Podcasts about bioengineers

Bioengineers develop a groundbreaking 'Smart Cell' construction kit for disease-fighting therapies" and how some video games can improve your mental health and add balance to your life. Plus, on This Day in History, the video phone that was released over 30 years ago. Breakthrough for 'smart cell' design | ScienceDaily Journal of Medical Internet Research - Open-World Games' Affordance of Cognitive Escapism, Relaxation, and Mental Well-Being Among Postgraduate Students: Mixed Methods Study Open-World Video Games Boost Relaxation and Mental Well-Being - Neuroscience News Open-World Games Like Zelda Can Boost Your Mental Health, Study Says : ScienceAlert AT&T calls new video phone wave of the future - UPI Archives AT&T launched the VideoPhone 2500 in 1992. It sold for $1,499 | CNN Business Sponsored By Acorns - Head to at acorns.com/cool or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today! Contact the show - coolstuffcommute@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bioengineering, also known as biomedical engineering, is a multidisciplinary field that applies principles and methods of engineering, biology, and medicine to solve problems and develop technologies related to healthcare and biology. Bioengineers design and create a wide range of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and therapeutic techniques. They work on projects such as artificial organs, medical imaging systems, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, genetic engineering, and more. UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Al Pisano shares a conversation with the founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering, Dr. Shu Chien, and local bioengineering entrepreneur Dr. Gene Lay discussing the impact of bioengineering and how the field continues to drive innovation in medicine, improve patient outcomes, enhance quality of life, and is shaping the future of healthcare. [Science] [Show ID: 39399]

Bioengineering, also known as biomedical engineering, is a multidisciplinary field that applies principles and methods of engineering, biology, and medicine to solve problems and develop technologies related to healthcare and biology. Bioengineers design and create a wide range of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and therapeutic techniques. They work on projects such as artificial organs, medical imaging systems, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, genetic engineering, and more. UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Al Pisano shares a conversation with the founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering, Dr. Shu Chien, and local bioengineering entrepreneur Dr. Gene Lay discussing the impact of bioengineering and how the field continues to drive innovation in medicine, improve patient outcomes, enhance quality of life, and is shaping the future of healthcare. [Science] [Show ID: 39399]

Bioengineering, also known as biomedical engineering, is a multidisciplinary field that applies principles and methods of engineering, biology, and medicine to solve problems and develop technologies related to healthcare and biology. Bioengineers design and create a wide range of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and therapeutic techniques. They work on projects such as artificial organs, medical imaging systems, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, genetic engineering, and more. UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Al Pisano shares a conversation with the founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering, Dr. Shu Chien, and local bioengineering entrepreneur Dr. Gene Lay discussing the impact of bioengineering and how the field continues to drive innovation in medicine, improve patient outcomes, enhance quality of life, and is shaping the future of healthcare. [Science] [Show ID: 39399]

Bioengineering, also known as biomedical engineering, is a multidisciplinary field that applies principles and methods of engineering, biology, and medicine to solve problems and develop technologies related to healthcare and biology. Bioengineers design and create a wide range of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and therapeutic techniques. They work on projects such as artificial organs, medical imaging systems, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, genetic engineering, and more. UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Al Pisano shares a conversation with the founding chair of the Department of Bioengineering, Dr. Shu Chien, and local bioengineering entrepreneur Dr. Gene Lay discussing the impact of bioengineering and how the field continues to drive innovation in medicine, improve patient outcomes, enhance quality of life, and is shaping the future of healthcare. [Science] [Show ID: 39399]

Dr Susie, Dr Euan and Dr Shane talk to guest Dr Paul Gurr from the Dept. Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne about the delicate task of cornea surgery. Currently only 1 in 70 patients with corneal disease receive the necessary surgery. Bioengineers are develop a fully synthetic cornea to address the short supply of cornea in Australia and worldwide.The team then talk to Dr Sophie Holland about SAEF: Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, who's current project focuses on how microbes in Antarctic soils meet their energy, carbon and water needs, and how these microbial communities are influenced by climate change. Sophie is particularly interested in aerotrophs - bacteria that can “live on air” by harnessing energy from trace gases in the atmosphere.

Tufts University professor Nisha Iyer teaches "Applications in Engineering: Sci-Fi Bioengineering."

Bioengineers at the University of Hiroshima have created a mathematical model of a bat's echolocation that could be used to develop new active sensing systems. Why has Microsoft informed at least two customers that it will terminate their license to use the Bing search index if they use it to train AI tools? And will software coders be the biggest victims of large scale AI enhanced dev tool adoption?Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Blair Bazdarich, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/dtns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bioengineers at the University of Hiroshima have created a mathematical model of a bat's echolocation that could be used to develop new active sensing systems. Why has Microsoft informed at least two customers that it will terminate their license to use the Bing search index if they use it to train AI tools? And will software coders be the biggest victims of large scale AI enhanced dev tool adoption? Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Blair Bazdarich, Roger Chang, Joe, Amos To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/50X2_G70_VM   You're well aware that your palms get sweaty when you're under duress, and palm moisture is a time-tested indicator of stress.  Problem is that measurement of that stress level conventionally requires lots of electronic equipment.  Bioengineers at the University of Texas Austin have developed a nearly invisible graphene etattoo that can be applied to the palm.  The tattoos communicate with a smartwatch on the wrist via serpentine graphene-gold connectors that maintain the circuit despite palm and wrist movements.   The signal processing may occur in the watch or in a bluetooth-linked phone permitting non-stop monitoring of your stress levels.   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34406-2   #stress #etattoo #smartwatch #bluetooth #sweat  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/AkpQ47lvXPg   Clothing with AI-controlled and air-driven actuators will help kids coping with cerebral palsy fine-tune their arm and leg motions.  Bioengineers at UC-Riverside working with clinicians at California's Children's Hospital of Orange County, better known at CHOC, are developing shirts and pants with air bladders and control sensors.  Then a child intends to, for example, move the arm, sensors record arm muscle activation, a signal travels to a wearable microcomputer, and micropumps inflate the air motors in the shirt to initiate and fine tune the intended motion.   https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220923/Low-cost-robotic-clothing-for-children-with-cerebral-palsy.aspx    #cerebralpalsy #choc #airmotors #wearables #robots  

