StemCell Therapy

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Biotechnology Considerations for the Unitary Patent System in Light of Brexit and Other Current Developments - JD Supra (press release)

Thursday, February 9, 2017 5:11 PM UTC

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 09, 2017 -- Cellaria, LLC, a scientific innovator that develops revolutionary new patient-specific cancer models for challenging tumors, today announced the formation of a strategic partnership withAMS Biotechnology (AMSBIO). As part of the agreement, AMSBIO will distribute, market and sell Cellaria cell models and culture media throughoutEurope.The partnership enables Cellaria to better meet growing demand for its products outside the US.

Cellaria's unique patient-specific cell models and cell culture media products expand the current offering AMSBIO has for physiologically relevant cell culture products for drug discovery and other life science applications. Late in 2016, Cellaria announced the availability of new models for High Grade Serous and Endometriod Ovarian Cancer and an ER-positive breast model.

AMSBIOis a premier provider of quality life science research reagents and services helping customers develop innovative methods, processes, products and medicines. As a leading provider of scaffolds, matrices, kits and proteins for growing and screening spheroids and organoids, AMSBIO has contributed totheaccelerationof discovery programs in medical research.

Alex Sim, managing director at AMSBIO said, "The new partnership with Cellaria expands our existing portfolio by introducing patient-derived cancer models;allowing customers to conduct research and drug discoveryinitiatives to advanceprecision medicine.

"The unique value of our patient-specific cell models makesAMSBIOan ideal partner for Cellaria," said David Deems, chief executive officer at Cellaria. "Our products will expand theAMSBIOcancer product portfolio, and their technical expertise will enable them to support Cellaria's customers throughout Europe."

About Cellaria

Cellaria creates breakthrough oncology models that reflect the unique nature and complexity of a tumor. Using these informative models, cancer researchers are better able to select promising compounds and work towards personalized approaches that would enable physicians to identify the most effective treatment for each patient's needs. Cellaria's innovative products help lead the research community to more personalized therapeutics, revolutionizing and accelerating the search for a cancer cure. For more information, visitwww.cellariabio.comor to learn more about our cell models.

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Cellaria Forms Strategic Partnership with AMS Biotechnology ... - EconoTimes

Bacteria links Crohn's disease to arthritis -- ScienceDaily Science Daily Patients with Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes abdominal pain and diarrhea, can also experience joint pain. In Crohn's ... and more »

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Bacteria links Crohn's disease to arthritis -- ScienceDaily - Science Daily

A twisted ankle, broken hip or torn knee cartilage are all common injuries that can have medical ramifications long after the initial incident that causes them. Associated pain, inflammation, joint degeneration and even osteoarthritis can sideline a variety of different people: athletes, weekend warriors and patients who are either aging or inactive.

A team from Washington University in St. Louis was awarded $1.7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new therapeutic treatment that can deliver disease-modifying compounds in a manner to delay the development of inflammation, joint degeneration and arthritis with all the associated discomfort, disability and pain.

Were starting to see that many areas cant be reached via oral drug delivery, said Lori Setton, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering & Applied Science. For example, synovial joint fluid in the knee is almost optimized to rapidly clear compounds out of the joint. So were trying to trick the joint into being a good host for the therapeutic drugs we are delivering.

Setton, whose lab focuses on the role of mechanical factors in the breakdown and repair of soft tissues, says an intracellular compound called nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) is a main culprit in cellular breakdown, inflammation and pain after an injury. Shes working in the lab on a new solution using silk to deliver two specific molecules that can inhibit NF-kB at the site of a fracture or injury in an effort to stave off long-term joint damage.

Silk naturally doesnt interact with water, and, when you mix it with these molecules that also dont interact with water, they bind to each other very strongly, Setton said. We believe these selective compounds are therapeutically effective, but weve never been able to get them to their target site. By delivering them with the silk, we hope to get large doses to the target site with low toxicity and to have them remain in that compartment for longer periods of time.

In preliminary work with Tufts University investigator David Kaplan, Setton showed that model compounds can reside in the joint space about 5 times times longer if delivered with silk microparticles than if delivered alone. Silk is an attractive delivery vehicle because of its long history of safe clinical use, and Kaplan has received NIH support to promote translational uses of silk for medical and other applications. It was initial work in delivering silk to the knee joint that drove Setton to identify a suitable, disease-modifying compound for treatment of arthritis through collaborations with the Musculoskeletal Research Center at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Setton and her co-investigators at the School of Medicine including Youssef Abu-Amer, professor of orthopaedic surgery; Farshid Guilak, professor of orthopaedic surgery; and Gabriel Mbalaviele, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases will soon start testing the new delivery system in animal models.

