and providers to access cutting-edge personalized treatments beyond the traditional standard of care, through data sharing.

Entities like the Texas Medical Center Accelerator harness innovation and talent from area healthcare organizations and generate start-up companies with regional, local and international reach, she added.

Real-world evidence is driving innovation in value-based contracting and reimbursement strategies as demonstrated by the CMS Oncology Care Model a new payment and delivery model designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of specialty care, she explained. Enablement of precision medicine helps AMCs continue to meet their tripartite mission of education, care delivery and research.

And on a related note, interoperability. Sending and receiving data from across the evolving ecosystem requires that one be at the top of one's game regarding interoperability and, importantly, cybersecurity and compliance from FTTP, to HL7, to FHIR APIand beyond, OBrien said.

Dont leave out your CISO or legal and compliance teams, he said. Current architectures integrate insights from external clinical-decision-support systems, with the EHR serving as the transactional system of record:insights derived from external decision support FHIR API-based integrations that trigger EHR transactions such as pre-populated order sets, modifications to problem lists, and incorporation of CLIA test reports into clinical documentation modules in EHRs.

Jody Ranck, senior analyst at Chilmark Research, a healthcare IT research and consulting firm, advised that integration of genomic data across different EHR systems and across different laboratory and precision medicine platforms is key and challenging for most organizations.

Genetic test results tend to be large files that are difficult to integrate into an EHR, he said. Therefore, having a road map for your precision medicine approach is essential to think ahead several years and analyze which clinical areas will be impacted by the precision medicine program first. Oncology tends to be the most well-developed area, but in our COVID-19 moment, we may see the need for adjustments as significant caseloads of patients are those recovering from treatment with long-term challenges and new knowledge of the virus expands.

Jody Ranck, Chilmark Research

The impact of the pandemic on precision medicine may have some long-term consequences for best practices.

There will be a distributional shift of baseline health characteristics at the population level for the datasets that machine learning algorithms were trained on and new features to these populations that may interact with specific precision medicine initiatives, Ranck said.

The pandemic also has highlighted how poorly prepared the health IT infrastructure was for a public health crisis. Future federal funding, if funded wisely, will have significant funding to enhance precision public health initiatives, particularly those that bring social determinants into the picture. CIOs will face growing pressure to find effective ways to leverage and enhance SDoH efforts through more precise allocation knowledge and financial resources to address the sequelae of the pandemic.

One best practice for optimizing precision medicine technology is to create integration standards that support treatment across ambulatory and inpatient settings, said Bell of CereCore.

The large amount of data that has been generated in both the ambulatory and inpatient settings creates a challenge for integration of the information, he said.

Standards need to be established and refined to aid in the adoption of the technology that will support precision medicine. Clinical-decision-support capabilities must be integrated within the EHR. The evolution of the use of genomics to support precision medicine is dependent on collaborative development by multiple stakeholders.

The list of requirements includes, but is not limited to, genomics specifications, clinical decision support, systems capable of handling genomic information, and resources to bridge the gaps between the data and its use clinically, he added.

An example of the use of pharmacogenetics is that of Warfarin dosing, he said. For a decade now, recommendations for Warfarin dose requirements have been influenced by gene studies. Though there continue to be questions of the effect on specific genotypes in some patient populations, there still has been an improvement in treatment of identified patients with warfarin therapy. The result is that information is gained for a more effective treatment plan and a decreased risk of potentially harmful side effects.

The more specific needs of varied patient populations can be addressed with further use of genetic data that is standardized across the patients settings, he added.

Most EHRs offer a genomics solution to address providers workflow, Bell noted. An order is entered into the system and a pathway provides information to enhance clinical decision-making. It takes into account clinical decision support as well as alternatives if genomic results do not exist or are not accessed within the system. For all vendors, including Meditech, Cerner and Epic, storage and access to genomic repositories needs to be resolved.

eMerge and ClinGen are examples of organizations, along with other resources and efforts, that are developing approaches to integrate genomic information into precise clinical care, he added.

To enable precision medicine, leading provider organizations are refreshing their existing analytics strategies, and hardening core data-management capabilities, said Kinsella of Deloitte. Note that analytics includes descriptive (reports on what happened yesterday), predictive (what might happen in the future) and prescriptive (for example, precision medicine leading practices), he explained.

Regarding reference architecture, use what you have, buy what you need and build what you must, Kinsella said. Explore the capabilities of your core enterprise applications including EHR, ERP and cost accounting, and adjust known levers for example, clinical-decision-support capabilities, lab-management systems, and billing and coding management to operationalize a precision medicine program. Focus on the tools you may require to ensure collection, curation, calculation and consumption of data to generate analytic insights.

On a related front, there are edge technologies and big data. By leveraging open source and edge solutions, providers can augment legacy analytics and data management capacity, Deloittes OBrien said.