This will be a long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi, and it will soon see the end of True Colors, the latter of which will leave our heroes in the best spot we've seen them in to date... right? Also inside: Emails! Kenobi! Custom figures! This one's got it all!  This week's Article From the Archives: Imperial Corps of Bioengineers

Zinc deficiency linked to chronic inflammation   Oregon State University April 6 2022.    A report published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research reveals how being deficient in the mineral zinc results in immune dysfunction and chronic inflammation, which is involved in cardiovascular disease and other conditions. Emily Ho of Oregon State University (OSU) and her colleagues examined the effects of zinc deficiency in cell cultures and aged mice. The team observed an increase in the responses of the cytokines interleukin 1beta and interleukin 6 following the administration of an inflammation-provoking substance to human white blood cells known as monocytes. In aged mice, zinc deficiency was also associated with an increase in interleukin 6 gene expression.   (NEXT)   Turmeric compound helps grow engineered blood vessels and tissues   University of California at Riverside, April 6, 2022   A finding by UC Riverside bioengineers could hasten development of lab-grown blood vessels and other tissues to replace and regenerate damaged tissues in human patients. Curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and is known to suppress angiogenesis in malignant tumors. Bioengineers at UC Riverside have now discovered that when delivered through magnetic hydrogels into stem cell cultures this versatile compound paradoxically also promotes the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, that helps vascular tissues grow. When cultured with stem cells derived from bone marrow, the magnetic hydrogel gradually released the curcumin without injuring the cells. Compared to hydrogels embedded with bare nanoparticles, the group of hydrogels loaded with curcumin-coated nanoparticles showed a higher amount of VEGF secretion.   (NEXT)   Exercise shown to release protein reducing bowel cancer risk   Newcastle University, April 7, 2022   Scientists at Newcastle University have shown that physical activity causes the cancer-fighting protein, interleukin-6 (IL-6), to be released into the bloodstream which helps repair the DNA of damaged cells. Previous scientific evidence suggests that more exercise is better for reducing bowel cancer risk as the more physical activitypeople do, the lower their chances of getting it. When exercise is repeated multiple times each week over an extended period, cancer-fighting substances—such as IL-6—released into the bloodstream have the opportunity to interact with abnormal cells, repairing their DNA and reducing growth into cancer."   (NEXT)   Ginkgo biloba Extract Improves ADHD Symptoms in Children   University of Tübingen's Center for Medicine (Germany), April 6, 2022   Ginkgo's usefulness for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has now been confirmed by a clinical study from Germany. This is supported by previous research showing Ginkgo's effects on cognition among the elderly. Researchers tested a Ginkgo biloba extract called EGb761 on 20 children diagnosed with ADHD in an open clinical protocol. The children were given the Ginkgo extract for three to five weeks at a dosage of up to 240 milligrams. This maximum dosage was given to those children who did not have immediate effective responses to a lower dose over the initial period of three weeks. The researchers found that the Ginkgo extract improved ADHD symptoms among the children. This improvement corresponded with improved Contingent negative variation (CNV) testing results.   (NEXT)   Pomegranate-date cocktail a day keeps the doctor away   Technion-Israel Institute of Technology , April 6, 2022   Glorious, red pomegranates and their Middle Eastern sister, luscious toffee-like dates, are delicious, increasingly trendy, and healthy to boot. As it turns out, when consumed together they are a winning combination in the war against heart disease. Just half a glass of pomegranate juice a day with a handful of dates can do the trick! A team of researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has discovered that the combination of pomegranate juice and dates along with their pits provide maximum protection against atherosclerosis (plaque buildup or hardening of the arteries), which can cause a heart attack or stroke. Pomegranate juice, rich in polyphenolic antioxidants (derived from plants), has been shown to most significantly reduce oxidative stress. Dates, which are rich sources of phenolic radical scavenger antioxidants, also inhibit the oxidation of LDL (the so-called "bad cholesterol") and stimulate the removal of cholesterol from lipid-laden arterial cells. Dr. Richard Fleming Dr. Richard Fleming is a cardiologist specializing in nuclear medicine who has proven a direct correlation between inflammation and heart disease.  Dr. Fleming holds a PhD in particle physics, graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and later completed a law degree. He is the inventor of the Fleming Method for Tissue and Vascular Differentiation and Metabolism, a method that quantifies tissue activity due to inflammation and infection. In the past Richard has taught at the University of Texas and conducted cardiological research at Methodist College and Creighton University. Since the declaration of the Covid pandemic, he has put his attention on uncovering the health risks from both the SARS-2 virus and the Covid-19 vaccines, exposing the medical risks, and researching the genetic engineered origins of SARS-2.  He has published and edited several medical texts and has published over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers. He recently released a new book "Is Covid-19 a Bioweapon: A Scientific and Forensic Investigation," which takes a hard critical look at the available evidence that identifies clear genetic anomalies that could only have occurred through gain of function research.  Dr Fleming's website is FlemingMethod.com.

