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This report on Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market, published by DataIntelo, is an in-depth analysis that studies crucial aspects of the market, which will assist clients to make right decision about their business investment plans and strategies. The market report entails a detailed information regarding the key segments and sub-segmentations including the product types, applications, and regions by examining the emerging market size, performance, and scope of each segment of the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment.

Keeping 2019 as the base year, the report evaluates the extensive data available of the Global Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Market for the historical period, 2015-2018 and assess the market trend for the forecast period from 2020 to 2026. With an aim to supply a robust assessment of the market, the report offers vital insights on industry growth opportunities and development, drivers and restrains for the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market with focusing on consumers behavior and industrial trend for the prior years as well as the base year.

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One key aspect of the report is that it provides an extensive study on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global market and explains how it would affect the future business operations of the industry. In short, DataIntelos report provides an in-depth analysis of the overall market structure of Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment and assesses the possible changes in the current as well as future competitive scenarios of the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market. Reflecting the pandemic effects, the report also includes information regarding the changing market scenario, competition landscape of the companies, and the flow of the global supply and consumption.

Besides describing the market positions of various major key players for the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market, the report makes a concrete assessment on the key strategies and plans formulated by them over the recent years. In addition to this, the report provides information about recent developments such as product launch, entering merger and acquisition, partnership and collaboration, and expansion of the production plants by some key players.

This report includes the estimation of market size for value (USD) and volume (K MT), with applying top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimate and validate the overall scope of the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market. The report is prepared with a group of graphical representations, tables, and figures which displays a clear picture of the developments of the products and its market performance over the last few years. With this precise report, it can be easily understood the growth potential, revenue growth, product range, and pricing factors related to the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market.

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The published report consists of a robust research methodology by relying on primary source including interviews of the company executives & representatives and accessing official documents, websites, and press release of the companies related to the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market. It also includes comments and suggestions from the experts in the market especially the representatives from government and public organizations as well as international NGOs. The report prepared by DataIntelo is known for its data accuracy and precise style, which relies on genuine information and data source. Moreover, customized report can be available as per the clients wishes or specific needs.

Key companies that are covered in this report:

Eli LillyRocheMerckNovartisAbbvieAmgenBristol Myers SquibbCelgene CorporationJanssenValeant Pharmaceuticals

*Note: Additional companies can be included on request

The report covers a detailed performance of some of the key players and analysis of major players in the industry, segments, application, and regions. Moreover, the report also considers the governments policies in different regions which illustrates the key opportunities as well as challenges of the market in each region.

By Application:

HospitalsClinicsAmbulatory Surgery CentersDiagnostic Laboratories

By Type:

KitsReagentsInstruments

As per the report by DataIntelo, the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment market is projected to reach a value of USDXX by the end of 2026 and grow at a CAGR of XX% through the forecast period (2020-2026). The report describes the current market trend of the Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment in regions, covering North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa by focusing the market performance by the key countries in the respective regions. According to the need of the clients, this report can be customized and available in a separate report for the specific region.

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Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Market To 2026: Growth Analysis By Manufacturers, Regions, Types And Applications - The Market Feed

BOULDER, Colo. The CBDMEDIC brand, now part of the Charlottes Web, Inc. family of hemp CBD wellness products, and an official Impact Sponsor for the Arthritis Foundation, announces its matching funds campaign for Giving Tuesday. On Dec. 2nd CBDMEDIC will match individual donations made to the Arthritis Foundation up to a total sum of $50,000.

To those on Giving Tuesday who donate $50 or more to the Arthritis Foundation, CBDMEDIC will ship a free thank you gift of its Arthritis Aches and Pain Relief Cream, a retail value of $39.99 The Arthritis Foundation continues to pursue a cure for Americas number one cause of disability, and provides advocacy, community connections, and educational resources to those battling arthritis. The Giving Tuesday donations and CBDMEDIC matching funds donation will support scientific research, legislation and life-improvement programs led by the Arthritis Foundation. CBDMEDIC is the only hemp CBD brand to be approved and serve as an Arthritis Foundation Impact Sponsor.

According to GivingTuesday.org, last year more than 13% of the U.S. population participated in Giving Tuesday raising $511M online to support thousands of nonprofits. To participate in the CBDMEDICs Giving Tuesday Matching Funds Campaign donors may link here beginning at midnight Dec. 1 through midnight Dec. 2, 2020.

The Arthritis Foundation is leading the charge to find solutions that make a life-changing impact for people with arthritis. Partnering with CBDMEDIC helps bring greater awareness around the challenges of living with arthritis, which includes managing chronic pain, said Rick Willis, Senior Vice President, Community Engagement. We appreciate their commitment to providing the arthritis community with topical alternatives for temporary pain relief.

Especially in these uncertain times, due to the pandemic, it is vitally important that businesses and their brands step up and support nonprofits like the Arthritis Foundation this Giving Tuesday, said Deanie Elsner, CEO of Charlottes Web, Inc. Our CBDMEDIC brand is offering $50,000 in matching funds so that the Arthritis Foundations work in scientific research and advocacy can continue to benefit the millions of Americans suffering from arthritis. This is also a part of our Charlottes Web mission to help people heal through compassion and science. We encourage everyone who is able to do so to give this Giving Tuesday to the Arthritis Foundation.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 22.7% of adults in US have doctor-diagnosed arthritis (or one in four adults). And, About 43.5% (or 23.7 million) of people with arthritis (54.4 million) have limitations in their daily activities due to their arthritis.

CBDMEDIC is now part of the Charlottes Web family of hemp-derived CBD brands sold online <https://www.charlottesweb.com/cbd-medic>, as well as in more than 4,500 retail stores, according to Nielsen data (9/5/2020). CBDMEDIC top-selling products for those suffering from the symptoms of arthritis, as well as pain and inflammation, include its Back & Neck Pain Relief Ointment, Arthritis Aches & Pain Relief Ointment, Arthritis Aches & Pains Hand Cream, Active Sport Pain Relief Stick, Muscle & Joint Pain Relief Spray and Muscle & Joint Pain Relief Ointment.

Find out more about CBDMEDIC topical pain relief products.

About the Arthritis Foundation:The Arthritis Foundation is the Champion of Yes. Leading the fight for the arthritis community, the Foundation helps conquer everyday battles through life-changing information and resources, access to optimal care, advancements in science and community connections. The Arthritis Foundations goal is to chart a winning course, guiding families in developing personalized plans for living a full life and making each day another stride toward a cure. Visit arthritis.org to learn more.

About CBDMEDICLaunched in 2019 and now sold in more than 4,500 retail stores, the CBDMEDIC brand offers a line of 15 THC-free and hemp-derived CBD topical pain relief products that provide revolutionary pain relief. CBDMEDIC products combine naturally derived pain-relieving pharmaceutical ingredients along with natural emollients (skin softening ingredients) and essential oils, and THC-free hemp extract to create unique formulations for fast and effective relief. CBDMEDIC formulations combine advanced science with organic and natural ingredients to provide safe relief. CBDMEDIC products are offered across the United States and are produced by a contract manufacturer in a cGMP compliant and audited manufacturing facility.

About Charlottes Web Holdings, Inc.Charlottes Web Holdings, Inc., a Certified B Corporation headquartered in Boulder, Colo., is the market leader in the production and distribution of innovative hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) wellness products under a family of brands which includes Charlottes Web, CBD Medic, CBD Clinic, and Harmony Hemp. The Companys premium quality products start with proprietary hemp genetics that are 100-percent American farm grown and manufactured into whole-plant hemp extracts containing a full spectrum of naturally occurring phytocannabinoids including CBD, CBC, CBG, terpenes, flavonoids and other beneficial hemp compounds. Charlottes Web product categories include CBD oil tinctures (liquid products), CBD gummies (sleep, stress, inflammation recovery), CBD capsules, CBD topical creams and lotions, as well as CBD pet products for dogs. Charlottes Web is the number one CBD brand in the USA and distributed through more than 22,000 retail locations, select distributors and online through the Companys website at http://www.CharlottesWeb.com.

Charlottes Web was founded by the Stanley Brothers with a mission to unleash the healing powers of botanicals through compassion and science, benefiting the planet and all who live upon it. Charlottes Web is a socially and environmentally conscious company and is committed to using business as a force for good and a catalyst for innovation. The Company weighs sound business decisions with consideration for how its efforts affect employees, customers, the environment, and diverse communities. The rate the Company pays for agricultural products reflects a fair and sustainable rate driving higher quality yield, encouraging regenerative farming practices, and supporting U.S. farming communities. Management believes that its socially oriented and environmentally responsible actions have a positive impact on its customers, suppliers, employees and stakeholders. Charlottes Web donates a portion of its pre-tax earnings to charitable organizations.

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CBDMEDIC to Match $50000 in Funds for Arthritis Foundation on Giving - CBD Today

You have one sacroiliac (SI) joint on either side of your body where your ilium and sacrum bones join together. Your sacrum is the wide, flat bone between your tailbone and lumbar spine. Your ilium is often referred to as your hip bone.

Unlike many other joints like your knee or elbow, your SI joint moves very little and is held together with thick ligaments. Sudden injuries or repetitive stress can cause the SI joint to become inflamed and painful. You may feel this pain in your buttocks or lower back.