Delivering drugs orally to combat NF-kB-mediated problems at specific locations in the body, such as the injured knee, can be associated with harmful biological functions, Abu-Amer said. So this type of site-targeted approach to inhibit elevated NF-kB is essential if we want to provide effective treatment to the targeted site.

According to Setton, the enhanced drug-delivery system has the potential to prevent the onset and progression of joint damage in patients suffering from acute injuries, like minor joint fractures, ligament or meniscal tears.

Patients with joint trauma tend to go on to develop osteoarthritis at a higher rate compared to someone who doesnt have the injury, Setton said. Its a whole different type of arthritis development that we dont know a whole lot about, but we believe we can intervene early with new drug delivery and treatments, and prevent onset at a later stage.

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NIH awards $1.7 million to develop new arthritis treatment via silk ... - ScienceBlog.com (blog)

Etanercept vs. Monoclonal Antibody Tx Assessed in Rheumatoid Arthritis Monthly Prescribing Reference (registration) HealthDay News For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, etanercept is associated with lower risk for general infections and tuberculosis compared with monoclonal antibody treatment, according to a meta-analysis published online February 3 in the ...

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Etanercept vs. Monoclonal Antibody Tx Assessed in Rheumatoid Arthritis - Monthly Prescribing Reference (registration)

Dr. Kenneth Simpson/College of Veterinary Medicine

E. coli bacteria (red), which are abundant in the immunoglobulin-A-coated microbiota of patients with a Crohn's disease-associated condition called spondyloarthritis, promote systemic inflammation. The blue circular structures depict the nuclei of cells called epithelial cells.

Patients with Crohns disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes abdominal pain and diarrhea, can also experience joint pain. In Crohns disease, which affects about 800,000 Americans, the immune system can attack not only the bowels, but the musculoskeletal system as well, leading to spondyloarthritis, a painful condition that affects the spine and joints.

Research published Feb. 8 in Science Translational Medicine helps explain the connection between these seemingly unrelated symptoms, and could help physicians identify Crohns disease patients who are more likely to develop spondyloarthritis, enabling them to prescribe more effective therapies for both conditions.

New technology helped the researchers identify a type of E. coli bacteria found in people with Crohns disease that can trigger inflammation associated with spondyloarthritis, according to the study led by principal investigator Dr. Randy Longman and scientists from the Jill Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine and the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine, microbiologists at Cornells College of Veterinary Medicine, and rheumatologists at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).

The researchers used fecal samples from patients with IBD to identify bacteria in the gut that were coated with antibodies called immunoglobulin-A (IgA) that fight infection. Using flow cytometry, in which fluorescent probes are used to detect IgA-coated bacterial species, the researchers discovered that IgA-coated E. coli were abundant in fecal samples from patients with both Crohns disease and spondyloarthritis. Using patient samples and mouse models, they then linked these bacteria to cells that help regulate inflammation, known as Th17 cells, in people with autoimmune disorders.

Our findings may allow us to develop diagnostic tools to stratify Crohns patients with spondyloarthritis symptoms as well as patients at risk, said senior author Longman, assistant professor of medicine and director of the Jill Roberts Institute Longman Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine.

The investigators found that patients with Crohns disease and spondyloarthritis had higher levels of Th17 cells and that a protein called IL-23 triggers their activity. With the recent FDA approval of an anti-IL-23 medication for Crohns disease called ustekinumab, the findings may help physicians select therapies that target symptoms of both the bowels and the joints in these patients, Longman said.

Just sequencing the gut flora gives you an inventory of the bacteria, but does not tell you how they are perceived by the host immune system, said co-author Dr. Kenneth Simpson, professor of small animal medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine, whose laboratory characterized theE. coli identified in the study. This approach is giving you a functional readout versus just an inventory.

Longman led the translational study along with co-author Dr. Ellen Scherl, director of the Roberts Center at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine and the Jill Roberts Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, in collaboration with HSS rheumatologists and co-authors Dr. Lisa Mandl and Dr. Sergio Schwartzman. Initial funding for the work was provided by a pilot seed grant to foster collaborations between researchers in Ithaca and New York City, and has since been funded by the New York Crohns Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, the Center for Advanced Digestive Care, the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in IBD and the National Institutes of Health.

We knew there was smoke, but we didn't know where the fire was, said Simpson, who added that each collaborator provided unique expertise to uncover the findings. If we can block the ability of bacteria to induce inflammation, we may be able to kick Crohns disease and spondyloarthritis into remission.

