Archive for October, 2019

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 7, 2019) - PreveCeutical Medical Inc.(CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H)(the "Company" or "PreveCeutical"), is pleased to announce that it has received a cash refund of $616,802 AUD from the Australian Taxation Office under the Research and Development ("R&D") Tax Incentive Program. The cash refund is related to expenditures on eligible R&D activities conducted in Australia during the Company's 2018 financial year. The R&D activities included work done in areas across PreveCeutical's portfolio, including the Sol-gel nose-to-brain drug delivery system and the non-addictive analgesics programs, which are being conducted at the University of Queensland, Australia.

The refund received by the Company will support and reinforce the Company's continued investments in its R&D programs.

The R&D Tax Incentive Program encourages companies to engage in R&D programs, including ones that have the potential to improve global health outcomes, which boosts competitiveness and generates economic benefits locally.

PreveCeutical's President and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Mak Jawadekar stated, "We are highly supportive of the Australian Government's R&D Tax Credit incentive which recognises the critical role of R&D involved in potentially developing life-saving drugs, therapies and delivery devices. This refund would help enable PreveCeutical to further advance our proprietary therapeutic alternatives for preventive and curative therapies for some of the unmet medical needs."

About PreveCeutical

PreveCeutical is a health sciences company that develops innovative options for preventive and curative therapies utilizing organic and nature identical products.

PreveCeutical aims to be a leader in preventive health sciences and currently has five research and development programs, including: dual gene therapy for curative and prevention therapies for type 2 diabetes and obesity; a soluble gel drug delivery program; Nature Identical peptides for treatment of various ailments; non-addictive analgesic peptides as a replacement to the highly addictive analgesics such as morphine, fentanyl and oxycodone; and a therapeutic product for treating athletes who suffer from concussions (mild traumatic brain injury).

For more information about PreveCeutical, please visit http://www.PreveCeutical.com, follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PreveCeuticals and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PreveCeutical.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"Dr. Makarand (Mak) Jawadekar"President & Chief Science Officer

For further information, please contact:

Deanna KressDirector of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations+1-778-999-6063deanna@PreveCeutical.com

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including the Company's anticipated business plans, the intended use of the R&D Tax Incentive Program cash refund, and the prospect of its ability and success in executing its proposed plans. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "schedules", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential", "will" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward looking statements are based on certain assumptions regarding the Company, including expected growth, results of operations, including the Company's research and development activities, performance, industry trends, growth opportunities, and that the Company will be able to obtain the financing required to carry out its planned future activities, retain and attract qualified research personnel and obtain and/or maintain the necessary intellectual property rights it needs to carry out its future business activities. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including risks and uncertainties relating to the inability of the Company, to, among other things, obtain any required governmental, regulatory or stock exchange approvals, permits, consents or authorizations required, including Canadian Securities Exchange acceptance of any planned future activities, commercialise therapeutic and diagnostic technologies, pursue business partnerships, complete its research programs as planned, and obtain the financing required to carry out its planned future activities. Other factors such as general economic, market or business conditions or changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry, may also adversely affect the future results or performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the statements, beliefs, plans, expectations, and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that those statements, beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Readers should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to other periodic reports provided by the Company from time-to-time. These reports and the Company's filings are available at http://www.sedar.com.

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Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/48515

See the article here:
PreveCeutical Receives $616,802 AUD Research and Development Tax Incentive Cash Refund - Yahoo Finance

For the past 15 years the University of Oxfords Simon Davis has been mapping the surface of T cells, exploring and examining the structures of surface proteins while determining what it takes to manage specific immune cell signaling. And now a group of UK investors says its ready to advance that research toward the clinic, inside a new biotech vehicle theyre setting up to take the tech into the commercial sphere.

Enter MiroBio, stage left. The newly crafted company has raised $34 million to launch their antibodies into the clinic. Oxford Sciences Innovation and Samsara Biocapital co-led the round, joined by Advent Life Sciences and SR One.

The plan is to use Davis insights and preclinical antibodies to hijack the natural mechanisms used to control immune cells for the purpose of targeting relevant diseases. And while the research has had obvious applicability in oncology where cell therapy evangelists are looking to develop the next wave of more sophisticated therapies MiroBio is starting out in autoimmune diseases, where errant attacks on healthy tissue trigger some major market ailments.

If you look at things from an investors perspective against a backdrop of intense research activity in oncology, says Executive Chairman Eliot Charles, the real opportunity near term was autoimmune disease.

Not that they arent interested in oncology.

For now, though, the emphasis is using the expertise at the venture groups to guide the company while they build out their team in the UK and follow up on the in vivo models that Davis worked with. And the first goal is resetting the immune system when it goes awry, as happens in autoimmune diseases.

