StemCell Therapy

Iron Mike will break his soul to get back in peak physical condition (Pictures: Instagram / @MikeTyson)

Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson has explained his gruelling training regime as he bids to return to the ring and says he is still feeling weird after using stem-cell therapy.

The 53-year-old showed off his incredible, age-defying speed and power in training footage he uploaded to Instagram last week, declaring he was back and ready to take part in exhibition fights for charity.

Iron Mike has already been inundated with potential challengers to fight, with old heavyweight rival Evander Holyfield posting his own video in response to Tyson and opening the door to a potential third fight between the pair.

Joe Rogan recently suggested that Tysons incredible speed and power was not down to natural hard work alone, and now the veteran boxer has revealed the extreme lengths he is going to in order to get back in shape.

Speaking on the Rock the Bells Radio show on SiriusXM, Tyson was asked by rapper LL Cool J how he would get in peak shape in just six to eight weeks and replied: Really I would just change my diet and just do cardio work. Cardio has to start, you have to have your endurance to go and do the process of training.

So something to do is get in cardio, I would try and get two hours of cardio a day, make sure you get that stuff in. Youre gonna make sure youre eating the right food.

For me its almost like slave food. Doing what you hate to do but doing it like its nothing. Getting up when you dont want to get up. Thats what it is. Its becoming a slave to life.

People think a slave to life is just enjoying drugs and living your life. Being a slave to life means being the best person you can be, being the best you can possibly be, and when you are at the best you can possibly be is when you no longer exist and nobody talks about you. Thats when youre at your best.

Probed further on the mental aspect of preparing for a fight, Tyson continued: My mind wouldnt belong to me. My mind would belong to somebody that disliked me enough to break my soul, and I would give them my mind for that period of time.

Six weeks of this and Id be in the best shape Ive ever dreamed of being in. As a matter of fact, Im going through that process right now. And you know what else I did, I did stem-cell research.

After LL Cool J asked if that meant Tysons white blood cells had been spun and then put back in, Tyson continued: Yes. As they took the blood it was red and when it came back it was almost transfluid [sic], I could almost see through the blood, and then they injected it in me. And Ive been weird ever since, Ive got to get balanced now.

Tyson first revealed that he had undergone stem cell treatment which is usually used to treat or prevent a disease or condition in an Instagram live chat with Shaquille ONeal earlier this month.

You know what I had done? I had stem cell therapy, said Iron Mike. I feel like a different person but I cant comprehend why I feel this way. Its really wild what scientists can do.

MORE: Evander Holyfield demands bizarre no knockouts rule for potential Mike Tyson comeback fight

MORE: Joe Rogan shocked by fu*king sensational training videos of Mike Tyson

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Mike Tyson lifts lid on training regime and stem-cell therapy ahead of comeback - Metro.co.uk

Skeletal Disease

The report is a compilation of different studies, including regional analysis where leading regional Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy markets are comprehensive studied by market experts. Both developed and developing regions and countries are covered in the report for a 360-degree geographic analysis of the Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy market. The regional analysis section helps readers to become familiar with the growth patterns of important regional Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy markets. It also provides information on lucrative opportunities available in key regional Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy markets.

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Table of Content

1 Introduction of Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market

1.1 Overview of the Market1.2 Scope of Report1.3 Assumptions

2 Executive Summary

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Data Mining3.2 Validation3.3 Primary Interviews3.4 List of Data Sources

4 Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Outlook

4.1 Overview4.2 Market Dynamics4.2.1 Drivers4.2.2 Restraints4.2.3 Opportunities4.3 Porters Five Force Model4.4 Value Chain Analysis

5 Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Deployment Model

5.1 Overview

6 Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Solution

6.1 Overview

7 Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Vertical

7.1 Overview

8 Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Geography

8.1 Overview8.2 North America8.2.1 U.S.8.2.2 Canada8.2.3 Mexico8.3 Europe8.3.1 Germany8.3.2 U.K.8.3.3 France8.3.4 Rest of Europe8.4 Asia Pacific8.4.1 China8.4.2 Japan8.4.3 India8.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific8.5 Rest of the World8.5.1 Latin America8.5.2 Middle East

9 Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Competitive Landscape

9.1 Overview9.2 Company Market Ranking9.3 Key Development Strategies

10 Company Profiles

10.1.1 Overview10.1.2 Financial Performance10.1.3 Product Outlook10.1.4 Key Developments

11 Appendix

11.1 Related Research

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Tags: Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Size, Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Trends, Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Growth, Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Forecast, Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Analysis Sarkari result, Government Jobs, Sarkari naukri, NMK, Majhi Naukri,

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Musculoskeletal Disorder Stem Cell Therapy Market Development, Trends, Key Driven Factors, Segmentation And Forecast to 2020-2026 - Cole of Duty

Research Organizations

The report is a compilation of different studies, including regional analysis where leading regional Animal Stem Cell Therapy markets are comprehensive studied by market experts. Both developed and developing regions and countries are covered in the report for a 360-degree geographic analysis of the Animal Stem Cell Therapy market. The regional analysis section helps readers to become familiar with the growth patterns of important regional Animal Stem Cell Therapy markets. It also provides information on lucrative opportunities available in key regional Animal Stem Cell Therapy markets.

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Table of Content

1 Introduction of Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market

1.1 Overview of the Market1.2 Scope of Report1.3 Assumptions

2 Executive Summary

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Data Mining3.2 Validation3.3 Primary Interviews3.4 List of Data Sources

4 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Outlook

4.1 Overview4.2 Market Dynamics4.2.1 Drivers4.2.2 Restraints4.2.3 Opportunities4.3 Porters Five Force Model4.4 Value Chain Analysis

5 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Deployment Model

5.1 Overview

6 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Solution

6.1 Overview

7 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Vertical

7.1 Overview

8 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Geography

8.1 Overview8.2 North America8.2.1 U.S.8.2.2 Canada8.2.3 Mexico8.3 Europe8.3.1 Germany8.3.2 U.K.8.3.3 France8.3.4 Rest of Europe8.4 Asia Pacific8.4.1 China8.4.2 Japan8.4.3 India8.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific8.5 Rest of the World8.5.1 Latin America8.5.2 Middle East

9 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Competitive Landscape

9.1 Overview9.2 Company Market Ranking9.3 Key Development Strategies

10 Company Profiles

10.1.1 Overview10.1.2 Financial Performance10.1.3 Product Outlook10.1.4 Key Developments

11 Appendix

11.1 Related Research

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Market Research Intellect provides syndicated and customized research reports to clients from various industries and organizations with the aim of delivering functional expertise. We provide reports for all industries including Energy, Technology, Manufacturing and Construction, Chemicals and Materials, Food and Beverage and more. These reports deliver an in-depth study of the market with industry analysis, market value for regions and countries and trends that are pertinent to the industry.

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Tags: Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Size, Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Trends, Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Growth, Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Forecast, Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Analysis Sarkari result, Government Jobs, Sarkari naukri, NMK, Majhi Naukri,

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Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Development, Trends, Key Driven Factors, Segmentation And Forecast to 2020-2026 - Cole of Duty

Latest Report On Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market including Market Landscape, and Market size, Revenues by players, Revenues by regions, Average prices, Competitive landscape, market Dynamics and industry trends and developments during the forecast period.

The global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market is broadly analyzed in this report that sheds light on critical aspects such as the vendor landscape, competitive strategies, market dynamics, and regional analysis. The report helps readers to clearly understand the current and future status of the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market. The research study comes out as a compilation of useful guidelines for players to secure a position of strength in the global market. The authors of the report profile leading companies of the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market, Also the details about important activities of leading players in the competitive landscape.

Key companies operating in the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market include: Medivet Biologics LLC, VETSTEM BIOPHARMA, J-ARM, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc, VetCell Therapeutics, Celavet Inc., Magellan Stem Cells, Kintaro Cells Power, Animal Stem Care, Animal Cell Therapies, Cell Therapy Sciences, Animacel

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The report predicts the size of the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market in terms of value and volume for the forecast period 2020-2026. As per the analysis provided in the report, the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market is expected to rise at a CAGR of xx % between 2020 and 2026 to reach a valuation of US$ xx million/billion by the end of 2026. In 2020, the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market attained a valuation of US$ XX million/billion. The market researchers deeply analyze the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy industry landscape and the future prospects it is anticipated to create

Segmental Analysis

The report has classified the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy industry into segments including product type and application. Every segment is evaluated based on growth rate and share. Besides, the analysts have studied the potential regions that may prove rewarding for the Animal Stem Cell Therapy manufcaturers in the coming years. The regional analysis includes reliable predictions on value and volume, thereby helping market players to gain deep insights into the overall Animal Stem Cell Therapy industry.

Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Segment By Type:

Dogs, Horses, Others

Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Segment By Application:

Veterinary Hospitals, Research Organizations

Competitive Landscape

It is important for every market participant to be familiar with the competitive scenario in the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy industry. In order to fulfil the requirements, the industry analysts have evaluated the strategic activities of the competitors to help the key players strengthen their foothold in the market and increase their competitiveness.