Sandor Katz, a self-described fermentation revivalist and author of three books on the topic helps me unpack fermentation. What it is and why it's so engrained in all food cultures. He talks about the role of fermentation in preserving food then explains how fermentation plays a vital role in helping us get the most of the nutritional content of food by breaking food down into easier-to-digest elements, like amino acids. Apparently, we don't benefit from the full nutritional potency of manufactured, fermented foods. The better to make your own yogurt or sauerkraut. We also talk through how fermentation brings out strong flavor profiles. Acquired tastes, for most.We are again turning to fermentation to show us the way. We are leveraging one of nature's fundamental organic processes – a single-celled fungus digesting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide to make bread, for example - to learn how to provision ourselves in a more sustainable way.Bioengineers are leading the way. They are learning to mimic the natural fermentation process to create completely new foods and food ingredients through precision fermentation and biomass fermentation.Audrey Gyr, from Good Foods Institute, a non-profit organization which promotes alternative proteins to animal-based ones, helps explain these Fermentation 2.0 approaches.

The latest health news we're covering this week:Improving symptoms of MS with the ketogenic dietUsing mindfulness to reduce opioid misusePolluting the air and your airways with cleaning productsEradicating ovarian cancer with a drug factoryThe truth about Kale for skin healthSubscribe to the Health Hackd NewsletterRate the show on Apple PodcastFollow along on InstagramTry the cleanest, most effective electrolyte drink on the market: Drink LMNTSourcesKetogenic diet may improve symptoms and quality of life for people with Multiple Sclerosis. Mindfulness therapy shown to reduce chronic pain and reduce misuse of opioids for up to nine month, in first large-scale clinical trials.Cleaning products are bad news for indoor air pollution and inflammation of the respiratory system.Bioengineers at Rice University successfully eradicated ovarian and colorectal cancer in mice, in as little as a week, using a "drug factory."The Role of Vitamin C and Skin HealthATTITUDE® is a Canada-based company that develops natural personal care and household products dedicated to promoting healthy living.! Use this link for $10 off your first order!    DisclaimerThis podcast is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The products, information, services, and other content provided on and through this podcast, including information that may be provided in the show notes (directly or via linking to third-party sites), are provided for informational purposes only. Please consult with your physician or other healthcare professionals regarding any medical or health-related diagnosis or treatment options.

This week we talk about Jacob's feud with Laban and his weird folk magic for how to make speckled sheep; then, we briefly talk about hell (as it relates to Phoebe Bridgers).  Find us on Twitter @BS4Blasphemers, or email us your Bible questions and corrections at biblestoriesforblasphemers@gmail.com!You can also find Dan on Twitter @DanRogland or on Patreon at patreon.com/danrogland.  Special thanks for @HenryRogland for our intro, and to Bird Creek for our theme song, "Hooky With Sloane." 

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/3aNsAmXBDFc   Today's newly announced medical discoveries that point to future therapy: Lab on a chip offers speedy heart attack diagnosis Better vaccine immunity from a skin patch than a jab Steerable catheters to deliver brain therapy And finally, a tissue glue based on barnacles     It currently takes hours to confirm the heart muscle damage diagnostic of a heart attack.  Bioengineers at Notre Dame working with cardiologists at the University of Florida now report a 30 minute, ultra-sensitive membrane-based test to detect the microRNAs that confirm a heart attack diagnosis.  Their system uses tiny amounts of blood, can distinguish the cardiac muscle changes due to lack of oxygen from so-call re-perfusion changes, and is portable.  It may provide a life-saving resource to areas far from cardiac cath facilities.   A 3D printed vaccine patch invokes a 10-fold stronger immune response compared with delivery of the same vaccine into the arm muscle.  This from a University of North Carolina study that used a patch of microneedles fabricated by a 3D printing process called continuous liquid interface production or CLIP. The investigators showed that this carpet of microneedles triggers enhanced antibody production and cell-mediated immunity in a relatively non-invasive manner.   UC-San Diego investigators have developed steerable catheters tiny enough to navigate the smaller blood vessels of the deep brain.  They achieved the result by mimicking the micro-hydraulics of insect legs by casting layers of silicone with different levels of stiffness.  The catheters are bent by pressurized saline, and they have been successfully deployed during neurosurgery on pigs.   And finally, from MIT comes a novel tissue glue inspired by the sticky substances used by barnacles to attach to rocks.  This adhesive is unique since it works on surfaces covered with blood making it useful for sealing tissues with open blood vessels.  It consists of the polymer polyacrylic acid, an NHS ester, and the sugar chitosan.  The trio are mixed, frozen into sheets, ground into microparticles, and then suspended in medical grade silicon oil.  The adhesive will set and stop any bleeding within 15-30 seconds after application.   These and other cutting edge solutions are coming to your doctor's office and our hospitals…….some day soon!     https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/LC/D1LC00685A https://www.pnas.org/content/118/39/e2102595118 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210819113048.htm https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-021-00769-y       #heartattack #microRNA #labonachip #microneedles #vaccination  #catheter #brain #steerable #glue #bleeding #barnacles    