For example, providers increasingly are commissioning data lakes to collect and curate data from a variety of internal and external sources, he noted. The velocity of data, including streaming, enables monitoring (for example, sepsis data),disease management and population health surveillance (for example, SDoH), and remote patient-monitoring, tapping into the tsunami of data generated from wearables and IoT.

The need for analysis provenance and traceability of results becomes amplified when dealing with molecular-level data, due to the dynamic nature of scientific discovery, he added.

Genomic variants that are classified as variants of unknown significance today can become clinically significant as scientific knowledge progresses, he said. These requirements will become even more critical as more dynamic types of omics data become clinically significant, such as being realized in the case of metabolomic and proteomic data. Put simply, todays information exhaust may become tomorrows rocket fuel.

In the continuous pursuit of data excellence, CIOs should collaborate with CMIOs, CNIOs and clinical informatics to ensure that key data elements are understood, configured to be captured by the enterprise applications, and, most important, align the workflow so that data is collected predictably, Kinsella said.

Registries, often a standard feature of enterprise EHRs, represent untapped potential, he noted. Typical features include definition of inclusion rules and calculation instructions for specific cohorts of patients. When, for example, does a diabetic patient get tagged as a diabetic patient in the diabetes registry?

Threaded throughout the emerging theme of precision medicine enablement is education around analytics: training in data science, and the application of descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics, he added. Increasingly, provider organizations are hiring in-house analytics experts and partnering with entities on their data strategies and capabilities, he said.

Review your organization strategy and align your data sharing approach accordingly, added Deloittes Liebelt. Are you motivated by social good? Academic pursuit of new science? Are you open to earning revenue by sharing de-identified data by building bandwidth to drive robust real-world evidence programs and innovative industry partnerships?

Patient registries and patient-reported outcomes-measurement are a significant means of value creation for provider organizations, particularly in the areas of oncology, rare and orphan disease, and chronic disease management, she said.

Theoretically, providers can predict and validate a patients predisposition to diabetes and track and measure their progress on various treatment regiments through the systematic collection of patient data, for example, population-level data, lab results, patient-reported outcomes, etc., she explained.

As providers continue to make their real-world data available in open, closed or hybrid networks, there is an emergence of innovative partnership opportunities with other provider organizations, pharmaceutical/biotechnology/medical device companies, health insurance companies, and publicly and privately funded research institutions.

On another front, precision medicine is a significant mind-shift for both patients and providers, and the integration of genomic data, or more importantly, knowledge, is a significant challenge, said Ranck of Chilmark Research.

The process of obtaining genetic information is not always as straightforward,and interpreting these results for a patient can be difficult, he said. Most diseases are not a one gene equals X disease type of phenomenon.

Physicians will need more time to digest precision medicine data and render this into actionable information for the patient, he said.

In the context of standard clinical workflows, this is a challenge, he observed. However, there are platforms that can reduce the burden for physicians, but rigorous evaluation of these solutions and the underlying science needs to be done by physicians and scientists with sufficient knowledge of statistics, machine learning and genetics.

Genetic counselors will be essential and may not be in adequate supply as precision medicine matures, he added. Precision medicine is not solely a technological issue and needs to be understood as socio-technical in nature.

Dr. Kaveh Safavi, senior managing director at Accenture Health, offers two best practices when trying to optimize precision medicine technology.

Good clinical practice today needs therapy to be tailored to the genetics of the tumor and the patients immune system for many types of cancer, he explained.

Dr. Kaveh Safavi, Accenture Health

From a CIO perspective, precision medicine achievements mean building a new environment for data acquisition, analysis and decision support in near real time. Oncology decision-support platforms will require managing genetic information of the patient, the patients tumor and other phenotypic data that may not be part of the typical electronic health record.

Since much of oncology care is provided in an ambulatory setting, it also will require seamless data sharing across care settings that may cross boundaries of a clinical enterprise but be essential to treating a patients condition in the most appropriate way possible, Safavi said.

And on another note, there is a growing body of knowledge that combines pharmacology and genomics to develop effective and safe medications and doses tailored to a patients genetic makeup, he said. A delicate part of a CIOs responsibility is selecting and investing in an informatics strategy to support this highly dynamic aspect of clinical care.

An informed drug-prescribing platform requires the ability to gather biological information found in genomes, microbiomes, proteomes, metabolomes, phenotypes and endotypes, he concluded, and applying them to drug-prescribing decision-support platforms used by prescribers should take into account looking for technology architectures with the greatest flexibility to predictably handle large data volumes and data types.

Twitter:@SiwickiHealthITEmail the writer:bill.siwicki@himssmedia.comHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

Continued here:
Tech optimization: Unlocking the promise of precision medicine - Healthcare IT News

MAASTRICHT, Netherlands, May 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --The Department of Precision Medicine atMaastricht University(The Netherlands) announced today the release of their AI tool for COVID-19 patient triage,the same week that they received 920K from the European Commission for the DRAGON project (link: information on the grant).