Sitting for extended periods of time can lead to pain in your SI joint or aggravate existing pain. However, certain positions are less likely to cause pain than others.

Keep reading to learn the best sitting, standing, and lying positions if youre dealing with SI joint pain.

The ligaments in your SI joint help transfer force between your trunk and your leg when performing activities like walking or running. If youre dealing with SI joint pain, sitting in positions that put these ligaments under tension may lead to further pain and irritation.

When sitting in a chair, you should aim to keep your hips neutral to avoid excess stress on the ligaments in your SI joint. Think about keeping your hips level with each other and avoid rotating more to one side.

Avoid positions that hike one hip higher or put create an asymmetry in your hips, such as when you cross your legs.

Heres how you can sit with good posture to help manage SI joint pain:

The tailors position is another option for keeping your pelvis neutral and reducing stress on the ligaments on your SI joint. You should focus on keeping your hips symmetrical.

If sitting is giving you pain, you may want to alternate between sitting and standing. If youre using a standing desk, heres how you can set it up:

Chair exercises and stretches may help you reduce pain and stiffness around your SI joint and help strengthen muscles around the joint.

This simple seated backbend stretch may help you reduce lower back stiffness.

The seated cat-cow stretches and strengthens the muscles in your back and core.

A seated torso stretch is an easy way to mobilize your spine.

The seated hamstring stretch helps you loosen your hamstrings and may help alleviate pain from muscle imbalances.

If you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, finding a comfortable office chair may help you reduce SI joint pain. You should look for:

No matter what chair youre sitting in, its a good idea to take frequent breaks from sitting about every 30 minutes.

Many people with SI joint pain find that it gets worse when they stand for extended periods of time.

Standing with good posture can help keep your spine in alignment and may help you manage your SI joint pain. When standing:

Its generally best to avoid sleeping on your stomach if youre dealing with neck or back pain. Sleeping on your stomach puts more stress on your spine. If you do sleep on your stomach, try putting a pillow beneath your abdomen.

If youre having SI joint pain on one side, you may want to sleep on your opposite side to take your weight off the joint. Putting a pillow between your knees and ankles can help put your hips in alignment.

Another sleeping posture to take the stress off your SI joint is to sleep on your back with one or two pillows under your knees to put your hips in a neutral posture.

If youre dealing with SI joint pain, you should aim to sit with your hips neutral and with your lower back relaxed and supported. If your chair doesnt provide support, you can put a pillow or cushion behind your lower back.

Even if you sit with perfect posture, taking frequent breaks about every 30 minutes is important.

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How to Sit with SI Joint Pain: Posture and Seated Exercises - Healthline

High disease activity in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is correlated with depression and anxiety, according to study results published in RMD Open. Depression and anxiety were also found to be more prevalent among patients with poor self-reported functional status.

The Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA) inception cohort included patients with new-onset RA who received care at rheumatology centers in Scotland between 2011 and 2015. Baseline demographic and clinical data of patients were collected within 6 months of RA diagnosis, with follow-up visits conducted after 6 and 12 months.

The primary study outcome was depression and anxiety symptoms, measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Exposures of interest included disease activity, functional status, and laboratory parameters. Disease activity was measured using the Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28) and the patient global assessment visual analog scale (PGA-VAS); functional status was measured using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, rheumatoid factor positivity, and anticyclic citrullinated peptides status were also recorded. Multivariable linear regression was performed to assess the relationship between anxiety and depression scores and various demographic and clinical variables.

The study cohort included 848 patients with RA (mean age, 58.2713.71 years; mean DAS28 score, 4.951.41), among whom 70.0% were women. At 6 and 12 months, follow-up data of 691 and 618 participants with RA, respectively, were available for evaluation.

No significant differences in depression or anxiety symptoms were observed between patients who continued follow-up and those who dropped out of the study. The baseline prevalence of anxiety and depression was higher among patients with early RA vs healthy individuals (19.0% vs 1.7% and 12.2% vs 1.75; P =.0002 and P =.009, respectively). However, prevalence of anxiety and depression in early RA decreased to 13.4% and 8.1%, respectively, at 12 months. Depression and anxiety scores were significantly positively associated with DAS28 at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months (all P <.001).

Multivariable linear regression models showed that baseline anxiety was associated with younger age (P =.001) and higher HAQ score (P <.0001). Anxiety at the 6-month follow-up was negatively correlated with body mass index (P =.015) and positively associated with baseline anxiety (P <.0001), current HAQ score (P =.006), and higher current PGA-VAS score (P =.008). Similar associations were observed at 12 months.

Baseline depression was associated with younger age (P =.029), being single at the time of measurement (P =.022), and a higher current HAQ score (P <.001). Depression at 6 months was associated with higher baseline depression (P <.0001) and anxiety (P =.002) scores, higher current HAQ score (P <.0001), and greater current CRP levels (P =.009). The same associations persisted at 12 months. At 6 months only, men were more likely than women to have depression.

These results suggested that anxiety and depression were prevalent in early RA, particularly among those with greater disease activity and poorer self-reported functioning. Although anxiety and depression rates appeared to decrease during follow-up, they were still reported at rates higher than those observed in the general population.

The primary study limitation included the fact that more than 200 participants had been lost to follow-up by 12 months. In addition, data were only available at 6-month intervals, which prevented a more precise assessment of mood during all timepoints.

Our study indicates that clinicians should be alert to neuro-psychiatric comorbidity in RA from the earliest stages of the disease, the researchers wrote. [I]t remains to be determined whether more intense screening and treatment for psychiatric comorbiditiescan improve outcomes.

Disclosure: The SERA cohort was supported by Pfizer Inc. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors disclosures.

Reference

Fragoulis GE, Cavanagh J, Tindell A, et al. Depression and anxiety in an early rheumatoid arthritis inception cohort. associations with demographic, socioeconomic and disease features. RMD Open. 2020 Oct;6(3):e001376.

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Depression and Anxiety Associated With Disease Activity, Functional Status in Early RA - Rheumatology Advisor

Objective:To estimate the annual cost associated with obstetric events in women of reproductive age with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, from the perspective of the National Healthcare System.

Methods:A cost-analysis was developed to estimate the impact associated with obstetric events in women of reproductive age with psoriasis (PSO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The analysis considered complications during fertility and conception, in pregnancy and in the postpartum. All parameters were validated and agreed by a multidisciplinary expert panel. Unitary costs (, 2019) were obtained from national, local databases.

Results:During fertility and conception, an annual cost per patient of 229 was estimated for a preconception consultation in a patient with PSO, of 3,642 for a preconception consultation in patients with PsA, RA and axSpA and 4,339 for assisted reproduction. Women with complications in pregnancy had an annual cost per patient of 1,214 for a miscarriage in the first trimester, 4,419 for a late miscarriage in the second trimester, 11,260 for preeclampsia 3,188 for restricted intrauterine growth and 12,131 for threat of premature delivery. In the postpartum, an annual cost per patient of 120,364, 44,709, and 5,507 were estimated associated with admissions to neonatology of premature infants of <28, 28-32 and 33-37 weeks, respectively.

Conclusions:This analysis provides insight on the economic burden of complications associated with women of reproductive age for immune-mediated diseases (PSO, PsA, RA, axSpA). Individualization of treatment, additional and close monitoring may reduce the risk and burden of these complications.

Keywords:Anlisis de costes; Complicaciones materno-fetales; Cost-analysis; Enfermedades reumticas; Espaa; Eventos obsttricos; Maternal-foetal complications; Obstetric events; Rheumatic diseases; Spain.

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Economic Impact of Obstetric Events on Women of Reproductive Age Living With Psoriatic Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Axial Spondyloarthritis and...

This article was originally published here

Rheumatol Int. 2020 Nov 30:1-10. doi: 10.1007/s00296-020-04751-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Nationwide lockdowns during SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) can compromise mental health and psychological wellbeing and limit opportunities for physical activity (PA), particularly in clinical populations, such as people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), who are considered at risk for COVID-19 complications. This study aimed to investigate associations between PA and sedentary time (ST) with indicators of mental health and wellbeing in RA during COVID-19 lockdown, and examine the moderation effects of self-isolating. 345 RA patients completed an online questionnaire measuring PA (NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study Questionnaire), ST (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form), pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale), fatigue (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory), depressive and anxious symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and vitality (Subjective Vitality Scale) during the United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown. Associations between PA and ST with mental health and wellbeing were examined using hierarchical multiple linear regressions. Light PA (LPA) was significantly negatively associated with mental fatigue ( = .11), depressive symptoms ( = .14), and positively with vitality ( = .13). Walking was negatively related to physical fatigue ( = .11) and depressive symptoms ( = .12) and positively with vitality ( = .15). Exercise was negatively associated with physical ( = .19) and general ( = .12) fatigue and depressive symptoms ( = .09). ST was positively associated with physical fatigue ( = .19). Moderation analyses showed that LPA was related to lower mental fatigue and better vitality in people not self-isolating, and walking with lower physical fatigue in people self-isolating. These findings show the importance of encouraging PA for people with RA during a lockdown period for mental health and wellbeing.

PMID:33258004 | PMC:PMC7703721 | DOI:10.1007/s00296-020-04751-w

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Different types of physical activity are positively associated with indicators of mental health and psychological wellbeing in rheumatoid arthritis...