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/72z_nvozrdw   Today’s medical discoveries that point to future therapy. Nanoturbocharging Antibiotics Hydrogen Peroxide Boosts Radiation Therapy Peptide Treats Croup and Pneumonia Drug Boosts Immunity to Hepatitis B Cutting Edge Wireless Implants Avocado Therapy For Leukemia   As bacteria and fungi become more antibiotic-resistant, we need ever stronger drugs.  Australian microbiologists have one solution by formulating the antibiotic tobramycin with a lipid liquid crystal nanoparticle that amplifies tobramycin’s killing potency 100,000 times when used against the dread bug pseudomonas living in a mucus coating called a biofilm. This discovery should revolutionize the management of cystic fibrosis in children.    University of Iowa researchers now report that the drug Avasopasem manganese makes cancer radiation therapy safer and more effective.  This drug mimics a natural body enzyme and converts the toxin superoxide produced by the radiation into hydrogen peroxide that is harmless to normal cells but devastating to cancer cells.  A preliminary clinical trial shows that adding Avasopasem to high dose radiation therapy nearly doubles the overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients.   Parainfluenza viruses that cause childhood pneumonias and croup can be blocked by a tiny peptide molecule that thwarts the virus’ ability to penetrate human cells.  Biochemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and New York’s Columbia University have fabricated and refined this peptide.  It works well in animal models, and clinical trials won’t be far behind.   The cholesterol-lowering drug avasimibe blocks a liver enzyme that impedes our natural immunity against the hepatitis B virus.  British immunologists now demonstrate that this drug blocks the enzyme acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase, ACAT for short, and permits T cells to wipe out the hepatitis virus responsible for cirrhosis of the liver and deadly liver cancer.  Studies to test avisimibe’s anti-viral effectiveness lie ahead.   Bioengineers at Texas’ Rice University have developed pill-sized implantable electrical stimulators that can be activated and powered by a single wearable battery-powered electromagnetic transmitter.   The stimulators can be harnessed and sequenced to trigger multiple nerves permitting those with spinal cord injuries to use their extremities and those with cardiac rhythm disturbances to enjoy functional heart pumping.    Avocados contain a compound that blocks the cancer cellular metabolism in those with acute myeloid leukemia or AML.  Canadian nutraceutical scientists have discovered that avocatin B, a fatty compound unique to avocados, can block the VLCAD enzyme essential for survival of myeloid leukemia cells.  Those patients with the highest levels of this enzyme would be expected to benefit most from avocado therapy when this nutraceutical undergoes clinical testing.   These and other cutting edge solutions are coming to your doctor’s office and our hospitals…….some day soon!   https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.202100531 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00014 https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/13/593/eabb3768 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/jacs.1c01565 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22967-7 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210510161437.htm   #nanotechnology #cysticfibrosis #pseudomonas #avasopasem #hydrogenperoxide #pancreaticcancer #peptide #parainfluenza #pneumonia #croup #hepatitisB #avisimbe #cirrhosis #livercancer #microstimulators #paralysis #arrhythmias #aml #leukemia #avocado   pancreaticcancer, peptide, parainfluenza, pneumonia, croup, hepatitisB, avisimbe, cirrhosis, livercancer, microstimulators, paralysis, arrhythmias, aml, leukemia. avocado

0:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders 0:04:00 Letter to the Editor A follow up to a story we mentioned a few weeks ago where a letter to the editor was published in the Byron Bay Echo newspaper. This week we feature the response from skeptic Ken McLeod. Just who is this mysterious midwife who is complaining about COVID-19 vaccinations? 0:10:20 Crazy COVID-19 Claim You will not believe the crazy claim the Australian government has had to rebut on their official COVID-19 website. Joining Richard to discuss this foolishness are Adrienne Hill and Leonard Tramiel. COVID-19 vaccines do not - and cannot - connect you to the internet. Some of the mRNA vaccines being developed include the use of a material called a hydrogel, which might help disperse the vaccine slowly into our cells. Bioengineers have used similar hydrogels for many years in different ways. For instance, they've used them to help stem cells survive after being put inside our bodies. Because of this, some people believe that hydrogels are needed for electronic implants, which can connect to the internet. https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/is-it-true/is-it-true-can-covid-19-vaccines-connect-me-to-the-internet 0:26:00 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What skeptical news has caught the eye of Tim Mendham this week? http://www.skeptics.com.au 0:33:44 A Dive into a Trove A wander through the decades of digitised newspapers on a search for references to the The National Centre for Science Education and Dr Eugenie Scott. Also Corona Conspiracy - Upload Images https://coronaconspiracy.cloud https://pintofscience.com.au Pint of Science is back! After the success of last year's festival (moved online at the very last minute) Pint of Science AU 2021 will run completely online again, with a range of new and improved activities. Our talented team has spent the last few months brewing up a variety of ways to enjoy a pint of science via video, social media, and across the airwaves. There will be even more ways to participate, with a mixture of pre-recorded and live events, including our wildly popular Pint of Science Trivia. With so much on, we decided to extend our run for two whole weeks, and we can't wait. Hope to see you there!