Longman added: In IBD therapy, this is a step toward precision medicine to be able to clinically and biologically characterize a subtype of disease and then select the medicine that would best fit the patient with this type of inflammation. The results of this innovative study will start to inform our decision of which of our available medications will give the best chance of helping the individual patient.

Jen Singer is an editorial consultant for Weill Cornell Medicine.

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Bacteria links Crohn's disease, arthritis, researchers find - Cornell Chronicle

Cost-effective stem cell treatment has to be the next revolution to transform personalised treatment of patients, said Hunterian Professorship Awardee A.A.Shetty. Speaking at a felicitation function, Dr. Shetty said there is a need to create awareness about stem cells and patient-specific treatment specifically designed for individuals.

It is going to be simple, with minimal complications. Our role is to make it cost effective. Once it happens, it will revolutionise treatment, said Dr. Shetty.

Surgery using stem cell technology is developing at a rapid pace and the role of stem cell therapy in Orthopaedics is gaining importance, said Trauma and Orthopaedic Speciality Hospital (TOSH) Managing Director S.H. Jaheer Hussain. The ability of stem cells to transform into bone and cartilage has given a new dimension in the treatment of osteoarthritis, fracture non union, ligament tears. Stem cells have shown significant clinical results in osteoarthritis and cartilage defects. Recent advances in stem cells centrifuging techniques have lead to the introduction of the new concept of single- stage knee cartilage regeneration.

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'Economical stem cell treatment will revolutionise medicine' - The Hindu

Biotechnology and technology stocks are dominating our charts to watch this week, because they are displaying strong technical momentum.

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. ESPR, -2.81% is absolutely rocketing. The clinical-stage biopharma, which is focused on developing drugs that treat cardiovascular disease, popped 29% on Friday in response to good clinical news from Amgen AMGN, -0.54% regarding its own cardiovascular drug. The stock followed through on Monday and then again Tuesday, up $2.48, or 14%, to $20.14 on nearly 3.4 million shares traded. The stock pulled back toward the close, testing the bottom of its rising channel and resting in a tight wedge formation. This formation looks poised to break to the upside, with the next target at the channel top near $22.

Exelixis Inc. EXEL, +2.96% also had a strong session on Tuesday, up 54 cents, or 2.7%, to $20.57, on nearly 6.7 million shares traded. The cancer-drug companys stock needs to get through the rising trendline, near $21, connecting the most recent tops from September, December and January. The challenge beyond that would be the mid-channel line at around $22.75, a break through that could accelerate the stock into the high $20s.

Finisar Corp. FNSR, +2.44% edged above resistance on Tuesday, though closed slightly below it, up 76 cents, or 2.5%, to $30.89, on 2.7 million shares. The provider of optical subsystems for data communications recently traversed from the top of its price channel at around $37 in December to the bottom just above $27 on January 23, before rallying in the last two weeks. The stock did close above its 50-day moving average at $30.77 on Tuesday, and a break above current levels could get it to $33.25 next, followed by $35.50.

KEMET Corp. KEM, +1.88% has been in a steady rising channel since its breakout in November. The stock last week bounced off the channel bottom and rallied after the electronic-capacitor maker beat Wall Streets third-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts. The stock popped on Thursday and Friday, had an inside day on Monday (remaining inside the price range from Friday), and on Tuesday it had another solid day, up 17 cents, or 2.2%, to 7.81, on 652,900 shares traded. The stock looks like its about to take out the $7.90 area, and run up toward the channel top in the $9-$9.75 area.

See Harrys video chart analysis on these and other stocks.

The writer has no investments in the stocks mentioned in this column.

Harry Boxer is the founder of TheTechTrader.com, a live trading room featuring his stock picks, technical market analysis and live chart presentations.

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Opinion: Harry Boxer's stocks to watch: biotechnology and technology - MarketWatch

HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aradigm Corporation (Nasdaq:ARDM) (the "Company") today announced that President and Chief Executive Officer, Igor Gonda, Ph.D., will present at the 19th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference 2017 on Monday, February 13, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. ET. The event will be held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, New York.

Interested parties can access a live audio webcast and slide presentation at http://www.aradigm.com. An archived presentation will be available on the Company's Web site for 30 days.