Key companies operating in the global Animal Stem Cell Therapy market include: Medivet Biologics LLC, VETSTEM BIOPHARMA, J-ARM, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc, VetCell Therapeutics, Celavet Inc., Magellan Stem Cells, Kintaro Cells Power, Animal Stem Care, Animal Cell Therapies, Cell Therapy Sciences, Animacel

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TOC

Table of Contents 1 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Overview1.1 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Overview1.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Segment by Type1.2.1 Dogs1.2.2 Horses1.2.3 Others1.3 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Size by Type1.3.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Growth by Type1.3.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Market Share by Type (2014-2019)1.3.3 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Revenue and Market Share by Type (2014-2019)1.3.4 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Price by Type (2014-2019) 2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Competition by Company2.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Market Share by Company (2014-2019)2.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Revenue and Share by Company (2014-2019)2.3 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Price by Company (2014-2019)2.4 Global Top Players Animal Stem Cell Therapy Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types2.5 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Share of Top 5 and Top 10 Players2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion 3 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Company Profiles and Sales Data3.1 Medivet Biologics LLC3.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.1.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.1.3 Medivet Biologics LLC Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.1.4 Main Business Overview3.2 VETSTEM BIOPHARMA3.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.2.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.2.3 VETSTEM BIOPHARMA Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.2.4 Main Business Overview3.3 J-ARM3.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.3.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.3.3 J-ARM Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.3.4 Main Business Overview3.4 U.S. Stem Cell, Inc3.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.4.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.4.3 U.S. Stem Cell, Inc Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.4.4 Main Business Overview3.5 VetCell Therapeutics3.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.5.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.5.3 VetCell Therapeutics Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.5.4 Main Business Overview3.6 Celavet Inc.3.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.6.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.6.3 Celavet Inc. Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.6.4 Main Business Overview3.7 Magellan Stem Cells3.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.7.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.7.3 Magellan Stem Cells Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.7.4 Main Business Overview3.8 Kintaro Cells Power3.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.8.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.8.3 Kintaro Cells Power Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.8.4 Main Business Overview3.9 Animal Stem Care3.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.9.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.9.3 Animal Stem Care Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.9.4 Main Business Overview3.10 Animal Cell Therapies3.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors3.10.2 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Category, Application and Specification3.10.3 Animal Cell Therapies Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin(2014-2019)3.10.4 Main Business Overview3.11 Cell Therapy Sciences3.12 Animacel 4 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Size and CAGR by Regions4.1.2 North America4.1.3 Asia-Pacific4.1.4 Europe4.1.5 South America4.1.6 Middle East and Africa4.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Market Share by Regions (2014-2019)4.2.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2014-2019)4.2.3 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)4.3 North America Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin4.3.1 United States4.3.2 Canada4.3.3 Mexico4.4 Europe Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin4.4.1 Germany4.4.2 UK4.4.3 France4.4.4 Italy4.4.5 Russia4.4.6 Turkey4.5 Asia-Pacific Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin4.5.1 China4.5.2 Japan4.5.3 Korea4.5.4 Southeast Asia4.5.4.1 Indonesia4.5.4.2 Thailand4.5.4.3 Malaysia4.5.4.4 Philippines4.5.4.5 Vietnam4.5.5 India4.5.6 Australia4.6 South America Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin4.6.1 Brazil4.7 Middle East and Africa Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin4.7.1 Egypt4.7.2 GCC Countries 5 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Application/End Users5.1 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Segment by Application5.1.1 Veterinary Hospitals5.1.2 Research Organizations5.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Product Segment by Application5.2.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales by Application5.2.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Market Share by Application (2014-2019) 6 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Forecast6.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales, Revenue Forecast (2019-2025)6.1.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Growth Rate Forecast (2019-2025)6.1.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2019-2025)6.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Forecast by Regions6.2.1 North America Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue Forecast (2019-2025)6.2.2 Europe Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue Forecast (2019-2025)6.2.3 Asia-Pacific Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue Forecast (2019-2025)6.2.3.1 China6.2.3.2 Japan6.2.3.3 Korea6.2.3.4 Southeast Asia6.2.3.5 India6.2.3.6 Australia6.2.4 South America Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue Forecast (2019-2025)6.2.5 Middle East and Africa Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue Forecast (2019-2025)6.2.5.1 Egypt6.2.5.2 GCC Countries6.3 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Forecast by Type6.3.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales and Revenue Forecast by Type (2019-2025)6.3.2 Dogs Gowth Forecast6.3.3 Horses Gowth Forecast6.4 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Forecast by Application6.4.1 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Sales Forecast by Application (2019-2025)6.4.2 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Forecast in Veterinary Hospitals6.4.3 Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Forecast in Research Organizations 7 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Upstream Raw Materials7.1 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Key Raw Materials7.1.1 Key Raw Materials7.1.2 Key Raw Materials Price7.1.3 Raw Materials Key Suppliers7.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure7.2.1 Raw Materials7.2.2 Labor Cost7.2.3 Manufacturing Expenses7.3 Animal Stem Cell Therapy Industrial Chain Analysis 8 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors8.1 Marketing Channel8.1.1 Direct Marketing8.1.2 Indirect Marketing8.1.3 Marketing Channel Development Trend8.2 Distributors8.3 Downstream Customers 9 Research Findings and Conclusion AppendixMethodology/Research ApproachResearch Programs/DesignMarket Size EstimationMarket Breakdown and Data TriangulationData SourceSecondary SourcesPrimary SourcesDisclaimer

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Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Outlook, Regional Analysis, key Drivers and Restraints, by Product, Top Players and Forecast Analysis 2020-2026 -...

Emirati dentist with the officials Image Credit: Supplied

Ras Al Khaimah: An Emirati dentist, who received stem cell therapy after she got infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) due to transmission from a patient, was recently visited by Dr Mohamed Salim Al Olama, undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) and head of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Health Services Corporation.

Dr Muhra Abdul Rahim Al-Awadi, who underwent the innovative stem cell therapy, is one of the current patients at Obaidullah Elderly Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah.

Dr Al Olama also made a series of field visits to determine the readiness of various hospitals and the conditions of medical cadres across the country, according to MoHAP.

He expressed his appreciation to Al-Awadis diligence and dedication to her homeland and called it as a national example of giving, loyalty, and sacrifice.

He added MoHAP is proud of its medical sector and it pays great attention to its employees health through the provision of the best methods of infection prevention.

According to MoHAP, Al-Awadi thanked Dr Al Olama for the visit, which pleased and motivated her to continue to work diligently after her full recovery.

She said at present she does not have any symptoms of fever or breathing difficulty and that she is recuperating after receiving stem cell therapy.

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Coronavirus: Emirati dentist who received stem cell therapy doing well - Gulf News

Medical science has proven time and again that when the resources are provided, great progress in the treatment, cure, and prevention of disease can occur. - Michael J Fox

It makes sense right now to have exposure to biotech stocks, especially companies working on COVID-19 treatments. Over the past six months, the returns on biotech stocks have been much higher than the broader market indices, as attempts to contain coronavirus are on the rise. The WHO predicts there are approximately 70 vaccines in development worldwide, with experts expecting it to take between 12 and 18 months before approval of a vaccine for mass use. Apart from companies working on vaccines, many companies are developing treatments for conditions related to COVID-19, including Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Pluristem Therapeutics (PSTI) is one of the companies which received significant financing to work on COVID-19 and ARDS-related treatments.

Pluristem Therapeutics is an Israeli company. It signed a 50 million financing agreement with the European Investment Bank to develop therapies related to COVID-19 in April. This agreement comes one month after PSTI announced its use of patented PLX cells in severely ill COVID-19 patients suffering from ARDS achieved positive results. ARDS is the condition, brought on by COVID-19, which causes severe, often fatal, lung damage. Stem cell therapy treatments hope to treat and reverse the overreaction of the immune system caused by ARDS. The ICU patients, which were on respirators, all survived. Some of the patients saw the regeneration of lung tissue after hospitalization. One additional patient has received treatment in New Jersey. This news led PSTI's price to triple from approximately $3.00/share throughout April to approximately $9.00/share in May.

Twenty-eight days after this announcement, of the eight patients studied, there is an 87.5% survival rate of the patients treated with the PLX cells, with 75% of them being off mechanical ventilation and 62.5% discharged alive from the hospital. This rate compares to 3.3% of patients suffering from ARDS discharged alive from the hospital in the New York area from March-April 2020 after being on ventilation. While this is a small sample, these numbers are promising as PSTI moves forward with Phase II clinical trials in the United States.

The company uses stem cells derived from placentas, which are easy to collect and accepted as ethical in parts of the world that reject other kinds of stem cells. In the past month, PSTI increased by 206.2%, significantly outperforming the sector as a whole and making noise in the biotech field.

In general, stem cell therapy shows promise in treating ARDS. Fellow Seeking Alpha contributor Wall Street Titan discussed five stem cell companies moving quickly toward an ARDS therapy. This contributor's article discusses many of the positives and negatives of the five companies, including PSTI. The article is worth a read, but the main argument the author has against PSTI is that its scalability lags behind the other companies. I see this as more of a long-term issue, not an issue that would impact its value in the short term. In the meantime, it has outperformed three of the five stem cell companies working on ARDS therapy over the past six months.

I am relatively bullish on this stock in the short term. The FDA cleared PSTI's application for a Phase II study of its ARDS treatment, with 140 adults, intubated, and mechanically ventilated patients receiving various injections and dosages of the PLX-PAD cells. The number of ventilator-free days will measure efficacy during the twenty-eight days from day one to twenty-eight of the study. At least one investment bank is betting that, despite the company producing no revenue, continued positive news from the company is bound to increase the stock price. There may be truth to this. The company which outperformed PSTI over the past six months - Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) - saw its shares spike April 28 after positive news about its product (100% survival rate for six patients). For now, it seems good news means big spikes in the share price.

However, I will not say this company does not have its share of risk over the long term.

First, when looking at biotech companies, one of the main factors is whether it has a history of approved drugs. Pluristem does not have any approved drugs yet, but it does have several treatments in its pipeline. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, it had two PLacental eXpanded (PLX) products that had reached phase 3 clinical trials in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. These products treat Critical Limb Ischemia (an obstruction of arteries decreasing blood flow to the extremities, causing pain and ulcers) and muscle regeneration following hip fracture.