Julie Legault is designer-entrepreneur from the city of Montreal. She is also the co-founder of Amino Labs, an MIT spinout that builds hardware and synthetic biology products making genetic engineering accessible to children and non-scientists. Join us for this very exciting episode as Julie walks us through her transition from designer to synthetic biologist, the key role BioBuilder played in this new career path, the birth of Amino Labs, as well as reflections on the journey so far.Link to the 100k BioEngineers in 100 Days ChallengeKeywordsDesign-entrepreneur, Maker movement, Synthetic biology, Amino Labs, MIT media lab, DNA playground, Education, Open source

Bioengineers and surgeons from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improve the cells' ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks.Bioengineers and surgeons from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improve the cells' ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks.In a study using rodents, a team led by Rice's Dr. Omid Veiseh and Baylor's Ravi Ghanta showed it could make capsules of wound-healing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and implant them next to wounded hearts using minimally invasive techniques. Within four weeks, heart-healing was 2.5 times greater in animals treated with shielded stem cells than those treated with nonshielded stem cells, the researchers found.Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the United States. In each case, an artery that supplies blood to the heart becomes blocked and heart muscle tissue dies due to lack of blood. Hearts damaged by heart attacks pump less efficiently, and scar tissue from heart attack wounds can further reduce heart function.Dr. Omid Veiseh is on the show today to tell us more about these findings.  Want better health and nutrition? Now you can get personalized supplement recommendations and custom vitamin packs delivered to your door! Go to PersonaNutrition.com/Roizen and take your free assessment and get 50% off your order today. - sponsor BonusHow Your Diet Affects Your Risk for Cancer

Bioengineers and surgeons from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improve the cells' ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks.Bioengineers and surgeons from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improve the cells' ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks.In a study using rodents, a team led by Rice's Dr. Omid Veiseh and Baylor's Ravi Ghanta showed it could make capsules of wound-healing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and implant them next to wounded hearts using minimally invasive techniques. Within four weeks, heart-healing was 2.5 times greater in animals treated with shielded stem cells than those treated with nonshielded stem cells, the researchers found.Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the United States. In each case, an artery that supplies blood to the heart becomes blocked and heart muscle tissue dies due to lack of blood. Hearts damaged by heart attacks pump less efficiently, and scar tissue from heart attack wounds can further reduce heart function.Dr. Omid Veiseh is on the show today to tell us more about these findings.  Want better health and nutrition? Now you can get personalized supplement recommendations and custom vitamin packs delivered to your door! Go to PersonaNutrition.com/Roizen and take your free assessment and get 50% off your order today. - sponsor BonusHow Your Diet Affects Your Risk for Cancer

For doctors and medical researchers repairing the human body, a 3D printer has become almost as valuable as an x-ray machine, microscope, or a sharp scalpel. Bioengineers are using 3D printers to make more durable hip and knee joints, prosthetic limbs and, recently, to produce living tissue attached to a scaffold of printed material.