About Aradigm

Aradigm is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of drugs for the prevention and treatment of severe respiratory diseases. Aradigm is completing Phase 3 development of Pulmaquin (an investigational proprietary formulation of ciprofloxacin for inhalation) for the treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Aradigms inhaled ciprofloxacin formulations including Pulmaquin are also product candidates for treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria, and for the prevention and treatment of high threat and bioterrorism infections, such as inhaled tularemia, pneumonic plague, melioidosis, Q fever and inhaled anthrax. In addition, Aradigm has a pipeline composed of programs to prevent diseases in tobacco smokers through smoking cessation and a diagnostic program to detect aspirations of gastrointestinal fluid into the respiratory tract.

More information about Aradigm can be found at http://www.aradigm.com.

Aradigm and the Aradigm Logo are registered trademarks of Aradigm Corporation.

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Aradigm to Present at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO ... - Business Wire (press release)

Prevention.com

8 Women Share The Diet Changes They Made To Get Their Rheumatoid Arthritis Under Control Prevention.com An estimated 1.5 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, and it can sometimes feel like there are just as many theories about how to manage its symptoms. "There's no one-size-fits-all approach," says Ashley Boynes-Shuck, who's been living ...

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8 Women Share The Diet Changes They Made To Get Their Rheumatoid Arthritis Under Control - Prevention.com

OPINION Where will studies fall in the Trump administrations line of immediacy? by Sean Sequeira | Feb 09 2017 | 12 hours ago | Updated 13 hours ago

As President Trumps cabinet ossifies into its final form, several Americans predict that many policy consistencies of the past are now at risk. One place of consistency is the landscape of stem cell research. The impacts Trumps administration might have on biomedical science are still uncertain. Indeed, some cabinet appointments have incited fear in Americans who rely on stem cell therapy or perform research or work at institutions where stem cell research is a vital component of grants and general revenue. While uniformly and staunchly conservative, the Trump administration must ensure continuity within stem cell research not only to protect jobs and research institutions from bankruptcy, but to also preserve a therapy that might actually be a panacea for a range of maladies.

Stem cells, while controversial and ethically precarious to the public, should be researched and ultimately implemented as a therapeutic solution for patients that simply have no alternative. Specifically, stem cells opponents are against embryonic stem cells, which no longer account for the majority of stem cell research. Currently, the majority of stem cell research is made up of induced pluripotent stem cells, somatic cells which can regress to an embryonic state through regenerative and genetic engineering. With the seminal work of Drs. Takahash and Yamanaka, the ethical rigors associated with embryonic stem cells need not be dealt with.

However, the question arises as to why embryonic stem cells are so insatiably invaluable and why they have immense potential to solve the worlds most enigmatic medical maladies. Indeed, after a zygote forms, the subsequent cells follow a pathway based upon environmental and biological cues similar to how a student follows a pathway to become a doctor, lawyer or businessman. Stem cells are categorized according to the broadness of cell they can become embryonic stem cells are the most versatile whereas adult stem cells, like those found in your bone marrow, are comparatively discrete in their differentiation scope. So, with embryonic stem cells, appropriate cues, and research, we could theoretically program these stem cells to become a pancreas, heart, brain or liver cells. On a macroscale, stem cells provide a conduit through which to build full pancreases for diabetic patients or hearts for heart failure patients, from the ground up. Essentially, with stem cells, we can turn the tide in a seemingly perennial battle with virulent pathologies.

Induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, are actually adult somatic cells like those found on your skin which revert back to their embryonic state through transcription factors or proteins necessary to develop or progress the fate or state of a cell to a new state. In this case, the Yamanaka factors are four transcription factors are those necessary to combine with adult somatic cells in order to revert the cells back into embryonic stem cells.

Granted, while the discovery of iPSC was a phenomenal one, there is a long road ahead in order to make them a mainstream therapy and to ensure that they are morphologically, molecularly, and functionally identical to their embryonic counterparts. During the Obama administration, research institutions like the National Institute of Health were not only provided the opportunity to research using stem cells, but were also less impeded than they were during the George W. Bush administration in the quantity and quality of research they were able to undertake.

With the new administration, it has become necessary that they scrap their conservative agenda against stem cells and biomedical research by demonstrating to the public they care and see their constituents as people in need of stem cell research. The administration must recognize the ultimate way to defeat unscrupulous stem cell utilization is to fund research to find novel ways to circumvent such controversy.

Sean Sequeira is an Opinion columnist for the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at s.sequeira@cavalierdaily.com

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SEQUEIRA: Stem cell research must remain in foreground - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

GETTY

Scientists have discovered a cell in the eye's retina that may cause myopia when it dysfunctions.

The dysfunction may be linked to the amount of time a child spends indoors and away from natural light.

It is estimated that up to 40 per cent of British adults suffer myopia or nearsightedness, meaning they struggle to see distant objects clearly.