Further, Pluristem received an orphan drug designation from the FDA to treat Acute Radiation syndrome, which will potentially accelerate this therapy's path to approval and other benefits. The company was also cleared by the U.S. government to treat victims exposed to high doses of radiation due to a nuclear attack or accident. It is also in phase 1 or 2 for treatments involving intermittent claudication, graft versus host disease, and bone marrow transplant treatments. So, in the absence of any approved products, it's nice to see that there are at least several clinical studies underway and near completion.

Second, the company's books are not in great shape. According to its March 2020 10-Q filing, its revenue was $22,000 over the prior nine months, compared to a net loss of $21,016,000, amounting to a loss per share of $1.28. This net loss is slightly less from the nine months ending 2019, which was $27,547,000. Its primary source of funds has been the sale of common stock and government grants. It is eligible for grants from Israel's Law for the Encouragement of Industrial Research and Development and has received almost $28 million from these grants. It also receives numerous grants from the Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry and some private grants. Between April 1 and May 7, the company sold 4.3 million shares of common stock. These funds are in addition to the non-dilutive finance contract from the European Investment Bank, which will be paid in tranches when the company reaches certain milestones.

Third, there is always the chance that ARDS treatments are developed more quickly by different companies. However, I am slightly optimistic Pluristem could maintain a place in the recovery even if a different company produces a similar cell therapy before them. For instance, PSTI uses intramuscular administration (injection into the muscle), instead of intravenous (injection into the vein). Some studies show that intramuscular administration is preferable. I am not a doctor, but there is a possibility that different variations of these treatments will serve different purposes.

In the short term, I believe this stock has the momentum to be a good buy, especially with good news likely coming on the horizon. Trading volume exploded in April, with it remaining strong in comparison to its price. While there is a risk to this stock, if your portfolio can handle it, it may be a good buy. If Pluristem ends up being one of the major players in solving this crisis, it may end up being one of the better bargains you can find during this period.

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Pluristem Therapeutics: The Search For An ARDS Treatment, And Whether Its Growth Will Continue - Seeking Alpha

Travelers the world over are asking: Where can I travel that's safe?

Sha Wellness Clinic, a medical clinic and hotel in southeastern Spain, has an answer. It's requiring guests to provide a negative Covid-19 test result before they ever step foot in the door.

"When we began to put together our preventative measures, there was no doubt that this would be a requirement," said Alejandro Bataller, vice president of the clinic. "Our main priority is ensuring our guests' safety while at Sha, so they can have peace of mind during their stay."

Covid-19 and antibody tests are free of charge to guests at Sha Wellness Clinic.

Courtesy of Sha Wellness Clinic

The medicalclinic, which is located in Alicante, Spain, is banking on the fact that requiring guests to get a coronavirus test before they arrive is the very thing that will make guests want to come.

"During these times, people are more concerned than ever about their safety when it comes to traveling," Bataller said. "Guests can have some peace of mind knowing that everyone visiting has been tested, and the spaces are constantly being sanitized, so they can truly relax and feel confident and safe."

All guests must undergo Covid-19 testing 24 to 48 hours before arriving at Sha Wellness Clinic. Guests are encouraged to send the results, though Sha will allow them to bring the results when they arrive too.

Guests are not the only ones being tested. The clinic staff is required to get tested for Covid-19 before returning to work and regularly thereafter.

Upon arrival, all guests will undergo a second Covid-19 test as well as an antibody test and a medical examination. All testing is included with a stay free of charge.

"It is important to us that our guests not only feel safe when returning to Sha, but also feel healthier during their stay," said Bataller.

In line with post-pandemic changes happening across the hotel industry, the clinic is intensifying its cleaning protocol, installing thermographic cameras to detect body temperatures and eliminating all paper touch points, such as food and spa menus.

Sha Wellness Clinic is located in Alicante, Spain.

Courtesy of Sha Wellness Clinic

UV disinfection towers will be installed in the clinic suites, and ozone treatments will be used to disinfect vehicles and luggage. The check-in process is being moved into guest suites.

As part of all stays, guests embark on health programs that focus on topics like fitness, detoxing and weight loss. The clinic has 11 residences where guests can undergo treatments and medical consultations without having to leave their suites.

The clinic is reducing occupancy levels in common areas to encourage social distancing.

Courtesy of Sha Wellness Clinic

Sha is adding to its immune system treatments in response to the pandemic and adding new "immune system strengthening" services. Guests can undergo stem cell therapy, infrared heat, vitamin C megadoses, thermal shock reinforcement and stress management sessions, to name a few. Immunotherapy and lymphocyte profile consultations are now included in all bookings as well.

A seven-day booking for the "rebalance" program in late July in the entry-level deluxe suite is approximately 5,310 euros (US$5,745). To upgrade to a bi-level garden residence, the rate jumps to 17,000 euros (US$18,390) and nearly twice that figure for a stay in the penthouse residence.

The Waldhotel, a medical wellness resort in Obbrgen, Switzerland, is testing guests for Covid-19, though it does not require a negative test result before guests can check in.

Tests cost 150 Swiss francs (US$154) and are administered in the Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence, a medical center that operates in the hotel.

"Although the Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence remained open throughout the pandemic, no Covid-19 case has been registered in the Waldhotel and the Brgenstock Resort," said Dr. Verena Briner, the medical director of the center, referencing the larger resort in which the Waldhotel resides.

The Waldhotel is part of the Brgenstock Hotels & Resort, near Switzerland's Lake Lucerne.

Courtesy of Waldhotel

The Waldhotel has Covid-19 antibody testing for guests for 100 Swiss francs (US$102) with results returned in one day.

As the Waldhotel is a five-star hotel and medical center in one, the hotel says it had strict hygiene measures in place such as hand disinfection stations and housekeeping protocols before the pandemic started. Still, it instituted new measures in response to the virus under the guidance of Dr. Briner.

The Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence center operates inside the Waldhotel.

Courtesy of Waldhotel

The medical center employs a team of experts in dermatology, gastroenterology, sports medicine and dentistry. Hotel guests can join guided programs that focus on exercise, aesthetics, mindfulness, immunity and weight loss. Programs range from three days to two weeks, though some guests stay for months.

The hotel has access to an airfield where private jets can land for guests who can afford to avoid commercial airlines.

International travel to Spain and Switzerland isn't possible right now, but it may soon be, depending on where you live.

After two of months of strict lockdown, Spain began to lift nationwide stay-at-home guidelines in May. Currently, Spain has a 14-day quarantine requirement for most people arriving from abroad, though Spain's Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said he hopes tourism activity will start again in late June.

The lobby of the Waldhotel.

Courtesy of Waldhotel

Sha Wellness Clinic closed at the end of March and is aiming to reopen in July, pursuant to guidelines set forth by the Spanish government.

Right now, only Swiss citizens, residents and select workers can enter Switzerland. However, Switzerland announced intentions to broadly reopen its borders with Germany, Austria and France on June 15. There are no plans to reopen borders with Italy yet.

On May 14, Swiss International Air Lines announced it would restart flying up to 190 flights from Zurich and Geneva in June. Flights will resume in stages and will go to 41 European destinations including Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Copenhagen. Additionally, the airline is providing new intercontinental direct connections in June, linking Zurich to New York, Singapore, Tokyo and Johannesburg, among other cities.

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Hotel in Spain requires two negative Covid-19 tests to check in with a free antibody test during your stay - CNBC

BUFFALO, N.Y. For decades, the enormous disease-curing potential of human stem cells has been thwarted by the inability to produce sufficient quantities of mature human cells in vivo in a living organism.

Now, a team led by University at Buffalo scientists has developed a method that dramatically ramps up production of mature human cells in mouse embryos. Producing human cells in vivo is critical because cells made in a petri dish often do not behave the same way that cells do in the body.

The research was published on May 13 in Science Advances.

This is fundamental research that allows us to use the mouse embryo to help us better understand human development, said Jian Feng, PhD, corresponding author and professor of physiology and biophysics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

Further development of our technology could enable the generation of even larger quantities of specific types of mature human cells to allow us to create more effective mouse models to study diseases that gravely affect humans, such as malaria or COVID-19, said Feng.

And because this method produces so many mature human cells, it could potentially generate materials to treat chronic diseases, such as diabetes or kidney failure, by replacing a patients damaged cells with healthy human cells or tissues.

Infectious disease applications

Feng explained that it might be possible to create a much better mouse model of the human immune system or components of the human respiratory system in order to study COVID-19, a disease that wreaks havoc in humans, but barely affects mice.

It could also be possible to use the new method to produce mice with even more mature human red blood cells. Such mice would be very effective in the study of malaria, a disease which affects only humans by destroying our red blood cells.

We have a lot of questions to answer before the technology can be useful, but this is the first time that anyone has generated so many mature human cells in a mouse embryo, said Feng.

Millions of mature human cells in 17 days

Previous efforts to produce human cells in mouse embryos have generated small amounts of immature cells that are hard to quantify. In contrast, the UB method resulted in millions of mature human cells in a mouse embryo in 17 days.

In this study, the researchers injected 10-12 nave human stem cells into a mouse blastocyst when it was 3.5 days old. The mouse embryo then generated millions of mature human cells, including red blood cells, eye cells and liver cells, as it developed.

We know that up to four percent of the total number of cells in the mouse embryo were human cells, Feng. This is a low estimate because we cannot quantify the large amount of human red blood cells generated in the mouse embryo.

He said that because these mature human red blood cells do not have a nucleus, they are not counted by the method that the scientists use to quantify the total number of cells.

The teams technique involved overcoming an important challenge: Converting human pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into all types of cells in the body, into a form that is compatible with the inner cell mass inside a mouse blastocyst a three-day old mouse embryo. The human stem cells are in a primed state, whereas the inner cell mass inside the mouse blastocyst is in a nave state.