There are very few things that bring more joy in our lives than having a pet dog. If youre a pet parent, you must be already familiar with the fantastic health benefits of having a dog at home. Also, house pets have a positive impact on your mental well-being and can even help you cope with grief and loneliness. Once they become a part of your family, its your responsibility to care for them.

If we could have our way, wed want our canine companions to be a part of our lives forever. But, unfortunately, theyre going to grow old and become fragile and weak. Activities that once happened naturally, such as jumping down the stair and running around in the park, are going to need more effort. On top of that, your dog might become susceptible to various chronic diseases.

Canine osteoarthritis, a chronic condition, can cause extreme pain and discomfort to your dog. It affects at least 20% of dogs whore over one-year-old. While theres no way to completely cure canine arthritis, theres a lot you can do to help your dog when theyre in pain.

In this blog, well dive deeper into the topic of canine arthritis and understand what causes it. Well also outline the signs and symptoms you should watch out for, as well as recommend a few pain management techniques. Lets get started.

Canine arthritis is a chronic ailment that causes stiffness and joint pain in dogs. It happens when the cartilage tissue protecting the bones in a joint starts degenerating. In a healthy joint, the cartilage between the bones is lubricated with a fluid. This prevents the bones from coming in direct contact and rubbing together.

If the cartilage tissue starts decaying as a result of an injury or old age, the bones come in direct contact with each other. As the bones rub together, it causes extreme pain and inflammation in the joints. It can also result in the growth of new bones (called osteophytes) that further intensify the pain.

Moreover, when the cartilage cells degenerate, they release certain enzymes that cause inflammation of the joints. It also leads to excessive fluid buildup in the joints. All these factors amplify the pain and can even result in mobility issues as well as muscular atrophy.

While canine osteoarthritis can affect dogs of any age and breed, there are a few potential risk factors such as:

There isnt much you can do to prevent your dog from developing a chronic ailment like arthritis. However, the earlier you notice their symptoms and consult a veterinarian, the better their quality of life will be.

As a dog parent, here are a few signs and symptoms you should watch out for:

Its worth mentioning here that dogs are often very adept at hiding their pain. Thats why you need to be extra cautious and start paying attention to their gait and posture the moment you notice any signs of pain in your dog.

Unfortunately, canine arthritis is an irreversible degenerative disease. Once the cartilage cells start dying, theres no way to regenerate them and make the joints healthy again. Having said that, you can use a wide array of pain-relieving techniques to help dogs with osteoarthritis.

Here are a few things you can do to help your dog if they develop osteoarthritis:

The key to managing canine arthritis is to minimize pain and inflammation in the joints. A non-steroidal inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as Previcox, treats arthritic pain in dogs by reducing inflammation. However, the symptoms of canine arthritis overlap with those of several other ailments.

Your dog might just be in pain because of a bone injury. Or the symptoms could be an indication of a more serious disease such as cancer. Thats why it is important to first consult your vet and ask for a suitable treatment plan.

Typically, the doctor will conduct a physical exam of your dogs body. Theyll also likely recommend an X-ray of the limbs. Depending on whether they detect signs of arthritis, theyll recommend the course of treatment.

Consult your vet to create a balanced and nourishing diet plan thats rich in anti-inflammatory and whole foods such as turmeric, ginger, fatty fishes, and leafy vegetables. You could also consider including Omega-3 supplements in their diet. Make sure you avoid inflammatory and unhealthy foods that could trigger more pain.

If your dog is in pain, theyll become unwilling to go on walks or engage in regular physical activities. However, they dont get adequate exercise; theyll likely put on more weight, potentially becoming obese, and developing more pain. Make sure you talk to your vet and work out a less taxing exercise routine for your dog.

Depending on your dogs age and physical health, the vet might suggest pain-relieving therapies such as acupuncture, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, etc. These techniques can go a long to alleviate the pain and improve your four-legged friends overall quality of life.

Recent studies have also shown that CBD oil can help relieve arthritic pain in dogs. However, it could also have potential side effects such as gastrointestinal disorders. Make sure you consult your vet and ask them to prescribe the suitable dosage for your dog.

Have you used any other pain management techniques to help an arthritic dog? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.

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Canine arthritis Its a real thing that pet parents need to be prepared for - TechEngage

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In mouse study, loss of molecule contributes to disease while surplus reduces symptoms

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found, working in mice, that when the FoxO1 gene is knocked out, the animals develop osteoarthritis. But when levels of the FoxO1 molecule are increased, the animals exhibit less cartilage damage.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common problems associated with aging, and although there are therapies to treat the pain that results from the breakdown of the cartilage that cushions joints, there are no available therapies to modify the course of the disease.

However, working in a mouse model of the disorder, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a molecule previously linked to diabetes, cancer and muscle atrophy also seems to be involved in the development of osteoarthritis and may be a useful treatment target.

When the gene involved, FoxO1, is knocked out in mice, the animals develop osteoarthritis. But when the researchers increase the levels of the FoxO1 molecule in mice that are developing osteoarthritis, the animals exhibit less cartilage damage.

The study is available online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Osteoarthritis, or joint degeneration, is a disease that affects more than 32 million people in the U.S. alone but that does not have a medical therapy to alter its progression, said senior investigator Regis J. OKeefe, MD, PhD, the Fred C. Reynolds Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. A better understanding of the fundamental processes involved in osteoarthritis and the degeneration of cartilage is required if were going to be more successful in treating this very common and very expensive disorder.

OKeefe said that commonly, people with osteoarthritis have suffered knee injuries that damaged the knees meniscus. Over time, arthritis then can develop in the joint.

Unlike skin or bone or other organs that can regenerate in response to injury, cartilage has very little regenerative potential, he said.

However, when the mice in these experiments had elevated levels of the FoxO1 molecule, osteoarthritiss progress was slowed or even reversed. The researchers believe the molecule interferes with cartilage damage and the development of arthritis by enhancing a process called autophagy in the arthritic joint. Autophagy is the bodys way of clearing out damaged tissue. In these experiments, the researchers found that autophagy was disrupted in the mice with reduced levels of FoxO1 and that the process was enhanced in animals with higher levels of the molecule.

In other words, maintaining a higher level of autophagy seemed to be beneficial to maintaining these cartilage cells and, thus, maintaining a healthy knee joint, said co-corresponding author Jie Shen, PhD, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery.

OKeefe said that raises the possibility of delivering FoxO1 to arthritic joints through nanotechnology as a way to regulate autophagy and keep joints healthier.

In mice with injuries that typically progress to become osteoarthritis, the knee joints still appear normal about a week after injury, OKeefe explained. But when we measure autophagy in the cartilage after injury to those same knee joints, although the joints themselves look fine, the autophagy process already is shut off. The injury completely turns it off, and once autophagy is off, the cartilage begins to degenerate.

He said if FoxO1 can alter that process in people, protecting cartilage from damage as it does in mice, it eventually may be possible to prevent or delay millions of future knee and hip replacement surgeries.

Wang C, Shen J, Ying J, Xiao D, OKeefe RJ. FoxO1 is a crucial mediator of TGFB/TAK1 signaling and protects against osteoarthritis by maintaining articular cartilage homeostasis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov. 16, 2020.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Grant numbers R01 AR069605, T32 AR060719 and P30 AR057235.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Gene that protects against osteoarthritis identified Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington University School of Medicine...

Jennifer May, M.D., Prairie Doc Published 9:33 p.m. CT Dec. 3, 2020

Jennifer May, M.D.(Photo: Submitted)

As a rheumatologist, I often get the question, What do you do? According to my kids, their mom does something with joints. At the conclusion of patient visits, when I propose a diagnosis such as polymyalgia rheumatica or PMR, I often hear, What is that? The fact is most people do not think about rheumatology until they need a rheumatologist. And then, learning the lingo about disease, medications, and lab monitoring can be a challenge.

Rheumatology is a relatively new specialty in the world of medicine. Focus on the disease in America began in the early 1920s with initial definition and discovery, followed by the famous breakthrough of cortisone at Mayo Clinic in 1950, and grew to a deeper scientific understanding of arthritis diseases today. Treatments have progressed from cortisone and aspirin to immune system modification with biologic medications. Future therapies will involve genetics, engineering new cartilage, and creating cells that rheumatologists will command to do our bidding upon the immune system.

Today we work to manage autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus with medications that adjust the immune system response. Symptoms that can occur in association with some of these diseases are rashes, joint swelling, fevers, lung problems, and kidney issues. By adjusting the immune system, we can change the symptoms, hopefully lessening their impact on the patient.

In our fast-paced world, we often want answers and quick solutions to our problems. However, rheumatology cases require persistence. There are no blood tests that specifically diagnose the problem. Rheumatologists must take time to talk with and examine the patient. We gather additional information from labs tests, studies, and x-rays. Once all the data is available, sometimes the condition is clear. But other times, the case is more challenging and requires several visits before making a firm diagnosis.

Like most health providers, I enjoy solving patient problems and making a diagnosis. We get satisfaction from figuring things out and our reward comes when a treatment improves a patients function or quality of life. Our goal in rheumatology is to help patients achieve remission, or better yet, to predict who is likely to get rheumatoid arthritis in hopes of preventing it from starting in the first place.