The D-Lab group of the Dpt of Precision Medicine is developing a personalized medicine platform to enable risk assessment of COVID-19 patients. The models, made by the group or published elsewhere, are available world-wide on their new platform https://covid19risk.ai

"We are excited to be participating in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with our Decision Support System for Risk Assessment of COVID-19 patients. We have repurposed our AI methods, usually applied to oncology questions, to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Prof. Philippe Lambin, Department Head. The platform can integrate various types of medical data available as well as assess the risk of severe disease that requires mechanical ventilation.

"We also have simple models to identify vulnerable patients that should follow a strict lockdown, which include, for example, not doing their groceries themselves if they are over the age of 64 and have high blood pressure," said Dr. Avishek Chatterjee.

The recently funded European project DRAGON will achieve a patient empowerment centred decision support system that will enable multiple stakeholders to participate in improved and more rapid diagnosis, as well as the potential of precision medicine for accelerated development of new therapies.

Dr. Cary Oberije, head of the Virtual Trial Unit of the Dpt of Precision Medicine, added: "One of our missions will be to coordinate an international prospective biomarker trial on COVID-19 patients. We want to understand this virus better and use this knowledge for future outbreaks, also for other viruses."

The entire effort will be supported by the deployment of a federated machine learning system, a technology developed in Maastricht by Prof Lambin's group, that will allow for the GDPR compliant use of multinational data resources.

About the Dpt of Precision Medicine

The Department of Precision Medicine is a disease-agnostic AI department with an international group of researchers at Maastricht University. For more information visit http://www.precisionmedicinemaastricht.eu.

SOURCE Dpt of Precision Medicine, Maastricht University

Visit link:
The Department of Precision Medicine of Maastricht University Receives 920K from the European Commission to Further Develop Their Work on Artificial...

DUBLIN, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Metabolic Partnering 2014-2020: Deal Trends, Players and Financials" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report provides the full collection of Metabolic disease deals signed between the world's pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies since 2014.

Most of the deals included within the report occur when a licensee obtains a right or an option right to license a licensor's product or technology. More often these days these deals tend to be multi-component including both a collaborative R&D and a commercialization of outcomes element.

The report takes readers through the comprehensive Metabolic disease deal trends, key players and top deal values allowing the understanding of how, why and under what terms companies are currently entering Metabolic deals.

The report presents financial deal terms values for Metabolic deals, where available listing by overall headline values, upfront payments, milestones and royalties enabling readers to analyse and benchmark the value of current deals.

The initial chapters of this report provide an orientation of Metabolic dealmaking trends.

In addition, a comprehensive appendix is provided with each report of all Metabolic partnering deals signed and announced since 2014. The appendices are organized by company A-Z, stage of development at signing, deal type (collaborative R&D, co-promotion, licensing etc) and technology type. Each deal title links via Weblink to an online version of the deal record and where available, the contract document, providing easy access to each contract document on demand.

The report also includes numerous tables and figures that illustrate the trends and activities in Metabolic partnering and dealmaking since 2014.

In conclusion, this report provides everything a prospective dealmaker needs to know about partnering in the research, development and commercialization of Metabolic technologies and products.

Analyzing actual contract agreements allows assessment of the following:

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y88s2r

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [emailprotected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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Metabolic Partnering Deals Collection 2014-2020: Access to Over 950 Deal Records - PRNewswire

[I]t is never too soon to think of a post-corona world, he writes, where new technologies and medical fields such as digital health can coexist in greater harmony with, and due attention to, social justice and ecological determinants of health than the pre-corona world.

Digital health, zdemir also notes, builds on the concept and theory of cyber-physical systems that create a digital replica of all living and inanimate objects on the planet.

Representative article titles in the issue include New Machine Learning Applications to Accelerate Personalized Medicine in Breast Cancer: Rise of the Support Vector Machines, Integrating Artificial and Human Intelligence: A Partnership for Responsible Innovation in Biomedical Engineering and Medicine and Implementing Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health in Resource-Limited Settings? Top 10 Lessons We Learned in Congenital Heart Defects and Cardiology.

To access the all-free issue, click here.

Read the original post:
When the pandemic is in the past, will digital health have gained much ground? - AI in Healthcare

Dublin, May 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Artificial Intelligence Markets in IVD" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report examines selected AI-based initiatives, collaborations, and tests in various in vitro diagnostic (IVD) market segments.

Artificial Intelligence Markets in IVD contains the following important data points:

The past few years have seen extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical medicine. More products have been cleared for clinical use, more new research-use-only applications have come to market and many more are in development.

In recent years, diagnostics companies - in collaboration with AI companies - have begun implementing increasingly sophisticated machine learning techniques to improve the power of data analysis for patient care. The goal is to use developed algorithms to standardize and aid interpretation of test data by any medical professional irrespective of expertise. This way AI technology can assist pathologists, laboratorians, and clinicians in complex decision-making.