When the primed human cells are put into the mouse blastocyst, they fail to develop, said Feng, noting that the mismatch between the cells different developmental stages seems to be responsible.

We wanted to see if it was possible for the human primed cells to go back to the nave state, just like the pluripotent stem cells inside a mouse blastocyst, said Feng. This is what we have done.

Our method is to transiently inhibit the mTOR kinase for three hours to shock the human primed cells to the nave state, said Feng. Blocking the mTOR kinase triggers a series of events that rewire gene expression and cellular metabolism so that the primed cells become nave.

Converting the later stage human primed stem cells back to an earlier, less developed nave state allowed the human stem cells to co-develop with the inner cell mass in a mouse blastocyst.

The injected human stem cells now develop at the much more rapid pace of the mouse embryo, supporting the generation of millions of mature human cells in 17 days, said Feng.

In addition to Feng, UB co-authors are Zhixing Hu, Hanqin Li, Houbo Jiang, Yong Ren, and Boyang Zhang of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and Xinyang Yu and Michael J. Buck of the Department of Biochemistry, all of the Jacobs School. Other co-authors are Jingxin Qiu and Aimee B. Stablewski of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Funding for this research was provided by NYSTEM and the Buffalo Blue Sky Initiative.

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Scientists generate millions of mature human cells, far more than have ever been produced - UB News Center

Scientists have placed more mature human cells in mouse embryos. The progress is expected to help the medical community improve the development of treatments, including those for COVID-19.

Over the past decades, scientists faced challenges in producing enough amounts of human cells in animals. It is important to grow human cells in other living organisms in the lab since cells made in a petri dish commonly do not behave like those in the body, Futurity reported.

This is fundamental research that allows us to use the mouse embryo to help us better understand human development, Jian Feng, corresponding study author and a professor in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, said in a statement.

He added that the study, described in the journal Science Advances, marks the first time that so many mature human cells were generated in a mouse embryo. The new approach provided millions of mature human cells and took only 17 days to produce such amounts in the lab.

Researchers tested the approach with a mouse blastocyst, a three-day-old embryo. It involved injecting human stem cells into the animal and converting the cells to become compatible with the inner cell mass inside a mouse embryo.

Putting the human stem cells into the naive state allowed them to co-develop with the cells in the mouse. The process then helped the embryo produce millions of mature human cells, including red blood cells, eye cells and liver cells.

Feng said having higher amounts of human cells may help improve how scientists understand human development and disease. It provides a better mouse model to study health conditions, such as diabetes, kidney failure and even COVID-19.

Further development of our technology could enable the generation of even larger quantities of specific types of mature human cells to allow us to create more effective mouse models to study diseases that gravely affect humans, the researcher said.

Improving the approach may also eventually allow scientists to produce more mature human red blood cells in mice. That would help explore health problems and disease that mainly affect red blood cells.

Scientists at the University at Buffalo used a new method that helped them produce millions of mature human cells in a mouse embryo, a progress that may help improve study of common diseases, like diabetes, malaria and COVID-19. Pixabay

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Heres The Reason Why Scientists Are Growing Human Cells In Mouse Embryo - Medical Daily

SILVER SPRING, Md., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- You have probably heard of GMOs or genetically modified organisms, but how much do you know about them? GMO is a common term used by consumers to describe foods that have been created through genetic engineering. While GMOs have been available to consumers since the early 1990s and are a common part of today's food supply, research shows consumers have limited knowledge and understanding about what GMOs are, why they are used, and how they are made.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), launched Feed Your Mind, a new Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative. The Initiative aims to increase consumer awareness and understanding of genetically engineered foods or GMOs.Find answers to your questions and help educate others with Feed Your Mind's science-based educational resources, like web pages, fact sheets, infographics, and videos.

What are GMOs?"GMO" is a common term used to describe a plant, animal, or microorganism that has had its DNA changed through a process scientists call genetic engineering. Most of the GMO crops grown today were developed to help farmers prevent crop loss. There are ten GMO cropscurrently grown and sold in the U.S.: alfalfa, apples, corn, cotton, papayas, potatoes, soybeans, summer squash, and sugar beets.

Are GMOs safe to eat?Many federal agencies play an important role in ensuring the safety of GMOs. FDA, USDA, and EPA work together to ensure that crops produced through genetic engineering are safe for people, animals, and the environment. Collaboration and coordination among these agencies help make sure food developers understand the importance of a safe food supply and the rules they need to follow when creating new plants through genetic engineering.

Look for "Bioengineered food" on food labels Soon, you may see the term "bioengineered food" on certain food packaging. Congress used "bioengineered food" to describe certain types of GMOs when it passed the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. The Standard establishes requirements for labeling foods people eat that are bioengineered or may have bioengineered ingredients. It also defines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.

To learn more about the Feed Your MindInitiative, visit http://www.fda.gov/feedyourmind.

Contact: Media: 1-301-796-4540 Consumers: 1-888-SAFEFOOD (toll free)

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Feed Your Mind with FDA's New Education Initiative on Genetically Engineered Foods - Herald-Mail Media

If humanity is ever going to settle down on Mars, we may need to become a little less human.

Crewed missions to Mars, which NASA wants to start flying in the 2030s, will be tough on astronauts, exposing them to high radiation loads, bone-wasting microgravity and other hazards for several years at a time. But these pioneers should still be able to make it back to Earth in relatively good nick, agency officials have said.

It might be a different story for those who choose not to come home, however. If we want to stay safe and healthy while living permanently on Mars, or any other world beyond our home planet, we may need to make some tweaks to our species' basic blueprint, experts say.

Related: Space radiation threat to astronauts explained (infographic)

Genetic engineering and other advanced technologies "may need to come into play if people want to live and work and thrive, and establish their family, and stay on Mars," Kennda Lynch, an astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, said on May 12 during a webinar hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences called "Alienating Mars: Challenges of Space Colonization."

"That's when these kinds of technologies might be critical or necessary," she said.

Genetic enhancement may not be restricted to the pages of sci-fi novels for much longer. For example, scientists have already inserted genes from tardigrades tiny, adorable and famously tough animals that can survive the vacuum of space into human cells in the laboratory. The engineered cells exhibited a greater resistance to radiation than their normal counterparts, said fellow webinar participant Christopher Mason, a geneticist at Weill Cornell Medicine, the medical school of Cornell University in New York City.

NASA and other space agencies already take measures to protect their astronauts physically, via spacecraft shielding, and pharmacologically via a variety of medicines. So, it's not a huge conceptual leap to consider protecting them genetically as well, provided that these measures are proven to be safe, Mason said.

"And are we maybe ethically bound to do so?" he said during the webinar. "I think if it's a long enough mission, you might have to do something, assuming it's safe, which we can't say yet."

Tardigrades and "extremophile" microbes, such as the radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, "are a great, basically natural reservoir of amazing traits and talents in biology," added Mason, who has been studying the effects of long-term spaceflight on NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. (Kelly spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station in 2015 and 2016.) "Maybe we use some of them."

Harnessing these traits might also someday allow astronauts to journey farther than Mars, out to some even more exotic and dangerous cosmic locales. For instance, a crewed journey to the Jupiter moon Europa, which harbors a huge ocean beneath its icy shell, is out of the question at the moment. In addition to being very cold, Europa lies in the heart of Jupiter's powerful radiation belts.

"If we ever get there, those are the cases where the human body would be almost completely fried by the amount of radiation," Mason said. "There, it would be certain death unless you did something, including every kind of shielding you could possibly provide."

Genetic engineering at least lets us consider the possibility of sending astronauts to Europa, which is widely regarded as one of the solar system's best bets to harbor alien life. (The Jovian satellite is a high priority for NASA's robotic program of planetary exploration. In the mid-2020s, the agency will launch a mission called Europa Clipper, which will assess the moon's habitability during dozens of flybys. And Congress has ordered NASA to develop a robotic Europa lander as well, though this remains a concept mission at the moment.)

Related: The 6 most likely places to find alien life

Genetic engineering almost certainly won't be restricted to pioneering astronauts and colonists. Recent advances in synthetic biology herald a future in which "designer microbes" help colonists establish a foothold on the Red Planet, Lynch said.

"These are some of the things that we can actually do to help us make things we need, help us make materials to build our habitats," she said. "And these are a lot of things that scientists are researching right now to create these kinds of things for our trip to Mars."

Some researchers and exploration advocates have even suggested using designer microbes to terraform Mars, turning it into a world much more comfortable for humans. This possibility obviously raises big ethical questions, especially considering that Mars may have hosted life in the ancient past and might still host it today, in subsurface lakes or aquifers. (Permanently changing our own genomes for radiation protection or any other reason may also strike some folks as ethically dubious, of course.)

Most astrobiologists argue against terraforming Mars, stressing that we don't want to snuff out or fundamentally alter a native ecosystem that may have arisen on the Red Planet. That would be both unethical and unscientific, Lynch said.

After all, she said, one of the main reasons we're exploring Mars is to determine if Earth is the only world to host life.

"And how can we do that if we go and change the planet before we go and find out if life actually was living there?" Lynch said.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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Colonizing Mars may require humanity to tweak its DNA - Space.com

Octant, a company backed by Andreessen Horowitz just now unveiling itself publicly to the world, is using the tools of synthetic biology to buck the latest trends in drug discovery.

As the pharmaceuticals industry turns its attention to precision medicine the search for ever more tailored treatments for specific diseases using genetic engineering Octant is using the same technologies to engage in drug discovery and diagnostics on a mass scale.