Charles an Amgen vet whos now a venture partner at SR One, jumped on the phone with me early Monday to discuss the work with VP Operations Tim Funnell. Samsaras Bob Stein has stepped in as interim CSO as they follow up on 4 programs in-licensed from Davis lab, building out the initial team of 6 staffers to 15 or so.

The investor group has worked together on various projects through the years, says Charles, which is how the transatlantic syndicate came together to back Davis work in a startup.

On his website, Davis notes:

Our present goals are (1) to show that the kinetic segregation model does indeed explain T-cell receptor triggering, and (2) to use the idea to develop new types of therapeutic antibodies. The signaling concept is being tested using structural approaches and super-resolution imaging techniques, such as dSTORM. For this, the behavior of T-cell surface proteins is being studied at contacts with glass surfaces and supported lipid bilayers, in collaboration with Professor Klenerman. New, potentially therapeutic superagonistic antibodies are being developed and licensed to industry in collaboration with Professor Richard Cornall.

Its early days, of course, but that process has inspired a spinout with big plans.And they have enough cash to get to human studies on the lead, while building up a pipeline behind it.

See the article here:
Antibody research graduates from a top Oxford lab into the biotech world with $34M to fund R&D work - Endpoints News

Seven months after Oyster Point Pharma bridged its way into a Phase III study with $93 million in venture cash, the biotech is stepping back up to see if public investors are in a mood to back their play to jump into a big league market with a minor league team.

The Princeton, NJ-based biotech teed up an IPO on Friday, outlining their case on going after dry-eye disease a blockbuster market that accounts for tens of millions of patients. On the drug side, thats a market that has been dominated by Allergans cash cow Restasis now being carved up by generics as AbbVie buys out the company and Xiidra, a therapy which Takeda sold off to Novartis in a $5.3 billion deal in the wake of the Shire acquisition. Most patients get eye drops for the condition.

Tiny Oyster Points plan involves taking a mostly positive Phase IIb study where their drug, varenicline, a formulation of Chantix, managed to get the tear ducts to flow in a statistically significant manner and proving it works in a second registrational, confirmatory story. The FDA, according to the S-1, has signed off on using the Phase IIb as their first or 2 required pivotals. And that study, they maintain, is the first ever to show statistical significance against signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.

If they do get an approval, they believe that they can hire a sales force of 150 to 200 to get it out on the market. The biotech currently has a staff of 18, putting it in the leanest and meanest category of late-stage companies.

Whether they mean that or plan to use it as a classic bluff in preparation for a possible buyout deal is the big question. Startups traditionally have faced a mountainous challenge selling the drugs they manage to get approved, and thats even true in specialty cancer markets. For major markets like dry eye disease, the climb against Big Pharma and generics is distinctly more challenging.

The biotech has burned through $53 million and had $84 million banked at the end of H1.

New Enterprise Associates and Versant are the 2 big investors, with 32% of equity each. Jeffrey Nau, the CEO, has 2.1% of the shares going in.

Read the original:
Ophthalmology biotech upstart is asking investors to bet $85M-plus on their late-stage rival to Restasis and Xiidra - Endpoints News

Liver disease patients could one day benefit from a new cell therapy that has just completed its first clinical trial.

Researchers who tested the potential treatment in patients with liver cirrhosis where long term damage produces scarring found the therapy had no significant adverse effects.

Now the team, based at the Universitys MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, is to gauge the effectiveness of the treatment which is based on white blood cells called macrophages, that are key to normal liver repair.

The next stage of the trial will measure whether the therapy helps the liver to reduce scarring and stimulate regeneration. The results should be known within the next two years.

At present the only successful treatment for end-stage liver cirrhosis which claims around 14,000 lives in the UK each year (British Liver Trust) is an organ transplant. The safety trial is a vital step forward in finding an alternative therapy.

During the trial scientists took cells from the blood of nine patients with the disease and turned them into macrophages, in the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Services (SNBTS) cell therapy facility.

The new cells were then re-injected into the patient with the hope of repairing the damaged organ from within.

Causes of liver cirrhosis include infections such as hepatitis C, obesity, alcohol excess and some genetic and immune conditions.

Liver cirrhosis is a major healthcare issue in the UK and is one of the top five killers. The results from this first safety trial are encouraging and we can now progress to testing how effective it is in a larger group of people. If this was found to be effective it would offer a new way to tackle this important condition.

The research which was published in the journal Nature Medicine, received funding from the Medical Research Council and was conducted in partnership with the SNBTS and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.

Excerpt from:
Cell therapy safe for liver patients, trial shows - Mirage News

Sareptas lousy summer has come to a close with some encouraging fresh functional data from its limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) gene-therapy program.