Digital pathology products and diabetes management devices were the first to come to market with data interpretation applications. The last few years have seen the use of AI interpretation apps extended to a broader range of products including microbiology, disease genetics, and cancer precision medicine.

This report will review some of the AI-linked tests and test services that have come to market and others that are in development in some of the following market segments:

Applications of AI are evolving that predict outcomes such as diagnosis, death, or hospital readmission; that improve upon standard risk assessment tools; that elucidate factors that contribute to disease progression; or that advance personalized medicine by predicting a patient's response to treatment. AI tools are in use and in development to review data and to uncover patterns in the data that can be used to improve analyses and uncover inefficiencies. Many enterprises are joining this effort.

The following are among the companies and institutions whose innovations are featured in Artificial Intelligence Markets in IVD:

Key Topics Covered

Chapter 1: Executive Summary

Chapter 2: Artificial Intelligence In Diagnostics Markets

Chapter 3: Market Analysis: Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostics

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vw8l7u

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Artificial Intelligence Markets in IVD, 2019-2024: Breakdown by Application and Component - GlobeNewswire

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Flatiron Health, Foundation Medicine, and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, in partnership with community and academic oncology practices, have launched the Prospective Clinico-Genomic (PCG) Study, NCT04180176. PCG is a novel, low-interventional study that will pilot the use of a technology-enabled prospective data collection platform to facilitate, streamline and simplify the execution of clinical trials for patients living with advanced lung cancer.

The PCG Study, funded and sponsored by Genentech, is a feasibility study with secondary aims to better understand how genomic changes in a patients tumor may predict response or impact resistance to treatment in people diagnosed with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer or extensive stage small cell lung cancer by building a linked data- and bio-repository. Flatirons prospective real-world data collection technology will be leveraged for this study, which will enroll approximately 1,000 patients. These patients will undergo serial liquid biopsies using Foundation Medicines liquid biopsy assay to assess genomic changes in their cancer over the course of treatment. Leveraging technology developed following years of collaboration between Flatiron and Foundation Medicine, the clinical, genomic, imaging and outcomes data will be a part of a comprehensive data platform that is designed to accelerate research, a central part of Roches vision for personalized healthcare.

Through technology-driven innovation, we have realized our vision of building a platform that enables meaningful clinical research while also minimizing the burden on clinicians and research teams. This includes features such as centralized and remote study monitoring, streamlined patient identification, and technology-assisted abstraction to eliminate duplicate data entry and the need to use a separate electronic data capture system, said Dr. Bobby Green, chief medical officer at Flatiron Health. Our goal is to bring vital clinical research to patients where their care is already being delivered, and to do so efficiently and seamlessly.

Since launching the study in December 2019, 14 practices from Flatirons network have been activated: Alabama Oncology, Cancer & Hematology Centers of Western Michigan, Clearview Cancer Institute, Fort Wayne Medical Oncology and Hematology, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, Hematology Oncology Associates of Fredericksburg, Highlands Oncology Group, Jackson Oncology Associates in Mississippi, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, Oklahoma Cancer Specialists and Research Institute, RCCA-Central Jersey, Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center, Virginia Cancer Institute, and West Cancer Center. Additional research sites are planned over time.

Clinical trials are critically important to advancing cancer research, but the way trials are run has in many ways not changed in decades, and continues to be burdensome and time-consuming, said Dr. Lee Schwartzberg, chief medical officer at OneOncology, and physician at West Cancer Center. The PCG Study has the potential to help transform how clinical trials are conducted, ultimately making research more feasible for all sites and increasing the number of trial opportunities for patients. We hope that the study design and technology deployed in PCG will ultimately become standard practice and used across a wide swath of trials.

"We've been a part of this study since December, and it is an exciting opportunity to be a part of building this research platform. While this study is expected to help patients in the future, it also provides important information for our enrolled patients invaluable to their current management, shared Dr. Eric Santos, physician at Cancer & Hematology Centers of Western Michigan.

Using new platforms to accelerate the development and delivery of the best possible medicines for every type of patient is central to our vision for personalized healthcare, said Mark Lee, global head of personalized healthcare, product development, at Genentech. The PCG Study represents an important step toward the next iteration of the clinical research ecosystem, opening up opportunities to extend clinical trials into the real world setting to more investigators and more patients than ever before."

At this years ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, Genentech, Flatiron, Foundation Medicine and co-authors will present the study design and objectives in a Trials-In-Progress abstract titled, A multi-stakeholder platform to prospectively link longitudinal real-world clinico-genomic, imaging, and outcomes data for patients with metastatic lung cancer.

To learn more about the PCG Study, contact PCG@flatiron.com.

About Flatiron Health

Flatiron Health is a healthcare technology and services company focused on accelerating cancer research and improving patient care. Our platform enables cancer researchers and care providers to learn from the experience of every patient. Currently, Flatiron partners with over 280 community cancer practices, seven major academic research centers and over 15 of the top therapeutic oncology companies. For more information, please visit http://www.flatiron.com or follow us @FlatironHealth.