The companys technology genetically engineers DNA to act as an identifier for the most common drug receptors inside the human genome. Basically, its creating QR codes that can flag and identify how different protein receptors in cells respond to chemicals. These are the biological sensors which help control everything from immune responses to the senses of sight and smell, the firing of neurons; even the release of hormones and communications between cells in the body are regulated.

Our discovery platform was designed to map and measure the interconnected relationships between chemicals, multiple drug receptor pathways and diseases, enabling us to engineer multi-targeted drugs in a more rational way, across a wide spectrum of targets, said Sri Kosuri, Octants co-founder and chief executive officer, in a statement.

Octants work is based on a technology first developed at the University of California Los Angeles by Kosuri and a team of researchers, which slashed the cost of making genetic sequences to $2 per gene from $50 to $100 per gene.

Our method gives any lab that wants the power to build its own DNA sequences, Kosuri said in a 2018 statement. This is the first time that, without a million dollars, an average lab can make 10,000 genes from scratch.

Joining Kosuri in launching Octant is Ramsey Homsany, a longtime friend of Kosuris, and a former executive at Google and Dropbox . Homsany happened to have a background in molecular biology from school, and when Kosuri would talk about the implications of the technology he developed, the two men knew they needed to for a company.

We use these new tools to know which bar code is going with which construct or genetic variant or pathway that were working with [and] all of that fits into a single well, said Kosuri. What you can do on top of that is small molecule screening we can do that with thousands of different wells at a time. So we can build these maps between chemicals and targets and pathways that are essential to drug development.

Before coming to UCLA, Kosuri had a long history with companies developing products based on synthetic biology on both the coasts. Through some initial work that hed done in the early days of the biofuel boom in 2007, Kosuri was connected with Flagship Ventures, and the imminent Harvard-based synthetic biologist George Church . He also served as a scientific advisor to Gen9, a company acquired by the multi-billion dollar synthetic biology powerhouse, Ginkgo Bioworks.

Some of the most valuable drugs in history work on complex sets of drug targets, which is why Octants focus on polypharmacology is so compelling, said Jason Kelly, the co-founder and CEO of Gingko Bioworks, and a member of the Octant board, in a statement. Octant is engineering a lot of luck and cost out of the drug discovery equation with its novel platform and unique big data biology insights, which will drive the companys internal development programs as well as potential partnerships.

The new technology arrives at a unique moment in the industry where pharmaceutical companies are moving to target treatments for diseases that are tied to specific mutations, rather than look at treatments for more common disease problems, said Homsany.

People are dropping common disease problems, he said. The biggest players are dropping these cases and it seems like that just didnt make sense to us. So we thought about how would a company take these new technologies and apply them in a way that could solve some of this.

One reason for the industrys turn away from the big diseases that affect large swaths of the population is that new therapies are emerging to treat these conditions which dont rely on drugs. While they wouldnt get into specifics, Octant co-founders are pursuing treatments for what Kosuri said were conditions in the metabolic space and in the neuropsychiatric space.

Helping them pursue those targets, since Octant is very much a drug development company, is $30 million in financing from investors led by Andreessen Horowitz .

Drug discovery remains a process of trial and error. Using its deep expertise in synthetic biology, the Octant team has engineered human cells that provide real-time, precise and complete readouts of the complex interactions and effects that drug molecules have within living cells, said Jorge Conde, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and member of the Octant board of directors. By querying biology at this unprecedented scale, Octant has the potential to systematically create exhaustive maps of drug targets and corresponding, novel treatments for our most intractable diseases.

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Emerging from stealth, Octant is bringing the tools of synthetic biology to large scale drug discovery - TechCrunch

On May 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued the much-anticipated final Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule. 85 Fed. Reg. 29790. The rule is intended to update and modernize USDAs biotechnology regulations under the Plant Protection Act. The final rule amends the regulations regarding the movement (importation, interstate movement, and environmental release) of certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms in response to advances in genetic engineering and APHISs understanding of the plant pest risk posed by GE organisms, thereby reducing the regulatory burden for developers of organisms that are unlikely to pose plant pest risks. APHIS states that the final rule marks the first comprehensive revision of the regulations since they were established in 1987, providing a clear, predictable, and efficient regulatory pathway for innovators, facilitating the development of genetically engineered organisms that are unlikely to pose plant pest risks.

SECURE Regulatory Changes

According to APHIS, the SECURE rule differs from the previous regulatory framework by focusing on an organisms properties and not on the method used to produce it. APHIS states that this approach enables it to regulate organisms developed using genetic engineering for plant pest risk with greater precision than the previous approach. This method will reduce regulatory burden for developers of organisms that are unlikely to pose plant pest risks and will continue to provide oversight of organisms developed using genetic engineering that pose a plant pest risk.

Under the new rule, no person shall move any GE organism, except under permit, that:

The new regulatory process for organisms developed using genetic engineering consists of the following steps:

Exemptions from Regulation

Under the SECURE rule, certain categories of modified plants are exempt from the regulations because they could otherwise have been developed through conventional breeding techniques and thus are unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to conventionally bred plants. APHIS notes that it has historically not regulated conventionally bred plants under 7 C.F.R. Part 340. These exemptions apply only to plants because the long history of plant breeding gives APHIS extensive experience in safely managing associated plant pest risks.

The revised regulations also exempt plants developed using genetic engineering that contain a plant-trait-MOA combination that APHIS has already evaluated under the previous or new regulations and found to be unlikely to pose a plant pest risk. The results of all completed regulatory reviews will be publicly accessible on the APHIS website.

Determining Regulatory Status for GE Plants/Organisms

Under the previous regulations, APHIS assessed the plant pest risk of each plant transformation event (also sometimes referred to as the individual transformed line, transgenic line, or GE line) separately, even though the inserted genetic material may have been identical or very similar to transformation events already assessed. This part has been referred to as an event-by-event approach.

APHIS states that under the revised regulations, developers have the option of requesting a permit or an RSR of a plant developed using genetic engineering that has not been previously evaluated and determined to be nonregulated. This process replaces the petition process in the previous regulations. The revised regulations evaluate whether a plant requires oversight based on the characteristics of the plant itself and not on the method by which the plant was genetically engineered. Once APHIS determines that the plant is not regulated, subsequent transformation events using the same plant-trait-MOA combination would not be regulated.

Decisions on regulatory status are based on APHISs assessment of plant pest risk. If movement or release of a plant developed using genetic engineering is found to be unlikely to pose a plant pest risk, APHIS will not require regulation under 7 C.F.R. Part 340. If APHIS is unable to reach such a finding, it will regulate the plant and the plant will be allowed to move only under permit.

Permitting GE Plants and Organisms That Pose a Plausible Plant Pest Risk

Permits are required for the importation, interstate movement, or environmental release of any plant or organism developed using genetic engineering that may post a plant pest risk to plant health. For plants, developers must apply for a permit if the plant does not qualify for an exemption or if the RSR process determines that the plant poses a plausible plant pest risk. APHIS will approve or deny an application for an importation or movement permit within 45 days, and an application for a permit for an environmental release in 120 days. Developers may also choose to request a permit rather than an RSR, or they may elect to obtain a permit and request an RSR. Applicants will still apply for a permit using the same methods as before -- a paper application, ePermits, or APHIS eFile.

Under the previous regulations, APHIS also offered an option for notifications for certain plants as an administratively streamlined alternative to a permit. Under the SECURE rule, the notification process has been eliminated and replaced by the RSR and permitting process.

SECURE Implementation Time Line

The SECURE rules provisions will take effect on key dates over the next 18 months. According to APHIS, the biotechnology community will have to learn some new processes and meet new requirements in accordance with the implementation schedule. APHIS states that it is available to support stakeholders through this process. The key dates include:

Commentary

The final rule is a welcome change for biotechnology enthusiasts. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) praised the final rule, welcoming the diminished barriers to innovation as sensible and efficient. The Center for Food Safety condemned the final rule, noting that under it, the overwhelming majority of GE plant trials would not have to be reported to USDA, or have their risks analyzed before being allowed to go to market.

Most would agree that the previous regulations, first drafted in 1987, were in dire need of modernizing. Whether the dramatic shift away from the method of production to focus on the properties of the plant will invite consumer concern with too little regulatory oversight and thus erode public confidence remains to be seen.

Additional Resources

SECURE Biotechnology Website;

Questions and Answers on the final SECURE Rule;

Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement;

Documents Associated with the Proposed Rule

[View source.]

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Final SECURE Rule Will Update and Modernize USDAs Biotechnology Regulations - JD Supra

UC Riverside engineers are transforming yeast, both the domesticated kind used to make bread and beer and lesser-known wild species, so it can be used in a variety of new ways including fighting cancer.

Yanran Li, a UC Riverside assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering, is working with the yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae in an effort to turn it into a bioproduction platform for hormones, such as plant steroids, or phytosteroids, with anticancer properties.

Her approach, known as synthetic biology, involves transferring the biosynthetic machinery responsible for producing the desired steroids in plants to the engineered yeast strains so the yeast will robustly produce them, too. Plants cannot produce enough of these steroids for pharmaceutical use because doing so would interfere with their own growth.

S. cerevisiae has been used to make beer for about 13,000 years, and its what you still get today, in dried, purified form, when you open a packet of yeast if you can find one at the store as hordes of amateur bakers have turned to making loaves of crusty sourdough bread to pass the time while sheltering at home.

Of the manywild yeast species present in ancient breweries, the best alcohol producer was Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Though that wouldnt be known until the 1800s, people around the world nonetheless understood its power and cultivated it for use in baking and brewing, making S. cerevisiae one of the oldest domesticated organisms.

S. cerevisiae and its close relatives have, through careful breeding or genetic editing, been made into industrial-scale producers of ethanol fuel, flavorings, vitamins, proteins, and drugs such as insulin and interferon.