So, when patients look at me with that expression that asks rheuma-what?, they dont necessarily want to hear about the science of what I do. Instead, I assure them that we will keep working together with the same goal: To get the immune system to quiet down, and help the patient feel better so they can get back to life.

Jennifer May, M.D. is a contributing Prairie Doc columnist. She practices rheumatology in Rapid City. Prairie Doc can be seenon SDPB most Thursdays at 7 p.m.

Read or Share this story: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/brandon/2020/12/03/learning-what-rheumatologist/3820369001/

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Learning what it is to be a rheumatologist - Argus Leader

December 1 is Giving Tuesday, a holiday created to highlight nonprofits and other organizations that work locally and globally to spread generosity and giving. The movement began in New York City in 2012 and has since flourished into an international event. The movement continues to grow in year-over-year donation volume, reach, and impactdriving increased donations and behavior change, said GivingTuesday.org.

In 2019, at least $1.97 billion were donated in 24 hours [during Giving Tuesday] in the U.S. alone, with 13 percent of the adult population participating in some waya record-setting day. Around the world, the majority of people aware of Giving Tuesday say that it has inspired them to be more generous, the nonprofit added.

Its hard to quantify or overestimate the power of goodwill, particularly this year when the holidays will be so different, for so many. A gesture of kindness, big or small, can make a lot of difference to a friend or co-worker, neighbors or children, or those less fortunateits the joy of giving that warms the heart and makes memories for years to come.

This year, which is like no other in our lifetime, is a real game-changer for charities and the people they benefit, though. Its a diverse cross-section of Americansincluding cannabis industry memberswho keep giving. And thank goodness for that, because this year every dollar counts. The help you give will be warmly appreciated and rememberedso, give until it feels good.

Vape manufacturer PAX Labs partnered with nonprofit Last Prisoner Project to host a fundraiser benefiting more than 40,000-plus people in prison for cannabis offenses. Today and tomorrow, December 12, 2020, every donation of $25 or more will be entered to win one of twenty free PAX 3 Complete Kit cannabis vaporizers.

The PAX fundraiser directly benefits LPP, which recently helped win clemency for Americas longest serving, non-violent cannabis offender, Richard DeLisi. Anyone who would like to donate for a chance to win one of the free PAX vape kits (or any amount) should visit PAX Giving Tuesday.

Edibles manufacturer MONDO Meds is offering a free jar of its CBD-infused powder supplement to firefighters, healthcare, and government workers. Each 4-ounce jar contains 150mg CBD in a rich, powdered formula that can be added to beverages or food. Front line workers may contact [emailprotected] to request a free jar ($40.00 MSRP), when they email a picture of their government ID and best delivery address.

With many essential workers serving on the front lines of multiple natural disasters and experiencing so much anxiety and stress, CBD brands are also making contributions aimed at showing appreciation to these heroes.

As an official Impact Sponsor for the Arthritis Foundation, Charlottes Webs CBDMEDIC brand will match individual donations made to the Arthritis Foundation on Giving Tuesday up to a total sum of $50,000. Those who donate $50 or more will receive a gift of CBDMEDICs Arthritis Aches and Pain Relief Cream.

Especially in these uncertain times, due to the pandemic, it is vitally important that businesses and their brands step up and support nonprofits like the Arthritis Foundation this Giving Tuesday, said Charlottes Web Chief Executive Officer Deanie Elsner, We encourage everyone who is able to do so to give this Giving Tuesday to the Arthritis Foundation.

If you would like to donate to the Arthritis Foundation as part of the CBDMEDIC fundraiser click here for more information.

Etain Health, New Yorks only family-run, women-owned and operated, medical marijuana company and lifestyle brand Buy Weed From Women (BWFW) have teamed up for a fundraiser to benefit the Food Bank for New York, a nonprofit that has been working to end food poverty in New Yorks five boroughs for over 36 years.

The collaboration between Etain and BWFW has resulted in the Goods Box, a limited edition collection featuring BWFW merchandise including a long-sleeve tee and face covering and more good surprises. The box goes on sale December 3, at EtainHealth.com and proceeds will benefit the food bank.

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December 1 is Giving Tuesday, a holiday created to highlight nonprofits and other organizations that work - mg Magazine

The Global Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Drugs Market analysis report published on dataintelo is a detailed study of market size, share and dynamics covered in XX pages and is an illustrative sample demonstrating market trends. This is a latest report, covering the current COVID-19 impact on the market. The pandemic of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected every aspect of life globally. This has brought along several changes in market conditions. The rapidly changing market scenario and initial and future assessment of the impact is covered in the report. It covers the entire market with an in-depth study on revenue growth and profitability. The report also delivers on key players along with strategic standpoint pertaining to price and promotion.

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Global Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Drugs Market Size & Share, by ProductsOralInjectionExternal

Global Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Drugs Market Size & Share, ApplicationsMedical CarePersonal Care

Key PlayersAbbVieRocheJohnson & JohnsonAmgen, Inc.PfizerMerckBristol-Myers SquibbUCBGlaxoSmithKlineSanofiAbbott LaboratoriesTeva Pharmaceutical

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Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Drugs Market 2020 Industry Size, Trends, Global Growth, Insights And Forecast Research Report 2025 - Murphy's Hockey Law

The Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market grew in 2019, as compared to 2018, according to our report, Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market is likely to have subdued growth in 2020 due to weak demand on account of reduced industry spending post Covid-19 outbreak. Further, Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market will begin picking up momentum gradually from 2021 onwards and grow at a healthy CAGR between 2021-2025

Deep analysis about market status (2016-2019), competition pattern, advantages and disadvantages of products, industry development trends (2019-2025), regional industrial layout characteristics and macroeconomic policies, industrial policy has also been included. From raw materials to downstream buyers of this industry have been analysed scientifically. This report will help you to establish comprehensive overview of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market

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The Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market is analysed based on product types, major applications and key players

Key product type:Serology TestsMonitoring RA Treatment Efficiency Tests

Key applications:Diagnostic LaboratoriesAmbulatory Surgical CentersHospitals

Key players or companies covered are:AbbottBeckman CoulterEuro DiagnosticaRocheQiagenSiemens HealthcareThermo Fisher ScientificBio Rad LaboratoriesAviva Systems Biology

The report provides analysis & data at a regional level (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa , Rest of the world) & Country level (13 key countries The U.S, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Italy, China, Japan, India, Middle East, Africa, South America)

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Key questions answered in the report:1. What is the current size of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market, at a global, regional & country level?2. How is the market segmented, who are the key end user segments?3. What are the key drivers, challenges & trends that is likely to impact businesses in the Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market?4. What is the likely market forecast & how will be Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market impacted?5. What is the competitive landscape, who are the key players?6. What are some of the recent M&A, PE / VC deals that have happened in the Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market?

The report also analysis the impact of COVID 19 based on a scenario-based modelling. This provides a clear view of how has COVID impacted the growth cycle & when is the likely recovery of the industry is expected to pre-covid levels.

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Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Tests Market by Analysis, Market Dynamics, Regions, Consumption, Production, Suppliers and Forecast 2026 - Cheshire...

LOGAN Genetically engineered golden Syrian hamsters developed by Utah State University researchers played a key role in animal trials of a possible vaccine to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19.

The Rega Institute in Leuven, Belgium, has used the hamsters produced by professor Zhongde Wang and his lab at USU to test the safety and effectiveness of a possible vaccine.

Details of the research conducted by the Rega Institute and its findings were published online in the journal Nature this week.

The candidate vaccine was found to be safe and effective in several animal models by a team of scientists at the institute.

Animal models play a vital role in vaccine research "because we cannot directly test them in humans. We need to use animal models, (it's) very critical," Wang said.

Wang said two pairs of hamsters were shipped to the Belgium lab in 2018 to start a breeding colony in an agreement with his lab.

"The scientists in my lab and I are very gratified that our research is contributing to combating this raging COVID-19 pandemic," Wang said in a statement.

"We also feel grateful for the excellent support from USU's Laboratory Animal Research Center to help us to carry out the research."

The Wang lab, established at USU in 2012, developed the first genetic hamster models in the world. The models are used in more than a dozen labs and institutions including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, and Public Health Agency of Canada.

Hamsters from Wang's lab are also utilized in COVID-19 and other studies in USU's Institute for Antiviral Research.

"We pioneered development of genetic engineering techniques in this species and now we have about 30 different models. These are 30 different genetic modifications," Wang said in an interview Wednesday,

Typically, rodents carry many disease-causing organisms without becoming sick. The USU lab genetically engineered the golden Syrian hamsters to be susceptible to viruses that infect humans.

Viruses frequently attach to receptors in humans that are not present in animals, which limits effective testing of potential drugs to prevent or treat diseases. Hamsters from Wang's lab have a human gene inserted into their DNA for the receptor to which this coronavirus binds to facilitate testing, according to a university press release.

Because the hamsters are designed specifically to react to disease challenges more like humans, it takes fewer experiments to verify results, which expedites the process and can reduce numbers of animals used in research.

"We take animal welfare extremely seriously, and only the minimum numbers of animals required are used," said Wang, a professor in the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, in an article posted on a university website.

"In addition to that, all procedures are approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. It is essential to use these animals in vaccine studies before trials can be done in human subjects."