More:
Flatiron Health, Foundation Medicine and Genentech Partner to Launch Novel Prospective Lung Cancer Clinical Study - Business Wire

The market research report is a brilliant, complete, and much-needed resource for companies, stakeholders, and investors interested in the global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing market. It informs readers about key trends and opportunities in the global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing market along with critical market dynamics expected to impact the global market growth. It offers a range of market analysis studies, including production and consumption, sales, industry value chain, competitive landscape, regional growth, and price. On the whole, it comes out as an intelligent resource that companies can use to gain a competitive advantage in the global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing market.

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TOC

1.1 Research Scope1.2 Market Segmentation1.3 Research Objectives1.4 Research Methodology1.4.1 Research Process1.4.2 Data Triangulation1.4.3 Research Approach1.4.4 Base Year1.5 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Impact Will Have a Severe Impact on Global Growth1.5.1 Covid-19 Impact: Global GDP Growth, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Projections1.5.2 Covid-19 Impact: Commodity Prices Indices1.5.3 Covid-19 Impact: Global Major Government Policy1.6 The Covid-19 Impact on Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Industry1.7 COVID-19 Impact: Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market Trends 2 Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Market Size Analysis2.1 Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Business Impact Assessment COVID-192.1.1 Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market Size, Pre-COVID-19 and Post- COVID-19 Comparison, 2015-20262.2 Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Market Size 2020-20212.3 COVID-19-Driven Market Dynamics and Factor Analysis2.3.1 Drivers2.3.2 Restraints2.3.3 Opportunities2.3.4 Challenges 3 Quarterly Competitive Assessment, 20203.1 By Players, Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Market Size, 2019 VS 20203.2 By Players, Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Headquarters and Area Served3.3 Date of Key Players Enter into Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market3.4 Key Players Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Offered3.5 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans 4 Impact of Covid-19 on Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Segments, By Type4.1 Introduction1.4.1 Target Amplification Systems1.4.2 Probe Amplification Systems1.4.3 Signal Amplification4.2 By Type, Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market Size, 2019-2021 5 Impact of Covid-19 on Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Segments, By Application5.1 Overview5.5.1 Infectious Diseases5.5.2 Cancer5.5.3 Personalized Medicine5.5.4 Genetic and Mitochondrial Disorders5.2 By Application, Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market Size, 2019-20215.2.1 By Application, Global Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market Size by Application, 2019-2021 6 Geographic Analysis6.1 Introduction6.2 North America6.2.1 Macroeconomic Indicators of US6.2.2 US6.2.3 Canada6.3 Europe6.3.1 Macroeconomic Indicators of Europe6.3.2 Germany6.3.3 France6.3.4 UK6.3.5 Italy6.4 Asia-Pacific6.4.1 Macroeconomic Indicators of Asia-Pacific6.4.2 China6.4.3 Japan6.4.4 South Korea6.4.5 India6.4.6 ASEAN6.5 Rest of World6.5.1 Latin America6.5.2 Middle East and Africa 7 Company Profiles7.1 F. Hoffmann-La Roche7.1.1 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Business Overview7.1.2 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.1.3 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.1.4 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.2 Becton7.2.1 Becton Business Overview7.2.2 Becton Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.2.3 Becton Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.2.4 Becton Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.3 Dickinson and Company7.3.1 Dickinson and Company Business Overview7.3.2 Dickinson and Company Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.3.3 Dickinson and Company Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.3.4 Dickinson and Company Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.4 Beckman Coulter7.4.1 Beckman Coulter Business Overview7.4.2 Beckman Coulter Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.4.3 Beckman Coulter Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.4.4 Beckman Coulter Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.5 Abbott Laboratories7.5.1 Abbott Laboratories Business Overview7.5.2 Abbott Laboratories Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.5.3 Abbott Laboratories Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.5.4 Abbott Laboratories Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.6 Illumina7.6.1 Illumina Business Overview7.6.2 Illumina Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.6.3 Illumina Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.6.4 Illumina Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.7 Siemens Healthineers7.7.1 Siemens Healthineers Business Overview7.7.2 Siemens Healthineers Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.7.3 Siemens Healthineers Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.7.4 Siemens Healthineers Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.8 bioMerieux7.8.1 bioMerieux Business Overview7.8.2 bioMerieux Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.8.3 bioMerieux Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.8.4 bioMerieux Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.9 Novartis7.9.1 Novartis Business Overview7.9.2 Novartis Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.9.3 Novartis Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.9.4 Novartis Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments7.10 Bio-Rad Laboratories7.10.1 Bio-Rad Laboratories Business Overview7.10.2 Bio-Rad Laboratories Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Quarterly Revenue, 20207.10.3 Bio-Rad Laboratories Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Product Introduction7.10.4 Bio-Rad Laboratories Response to COVID-19 and Related Developments 8 Key Findings 9 Appendix9.1 About US9.2 Disclaimer

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Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing Market 2020-2026: Key Vendor Landscape By Regional Output, Demand By Countries And Future Growth - Cole of Duty

CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing is one of the most powerful tools available to modern science, but genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in food are subject to some tight regulations. Now, researchers at North Carolina State University have created a new version of CRISPR that lets scientists edit crops without introducing new DNA, meaning they technically arent GMOs.