The newly discovered retinal cell, which is highly sensitive to light, controls how the eye grows and develops.

If the cell instructs the eye to grow too long, images fail to be focused on the retina, causing nearsighted vision and a lifetime of glasses or contact lenses.

Experts say the retina contains a signal to focus the image in the eye and this signal is important for properly regulating eye growth during childhood.

GETTY

The eye needs to stop growing at precisely the right time during childhood

Professor Greg Schwartz

Study leader Professor Greg Schwartz, of Northwestern University, in Chicago, said: "For years no one knew what cell carried the signal.

"We potentially found the key missing link, which is the cell that actually does that task and the neural circuit that enables this important visual function."

He said indoor light had a high red/green contrast, which activates clusters of photoreceptors in the human eye, creating the equivalent of an artificial contrast image on the retina.

GETTY

It's likely the human version of the retinal cell would be over stimulated by such patterns, causing too much growth of the eye, leading to myopia.

Professor Schwartz said: "The eye needs to stop growing at precisely the right time during childhood."

The findings appear in the science journal Current Biology.

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Common health myths and old wives' tales

In the study researchers recorded electrical signals from cells in a mouse retina under different light patterns.

Professor Schwartz said: "This discovery could lead to a new therapeutic target to control myopia."

In further research he hopes to find the gene specific to this retina cell. Then scientists can turn its activity up or down in a genetic mouse model to try to induce or cure myopia.

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EYESIGHT WARNING: Kids risk eye damage 'by spending too much time indoors' - Express.co.uk

SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB) -The8thannualRidin' for Cash Bull Bash will be in Sweetwater on Saturday, February 18. It's a popular event each year at the Nolan County Coliseum. Thirty bull riders and 20 mutton busters come to compete in the bull bash, but this isn't just your normal rodeo.

Cash Miles is just like any other 10-year-old boy. He enjoys reading and music.

"I play a few instruments and I sing," Cash said.

But what makes Cash different is the way he sees the world. He was born with Optic NerveHypoplasiaand is legally blind. He has no sight in his right eye and very little in his left eye.

"It's where his optic nerve is too small," Cash's father, Matt Miles explained. "His eyes are fine. His optic nerves are too small to relay the message to the back of his brain to tell him what he sees."

Matt says that this doesn't stop Cash. Eight years ago, theRidin' for Cash Bull Bash was started to help kids like Cash.

"You're basically helping the visually impaired and the blind," Cash explained.

"We create awareness for visually impaired children in the area," Matt Miles explained. "We send families to camps and conferences for their children to get better knowledge on their situation."

TheRidin' for Cash Bull Bash has grown over the years, filling almost every seat, and everyone is there to support Cash.

"I don't know the word or how to describe it or anything," Cash said. "But, it's pretty exciting."

"I'm usually down here on the dirt getting everything ready," Matt said. "By the time 7:00 rolls around, I'll look up and I'll see everybody piling in and they'll be stacked all around through here and it chokes you up. You get real proud of where you come from."

Cash won't actually be riding in the event. Instead, you can find him at the announcers stand helping announce the riders.

For more information on theRidin' for Cash Bull Bash, clickhere.

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The Inspiring VIsion Behind Ridin' for Cash Bull Bash - Big Country Homepage

A view of the Los Angeles city skyline as heavy smog shrouds the city in 2015. Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

"Exposure to heightened air pollution during childhood increases the risk for Hispanic children to become obese and, independent of that, to also develop Type 2 diabetes," said Michael Goran, who worked on the study.

The children who participated in the study lived in areas that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, had excess nitrogen dioxide and tiny air pollution particles that are generated by vehicles and power plants.

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By the time the children turned 18, their insulin-creating pancreatic cells were 13 percent less efficient than normal, making them more vulnerable to developing Type 2 diabetes, Goran's team found.

They also had nearly 27 percent higher blood insulin after having fasted for 12 hours. During their two-hour glucose test, had about 26 percent more insulin than normal, showing the body was using insulin less efficiently.

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The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the journal Diabetes, is the first to connect air pollution and diabetes risk in children. The findings, however, may be generalized only to overweight and obese Latino children, mostly of a lower socioeconomic status.

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Study: Air Pollution Is Linked to Diabetes in Overweight Latino Children - NBCNews.com

The iLet, a device being tested by Ed Damiano of Boston University.Ed Damiano

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that is funding four last-stage clinical trials of artificial pancreas devices, which automate blood sugar control for people with type 1 diabetes . If the trials go well, the groups could seek approval from federal authorities.