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Hamsters genetically engineered by USU researchers are on the front lines of COVID-19 vaccine trials in Belgium - KSL.com

Combining metabolic intervention with T-cell immunotherapy is safe and resulted in improved efficacy in two mouse models of solid tumors, providing an alternative combination strategy for boosting solid tumor immunotherapy, according to a new study by scientists at China Pharmaceutical University (CPU).

The study proves the concept of cell-surface anchor-bioengineering, which can be readily adapted to other combinations of cell therapy and metabolic drugs and/or antibodies, the authors reported in the November 25, 2020, edition of Science Translational Medicine.

"We have constructed a cell-surface anchor-bioengineered T cell combining metabolic and T-cell therapy, then shown this strategy be safe and effective against solid tumors in mice," said lead researcher Can Zhang, a professor in the Center of Advanced Pharmaceuticals and Biomaterials at CPU in Nanjing.

T-cell therapy has achieved considerable clinical and preclinical success in treating hematologic malignancies, but has had limited therapeutic effects in solid tumors.

Most studies have focused on combining proinflammatory cytokines or immune checkpoint inhibitors with T cells to improve efficacy, but that approach is effective only in a fraction of patients, and has toxicity risks.

The oxygen- and nutrient-deprived tumor microenvironment has been shown to impede T-cell infiltration, survival, and function, limiting the benefit of solid tumor T-cell therapy.

T-cell metabolic pathways offer potential intervention targets. For example, T-cell function requires cell membrane cholesterol to cluster T-cell receptors (TCRs) and form an immune synapse. Cholesterol metabolic modulation plus T-cell therapy may thus improve solid tumor immunotherapy.

Avasimibe is an effective cholesterol acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) inhibitor, which increases plasma membrane cholesterol, thereby promoting TCR clustering and improving T-cell effector function.

"ACAT1 is the major enzyme of cholesterol esterification in CD8+ T cells, and it has recently been shown that inhibiting ACAT1 activity via avasimibe can significantly potentiate the effector function of these T cells," said Zhang.

Moreover, "avasimide has previously progressed to phase III trials in atherosclerosis patients, in whom it showed a good safety profile," she told BioWorld Science.

This established safety and efficacy led to the hypothesis that combining avasimide with T-cell therapy might boost solid tumor immunotherapy, but it has been challenging to optimize the two modalities as a combination therapy.

Thus it is necessary to develop combinatorial technologies that maximize both treatments, whereby genetically engineered T cells can be used to produce designed protein drugs.

Unfortunately, heterogeneous expression of engineered proteins and toxicity potential reduces this strategy's efficacy and small molecule drugs cannot be genetically manipulated.

An alternative to genetic engineering involves 'backpacking' nanoparticle drugs onto the T-cell surface via chemical conjugation or ligand-receptor interaction to augment T-cell function and increase the therapeutic efficacy of combinations.

However, previous studies have shown that backpacking may impair T-cell physiological functions, due to long-term occupation of T-cell membrane biomolecules or altered T-cell glycometabolism.

Thus, technology involving backpacking nanoparticle drugs onto the T-cell surface needs to be further improved to reduce the impact of backpacking on T-cell function.

In their new Science Translational Medicine study, Zhang and her team attached liposomal avasimide onto the T-cell surface by lipid insertion and a click molecular insertion technique, without disturbing T-cell physiological function.

They demonstrated that avasimide could be retained on the T-cell surface during circulation and extravasation then locally diffused to increase the T-cell membrane cholesterol concentration, inducing rapid TCR clustering and sustained T-cell activation.

Treatment with cell-surface anchor-engineered T cells, including mouse TCR transgenic CD8+ T cells or human chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cells, resulted in superior antitumor efficacy in mouse models of melanoma and glioblastoma.

Moreover, glioblastoma was completely eradicated in 3 of 5 mice receiving surface anchor-engineered CAR T cells, whereas saline-treated control mice survived no more than 64 days. Regarding safety, the administration of bioengineered T cells showed no apparent systemic side effects in these mouse tumor models.

"Although safety findings made with engineered T cells in mice can reflect safety in humans to some extent, potential interspecies differences should also be considered," noted Zhang. These findings show that cell-surface anchor-engineered T cells hold translational potential, because of their simple generation and their good safety profile, but further developmental work is necessary.

"We need to optimize preparation techniques to improve the yield of bioengineered T cells and to develop integrated and automated production techniques, in order to realize large-scale production," said Zhang.

"It will also be necessary to establish quality standards and corresponding rapid detection methods during each production stage, all of which might take several years or more," said Zhang.

"This new therapeutic strategy of combining metabolic intervention and CAR T therapy, including the use of different CAR T cells, might also be effective in diverse solid tumors," she said.

"Our group will continue to investigate the safety and efficacy of cell-surface-modification technologies that can be deployed to various cell types, including neutrophils, natural killer cells and so forth."

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Combination enhances solid tumor immunotherapy | 2020-12-02 - BioWorld Online

In the midst of a ferocious debate over the future of biotechnology in Latin America, the Peruvian Congress recently extended the nations decade-old moratorium on GMOs for another 15 years, alleging that biotech crops would have a negative impact on the countrys megadiversity. The news was not particularly surprising to scientists, who have watched no fewer than six bills introduced over four months that would have extended the current moratorium, way before its December 2021 expiration date.

Once the moratorium was extended, the presidents signature would have made it official. But weeks of political turmoil, during which three presidential contenders vied for executive power, have thrown the bans future into uncertainty. Congress kicked the former president out of office and installed his successor, who was forced to resign just a few days later. Peru appears to have selected a new chief executive to serve for at least the next several months, and the countrys choice has anti-GMO activists concerned.

The new head of State, Francisco Sagasti, is a dedicated academic, science advocate and former congressman who voted against the moratorium, arguing that such a measure should not be approved unless and until the Science, Innovation, and Technology Commission signs off on the proposal:

I regret that the moratorium on entry, production, and research on GMOs has been approved for such a long term 15 yearswithout input from experts who staff the Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology. We will soon start a round of consultations to calmly and thoroughly analyze this complex issue.

Following this statement, the new environment minister announced that the Executive Branch is awaiting presidential approval to initiate a technical debate that will benefit from the input of government regulators and scientists, giving crop biotechnology advocates a brief opportunity to make their case and highlighting Perus complicated history with genetic engineering.

The coalition of highly organized anti-GMO activists and organic food lobbyists behind the moratorium legislation did all they could to monopolize the debate, while simultaneously accusing the biotech industry of employing the same strategy. They claimed that seed companies were trying to force their way into the country, which of course wasnt possible with a ban already in place. The activists also took to social media to attack GMOs and organize webinars to explain why the moratorium extension was necessary. Biotech experts were never invited to take part in the discussions, and events that presented both sides of the debate were few and far between.

As the moratorium legislation underwent exhaustive revision, many old myths about GM crops were utilizedyet againto justify the ban. For example, the scandalous study conducted by Gilles-ric Sralini was trotted out to associate GMOs with cancer, though experts have conclusively shown that the French geneticists findings are dubious. The activists also revived a classic argument, widely used around the world though new to Peru: Marca Per, which means, the country as a brand.

Inspired by this rhetoric, politicians feared that the countrys brand could be harmed by the adoption of GM crops, since Peru has sold itself as an ancestral homeland to organic food produced from native seeds. While this argument generated enough support to extend the moratorium, it is little more than a marketing myth used to sell the image of Peru as a GM-free territory.

As it turns out, GM crops are anything but foreign to Peru. Many farmers in the country, perhaps unwittingly, have been cultivating insect-resistant biotech corn for years. The illegal practice has been universally condemned, but the experience of these growers nonetheless undermines the case made by ban proponents who claim biotechnology poses a threat to Peru.

During the previous 10-year moratorium, commercializing and planting transgenic seeds was completely banned in Peru. That said, Peru was (and still is) an avid importer of commodities grown from genetically modified seeds, such as corn and soy. In 2019 alone, Peru spent $142.6 million on imported soy, 81% of which came from the United States, one of the top GM soy producers in the world. One of Perus most precious staple foods, maize, is likewise often grown from GM seeds in other countries. Last year, Peru imported almost four million tons of yellow corn, mainly from Argentina, one of the top GM crop producers in Latin America.

And this is where the story gets interesting. According to a report released this year by the Ministry of Environment (MINAM), some Peruvian farmers have for years repurposed this imported genetically modified grain as seed and planted it in their own fields.

The report noted that regulators in 2019 detected transgenes (GMOs) in 88.3% of the fields inspected and in 100% of collected grains, all samples coming from three maize varieties: Pato (duck) maizewhich is a hybrid of yellow corn and alazan (a native race that has an intense red color)and two other local races of white and purple corn. These findings arent unprecedented, either. Back in 2016 and 2018, authorities also found transgenes in the same region of the country (Piura), and inspections of other farming regions could reveal more illegal GM seed once the pandemic travel restrictions are lifted.

Seed companies have never sold biotech products in Peru, even before the moratorium was enacted, mainly because the law has to be respected, but also because operating in a country with no GM crop regulations can invite problems no firm wants to deal with. However, the dearth of commercialized GM seed wasnt much of a barrier for farmers.