CRISPR-Cas9 allows for precise cut-n-paste edits to DNA in living cells. An RNA guide sequence directs the system to the target section of the genome. Once there, an enzyme, usually Cas9, snips out the sequence then deletes it or replaces it with something else. In this way, scientists can cut out problem genes, such as those that cause disease, or add new beneficial ones, such as giving crops better pest resistance.

For the new study, the researchers tweaked the process to make a cleaner edit in plants. It uses a process known as lipofection, where positively-charged lipids are used to build a kind of bubble around the Cas9 and RNA mechanisms. When injected into the organism, this bubble binds to and fuses with the cellular membrane, which pushes the CRISPR system into the cell itself. The method also uses a Cas9 protein itself, rather than the Cas9 DNA sequence.

The team tested the method by introducing fluorescent proteins into tobacco plants. And sure enough, after 48 hours the edited plants were glowing, indicating it had worked.

Wusheng Liu/NC State University

The new method has a few advantages over existing ones, the team says. Its easier to target the desired genetic sequence, and opens up new crops that couldnt be edited with existing methods. Plus, the protein only lasts for a few days before degrading, which reduces off-target edits.

But the most important advantage is that the resulting crops arent considered GMOs. Since the new method doesnt use Cas9 DNA, it doesnt introduce foreign DNA into the plant, which is an important distinction.

This was the first time anyone has come up with a method to deliver the Cas9 protein through lipofection into plant cells, says Wusheng Liu, lead author of the study. Our major achievement was to make that happen. Also, since many consumers prefer non-GMO specialty crops, this method delivers the Cas9 protein in a non-GMO manner.

As useful as genetic engineering can be, the term GMO has negative connotations for many people, who believe there are health concerns with eating these crops or meats. Other problems include the chance of modified plants or animals escaping into the wild, where they can spread their new genes to the native population, affecting ecosystems.

As such, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have regulations on which edited crops and animals are allowed in food. And theyve decided that the line is drawn at introducing foreign genes into an organism.

It makes sense. Humans have been genetically-engineering plants and animals for millennia, through selective breeding. Many of our most widely-eaten crops are bigger, tastier, and easier to eat or grow, to the point that they hardly resemble their wild counterparts anymore.

CRISPR and other gene-editing tools can be the next generation of this process. By removing problematic genes or ensuring that specific ones are turned on or off, scientists arent really creating anything new. Some individuals naturally have mutations that do the same thing all the scientists are really doing is removing the element of chance, genetically.

In 2015, a new type of salmon became the first genetically engineered animal approved by the FDA for human consumption. In 2016, a Swedish scientist grew, harvested and served up CRISPR cabbage after approval by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. In both cases, the products were allowed because they were functionally identical to wild-type organisms the scientists had just chosen beneficial genes from an existing natural pool, without introducing foreign DNA.

That said, the rules aren't the same everywhere. In 2018 the Court of Justice of the European Union somewhat controversially ruled that tough GMO laws applied to crops that had been edited even if new DNA hadn't been inserted. The issue will likely remain fragmented, but for the NC State team at least, their crops aren't GMOs according to their own country's regulations.

However, there are still some hurdles to overcome before the new method becomes viable. The team says that lipofection can only be done if the outer wall of the plant cell is removed first. This kind of plant cell, known as a protoplast, allows scientists to more easily tweak the genes, but it isnt possible in all types of crops, and even when it does work, its a complex process.

Instead, the researchers are exploring other options that dont require removing the cell wall at all. One such alternative is to use CRISPR to introduce the Cas9 protein into pollen grains, which can then go on to fertilize another plant. Some of the offspring will have the required genetic edits from day one.

The researchers plan to investigate this latter method in tomatoes and hemp first, before moving onto others.

The new study was published in the journal Plant Cell Reports.

Source: NC State University

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New CRISPR method edits crops without technically making them GMOs - New Atlas

Visually indistinguishable particles of Brome Mosaic Virus. Credit: Ayala Rao/UCR

University of California Riverside scientists have solved a 20-year-old genetics puzzle that could result in ways to protect wheat, barley, and other crops from a devastating infection.

Ayala Rao, professor of plant pathology and microbiology, has been studying Brome Mosaic virus for decades. Unlike some viruses, the genetic material of this virus is divided into three particles that until now were impossible to tell apart.

Without a more definitive picture of the differences between these particles, we couldnt fully understand how they work together to initiate an infection that destroys food crops, Rao said. Our approach to this problem has brought an important part of this picture into very clear focus.

A paper describing the work Raos team did to differentiate these particles was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Inside each of the particles is a strand of RNA, the genetic material that controls the production of proteins. The proteins perform different tasks, some of which cause stunted growth, lesions, and ultimately death of infected host plants.