Why are some stars second generation? Why is yawning contagious? Why is the moon moving away from us? What causes lag on live broadcasts? Why can't you put metal in a microwave? How do stars form? Plus, organ transplant discovery. Chris Smith joins Eusebius McKaiser to find out... Eusebius - Our science story is a fascinating one. Bioengineers - how close are they to lab-grown lungs?Chris - Yeah amazing this isn't it? We know that millions of people around the world need organ transplants. We know that thousands, if not tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people die waiting on... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why are some stars second generation? Why is yawning contagious? Why is the moon moving away from us? What causes lag on live broadcasts? Why can't you put metal in a microwave? How do stars form? Plus, organ transplant discovery. Chris Smith joins Eusebius McKaiser to find out... Eusebius - Our science story is a fascinating one. Bioengineers - how close are they to lab-grown lungs?Chris - Yeah amazing this isn't it? We know that millions of people around the world need organ transplants. We know that thousands, if not tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people die waiting on... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus radio! I am your host, Michelle Currie, here to give you the rundown on Canada’s biotech scene. This week we have stories about a possible Ebola treatment, how there may be a link between an increase in cholinergic system activity and parkinson’s disease, CRISPR makes its move on RNA, and according to a u of t study, rheumatoid arthritis patients have a higher risk of earlier mortality. So, keep listening to hear what’s going on from coast to coast! +++++ In the wake of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, with more than 11,000 known deaths, researchers are attempting to come up with innovative ways to prevent and cure the disease. Due to the dire nature of the virus, it sheds light on the limitations of the medication currently in circulation. Now, University of Guelph researchers have shown that an innovative antibody delivery method could offer an effective way to prevent and treat Ebola infection. Their goal is to make an antibody-based therapy that can protect against all strains of Ebola, and potentially the Marburg virus as well. It would be used to stop the spread of the virus in outbreak situations. The researchers say monoclonal antibody therapies (mAbs) hold promise for the treatment of the Ebola virus, but monoclonal antibody therapies are a costly operation and provide only short-term immunity. That could change though thanks to a recent discovery by lead researchers Sarah Wootton and Laura van Lieshout. Their findings were published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The approach technique that the researchers are using has been seen in studies with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It delivers a monoclonal antibody gene through a viral vector to bypass the need to generate a natural immune response – something that can take the body weeks to occur and quite frankly, time is of the essence with this particular disease. Wootton found that using the adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver antibodies was remarkably effective at keeping the Ebola virus infection at bay in mice. Other researchers have used the adeno-associated virus extensively to treat a variety of genetic disorders. The goal is to use the adeno-associated virus gene therapy vector to deliver the DNA blueprint to a cell, and that cell will produce a protective antibody against the Ebola virus, which is then secreted into the bloodstream and protects mice from infection. The approach provided 100 per cent protection against an Ebola infection in mice using two separate types of monoclonal antibodies, and 83 per cent protection with a third. A “cocktail” of two antibodies provided sustained protection against Ebola for up to five months. Once the antibody gene is delivered, antibodies will be continually reproduced in the bloodstream. Mice in the laboratory expressed the antibody for more than 300 days. Researchers are hoping to utilize this technology in a post-exposure scenario. +++++ There is a particular gene mutation that happens in the brain that could be linked to an inherited form of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that might shed some light on a controversial theory about where PD begins in the brain. Idiopathic PD, a sporadic form of the disease, affects the dopamine system and is treated with replacement therapy to restore the brain’s natural chemical balance and alleviate physical symptoms. Frequently, other neurotransmitter systems are involved, but it is not yet clear whether this happens pre- or post the dopamine loss characteristic. By studying people with the inherited form of the disease, researchers hope that they will be able to determine brain involvement prior to the development of symptoms. The results of an international collaboration, led by Dr. Jon Stoessl, published in The Lancet Neurology shows that mutations in the LRRK2 – a gene associated with an inherited form of PD – can cause imbalances in the cholinergic system of the brain, but not in the way they thought. The cholinergic system is responsible for learning and memory. An imbalanced cholinergic system has been witnessed in other neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s. While the investigators expected to find evidence of reduced cholinergic activity in the brain, positron emission tomography (PET) scans revealed widespread increases not only in people with the LRRK2 mutation-related form of PD, but also in unaffected individuals who carry the mutation but do not yet have manifestations of disease. Changes in the cholinergic system are thought to contribute to PD complications including cognitive difficulties, postural instability and sleep disturbances. It is possible that an increase in activity may reflect the brain’s attempt to compensate for dysfunction related to the mutated gene, and may also explain why patients with LRRK2 mutations have fewer problems with certain complications of disease, even though their PD is in most ways similar to the usual sporadic form of the disease. This provides a tremendous opportunity to study people with Parkinson-causing genetic mutations before they develop. The findings of this study have considerable implications for understanding how the disease begins to manifest in the years before diagnosis, and builds on research previously published last year that demonstrated that patients with the LRRK2 mutation show an increase in serotonin nerve terminals before a formal Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis, possibly reflecting the brain’s attempts to compensate for the decrease in dopamine associated with onset of physical symptoms. According to Statistics Canada, PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in Canada with an estimated 55,000 people suffering from it. It is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while a tremor may be the most well-known sign of Parkinson’s disease, the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement that worsens as it progresses. The majority of new diagnoses are in adults over the age of 64. +++++ CRISPR/Cas9, the “scissors” of life sciences, is now not only targeting DNA, but RNA as well. Scientists from the Salk Institute in the U.S. have created this new tool, CasRx, to correct protein imbalances in cells. This provides researchers with a powerful way to develop new gene therapies, as well as investigate fundamental biological functions. Bioengineers are like nature’s detectives, searching for clues in patterns of DNA to help solve the mysteries of genetic diseases. CRISPR has revolutionized genome engineering, and the researchers wanted to expand the toolbox from DNA to RNA. CRISPR technology was adapted from the natural defense mechanisms of bacteria and archaea (the domain of single-celled microorganisms). These organisms use CRISPR-derived RNA and various Cas proteins, including Cas9, to foil attacks by viruses and other foreign bodies. They do so primarily by chopping up and destroying the DNA of a foreign invader. When these components are transferred into other, more complex, organisms, it allows for the manipulation of genes, or “editing.” The Salk team decided to search bacterial genomes for new CRISPR enzymes that could target RNA, which could then be engineered to address problems with RNA and resulting proteins. A given RNA message, for example, can be expressed at varying levels and its balance relative to other RNAs is critical for healthy function. Furthermore, RNA can be spliced in various ways to make different proteins, but problems with splicing can lead to diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, atypical cystic fibrosis and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). So, a drug that targets toxic RNAs or RNAs resulting from improper splicing could have a life-changing impact for people with these types of devastating diseases. The researchers began the project with the hypothesis that different CRISPR systems may have been specialized throughout an evolutionary arms race between bacteria and their viruses, potentially giving them the ability to target viral RNA. They developed a computational program to search bacterial DNA databases for particular repeating DNA sequences. Whilst this was happening, they discovered a family of CRISPR enzymes that targets RNA. They called it Cas13. The name is derived from the gut bacterium Ruminococcus flaveflacians XPD3002 due to it being the best version for use in human cells, because just like Cas9, Cas13 enzymes originate from different bacterial species and vary in activity. The scientists tried out this new method in a dementia patient, attempting to replace the damaged cells with healthy ones. CasRx was 80 per cent effective. The team genetically engineered CasRx to target RNA sequences for the version of the tau protein that is overabundant. They did this by packaging CasRx into a virus and delivering it to neurons grown from a frontotemporal degeneration patient’s stem cells. Compared to other technologies that target RNA, CasRx is unique due to its small size – making it easier to package into therapeutically relevant viral vectors – its high degree of effectiveness, and that it creates no discernible off-target effects compared to RNA interference. The Salk team is excited about the possibilities their tool opens up for exploring new biological questions about RNA and protein function, as well as therapies to tackle RNA and protein-based diseases. To quote one of the authors of the study, “Nature is full of so many secrets. It’s really a rich, untapped resource for inventing new technologies.” +++++ According to a study done by the University of Toronto, sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to have further complications and die at a younger age than the general population. The study was examining causes of death of Ontarians over a 14-year period. Everyone deserves to live the same length and quality of life. Mortality is also one of the strongest markers to evaluate inadequate care. The excess mortality related to rheumatoid arthritis that the researchers observed may suggest inadequate attention to control of the disease and its related morbidity. The study is one of the largest of its kind to comprehensively look at causes of death over an extended period. More than 87,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Ontario were included in the study and compared with more than 340,000 members of the general population over a span of 14 years. Causes of death were found to be quite similar between the general population and those with rheumatoid arthritis, but the notable difference was that those with the disease were dying at a much younger age – which is something that concerns the researchers. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition that can affect two to three per cent of older adults. As an inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis can affect more than just the joints in the body – ongoing inflammation often leads to further complications and multimorbidity in patients. This means that individuals will likely have multiple chronic conditions occurring simultaneously, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, or heart disease and a respiratory illness. The study also found that among arthritis sufferers, one in three were dying of complications attributed to heart disease. The head researcher wants to underscore the importance of improving preventative measures to slow down the progression of some of these co-morbid conditions in order to improve a patients’ overall life expectancy. The hope through this research is that it will shed light and awareness on the disease and inspire patients to play a more active and vigilant role when it comes to their health. The study was published in Arthritis Care & Research and was supported by the Catherine and Fredrik Eaton Charitable Foundation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Arthritis Society Post Doctoral Fellowship. +++++ Well, that wraps up another episode of Biotechnology Focus radio! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week I’ll have Vatche Bartekian on the show to tell me about his event coming up in May! Stay tuned and have a great week! From my desk to yours – this is Michelle Currie.