These are the latest steps in a race to make a device that eliminates the need for daily finger pricks and careful blood sugar control for people with the condition. There have been promising recent developments: In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first artificial pancreas device in the United States, which monitors a person's blood sugar levels and automatically provides insulin if needed. However, people using that device still need to manually request more insulin after they eat.

The ideal device would require no human input whatsoever, which is what the four new studies are testing this year and next. The devices vary in approach, but all aim to limit the amount of time a person with diabetes, or their caregiver, has to manage changes in blood sugar levels.

One of the studies slated to begin in mid-2018 will be led by Dr. Steven Russell of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Ed Damiano of Boston University. It will enroll 312 people ages 18 and older who will spend six months testing a bionic pancreas , which uses both insulin and another hormone called glucagon to keep levels stable throughout the day.

Damiano began developing his bionic pancreas after his son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, as TIME explained in a 2015 profile . Damiano says he wants the device approved so his son doesn't have to constantly think about managing his disease.

For many people with type 1 diabetes, the realization of a successful, fully automated artificial pancreas is a dearly held dream," said Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in a statement . "Nearly 100 years since the discovery of insulin, a successful artificial pancreas would mark another huge step toward better health for people with type 1 diabetes.

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Four Artificial Pancreas Trials for Type 1 Diabetes Move Forward - TIME

The Crossville and Fairfield Glade Lions Clubs, Cumberland County High School Leo Club and Cumberland Medical Center Diabetes Group will again sponsor a Strides Walk for Diabetes Awareness on Saturday, April 29. The event will take place at Centennial Park, 837 Industrial Blvd., Crossville, starting at 9 a.m.

The April 29 walking event will again be titled Fighting Diabetes One Step at a Time. The course is a 1.1 mile, flat course with a resting location at the half-way mark to rest and get more water.

Registration forms are currently being prepared and will be available shortly. One side of the form is for individual participants who are asked to donate $25 tax-deductible dollars. The other side of the form is for Supporters who have three levels of participation:

Bronze Level requests a $100 tax-deductible donation that allows you to name two walkers and receive publicity.

Silver Level requests $250 tax-deductible donation that allows you to name five walkers and receive publicity.

Gold Level requests $500 tax-deductible donation that allows you to name 10 walkers and receive publicity.

Each paid participant will receive an event T-shirt, a bottle of water and a goody-bag filled with an energy bar and some information about diabetes. You are encouraged to bring your family dog to enjoy the walk. A $5 donation is being requested with a bandana and water being supplied in return.

The net dollars collected will be used to send two Cumberland County students with type 1 diabetes to the Tennessee Diabetic Summer Camp for two weeks this year and the balance will go to the American Diabetic Association (ADA) to help cure this terrible disease. Last year over $6,000 gross was donated. The event sponsors are hoping to collect a larger donation this year.

If you have any questions or concerns about diabetes, please call the Cumberland Medical Center, 484-9511, and ask to speak to someone in the Diabetic Group or check with your doctor.

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Join second annual walk to help fight diabetes April 29 - Crossville Chronicle

Research | Policy | Politics | People | Events | Funding | Awards | Trend watch | Coming up

Stem-cell trial Japan is resuming pioneering clinical research using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. A team led by Masayo Takahashi at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe will make suspensions of iPS cells derived from retinal cells, and transplant them into people with age-related macular degeneration, an eye condition that can cause blindness. Takahashi started a similar study in 2014 the first to use iPS cells in humans but the cells prepared for the second patient were found to have genetic abnormalities and no other participants were recruited. On 1February, Japans health ministry approved a new five-patient study. This time the team will use banked iPS cells created from anonymous, healthy donor cells rather than from the participants themselves.

Martian polar ice cap sculpted by wind A seasonal layer of carbon dioxide frost coats Marss northern polar ice cap in this image, which was released on 2February by the European Space Agency (ESA). Each winter, carbon dioxide precipitates out of the cold atmosphere and onto the ice cap. The image is a composite of pictures taken between 2004 and 2010 by ESAs Mars Express spacecraft. The distinctive spiral troughs were probably carved by wind. Radar investigation by Mars Express and NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed that the ice cap consists of many layers of ice and dust extending to a depth of about 2 kilometres.

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin; NASA MGS MOLA Science Team

GM wheat trial A UK research laboratory has been granted permission to begin field trials of a wheat plant that has been genetically modified (GM) to improve photosynthesis. Scientists at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden have already shown that wheat plants modified with a gene from stiff brome grass (Brachypodium distachyon) are more efficient at photosynthesis in greenhouses than conventional wheat, and they now hope to see improved yields from plants grown outside in more realistic conditions. In 2012, GM trials at Rothamsted attracted small but high-profile protests. The labs researchers have been among the leading advocates of such trials in Europe.