Two decades ago, scientists used the average of all three particles to create a basic description of their structure. In order to differentiate them, Rao first needed to separate them, and get them into their most pure form.

Using a genetic engineering technique, Raos team disabled the pathogenic aspects of the virus and infused the viral genes with a host plant.

This bacterium inserts its genome into the plants cells, similar to the way HIV inserts itself into human cells, Rao said. We were then able to isolate the viral particles in the plants and determine their structure using electron microscopes and computer-based technology.

Now that one of the particles is fully mapped, its clear the first two particles are more stable than the third.

Once we alter the stability, we can manipulate how RNA gets released into the plants, Rao said. We can make the third particle more stable, so it doesnt release RNA and the infection gets delayed.

This work was made possible by a grant from the University of California Multicampus Research Program and Initiatives. Professors Wiliam Gelbart,Chuck Knobler,and Hong Zhou of UCLA, as well as graduate students Antara Chakravarthy of UCR and Christian Beren of UCLA, made significant contributions to this project.

Moving forward, Rao is hoping to bring the other two viral particles into sharper focus with the expertise of scientists at UCLA and UC San Diego.

Brome Mosaic virus primarily affects grasses such as wheat and barley, and occasionally affects soybeans as well. According to Rao, it is nearly identical to Cucumber Mosaic virus, which infects cucumbers as well as tomatoes and other crops that are important to California agriculture.

Not only could this research lead to the protection of multiple kinds of crops, it could advance the understanding of any virus.

It is much easier to work with plant viruses because theyre easier and less expensive to grow and isolate, Rao said. But what we learn about the principles of replication are applicable to human and animal viruses too.

Reference: Genome organization and interaction with capsid protein in a multipartite RNA virus by Christian Beren, Yanxiang Cui, Antara Chakravarty, Xue Yang, A. L. N. Rao, Charles M. Knobler, Z. Hong Zhou and William M. Gelbart, 1 May 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915078117

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Innovative Virus Research May Save Wheat and Other Crops - SciTechDaily

Covid-19 has changed life as we know it. It has also accelerated already rapid trends in innovation and collaboration across the scientific community.

As the pandemic spreads across the globe, researchers are racing to develop diagnostics, vaccines and treatments. In the pursuit of new solutions to tackle SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, researchers have been turning to machine learning, AI and high-throughput experimental automation that aid in development. Another powerful tool they are using to accelerate the process is CRISPR. This gene-targeting and gene-editing technology, based on the mechanism that bacteria naturally use to fight viruses, is already proving useful in our joint fight against this new virus.

CRISPR Advances Covid-19 TestingWe know early detection of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to isolating infected patients and managing appropriate healthcare responses. Recently, researchers at MIT published a rapid CRISPR-Cas13-based COVID-19 detection assay protocol.Since CRISPR can be modified to target nearly any genetic sequence, it can be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a patient sample. This assay utilizes an RNA-targeting CRISPR nuclease to help scientists detect the SARS-CoV-2 RNA from patient samples within 60 minutes. More recently, an improved assay was developed by researchers at MIT that was shown to provide faster and more robust results.

Utilizing another CRISPR nuclease that is thermostable, they developed a test that in one step copies the viral RNA in a patient sample, such as saliva, into the more stable DNA and then specifically identifies a SARS-CoV-2 gene sequence. Performing this point-of-care assay requires minimal lab equipment and resources, as it only needs a few reagents and a heat source, delivering results in as little as 40 minutes. Supplementing existing tests with new CRISPR-based approaches can broaden accessibility to Covid-19 testing, a key strategy for stopping the spread through track and trace efforts, as outlined by the World Health Organization.

CRISPR Helps Engineer Future TreatmentsPreviously, the genome-engineering power of CRISPR has been directed at fighting genetic diseases. But more recently, its also being harnessed to fight infectious diseases, now including the new coronavirus.

Understanding how a pathogenic disease operates at the host-pathogen interface is critical to developing new treatments. CRISPR-based genome engineering enables researchers to study how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with human cells and generate the appropriate cell models that could lead to faster discovery of a potential new treatment or an existing drug combination that may provide a treatment solution. Once a potential treatment is identified, CRISPR makes the next step drug target screening more efficient, advancing us more quickly to a viable treatment option.

As an example of this approach in action, researchers are exploring if CRISPR can be used to verify the functional relevance of human genes recently identified to interact with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The investigation of the molecular mechanisms of the novel virus can ultimately help identify drug combinations that have the best potential to treat those infected.

Current Fight for the Future of Human HealthGenome engineering has been rapidly harnessed by academic and non-profit institutions, the biopharma industry, and scientific pioneers to develop Covid-19 testing and treatment solutions. CRISPR-based genome engineering enables researchers to study how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with human cells and generate the appropriate cell models that could lead to faster discovery of a potential new treatment or an existing drug combination that may provide a treatment solution.