Bioengineers at UC San Diego have used ultrasound to activate genetically modified, live immune T cells so that they recognize and kill cancer cells. The new platform offers a possible path forward for non-invasively and remotely activating just the CAR-T cells that are near a specific tumor. “CAR-T cell therapy is becoming a paradigm-shifting therapeutic approach for cancer treatment,” said UC San Diego bioengineering professor Peter Yingxiao Wang. “However, major challenges remain before CAR-based immunotherapy can become widely adopted. For instance, the non-specific targeting of CAR-T cells against nonmalignant tissues can be life-threatening. This work could ultimately lead to an unprecedented precision and efficiency in CAR-T cell immunotherapy against solid tumors, while minimizing off-tumor toxicities.” Paper title: "Mechanogenetics for the remote and non-invasive control of cancer immunotherapy," in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS). Authors of the study are Yijia Pan, Ziliang Huang, Molly Allen, Yiqian Wu, Ya-Ju Chang, Shu Chien and Yingxiao Wang at UC San Diego; Sangpil Yoon, Changyang Lee and K. Kirk Shung at University of Southern California; and Jie Sun and Michel Sadelain at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants HL121365, GM125379, CA204704 and CA209629), the National Science Foundation (grants CBET1360341 and DMS1361421) and the Beckman Laser Institute Foundation. Read the full story and get a link to the paper here: http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=2412

Bioengineers at UC San Diego have used ultrasound to activate genetically modified, live immune T cells so that they recognize and kill cancer cells. The new platform offers a possible path forward for non-invasively and remotely activating just the CAR-T cells that are near a specific tumor. “CAR-T cell therapy is becoming a paradigm-shifting therapeutic approach for cancer treatment,” said UC San Diego bioengineering professor Peter Yingxiao Wang. “However, major challenges remain before CAR-based immunotherapy can become widely adopted. For instance, the non-specific targeting of CAR-T cells against nonmalignant tissues can be life-threatening. This work could ultimately lead to an unprecedented precision and efficiency in CAR-T cell immunotherapy against solid tumors, while minimizing off-tumor toxicities.” Paper title: "Mechanogenetics for the remote and non-invasive control of cancer immunotherapy," in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS). Authors of the study are Yijia Pan, Ziliang Huang, Molly Allen, Yiqian Wu, Ya-Ju Chang, Shu Chien and Yingxiao Wang at UC San Diego; Sangpil Yoon, Changyang Lee and K. Kirk Shung at University of Southern California; and Jie Sun and Michel Sadelain at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants HL121365, GM125379, CA204704 and CA209629), the National Science Foundation (grants CBET1360341 and DMS1361421) and the Beckman Laser Institute Foundation. Read the full story and get a link to the paper here: http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=2412

GEN Sounds of Science June 19, 2017 Team believes a rational therapeutic design approach will allow scientists to transform how the disease is tackled. Quantum dot technology also should be applicable to other autoimmune diseases as well.

Now that researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have created a 3-D bioprint of living blood vessels, they’re moving towards making more tissue-specific vasculature. Bioengineer Monica Moya says she’s particularly interested in the brain. "So, we’re trying to build the blood-brain barrier, which is the blood vessels in your brain that are responsible for making sure that not just anything gets across, but that’s an interesting field because sometimes you do want things to get across." For example, you’d want certain drugs to get across that barrier to treat a tumor, but they don’t always make it. "And that’s actually one of the challenges of people that end up with brain tumors, is that it’s hard to treat and it’s hard to deliver across the blood-brain barrier and then there’s cases where there’s stuff that goes across the blood-brain barrier and you want to prevent it from getting across the barrier. So, having a model that you can test is beneficial." Moya and her team have successfully 3D printed structures with living cells and biomaterials using ‘bio-inks’, which enabled human capillaries to develop on their own.

Bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley made headlines when they developed a “heart-on-a-chip”. This silicone device, which houses human heart tissue derived from adult stem cells, could someday replace animal models as a drug safety screening tool. But how does something like this actually work? We asked bioengineer Kevin Healy, who led the research. "The chip is made similarly to how one makes a computer chip and that’s called microfabrication. So, we use microfabrication technology to make a small portion that’s like a chamber to hold cells; and then another portion that’s like a blood vessel to allow fluid to bathe the cells and deliver the drug and also nutrients and removal of waste." The team has tested about six or seven cardiac drugs using their chip. "Now it’s starting to look at a much wider array of drugs that would be known to cause a clinical failure and seeing if we can pick that up with the cardiac chip."

Germs can make us sick, but we didn't know about these puny pathogens prior to the end of the 19th century. Just the suggestion that a tiny bug could spread disease made eyes roll. Then came germ theory, sterilization, and antibiotics. It was a revolution in medicine. Now we're on the cusp of another one. This time we may cure what ails us by replacing what ails us. Bioengineers use advancements in stem cell therapy to grow red and white cells for human blood. Meanwhile, a breakthrough in 3D printing: scientists print blood vessels and say that human organs may be next. Plus, implanting electronic grids to repair neural pathways. Future prosthetics wired to the brain may allow paralyzed limbs to move. We begin with the story of the scientist who discovered the bacteria that caused tuberculosis, and the famous author who revealed that his cure for TB was a sham. Guests: Thomas Goetz – Author of The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis Jose Carmena – Neuroscientist and biomedical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley; co-director of the Berkeley-UCSF Center for Neural Engineering and Prostheses William Murphy -Bioengineer and co-director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison Ali Khademhosseini – Bioengineer, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Woman's Hospital Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ENCORE  Germs can make us sick, but we didn’t know about these puny pathogens prior to the end of the 19th century. Just the suggestion that a tiny bug could spread disease made eyes roll. Then came germ theory, sterilization, and antibiotics. It was a revolution in medicine. Now we’re on the cusp of another one. This time we may cure what ails us by replacing what ails us. Bioengineers use advancements in stem cell therapy to grow red and white cells for human blood. Meanwhile, a breakthrough in 3D printing: scientists print blood vessels and say that human organs may be next. Plus, implanting electronic grids to repair neural pathways. Future prosthetics wired to the brain may allow paralyzed limbs to move. We begin with the story of the scientist who discovered the bacteria that caused tuberculosis, and the famous author who revealed that his cure for TB was a sham. Guests: Thomas Goetz – Author of The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis Jose Carmena – Neuroscientist and biomedical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley; co-director of the Berkeley-UCSF Center for Neural Engineering and Prostheses William Murphy -Bioengineer and co-director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison Ali Khademhosseini – Bioengineer, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Woman’s Hospital

Bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a mathematical algorithm that can "see" your intention while performing an ordinary action like reaching for a cup or driving straight up a road -- even if the action is interrupted. The idea is to use this algorithm to design machines that could correct the course of a swerving car or help a stroke patient with spasticity. Anthony and Jeff imagine a world with psychic robots and wonder if it will be better or worse. Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story sent in by Benjamin Dorn: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151007125748.htm If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

Bioengineers have been steadily advancing toward the goal of building lab-grown organs out of a patient's own cells, but a few major challenges remain. One of them is making vasculature, the blood vessel plumbing system that delivers nutrients and remove waste from the cells on the inside of a mass of tissue. Without these blood vessels, interior cells quickly suffocate and die. Scientists can already grow thin layers of cells, so one proposed solution to the vasculature problem is to "print" the cells layer by layer, leaving openings for blood vessels as necessary. But this method leaves seams, and when blood is pumped through the vessels, it pushes those seams apart. Bioengineers from the University of Pennsylvania have turned the problem inside out by using a 3D printer called a RepRap to make templates of blood vessel networks out of sugar. Once the networks are encased in a block of cells, the sugar can be dissolved, leaving a functional vascular network behind. "I got the first hint of this solution when I visited a Body Worlds exhibit, where you can see plastic casts of free-standing, whole organ vasculature," says Bioengineering postdoc Jordan Miller. Miller, along with Christopher Chen, the Skirkanich Professor of Innovation in the Department of Bioengineering, other members of Chen's lab, and colleagues from MIT, set out to show that this method of developing sugar vascular networks helps keep interior cells alive and functioning. After the researchers design the network architecture on a computer, they feed the design to the RepRap. The printer begins building the walls of a stabilizing mold. Then it then draws filaments across the mold, pulling the sugar at different speeds to achieve the desired thickness of what will become the blood vessels. After the sugar has hardened, the researchers add liver cells suspended in a gel to the mold. The gel surrounds the filaments, encasing the blood vessel template. After the gel sets it can be removed from the mold with the template still inside. The block of gel is then washed in water, dissolving the remaining sugar inside. The liquid sugar flows out of the vessels it has created without harming the growing cells. "This new technology, from the cell's perspective, makes tissue formation a gentle and quick journey," says Chen. The researchers have successfully pumped nutrient-rich media, and even blood, through these gels blocks' vascular systems. They also have experimentally shown that more of the liver cells survive and produce more metabolites in gels that have these networks. The RepRap makes testing new vascular architectures quick and inexpensive, and the sugar is stable enough to ship the finished networks to labs that don't have 3D printers of their own. The researchers hope to eventually use this method to make implantable organs for animal studies. Text by Evan Lerner Video by Kurtis Sensenig

Bioengineers at UC-San Diego say glowing bacteria could be used as innovative pollution sensors