Historically, Piura farmers have planted their own hybrid yellow maize, a common practice in the region because its far cheaper than buying certified hybrid seed. They recently began crossing their hybrid seed with alazan to obtain Pato (duck), a variety with a mix of both phenotypes. Its used as animal feed (hence the name) and to make chicha de jora, a traditional beverage in the area.

At some point, farmers starting crossing this cultivated maize with imported GM yellow corn that was easily found in local markets, thus obtaining a pato maize with insect resistance. Farmers noticed the benefits of this new corn and decided to stick with it.

MINAM was able to better assess the situation after interviewing farmers in the region. Most notable were their reasons for choosing not to plant certified hybrid seed:

Whether or not farmers knew they were planting and breeding genetically modified grain remains a mystery. It is also difficult to know precisely when their off-the-books breeding efforts began. But in a 2009 study, researchers from the National Agrarian University La Molina detected transgenes in grains from three different regions of Peru. As for the data coming from the most recent study in Piura, 89.9% of samples were positive for the Cry1A protein that most likely came from MON810, an old Monsanto insect-resistance event released back in the late 1990s that is no longer commercially available (new and improved varieties have since been released in other countries).

Even though this insect-resistance trait is many years old, farmers benefited from the technology. MINAM reported: Although [Cry1As] effectiveness in controlling the pest is not the most optimal (due to the segregation of genes or the appearance of resistance), it is enough to reduce the use of pesticides by half or a third. It is important to clarify that pest tolerance to the insecticidal protein was bound to evolve; Peruvian farmers have no knowledge of good farming practices designed to preserve the effectiveness of insect-resistant crops.

This evidence points to the possibility that growers have been illegally planting imported GM grain for over a decade, even before the official ban went into effect. But the eradication process is proving to be a real challenge. Farmers are not excited about giving up their pato maize for expensive hybrid seed that requires more water and twice the amount of pesticide. As a result, officials are looking forward to replacing the certified hybrid corn with different crops:

The reconversion of agriculture for another more profitable crop requires . long-term work, taking into account the supply and demand of these products. Precisely, rice (produced in the big season) was the crop that displaced the hundreds of hectares of Pima cotton that were planted in the area, because the latter was no longer profitable. The farmer will always choose the crop that gives him the best income, especially if it is immediate since his agriculture is mainly subsistence.

Regulators, biotech advocates, and anti-GMO groups know there are GM crops grown in Peruvian soil, but none of them wants to address the issue. Regulators do not want to reveal their actual position on such a politicized topic; the risk of a heavy media backlash is too great. Biotech advocates also avoid talking about this since they do not want the public to think they endorse illegal activity. On the other hand, anti-GMO groups simply wont talk about farmers growing biotech crops to cut pesticide and water use because it challenges their narrative.

At this point, biotech advocates are struggling to keep their cause alive, wondering if GM crops will ever be approved by a country whose farmers clearly see the benefits of genetic engineering. Although the new administrations comments have strengthened their resolve, the science community knows whats at stake: rising crop losses they wont be allowed to stop.

Perus biodiversity, which anti-biotech activist groups have sworn to protect, will also suffer. According to MINAMs National Forest and Wildlife Service, smallholder farmers who cut down trees to cultivate agricultural areas smaller than five hectares are responsible for 78% of the countrys deforestation. The adoption of GM crops could curb land expansion by increasing crop yield and farmers incomes.

In a country where agricultural biotechnology research has been held back for a decade, scientists can only encourage the new administration to change course. If it wont, consumers, farmers and the environment will suffer unnecessarily.

Sherly Montaguth is a biologist, content strategist and editor currently working as Communications Coordinator for the Andean Region of Agro-Bio. Follow her on Twitter @cherrymontaguth

Excerpt from:
Battle over 15-year GMO ban extension rages in Peru as farmers breed and cultivate illegal biotech seed - Genetic Literacy Project

DetailsCategory: AntibodiesPublished on Tuesday, 01 December 2020 10:26Hits: 470

SIOUX FALLS, SD, USA I November 30, 2020 I SAB Biotherapeutics (SAB), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel immunotherapy platform to produce specifically targeted, high-potency, fully human polyclonal antibodies without the need for human serum, today announced that, as part of Operation Warp Speed, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) have awarded SAB $57.5 million in expanded scope for its DiversitAb Rapid Response Antibody Program contract for the manufacturing of SAB-185, the companys clinical stage therapeutic candidate for COVID-19.

"We are pleased to be awarded this additional contract scope, which we believe is a reflection of the compelling science that supports SAB-185s potential in COVID-19, as well as the urgent need for treatment options amidst the global pandemic. Previous data has indicated that this human polyclonal antibody therapeutic has potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, potentially driving more available doses, giving us the confidence to continue to progress our clinical development programs for SAB-185, said Eddie J. Sullivan, PhD, co-founder, president and CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics. This manufacturing agreement with BARDA and the Department of Defense supports our vision of bringing a novel, first-of-its-kind human polyclonal antibody therapeutic candidate for COVID-19 to patients, and I am proud of the work by our team and appreciate the continued support from BARDA and JPEO as we continue to rapidly advance SAB-185.

SAB-185 is currently being tested as a COVID-19 therapeutic in an ongoing Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers and an ongoing Phase Ib trial in patients with mild or moderate COVID-19. SAB has leveraged its expertise to develop scalable manufacturing capabilities to support clinical activities, and continues to increase capacities in working with contract manufacturing organizations.

About SAB-185

SAB-185 is a fully-human, specifically-targeted and broadly neutralizing polyclonal antibody therapeutic candidate for COVID-19. The therapeutic was developed from SABs novel proprietary DiversitAb Rapid Response Antibody Program. SAB filed the Investigational New Drug (IND) application and produced the initial clinical doses in just 98 days from program initiation. The novel therapeutic has shown neutralization of both the Munich and Washington strains of mutated virus in preclinical studies. Preclinical data has also demonstrated SAB-185 to be significantly more potent than human-derived convalescent plasma.

About SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc.

SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. (SAB) is a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company advancing a new class of immunotherapies leveraging fully human polyclonal antibodies. Utilizing some of the most complex genetic engineering and antibody science in the world, SAB has developed the only platform that can rapidly produce natural, specifically-targeted, high-potency, human polyclonal immunotherapies at commercial scale. SAB-185, a fully-human polyclonal antibody therapeutic candidate for COVID-19, is being developed with initial funding supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) Joint Project Lead for Enabling Biotechnologies (JPL-EB). In addition to COVID-19, the companys pipeline also includes programs in Type 1 diabetes, organ transplant and influenza. For more information visit: http://www.sabbiotherapeutics.com or follow @SABBantibody on Twitter.

SOURCE: SAB Biotherapeutics

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SAB Biotherapeutics Awarded $57.5M from BARDA and US Department of Defense for Manufacturing of SAB-185 for the Treatment of COVID-19 | Antibodies |...

Pune, New York, USA, November 27 2020 (Wiredrelease) Research Dive :The global genome editing/genome engineering market is estimated to surpass $15,306.3 million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 17.0% from 2020 to 2027.

The report aims to offer a clear picture of the current scenario and future growth of the global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market. The report provides scrupulous analysis of global market by thoroughly reviewing several factors of the market such as vital segments, regional market condition, market dynamics, investment suitability, and key players operating in the market. Besides, the report delivers sharp insights into present and forthcoming trends & developments in the global market.

The report articulates the key opportunities and factors propelling the global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market growth. Also, threats and limitations that have the possibility to hamper the market growth are outlined in the report. Further, Porters five forces analysis that explains the bargaining power of suppliers and consumers, competitive landscape, and development of substitutes in the market is also sketched in the report.

For More Detail Insights, Download Sample Copy of the Report at: https://www.researchdive.com/download-sample/1783

The report reveals various statistics such as predicted market size and forecast by analyzing the major factors and by assessing each segment of the global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market. Regional market analysis of these segments is also provided in the report. The report segments the global market into four main regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and LAMEA. Moreover, these regions are sub-divided to offer an exhaustive landscape of the Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market across key countries in respective regions. Furthermore, the report divulges some of the latest advances, trends, and upcoming opportunities in every region.

Furthermore, the report profiles top players active in the global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market. A comprehensive summary of 10 foremost players operating in the global market is delivered in the report to comprehend their position and footmark in the industry. The report highlights various data points such as short summary of the company, companys financial status and proceeds, chief company executives, key business strategies executed by company, initiatives undertaken & advanced developments by the company to thrust their position and grasp a significant position in the market.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research report is formed by collating different statistics and information concerning the Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market. Long hours of deliberations and interviews have been performed with a group of investors and stakeholders, including upstream and downstream members. Primary research is the main part of the research efforts; however, it is reasonably supported by all-encompassing secondary research. Numerous product type literatures, company annual reports, market publications, and other such relevant documents of the leading market players have been studied, for better & broader understanding of market penetration. Furthermore, medical journals, trustworthy industry newsletters, government websites, and trade associations publications have also been evaluated for extracting vital industry insights.