Swedish stimulus The Swedish government unveiled plans on 2February to make the country carbon neutral in less than two decades. A law expected to pass through parliament in March would set a binding target of reducing domestic greenhouse-gas emissions from industry and transport by 85% by 2045, relative to 1990 levels. Remaining emissions would be offset by natural carbon capture through forestation and by investment abroad. On announcing the move, Swedens environment minister, Isabella Lvin, said that her country wants to set an example at a time when climate action in the United States is threatening to lose momentum.

Romanian protests Angry Romanian scientists have called on their new government to reverse its order for national science-advisory bodies to immediately stop their work, pending reorganization. The government made the order on 31January, when it also issued a decree giving amnesty to some officials accused of corruption; this was later withdrawn after mass protests. An open letter signed by nearly 600academics and their supporters says that the councils, which are non-political, should be immune to government change. Signatories fear that the proposed reorganization may allow amnesty for politicians who have committed scientific misconduct.

UK science czar The UK governments chief scientific adviser has been appointed to possibly the biggest science job in the country. The government announced on 2February that Mark Walport will take the helm of a new body called UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which is expected to oversee a pot of more than 6billion (US$7.5billion) in government science spending when it comes into being in 2018. Walports appointment is significant because there are fears that UKRI could reduce the freedom of the nine individual bodies that currently allocate much government science funding.

Researcher on trial An Iranian researcher in disaster medicine, who is accused of collaboration with a hostile government, has been threatened with the death sentence by a judge on Irans revolutionary court, according to close contacts of the scientist. Ahmadreza Djalali, who had been affiliated with research institutes in Italy, Sweden and Belgium, was arrested inApril 2016 during an academic visit to Iran. According to sources close to Djalali, he has been kept in solitary confinement for three months in a Tehran prison and was forced to sign a confession. Djalalis trial is scheduled to start later this month.

Ice station The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) announced on 2February that it had completed moving its HalleyVI research station 23kilometres across the floating ice platform on which it rests. The 13-week operation, which used tractors to tow the stations 8 modules (pictured), was prompted by fears about a growing crack in the Brunt ice shelf. Staff were evacuated last month for the coming Antarctic winter after another unpredictable crack in the ice was discovered. The base, which is designed to be relocated periodically, is ready for re-occupation in November, the BAS said.

British Antarctic Survey

Borehole record The Iceland Deep Drilling Project completed the deepest-ever geothermal well on 25January. After 168days of drilling, the well bottomed out at 4,659metres, just shy of its 5-kilometre goal. But temperatures and pressures were so high at the bottom of the well that fluids were observed behaving in a supercritical fashionas neither liquid nor gasan observation that was one of the projects goals. The well, on Icelands volcanic Reykjanes peninsula, is being used to explore the source of geothermal systems and to see whether supercritical fluids can be tapped as an energy resource.

Indias budget Health research, biotechnology and space science are the main beneficiaries of robust budget increases announced by the Indian government on 1February. Overall, science spending in 2017 by eight ministries (excluding nuclear and defence research) will increase by 11%well above the projected 5% inflation rateto 360billionrupees (US$5.3billion). Health research, including the fight against diseases such as leprosy and measles, will get 31% more government funding. Biotechnology will get an extra 22%, and Indias aspirations in space, including plans to land a rover on the Moon in 2018, will benefit from a 21% budget increase for space science.

Dual tribute The CRISPR gene-editing system, which has transformed biological research and biomedicine, drew yet more major prizes last week. On 31January, the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation announced that its 400,000 (US$427,000) Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine would be shared by Francisco Mojica, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna. Mojica discovered the CRISPR repeating DNA sequences that some bacteria use to fight viral infections. Charpentier and Doudna developed the universal CRISPR editing toolfor which they have also won the 50-million (US$445,000) Japan Prize, announced on 2February. They share it with cryptographer Adi Shamir.

Women, non-Asian ethnic minorities and disabled people are under-represented in science and engineering in the United States, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). Women receive about half of all science and engineering degrees but hold less than 30% of jobs in these areas. White men, who in 2015 comprised only 31% of the US population, held nearly half of these jobs. Although female and minority representation has risen, disparities remain.