Beyond this, the unprecedented innovation taking place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic will provide a foundation for improving human health in the future. Additionally, as technologies and understanding mature, new approaches, such as engineered cell therapies, will become part of the toolkit in future responses to global health challenges.

The current scientific response is representative of the future of life sciences a future where we integrate multiple technologies and disciplines including high throughput experimental automation, machine learning and agile, programmable tools such as CRISPR to fundamentally change our approach to research and development. We are seeing a new bar being set on the speed of science as the research community comes together, leveraging these technologies to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic at unprecedented velocity. Once the public health crisis subsides and the research halted by the pandemic resumes, the need for these transformative tools, technologies and approaches to life science research and development will be greater than ever.

Photo: wildpixel, Getty Images

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How CRISPR can help us win the fight against the pandemic - MedCity News

This story is from The Pulse, a weekly health and science podcast.

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Back in mid-March, when most of us were hearing the words shelter in place for the first time, research labs across the country were busy with what they call saccing. Its short for sacrifice, like for science and the greater good.

There are a lot of different terms that are used that I think people use to protect themselves from the reality of this, said Anneka Allman, a research technician at a University of Pennsylvania lab that works with hundreds of mice as part of cancer studies. Personally, I prefer to say we kill them, but the common term is saccing.

Research mice, you might imagine, generally are not long for this world. At her lab, Allman is usually the one to send them into the hereafter. Most of the mice born there even in normal times arent suitable for experiments for some reason or another.

Id say maybe we only actually use like a tenth of the mice that we breed, Allman said. Euthanizing these mice on a regular basis is just part of the job, and its not a fun part of the job, but it is a necessity.

Still, what happened back in March, on Friday the 13th, it was different it was a massacre.

We have a weekly lab meeting and we had it virtually, and we were like, OK, we need to figure out how to shut everything down she recalled.

They had some 500 cages of mice, and a looming stay-at-home order for most staff. You just cant take that many mice home with you, and many cant survive outside sterile settings. So most of the mice, they were going to get sacced.

It was just like piles and piles of cages just on top of each other empty cages, Allman said.

She personally euthanized hundreds of the mice.

Its actually very simple. You take their cages, take off the tops, put it in a machine called the Euthan-X which I have a lot of feelings about, but its essentially just a CO2 chamber, Allman said. And you turn the button on, and you wait for 20 minutes to half an hour, and they die.

Allman only worked that Friday before she was sent home for safety, but a skeleton crew stayed behind and saccing continued.

We did get an email about, I think, two weeks in that basically requested that we stop asking them to do it because of the emotional toll that it was having on them because of the masses that they had to kill, Allman said.

The animals deaths didnt hit her on that level. Before you get the wrong idea about Allman, know shes a self-described animal lover, a vegetarian; one of her pet cats scurried across her laptop during an interview. But she didnt mourn the euthanized mice, so much as the science the mice represented.

I had to kill mice that I had planned experiments for, that Im still upset theyre dead and not because of their lives, unfortunately for them, but because to do this research its going to be a lot. Its going to take a lot longer.

Untold thousands of mice were sacced in the early weeks of the United States pandemic response. The animals in Allmans lab, and in hundreds of labs like it, are the bedrock of research into human diseases.

Pick a disorder, an illness. Theres a mouse model for that, a mouse created specifically to study that disease.

Cat Lutz is director of the mouse repository at the Jackson Laboratory in Maine.

So whatever disease you can think of, you know, epilepsy, obesity, metabolic syndrome, anything that you can think of, we have a mouse model that you can genetically engineer to recapitulate that particular disease, Lutz said.

The Jackson Lab is a nonprofit where many labs get founder mice to start colonies of their own for research. It has about 11,000 strains of designer mice cryopreserved in its repository 80% of which dont exist anywhere else.

Mice first found their way into labs by way of so-called mouse fanciers.

They would keep mice as pets, and they would also select those mice that had spontaneous mutations, for example, coat color or ears or craniofacial features, long tails, kinky tails, maybe spotted mice or things like that, and they would start inbreeding them, Lutz said.

Mice breed very quickly and very often, so mutations tend to spring up fairly regularly. Fanciers were after aesthetic mutations, but scientists quickly found fanciers could provide mice with more utilitarian mutations. This mouse with a kinky tail, it can develop diabetes, or colon cancer, or this rare neurological disease.

Between mouse and humans, the gene conservation is incredibly high at the level of the coding sequence, so it was really quite translational, Lutz said.

Mice and people share about 98% of their genetic code.

The mutations that you would see in the mice would often translate to the mutations that you see in people, she said. They really have become the model animal for humans.

So if you can cure a cancer in a mouse, thats a step closer toward curing it in a person.

Editors note: In a previous version of this story, the term saccing was misidentified. Saccing is short for sacrificing.

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The great research mouse rescue amid the pandemic - WHYY