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KEY MARKET BENEFITS

This report is a compilation of qualitative assessment by industry analysts, detailed information & study, and valid inputs from industry participants & experts across the value chainAn in-depth analysis along with recent trends of the industry are provided in the report to identify & comprehend the prevailing opportunities and the tactical assessment of the global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market growthThe market size and forecasts are derived by scrutinizing market boomers and restraints, and key developments in the Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market marketThe report studies the market from 2019 to 2027 and maps the qualitative impact of several industry factors on market segments as well as geographiesThe development strategies implemented by the key industry players are conscripted in the report to understand the competitive scenario of the global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market marketThe report also offers insights into foremost market players, Porters Five Analysis, and top winning business strategies

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS

The global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market market is segmented on the basis of the following:

Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Market By Product Type:

Reagents & Consumables, Software & Systems, Services

Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Market By Applications:

Cell Line Engineering, Genetic Engineering, Diagnostic Applications, Drug Discovery & Development, Other Applications

Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Market By Regions:

North America (U.S, Canada, and Mexico.)Europe (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe.)Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Rest of APAC.)LAMEA (Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE, Rest of LAMEA)

Top Leading key players stated in Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Market report are:

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Merck, Horizon Discovery Limited, Lonza, GenScript, Eurofins Scientific, Sangamo Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, CRISPR Therapeutics, Precision Biosciences

The report also summarizes other important aspects including financial performance, product portfolio, SWOT analysis, and recent strategic moves and developments of the leading players.

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Output: What is the current situation of Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market - PharmiWeb.com

Based on genome-wide experiments, the human body has 2,064 genes relevant to COVID-19. So why are researchers only studying 611 of them?

A historical bias -- which has long dictated which human genes are studied -- is now affecting how biomedical researchers study COVID-19, according to new Northwestern University research.

Although biomedical researchers know that many overlooked human genes play a role in COVID-19, they currently do not study them. Instead, researchers that study COVID-19 continue to focus on human genes that have already been heavily investigated independent of coronaviruses.

"For understandable reasons, researchers tend to build upon existing knowledge and research tools. They appear to select genes to study based on the ease of experimentation rather than their ultimate relevance to a disease," said Northwestern's Thomas Stoeger, who co-led the research. "This means that research into COVID-19 concentrates only on a small subset of the human genes involved in the response to the virus. Consequently, many aspects of the response of human cells toward COVID-19 remain not understood."

"There are many genes related to COVID-19, but we don't know what they are doing in the context of COVID-19," added Northwestern's Lus Amaral, who co-led the study with Stoeger. "We didn't study these genes before the pandemic, and COVID-19 does not seem to be an incentive to investigate them."

The research is published in the journaleLife.

Stoeger is a data science scholar at the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) and the Center for Genetic Medicine. Through a "Pathway to Independence" award from the National Institute of Aging, Stoeger is starting a research laboratory dedicated to uncovering unstudied genes with important contributions to aging and age-related diseases. Amaral is the Erastus O. Haven Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. Stoeger and Amaral are both members of Successful Clinical Response in Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT) Systems Biology Center.

Despite the increasing availability of new techniques to study and characterize genes, researchers continue to study a small group of genes that scientists have studied since the 1980s. Historically, these genes have been easier to investigate experimentally. If an animal model has a similar gene to humans, for example, researchers are more likely to study that gene. The Northwestern team also discovered that postdoctoral fellows and Ph.D. students who focus on poorly characterized genes have a 50% reduced chance of becoming an independent researcher.

Although the Human Genome Project -- the identification and mapping of all human genes, completed in 2003 -- aimed to expand the scope of scientific study beyond this small subset of genes, it has yet to fulfill this aim.

"The bias to study the exact same human genes is very high," Amaral said. "The entire system is fighting the very purpose of the agencies and scientific knowledge, which is to broaden the set of things we study and understand. We need to make a concerted effort to incentivize the study of other genes important to human health."

Bias continues into COVID-era

For the new study, Stoeger and Amaral turned to LitCOVID, a collection of research publications related to COVID-19, curated by the National Library of Medicine. LitCOVID tags genes mentioned in the titles, abstracts or results sections of individual publications.

Northwestern researchers analyzed 10,395 published papers and pre-prints from the collection. Then, they integrated them into a custom database along with more than 100 different biological and bibliometric databases in an effort to survey and measure all aspects of biomedical research. Finally, they compared genes mentioned in the COVID-19 papers to COVID-19-related genes as identified by four genome-wide studies.

Stoeger and Amaral also tracked the occurrence of genes appearing in COVID-19 literature over time. Surprisingly, they observed that studies of COVID-19 genes are becoming not more but less expansive since the onset of the pandemic.

The team hopes its study inspires other researchers to be aware of past biases and to explore unstudied genes.

"Our findings have a direct implication on the long-term planning of scientific policymakers," Stoeger said. "We can point researchers toward human genes that are important for the cellular response against viruses but risk being ignored due to historically acquired biases, which are culturally reinforced."Reference: Stoeger T, Nunes Amaral LA. COVID-19 research risks ignoring important host genes due to pre-established research patterns. Rodgers P, Danchev V, Zheng H, Brown S, eds. eLife. 2020;9:e61981. doi:10.7554/eLife.61981.

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.

Excerpt from:
Historical Bias Overlooks Genes That Are Related to COVID-19 - Technology Networks

We have always heard, 'Childrenare the building blocks of the nation' and a 15-year-old Indian-American kid has proved this right. An Indian-American girl Gitanjali Rao, a brilliant young scientist and inventor, has been named by TIME magazine as the first-ever Kid of the Year for her astonishing work using technology to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying.

The 15-year-old from Colorado, US was selected from 5,000 nominees and was interviewed by Academy award-winning Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie for TIME.Jolie is also a special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

From developing an app to tackle cyberbullying to working on affordable technology that would allow one to ensure the purity of drinking water, for Gitanjali Rao, the sky is the limit.

The world belongs to those who shape it. And however uncertain that world may feel at a given moment, the reassuring reality seems to be that each new generation produces more of what these kidshave already achieved: positive impact, in all sizes, Time said.

Speaking from her home in Colorado, Gitanjali Rao told Angelina Jolie that she wanted to research carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water quality research lab when she was 10. "It was just that changing factor of, you know this work is going to be in our generation's hands pretty soon. So if no one else is gonna do it, I'm gonna do it," Rao added.

Raos latest discovery is an app called, Kindly, that detects cyberbullying at an early stage, based on artificial-intelligence technology.

In another similar development, Rao has developed another application called Tethys, a device that can measure the content of lead contamination in water with the help of carbon nanotubes.

At present, she is working on a product that will help to diagnose prescription-opioid addiction at an early stage based on protein production of the mu-opioid receptor gene.

In 2018, she was the prestigious recipient United States Environmental Protection Agency Presidents Environmental Youth Award.

In the interview with TIME, the 15-year-old says, I dont look like your typical scientist. Everything I see on TV is that its an older, usually white man as a scientist. Its weird to me that it was almost like people had assigned roles, regarding like their gender, their age, the color of their skin.

If I can do it, you can do it, and anyone can do it, she added.

Rao said that her generation is facing many challenges that were never seen before.

"But then at the same time, we're facing old problems that still exist. Like, we're sitting here in the middle of a new global pandemic, and we're also still facing human-rights issues. There are problems that we did not create but that we now have to solve, like climate change and cyberbullying with the introduction of technology," she said. "I think more than anything right now, we just need to find that one thing we're passionate about and solve it. Even if it's something as small as, I want to find an easy way to pick up litter. Everything makes a difference. Don't feel pressured to come up with something big," Rao said.

Rao also shared that she always wanted to bring a smile to someone's face. "That was my everyday goal, just to make someone happy. And it soon turned into, How can we bring positivity and community to the place we live?" she said.

Rao is an ardent follower of MIT Tech Review and considers that her go-to pop culture news. I read it constantly. I think thats really where inspiration strikes: hearing about all these amazing people at schools like MIT and Harvard who are doing such amazing work with technology, said the young scientist.

Gitanjali is also a winner of the Top Health Pillar Prize for the TCS Ignite Innovation Student Challenge in May 2019 for developing a diagnostic tool based on advances in genetic engineering for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction.

Excerpt from:
15-Year-Old Indian-American Gitanjali Rao Becomes TIMEs First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year' - ABP Live

5G Makes the World Safe for Consumerism

There seems to be no questioning the technological imperative. 5G will, when it is fully operative, increase download speeds such that general mobile phone internet activity will be 20 to 100 times faster, thus, for example, greatly enhancing watching Series TV on the go. 5G will also, its promoters claim, fulfill the promise of both Artificial Intelligence and the internet of things: interconnected smart homes, smart cars, and consumers served by smart farms and operated on by smart machines. Likewise, in genetics, the cracking of DNA and RNA codeswhich may enable current COVID-19 stimulators to allow the body to suppress the virus without a dangerous ingestion of COVIDmay eventually lead to promoting a generalized immunity from many diseases.

What could go wrong? Plenty, say 5G critics in France. Likewise, in the realm of genetic algorithms, the German series Biohackers equally sounds the alarm.

In the U.S. and across Asia, in particular, in China and South Korea, the answer to what can go wrong is Nothing. In the U.S. the debate over 5G is only about how fast and efficient the service is. The criticism is that the Verizon-Apple iPhone 12 and the AT&T-Galaxy 5G rollout, even in the large cities, is only partial, four times rather than 20 times faster. China, meanwhile, leads the world in 5G patents and sees the technology as its way to climb out of the stigma of the worlds low-end manufacturer, throwing off the Made in China labeling to be replaced by the Huawei branding of assembled technology, this time Made in Vietnam. In South Korea, the debate is on how soon 6G will arrive.