Lisaid she expects that one day her research group will know enough about how phytosteroids fight cancer to build a custom phytosteroid that delivers maximum tumor inhibiting or killing properties without hurting normal cells along the way.

Its a pity we cant get enough of these natural products from the original sources, she said. We are using yeast as a cell factory to produce these valuable compounds.

As any baker knows, S. cerevisiae thrives best in environments that are warm but not too hot. Keeping industrial facilities cool enough, especially in hot or tropical climates, has high environmental and financial costs. This makes it unsuitable and less sustainable for some industrial processes and limits what it can produce even with genetic manipulation.

We have fancy genetic engineering techniques for S. cerevisiae and can make it do a lot. But when were looking at industrial uses at a higher temperature we cant use it, said Ian Wheeldon, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside, who uses synthetic biology to modify the genomes of wild yeasts. We take yeast that already grows in heat and tune it to produce more of what we want.

Wheeldon is working on ways to make Kluyveromyces marxianus, a heat tolerant wild yeast that reproduces more quickly than domesticated yeast, produce fruity esters for scents and flavorings. Hes also developing new multipurpose tools to rapidly make new strains of Yarrowia lipolytica, a wild yeast that consumes hydrocarbons, such as petroleum, and produces fats.

Because less is known about wild yeasts, engineering them is more difficult than S. cerevisiae, whose genome was first sequenced 24 years ago.

Theres huge variation between wild and domesticated yeasts, and the wild ones are often unpredictable, said Justin Chartron, a UC Riverside assistant professor of bioengineering, who studies how proteins are made in yeast. Theres a lot to making proteins. They need to be moved around, folded up, and modified. Theres a whole network of cellular machines to do this, but were trying to get them to produce more than they normally would so we hit a bottleneck.

Chartrons group uses high throughput sequencing to find what machines, or parts of the organisms metabolism, are in use at any given time in order to locate the proteins that take up the most space and remove them. This makes it easier for the yeast to produce the desired proteins.

If we ask the cell to make something it doesnt usually make, it destroys it. So we have to turn off those pathways, but we need to be clever about how we do it because the cell needs it to grow, Chartron said. Shining a blue light a technique known as optogenetics on an especially engineered cell is one way we can switch those pathways off.

The researchers said their work isnt that different from what amateur sourdough bakers are doing at home.

Were looking at nature to find properties of microbes and finding tools to develop those properties, Wheeldon said. These sourdoughs are exactly the kind of process were talking about you find an organism that produces acids and cultivate it to give your bread that sour taste.

Chartron, who also bakes sourdough bread, noted the baking process involves some of the same things as their own work: temperature, feeding the yeast, and fine-tuning the breads flavor.

We just use different instruments, he said.

Header photo: Stan Lim/UC Riverside

Original post:
Coveting yeast? It's much more than a loaf of bread - UC Riverside

A desperately needed tool to curb the COVID-19 pandemic is an inexpensive home-based rapid testing kit that can detect the coronavirus without needing to go to the hospital.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a few home sample collection kits but a number of researchers, including myself, are using the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR to make home tests. If they work, these tests could be very accurate and give people an answer in about an hour.

I am a biomolecular scientist with training in pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical engineering and my lab focuses on developing next-generation of technologies for detecting and treating cancer, genetic and infectious diseases.

The COVID-19 disease is caused by a coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Unlike humans which carry their genetic material encoded in DNA, the coronavirus encodes theirs in a related molecule called RNA.

My research group recently engineered a sensitive CRISPR-based technology, that we named CRISPR-ENHANCE, and used it to create a rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Our assay works like a pregnancy test and shows two purple colored lines if the sample is positive for the virus. Using our technology, I envision developing a test kit that would allow rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in saliva within 45-60 minutes at home without needing any expensive equipment.

The FDA recently gave a green light to a couple of sample collection kits from LabCorp and Everywell under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) that would allow people to ship out the nasal swab samples for analysis. Patients can take a swab of their nose, ship the samples to a lab, and wait for a few days to get the results back.

Although not an at-home testing kit, the test allows the samples to be shipped directly to a lab for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA. There they use a technique called reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which converts the viral RNA into DNA so that it can be easily multiplied and detected.

Although most FDA-approved tests are based on detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA at an early stage, before symptoms even appear, such tests can only be performed in a laboratory setting with expensive equipment and can take multiple days to get the results.

Several antibody testing kits have been approved by the FDA that use a paper-based lateral flow strip, also similar to an at-home pregnancy testing strip, for detecting antibodies called IgM and IgG. Almost all SARS-CoV-2 infected patients make antibodies within 19 days of onset of symptoms and then the body continues to make detectable antibodies for several weeks to months even after symptoms fades away. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using antibody tests for detecting past infections.

However, the coronavirus is usually very active and contagious in the first week of infection and peaks on the day of onset of symptoms. Therefore, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, it is extremely important to detect coronavirus early to block the spread.

The antibody testing can be great for detecting past infections but they cannot reliably detect current or early infections. The delayed appearance and patient-to-patient variability of antibodies in a blood test further complicates the COVID-19 diagnosis with antibody testing kits.

In addition, the variability between different antibody testing methods have raised doubts about the reliability of these test kits.

Therefore, the National Institutes of Health recently announced a Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) which offers up to US$500 million in funding for ramping up the technologies that detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Most people know of CRISPR/Cas systems as a famous gene-editing technology that can precisely edit DNA. Researchers engineer a guide RNA molecule with a target genetic sequence that serves like a GPS and zooms in on a location on the DNA where a Cas protein, a pair of molecular scissors, can cut at the desired location.

Scientists in the labs of Feng Zhang at MIT, Jennifer Doudna at UC Berkeley and others discovered several newer versions of CRISPR/Cas systems, including ones using the proteins Cas12a and Cas13a-d, which get crazy cutting once they find their match.

My colleagues and I have used this Cas12a-based CRISPR technique to detect the coronavirus.

The coronavirus RNA activates CRISPR/Cas, transforming a pair of controlled molecular scissors into an unstoppable chainsaw. When the the CRISPR/Cas enzyme activates, we know that the genetic sequence of the coronavirus is present in the saliva sample. To make the signal of the coronavirus stronger in the testing kit, we add millions of synthetic reporter molecules which are also chopped up by the CRISPR/Cas mechanism. This means that within minutes we can detect detect the presence of coronavirus.

Under EAU, the FDA recently approved the first CRISPR-based SARS-CoV-2 RNA testing kit from Sherlock Biosciences for testing nasal swabs in a lab. Although not yet approved for at-home testing, this is a big leap toward the development of CRISPR-based diagnostics.

While similar CRISPR-based test kits are in development including one from Mammoth Biosciences and others, our CRISPR-ENHANCE technology relies on engineered CRISPR RNAs that increases the speed of Cas12a chainsaw by between three- and four-fold.

This technique dramatically enhances the sensitivity of detection. Our system can detect fewer virus in a clinical sample faster with a clear visual readout. We are in the process of clinically validating the CRISPR-ENHANCE technology for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection.

Standard collection method for detecting respiratory viruses in the clinic is the nasal swab. However, coronaviruses have been detected at comparable levels in saliva so some researchers are now turning to saliva for diagnostic testing.

Collecting saliva is not only less invasive than the nasal swabs but also contains more virus, which makes it easier to detect with RT-PCR. In fact, an at-home saliva collection kit just received a green light by the FDA on May 8, 2020. In our validation study we will be internally comparing our test between the nasal swabs and saliva for FDA approval.

We are developing a six-step procedure for home-based testing for saliva along with the nasal swabs. Here is how it would work with saliva.

Spit into a sample collection tube that contains dry chemical reagents that will begin to react with your saliva when you drop the closed tube into the warm water for 30 minutes.

The heat helps the chemicals break up the virus particle and expose the viruss genetic material RNA. The RT-PCR reagents basically multiply the viral RNA creating billions of copies, which are more easily detected.

After 30 minutes, transfer the contents of the collection tube to a second tube containing dried CRISPR components and leave it at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

Only if CRISPR/Cas finds the specific coronavirus RNA, will it become active and chop up the synthetic reporter molecules that are engineered and added to this second tube. This part happens in just six minutes.

We then drop a paper strip into the second tube. Within 30 seconds one or two purple bands reveal the results.

The health care provider can then direct the individual to either quarantine, isolate and/or recommend further testing such as antibody-based tests. In our study, currently under peer review, we demonstrated that the ENHANCE technology itself is versatile and can also be adopted for detecting a range of targets including HIV, HCV and prostate cancer.

While there are several labs and companies are rushing to develop similar CRISPR-based coronavirus detection kits for saliva testing, we believe our approach offers the fastest detection. We hope to bring the cost of the kit down to between $1 and $2 so that developing countries can also afford a rapid and reliable coronavirus testing kit.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversations newsletter.]

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Rapid home-based coronavirus tests are coming together in research labs were working on analyzing spit using advanced CRISPR gene editing techniques...

SIDAMA, Ethiopia For Lidya Ashango and 14 million other Ethiopians, the false banana plant widely known as enset is a staple food and, on many occasions, a supplementary source of income. But its no longer easy to grow this crop in the southern part of the country, where land is scarce and plant disease is inevitable.

A mother of seven living in this southern town of Sidama, Ashango and her family have been growing, harvesting and processing enset as long as she can remember.

Men plant the crop, but the women do the time-consuming and laborious work of producing food from the crop. By the time a well-tended crop is ready to harvest, three to four years after planting, the woman goes to the farm with a machete and cuts the false stem to scrape and separate it into a starchy pulp and a fiber.