Source: NCSES

1115 February Biophysicists gather in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Biophysical Societys 61st annual meeting. go.nature.com/2jtfz17

1216 February At an international meeting in Queenstown, New Zealand, scientists discuss the latest research in advanced materials and nanotechnology. confer.co.nz/amn8

15 February Indias Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launches a high-resolution Earth-observation satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. go.nature.com/2jteerk

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Mars's frozen pole, Sweden's climate plan and a stem-cell trial in Japan - Nature.com

Late last year, a report urged health leaders to take action toward ending preventable blindness. And now, Allergan is leading a charge.

Tuesday, the Dublin drugmaker rolled out See America, an effort to increase awareness of the diseases that can cause preventable vision loss and to improve access to vision care.

Partnering with volunteer eye health and safety organization Prevent Blindness, Allerganwhich markets the glaucoma-fighting treatments Lumigan and Alphaganwill sponsor a series of vision-screening events in various cities. Attendees will receive free one-on-one professional eye exams, follow-up treatment plans and info about the most common vision-affecting diseases.

The new efforts from Allergan, which markets products for vision-damaging diseases including glaucoma, follow a September report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that projected a doubling of preventable blindness and visual impairment by 2050 without a nationwide intervention.

With an unrivaled eye care portfolio, a national network of medical experts and an unwavering commitment to the future of America's eyesight, Allergan is standing at the forefront to answer NASEM's call, the company said in a statement.

Allergan isnt stopping there, though. Its joining up with celebrities and influencerswho it isnt yet at liberty to nameas well as renownedmedical experts who share our passion of preserving America's vision, an Allergan spokesperson said in an email interview. And because the company wants to reach people across the country, its looking to engage with them in the places they get their content dailysocial media, online, in magazines, newspapers etc.

More partnerships with like-minded organizations that support the goals of See America could be on the way, too. See America is a first step launched with hope that other industry leaders will join us in making eye health a priority, the spokesperson said.

See America isnt Allergans only recent eyecare marketing push. Last year, summer, the company recruited actress Marisa Tomei as a brand ambassador for Restasis, which is up against new dry eye competition in the form of Shires Xiidra.

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Eye-med maker Allergan takes on preventable blindness with ... - FiercePharma

People on some of Vanuatu's most remote islands will be undergoing eye surgery following the installation of a clinic on a medical vessel.

Photo: Supplied/ Marine Reach

Rotary clubs have raised thousands of dollars for optical equipment for the MV Pacific Hope, which has already been providing dental surgery in the Pacific.

The founder of New Zealand based faith charity Marine Reach David Cowie said the ship will sail out of New Zealand in April and head to Vanuatu.

He said they will be treating people like a 10-year-old child he met on a recent visit.

"I promised this little boy that I'd come back one day and take care of his blind eye, the cataract, really cute kid. Teacher said he was bright but was struggling because of his eyesight. So he represents dozens of children as well as adults throughout the islands that really desperately need help"

The MV Pacific Hope. Photo: Supplied/ Marine Reach

Mr Cowie said there was virtually no optical care in Vanuatu, and the country's only opthalmologist is away this year.

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Mobile clinic to help reduce blindness in Vanuatu - Radio New Zealand

What happened

Cellect Biotechnology (NASDAQ: APOP) stock is up nearly 30% at 12:06 p.m. EST after the company announced that it treated the first patient in the biotech's phase 1/2 trial, dubbed ApoGraft01, testing its stem cell technology ApoGraft in patients with blood cancer.

Treating the first patient shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to investors. In November, the company said the Israeli Ministry of Health had given its approval to begin the trial. Perhaps investors are just really happy that the trial is finally starting. Also keep in mind that Cellect Biotechnology has a fairly low market cap, so the relative increase in valuation wasn't that much.

Image source: Getty Images.

Cellect Biotechnology's ApoGraft attempts to better select stem cells to help prevent graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), which occurs in 25% to 50% of recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. GvHD happens when the donated stem cells produce immune cells that start mistakenly attacking the patients' normal cells because they see it as foreign. GvHD leads to 15% of the deaths that occur after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

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ApoGraft01 will enroll 12 patients, so it shouldn't take too long for Cellect Biotechnology to fully enroll the trial. Before data from that trial reads out, investors will get results from a trial testing ApoGraft in healthy volunteers by the end of the first quarter.

While Cellect Biotechnology is progressing, investors should proceed with caution given the biotech's precarious capital situation. At the end of September, Cellect Biotechnology had just $9.4 million in cash and cash equivalents on the books. The company may be able to raise additional capital, but most biotechs raise capital through secondary offerings, diluting shareholders' equity in the process.

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Why Cellect Biotechnology Ltd Shares Skyrocketed Higher Today - Fox Business