Europe is behind in the race to 5G, though one of its two telecom companies, Ericsson, has now announced its ready for a rollout. But not so fast. Across the continent questions are being raised about the safety, the consumerist changes, planned obsolescence and inequality the technology will effectuate, and about how 5G is part of the capitalist profit-driven productivist imperative that has so ravaged the planet. In Germany and Britain, angry citizens have pulled down towers. In France, especially with the rise of a progressive Green Party called EELV, the entire ethos of 5G is being questioned.

The opening salvo against the technology was fired by the Green Party Mayor of Grenoble, Eric Piolle, who questioned its supposed benefits. With 5G I can watch porn in HD in my elevator and know if I still have yogurt in the refrigerator is the way he described the new promised land that proponents claim the network will usher in. In return, the Rothschild banker-turned-President Emmanuel Macron, a prime promoter of neoliberal technology as the savior of French society, labeled the Greens Amish who wanted to return to the era of the oil lamp. His fellow right-wing confrres warned of a Green Peril, using the Cold War overlay of Red Peril, and branded those questioning this imperative as Khmer Green, likening them in the digital realm to Cambodias murderous Khmer Rouge.

There is little doubt that the primary reason 5G, the star of the Christmas consumer push, is being so thoroughly trumpeted is the profits it will reap, forecast to account for 668 billion dollars globally in six years and predicted, with the gain in the sale of mobile phones, with an enhanced gaming experience and with more widespread virtual reality headsets, to account for 5 percent of global GDP this year.

Elements of the French left, though, including Franois Ruffin, a legislator and director of the film Merci, Patron, or Thanks, Boss, a kind of French Roger and Me about Frances richest bosses mercilessly closing factories, have suggested that this technological bounty is being asked to fill the void in lives that are increasingly despairing. Ruffin notes also how this techno-totalitarianism, what media critic Evgeny Morozov calls solutionism, will amplify already existing inequalities. The technology may widen the gaps between the increasingly more plugged-in cities with 5G, the periphery around those cities with 4G, and the countrys rural areas with no G, thus in France exacerbating what is termed the territorial fracture and what in the U.S. might be called the Red/Blue dichotomy.

Echoing Morozov, Ruffin points out this kind of thinking leads not to, for example, regulating agribusiness to produce healthier and more eco-friendly food, but to supplying more intelligent forks. In Catholic France 5G is breathlessly talked about, Ruffin says, as the second coming of the Holy Spirit, illuminating our smartphones in the way the first coming descended on the apostles at Pentecost. In the holy light of such a miracle, the telecom industry shakes off the shackles of any sense of being a public good, and instead regulation becomes only about how market competition can be promoted.

France has always been suspicious of consumer miracles which its leading thinkers have often seen as foisted on it by American capitalism in its drive for global hegemony. Witness Godards Two or Three Things I Know About Her and Weekend and the films of Jacques Tati (Playtime, Mr. Hulots Holiday) in their unfolding of a critique of a French society being remade from without.

The debate here is raising important questions that are given short shrift in the rest of the world. Europe is simply being asked to conform and told that if it does not it will be left out of a mainspring of the global economy, with its devices unable to catch up or be plugged into the global flow.

Studies indicate that the digital economy emits 4 percent of greenhouse gas, a number that is predicted to double in five years and which 5 and 6G will accelerate. The Green Party labels 5G an enevore, that is, energy gorging, noting that mobile phone use already accounts for 2 percent of electric use in France.

The introduction of this speedier technology is designed to increase costs, not only of a monthly mobile bill as more data is accessed and downloaded, but also necessitating replacing existing mobile phones with 5G-ready equipment, phones which are now already on the average replaced every 18 months to 2 years. Eventually, the technology with increased pixilation for faster and clearer viewing will be a part of computers and televisions and, like the changeover in television sets from analog to digital, will require a wholescale worldwide replacement.

The ecological question also involves not only the global waste in disposing of the used devices which is estimated to reach 2 million tons, but also in their creation with 70 kilos or 154 pounds of raw materials, including rare metals, necessary for the assembling of one of these super devices. These rare metals, which emit radiation, are strip-mined in the south of China where production is still largely private and loosely regulated. Elsewhere, 80 percent of the cobalt and tantalum needed for assembly comes from the east of the Republic of Congo, a war-torn area where 40,000 children work in the mining zones.

Consumer enhancement, of course, with the tech companies goes hand in hand with consumer surveillance, and 5G increases the drive to a global data center where billions of data packages will be available to publicity and advertising agencies for use in instantaneously molding and soliciting user taste depending on the content of individual cell phones and the store any consumer passes or, more creepily, any impulses they have. By 2025 it is predicted that 75 billion objects will be interconnected, all transmitting user data so that the refrigerator that is telling you to buy more yogurt is also spying on you. The internet highway becomes a spy way.

The implementation of 5G is also wasteful. Huawei is clearly the global leader in cheap and efficient 5G construction. A mobile phone is made up of a complex of 250,000 inventions and patents. In 2020 the Chinese lead the world with 34 cell phone patents, followed by South Korea and Europe with the U.S. a distant fourth. Yet, in labeling the Chinese company a security riskwhen in fact the real threat is that it is a more skillful competitorand forcing its allies to boycott the company as well, installation of 5G will be more costly with companies required to duplicate already established efforts.

Finally, there is the question of safety. There has been no comprehensive government study on the effects of the increased sonic waves on the human body. Private corporate studies, which are not required to be made public, all negate this possibility, while public studies suggest there may be some danger. The U.S. National Toxicology Program found evidence of cancer tumors in rats exposed to high frequencies, and in Italy, the Ramazzini Institute warned there were potential carcinogens in radio frequencies. The French government has commissioned a thoroughgoing study, the results to be reported in Spring 2021. The newspaper of record Le Monde and 70 legislators have asked for a moratorium until the findings are revealed, but Macrons Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire wants to hasten 5G installation, warning that a delay would contribute to France losing its digital sovereignty.

The corporate sector sees 5G as simply an economic issue with the question being when and how, not why. The Greens and the French left see 5G, in the way it will change French life, perhaps increasing what the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze called societies of control, as a social and ecological issue and a place where the overwhelming drive to more and faster which has so devastated the planet must be questioned. On the continental, national and individual level, to not have 5G means to drop out of the digital flow, with capital arguing, as Theodor Adorno warned in the mid-20th century, that the worst of all conditions is to be left behind. What a bleak future indeed without porn on our elevators and without knowing if we need another yogurt in our refrigerator!

Are you ready for more genetic engineering?

A series which similarly questions how technological prowess is being implemented and controlled, this time in the area of genomes and the human body, is the German show Biohackers. The series is financed by German government and Bavarian Television funds and shot in the same studio as another German series, Dark, both available on Netflix. The simplicity of Biohackers, which begins with a highly dramatic bio attack on a train and then flashes back to explain how the young female student Mia got there and why she is not susceptible to the attack, works in its favor, as opposed to the labored three-era, almost impenetrable flashbacks of Dark.

The action takes place on the Bavarian campus of the University of Freiburg, the German center of all kinds of genetic engineering experimentation. The students at the school, a band of renegades working on their own socially uplifting mutations, are part of a do-it-yourself biology known as the biotechnological social movement or as bio- or wetware hacking, similar to the early rough and tumble cyberpunks of the internet. Mias roommatesbotanist Chen Lu, monied beauty queen Lotta, and nerd seed experimenter Oleform an international group of scientific Scooby Doos who comes to her rescue as she is first taken under the wing of the universitys star biologist Dr. Tanya Lorenz and then threatened by her, as Mia and her friends expose the ruthlessness of their professors experiments to perfect a subject immune to disease.

Mias futon and her rumpled student quarters are contrasted to the corporate-funded Dr. Lorenzs elaborate multi-storied, impeccably furnished and ordered home in the Bavarian forest, complete with a lab in the basement. As with 5G, Dr. Lorenz issues a warning that Germany, which has lost out and is behind in digital mastery, must conquer the realm of biotechnology to compensate.

Dr. Lorenz, though, is revealed to be experimenting on human subjects, leaving a murderous trail behind her and recalling earlier experiments by the Nazis who also claimed to be benefiting humanity. She is Dr. Mengele in a pants suit. This contemporary version of the former ethos features Lorenz, as Mia points out, marking her subjects with a bar code, as the Nazis burnt prison numbers into their subjects flesh.

We are reminded that the Bavarian countryside and its dark forests hatched Hitler in his first coup attempt and that Freiburg University was the place the philosopher Martin Heidegger, in his moment of embracing National Socialism, accepted an appointment as head of the university until his gradual disgust with the movement resulted in his resignation.

Biohackers, renewed for a second season when the conspiracy to hide the experimentation reaches a national level, does not shy away from the subject of chemical and biological warfare. However, instead of the hackneyed usual and usually insane terrorist, the terror here is far better organized and financed not by rogue fanatics but by a corporate-medical ethos which values profit above human life.

Read the original here:
5G and 'Biohackers': Technology rules! (Is that a good thing?) - People's World