The pulp is covered with enset leaves and left in a pit to ferment for months before being used to make various bread and porridge dishes. Kocho,the fermented product to turn into bread, and bulla,the flour to be cooked into porridge, are among the dishes prepared by the women from the plant. The leaves are used for livestock feed and packaging.

Although enset varieties are known to be found in other countries in Africa such as Uganda, this cultivation and fermentation process is largely known only to Ethiopians with traditional indigenous knowledge. Gurage, Sidama, Gedeo and Hadiya are a few of the ethnic groups that grow and depend on this perennial crop.

Ensets label as a tree against hunger was adopted in 1984, when the northern part of Ethiopia thats mainly dependent upon cereals like teff was severely hit by drought and famine. Researchers note that the south, which relies on enset, saw no such tragedy; and also that the tree is relatively resistant to climate change and exists in hundreds of varieties.

Unlike other cereals, it can also be intercropped with coffee or other fruit-bearing trees, still providing a higher yield per unit area.

However, despite ensets popularity, rapid population growth in Ethiopia has put pressure on available land, and farmers seeking more income are turning toward cash crops like khat, a stimulant, and maize.

Less land means less livestock and less manure for the plant, said Beyene Teklu in an interview. Teklu has been researching farming systems in Ethiopia, especially enset, for the past six years.

According to a study he did on 240 farms in Sidama and Gedeo, khat-based farms grew by 21% between 1991 and 2013, whereas enset-based farming showed a decline of 13% during this period.

But the intensive production of cash crops like khat and maize can only be good for the first three or four years. After that, land that was left empty for several months after harvesting will be eroded and the nutrients gone, resulting in a very low yield the next harvest.

Teklu says this will in turn force youths to abandon the farms and leave for cities, which are growing increasingly crowded with jobseekers.

Beyond land scarcity, the other threat to enset is its high vulnerability to mealy bugs and diseases like bacteria wilt, which dry up its leaves and eventually kill the whole plant.

Recent reports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that Ethiopian researchers, in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), have used genetic engineering to produce a modified enset thats resistant to bacteria wilt.

However, scholars like Teshome Hunduma, a Ph.D. research fellow at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, looks at the initiative with a critical eye.

In an article for the local news site Addis Standard in April, Hunduma said there are no independent studies that show improved yield, disease-resistance or socioeconomic benefits for smallholder farmers from the use of genetically modified crops. An attempt to genetically modify and release enset for commercialization requires a high-level of precaution, he wrote.

An orphan crop thats been neglected by the government for several years, ensets future lies in long-term strategies that apply beyond five or 10 years, according to experts like Tekle.

Banner image: Ashangos brother-in-law, Dilke Didamo, 38, is portrayed at the familys enset farm in Sidama, Ethiopia. Photo by Maheder Haileselassie Tadese.

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Land scarcity and disease threaten a multifaceted indigenous crop in Ethiopia - Mongabay.com

New Delhi | Updated: May 20, 2020 8:24:50 pm

Written by Dr R L Raina

With the Indian government keen on promoting India as a medical tourist destination for patients seeking affordable treatment, there is going to be a demand for healthcare professionals. To meet this demand, a new course on healthcare engineering has emerged for students. It is a multi-disciplinary specialty that focuses on advancing this sector through engineering approaches involving both healthcare and engineering professionals.

In this course, candidates will not only need to know their subject, but also possess entrepreneurial skills, along with business and technology acumen. Researchers work with clinicians, collaborators and patients to identify and solve problems that are relevant today. They use scientific, engineering methodology to create solutions to complex health care problems and improve quality of life.

Read| Emerging courses to pursue:Virology|Actuarial science| Pharma Marketing|FinTech | Coronavirus | Robotics |

As a healthcare engineer, one needs to have the knowledge of engineering principles that will enable him/her to come up with solutions for healthcare. At times, it is also concerned with the development and design of a medical product. Some of the major skills that an aspirant requires:

Analytical skills Good eye for design Vast knowledge about various diseases Attention to detailing Communication

To pursue a Bachelors degree in healthcare engineering, a candidate must have cleared class 12 exams, with science subjects like biology, mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The course curriculum will be around the application of engineering tools in the healthcare industry and developing new cutting edge equipment to protect people from illness and injury, and property from damage.

Read |Colleges offering AI-powered exams from home: All you need to know about proctoring

Engineers are always in demand in healthcare. It is a misconception that only people who have studied biomedical and clinical engineering can become healthcare engineers. Even students pursuing chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, information, materials, mechanical, software and systems engineering can pursue this field.

Biomechanics: It is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems by using the methods of mechanics.

Medical devices: Under this, a student should have knowledge about devices that benefit patients by helping healthcare providers diagnose and treat patients and helping them overcome sickness or disease, improving their quality of life.

Genetic engineering: It is the knowledge of a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms.

Read |IIT-Gandhinagar launches PG courses, direct admission for students affected by coronavirus

Health Informatics: This is the study of a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms.

Emergency Management: According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), emergency is a state in which normal procedures are interrupted, and immediate measures need to be taken to prevent that state from turning into a disaster. Thus, emergency management is crucial to avoid the disruption transforming into a disaster, which is even harder to recover from.

If you are interested in public health challenges, this is the perfect time to pursue a career in healthcare engineering. It is in high demand as they have a crucial role to play in terms of designing and validating models in the context of public health, predictive modelling, epidemiological studies, machine learning and data visualisation. These skills are already some of the most sought after across a wide variety of sectors, and healthcare has also caught up during the current crisis.

Healthcare engineering covers the following two major fields:

Engineering for Healthcare Intervention: This comes into play when there are chances of any treatment, preventive care, or test that a person could take or undergo to improve health or to help with a particular health problem.

Read | How will colleges function post lockdown

Engineering for Healthcare Systems: Engineering involved in the complete network of organisations, agencies, facilities, information systems, management systems, financing mechanisms, logistics, and all trained personnel engaged in delivering healthcare within a geographical area.

Universities offering this course

Since it is a relatively new course in India, none of the Indian universities offer this course yet, but some international universities do, such as Texas Tech University, Cambridge University, and John Hopkins University.

The author is vice-chancellor, JK Lakshmipat University

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Emerging courses: How to become a healthcare engineer - The Indian Express

December 31, 2019 is a day that will live in infamy. On this day, a pneumonia of unknown origin in the Hubei province of China was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). We did not know it then, but this would be the day that the world would change. At the time of writing this article, there have been more than 4 million confirmed cases and nearly 300,000 confirmed deaths worldwide.

This global enemy, which we have learned to call COVID-19, has ravaged lives, regardless of age, creed or socioeconomic status. It has caused economic turmoil and has disrupted the lives of almost every human across the globe.

The impact that an entity approximately 120 nanometers in diameter -- approximately 1/100th the diameter of a human hair -- can have on the world is remarkable. But as indelible a mark as the virus has had, so too has been the call to arms by the scientific community. Every generation tends to be called to rise to a great challenge, and the response of this generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians will shape the future of humanity and health more than SARS-CoV-2 itself.

As mentioned in a recent article on Forbes, the mobilization of biotechnology is similar to the allies storming the beaches on D-Day. Just like that fateful day, the attack on coronavirus is multipronged. There are new-generation vaccine methods, such as synthetic peptide-based vaccines and nucleic acid-based vaccines, that are genetically engineered. Retrovirals, diabetic medications, immunologic drugs, antibiotics and even anticoagulants have all been proposed to combat the pandemic. By the last count, over 250 medications are being evaluated at various stages.

Before the Defense Research Advanced Projects Agency's (DARPA) support of this work in 2011, the concept of engineering vaccines into DNA strands was at the edge of science. This allows the immune system to generate proteins directly. Prior to this, conventional vaccines were created by inducing an immune response by introducing antigens into the body. Now, many of the vaccines that are being evaluated are using the more novel approach, including Modernas vaccine, the first to enter phase one human trials, and Inovios vaccine, scheduled to enter trials this summer.

But newer, even more audacious biotechnological solutions are currently underway by DARPA in a project they're calling COVID-19 Shield, as part of the Pandemic Protection Platform. The cutting-edge concept is to harvest B cells from survivors of the disease and replicate and mass produce them via genetic engineering. This concept, if successful, could potentially mitigate any future potential pandemic in a matter of weeks and allow time for a vaccine to be developed while maintaining a flat infection curve.

However, DARPA is not the only group actively seeking solutions. There are myriad others, including the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is seeking both low and high technology readiness level (TRL) solutions through a broad agency announcement (BAA). This includes a large vaccine contract with J&J worth over $1 billion andfast-tracking an IL-6 inhibitor by Actemra that could mitigate the lung manifestations of COVID-19.

This joins several other immune-mediated drug therapies to attempt to ameliorate the suspect cytokine storm cascade that occurs in more severe cases. BARDA is also reviewing advances from the pinnacle of bioengineering by exploring the use of extremophiles for drug therapies.

Biologic countermeasures are, however, not the only weapons being developed in this new viral war. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also playing a role to combat the novel coronavirus. AI is helping to mitigate the spread of disease, find therapies and aid in treatment strategies. BlueDot was the first to use its AI application to identify a novel pneumonia outbreak in China.

Then there is the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19),a multi-institutional initiative that includes The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Allen Institute for AI, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), Georgetown Universitys Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), Microsoft, and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The goal of this initiative is to create new natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to scour scientific and medical literature to help researchers prioritize potential therapies to evaluate for further study. AI is also being used to automate screening at checkpoints by evaluating temperature via thermal cameras, as well as modulations in sweat and skin discoloration. What's more, AI-powered robots have even been used to monitor and treat patients. In Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic, an entire field hospital was transitioned into a smart hospital fully staffed by AI robotics.

Any time of great challenge is a time of great change. The waves of technological innovation that are occurring now will echo throughout eternity. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are experiencing a call to mobilization that will forever alter the fabric of discovery in the fields of bioengineering, biomimicry and artificial intelligence. The promise of tomorrow will be perpetuated by the pangs of today. It is the symbiosis of all these fields that will power future innovations.

December 31, 2019 is a day that will always be remembered. Currently, the day is known as the beginning of a disruption to our lives that few -- if any -- have ever experienced, but none shall ever forget. However, as time passes and life begins anew, I believe it will be remembered for a different reason. It will be remembered as the day science and technology went to war. A day in which humanity united to unleash the full capacity of scientific innovation on an enemy that was indiscriminate to race, religion or creed. And on that fateful day, in our darkest hour, science shined brightest. And in science we trust.

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Technology In A Time Of Crisis: How DARPA And AI Are Shaping The Future - Forbes

Biohacking Market (Type - Inside Biohacking, and Outside Biohacking; Product - Smart Drugs, Strains, Sensors, and Other Products; Application - Genetic Engineering, Forensic Science, Diagnosis and Treatment, Synthetic Biology, Drug Testing, and Other Applications; End-user - Forensic Laboratories, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnological Companies, and Other End-users): Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Size, Share and Forecasts to 2025. The global biohacking market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.2% over the forecast period of 2019-2025.

This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/20/2020 -- Infinium Global Research has recently published a global report on "Biohacking Market (Type - Inside Biohacking, and Outside Biohacking; Product - Smart Drugs, Strains, Sensors, and Other Products; Application - Genetic Engineering, Forensic Science, Diagnosis and Treatment, Synthetic Biology, Drug Testing, and Other Applications; End-user - Forensic Laboratories, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnological Companies, and Other End-users): Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Size, Share and Forecasts to 2025." According to the report, the global biohacking market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.2% over the forecast period of 2019-2025.

To Know More Request Sample of this Report@ https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/reports/sample-request/18407

Increasing Demand for Smart Devices and Effective Drugs

The increasing demand for smart devices and effective drugs contributes to the growth of the biohacking market. Biohacking is a new frontier in the development of drugs and therapeutics due to the emerging healthcare industry and social movement. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases led to the surge in demand for biohacking. As per the World Health Organization, it is projected that by 2020, chronic diseases account for almost three-quarters of all deaths globally.

Growing Awareness About Biohacking

The growing geriatric population boosts the expansion of the biohacking market. A study estimated that around 8.5 percent of people globally are aged 65 and over and it is projected to reach around 17 percent of the world's population by 2050. The geriatric population is prone to chronic diseases escalating the demand for biohacking. Further, growing awareness about biohacking stimulates the growth of the market. Biohacking labs are set up in garages, warehouses, with second-hand equipment bought online.

Thus, anyone interested in science can perform experiments and learn by doing. The rise in the use of radiofrequency identification technology in medical devices aligned with the penetration of the internet of things in healthcare promotes the expansion of the biohacking market. Additionally, increasing the inclusion of fitness and consumer electronics leverages the growth of the market.

Advancement in Technologies Creates Several Opportunities

The rise in demand for biohacking devices in key application areas such as forensic science, genetic engineering, drug testing, synthetic biology, and others leverages the growth of the biohacking market. On the flip side, lack of funds required for research, lack of expertise hinders the growth of the biohacking market. Moreover, advancement in technologies creates several opportunities for the growth of the biohacking market.

"We are Now Including the Impact Analysis of the COVID-19 on this Premium Report and the Forecast Period of this Report Shall be Revised to 2020-2026. The Section on the Impact of COVID-19 on Biohacking Market is Included in the Report for Free."

North America is Anticipated to Have the Largest Share

Geographically, the global biohacking market is divided into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. North America is anticipated to have the largest share in the global biohacking market. The presence of key market players in the United States drives the growth of the biohacking market in North America. The increasing awareness about biohacking among the younger generation in North America led to the development of the market in the region. Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow in the global biohacking market with a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. The revamping healthcare sector with increasing investments in it contributes to the growth of biohacking market in Asia-Pacific. Europe has significant growth opportunities in the global biohacking market. The rising research and development in Europe drive the growth of the biohacking market in Europe.

Get this Section as a Free Customization in the Report Along With a 30% Discount on the Study. https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/reports/customization/18407

"We Have Decided to Extend Our Support to the Industry on Account of Corona Outbreak by Offering Flat Discount 30% on All Our Studies and Evaluation of the Market Dynamics in Biohacking Amidst COVID-19"

Biohacking Market Coverage

Chapter - 1 Preface

=> Report Description

=> Research Methods

=> Research Approaches

Chapter - 2 Executive Summary

=> Biohacking Market Highlights

=> Biohacking Market Projection

=> Biohacking Market Regional Highlights

Chapter - 3 Global Biohacking Market Overview

=> Introduction

=> Market Dynamics

=> Porter's Five Forces Analysis

=> IGR-Growth Matrix Analysis

=> Value Chain Analysis of Biohacking Market

Chapter - 4 Biohacking Market Macro Indicator Analysis

Chapter - 5 Global Biohacking Market by Type

=> Inside Biohacking

=> Outside Biohacking

Chapter - 6 Global Biohacking Market by Product

=> Smart Drugs

=> Strains

=> Sensors

=> Other Products

Chapter - 7 Global Biohacking Market by Application

=> Genetic Engineering

=> Forensic Science

=> Diagnosis and Treatment

=> Synthetic Biology

=> Drug Testing

=> Other Applications

Chapter - 8 Global Biohacking Market by End-user

=> Forensic Laboratories

=> Pharmaceutical and Biotechnological Companies

=> Other End-users

Chapter - 9 Global Biohacking Market by Region 2019-2025

=> North America

=> Europe

=> Asia-Pacific

=> RoW

Chapter - 10 Company Profiles and Competitive Landscape

=>Thync Global Inc.

=> Moodmetric

=> InteraXon Inc.

=> Behavioral Tech.

=> Fitbit, Inc.

=> Apple Inc.

=> Synbiota Inc.

=> The ODIN

=> HVMN Inc.

=> Modern AlkaMe

=> Other companies

Chapter - 11 Appendix

=> Primary Research Findings and Questionnaire

Browse Complete Report@ https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/ict-semiconductor/global-biohacking-market

About Infinium Global ResearchInfinium Global Research is a business consulting and market research firm; a group of experts that caters to fulfilling business and market research needs of leading companies in various industry verticals and business segments. The company also serves government bodies, institutes and non-profit/non-government organizations to meet their knowledge and information needs.

Through our information services and solutions, we assist our clients to improve their performance and assess the market conditions to achieve their organizational goals. Our team of experts and analysts are engaged in continuously monitoring and assessing the market conditions to provide knowledge support to our clients. To help our clients and to stay updated with the advances and inventions in technology, business processes, regulations and environment, Infinium often conducts regular meets with industry experts and opinion leaders. Our key opinion leaders are involved in monitoring and assessing the progress in the business environment, so as to offer the best opinion to our clients.

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How Covid-19 Is Transforming the Biohacking Industry? Major Key Players: Thync Global Inc., Moodmetric, InteraXon Inc., Behavioral Tech., Fitbit,...

There is "no evidence" supporting conspiracy theories that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, an expert has told parliament.

Claims that COVID-19 was created in a lab were amplified by Donald Trump earlier this month, although the president refused to offer any evidence or give specific details.

The coronavirus outbreak first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year and international blame around the pandemic has incited conspiracy theories about its origin.

Rumours linking the virus to the Wuhan Institute of Virology - based on geographic proximity, and without any endorsement from qualified epidemiologists - have circulated.

But speaking to the House of Lords science and technology committee on Tuesday, Professor David Robertson dismissed the conspiracy theory as "unlikely".

Following the president's comments, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed there was a "significant amount of evidence" supporting the theory but, just two days later, admitted: "We don't have certainty."

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Scientists have discovered that the coronavirus was 96% identical to coronavirus found in bats, one of the many animals sold at a Wuhan seafood market where it is suspected the virus jumped to humans.

British authorities believe it is highly likely the global pandemic is unconnected to the laboratory in Wuhan and was passed from animals to humans naturally.

"You have a virus that you think comes from an exotic species and then you have a wildlife market - that seems the most parsimonious explanation," Professor Robertson said.

He was asked whether a sample of the virus found at the Wuhan Institute of Virology - and thought to be about 40 to 50 years old - could have been behind the initial outbreak.

Professor Robertson, who is the head of viral genomics and bioinformatics at the University of Glasgow, firmly responded: "No, absolutely not.

"That's partly what has driven some of these conspiracy theories, is what is the chance they would have this virus in the labs that is close? And actually, even though it is close in sequence, it is not close in time."

"There is really no evidence for this. We can all enjoy a conspiracy theory but you need to have evidence," he added.

Scientists have analysed the entirety of the novel coronavirus' genomic sequence to assess claims that it may have been made in a laboratory or been otherwise engineered.

The value of the genomic sequence could prove vital for those developing a vaccine, but it also contains key details revealing how the virus evolved.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in the US, UK and Australia discovered that the virus has proved so infectious because it developed a near-perfect mechanism to bind to human cells.

This mechanism is so sophisticated in its adaptions that the researchers say that it must have evolved and not been genetically engineered in their paper, titled "COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin", published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Dr Josie Golding, the epidemics lead at the Wellcome Trust in the UK, described the paper as "crucially important to bring an evidence-based view to the rumours that have been circulating about the origins of the virus causing COVID-19".

"They conclude that the virus is the product of natural evolution, ending any speculation about deliberate genetic engineering," Dr Golding added.

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Coronavirus: Parliament told there is 'no evidence' virus came from Wuhan laboratory - Sky News