In February, the drugmaker divulged data from three patients in the first cohort of an open-label Phase I/II study testing the use of an experimental gene therapy MYO-101 (now called SRP-9003) in LGMD patients aged four to 15 years.

Data showed the therapy rejuvenated the production, by an average of 51%, of beta-sarcoglycan the protein required for muscle function that is missing in this patient population. On Friday, Sarepta broke out data that showed that the induced uptick in beta-sarcoglycan did, in fact, translate to functional improvements, nine months post-infusion.

Based on the natural history of the disease, these changes were definitely not expected at these time points, Sarepta executives underscored on a conference call with analysts.

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We'll see this week if the public markets' love affair with biotech unicorns is still running hot or not - Endpoints News

In this report, the Global Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025. Global Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders market has been broken down by major regions, with complete market estimates on the basis of products/applications on a regional basis.

Browse full research report at https://www.crystalmarketreport.com/global-gene-therapy-for-inherited-genetic-disorders-market-report-history-and-forecast-2014-2025-breakdown-data-by-companies-key-regions-types-and-application

Summary

In the medicine field gene therapy (also called human gene transfer) is the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acid into a patients cells as a drug to treat disease.A genetic disorder is a genetic problem caused by one or more abnormalities formed in the genome.

Gene therapy has the potential to cure inherited diseases that cannot be cured using conventional drugs. It is being increasingly adopted in clinical trials because of its high efficacy and safety towards the treatment of inherited genetic disorders.

In 2018, the global Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% between 2019 and 2025.

This report studies the Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders market size by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porters Five Forces Analysis.

This report focuses on the global top players, covered

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.

bluebird bio Inc.

Novartis AG

Orchard Therapeutics Plc

Spark Therapeutics Inc.

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers

North America

Europe

China

Rest of Asia Pacific

Central & South America

Middle East & Africa

Market segment by Type, the product can be split into

Eye Disorders

Hematological Disorders

Central Nervous System Disorders

Muscular Disorders

Others

Market segment by Application, the market can be split into

Hospital

Clinic

Research Institute

Others

The study objectives of this report are:

To study and forecast the market size of Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders in global market.

To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.

To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.

To analyze and compare the market status and forecast among global major regions.

To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.

To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.

To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.

To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market

To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.

To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders are as follows:

History Year: 2014-2018

Base Year: 2018

Estimated Year: 2019

Forecast Year 2019 to 2025

For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2018 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

Key Stakeholders

Raw material suppliers

Distributors/traders/wholesalers/suppliers

Regulatory bodies, including government agencies and NGO

Commercial research & development (R&D) institutions

Importers and exporters

Government organizations, research organizations, and consulting firms

Trade associations and industry bodies

End-use industries

Available Customizations

With the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

Further breakdown of Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders market on basis of the key contributing countries.

Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players.

Browse full research report at https://www.crystalmarketreport.com/global-gene-therapy-for-inherited-genetic-disorders-market-report-history-and-forecast-2014-2025-breakdown-data-by-companies-key-regions-types-and-application

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Global Gene Therapy for Inherited Genetic Disorders Market Report, History and Forecast 2014-2025, Breakdown Data by Companies, Key Regions, Types and...

ALBANY An important question to consider during this special months is What is breast cancer? Breast cancer occurs when normal cells in the breast mutate and grow uncontrollably.

Breast cancer is the most ubiquitous form of cancer in women worldwide. In the United States, an estimated 240,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer annually. Breast cancer continues to rank second, after lung cancer, as a cause of cancer death in women in the United States, and it is a leading cause of premature mortality for women. In 2012, deaths from breast cancer accounted for 783 000 years of potential life lost and an average of 19 years of life lost per death.

Screening describes the process of looking for signs of a particular disease, such as breast cancer, before a person has noticeable symptoms. The goal of screening tests is to detect cancer at an early stage when it can be treated and may be cured. Researchers hope to better understand those who are predisposed to a particular type of cancer. For example, they look at the persons age, their family history, and certain exposures during their lifetime, which helps the physician recommend who should be screened for cancer, which screening tests should be used, and how often the tests should be done.

Early detection has been shown to be associated with reduced breast cancer morbidity and mortality. Breast cancer screening detects the breasts for early signs of cancer in patients without any symptoms.

Mammography is the most common screening test for breast cancer.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) also may be used to screen women who have a high risk of breast cancer.

Other screening tests have been or are being studied in clinical trials, including:

Screening tests for breast cancer are being studied in clinical trials.

Who should be screened for breast cancer? Opinions regarding optimal breast cancer screening age can differ. Its important to talk to ones doctor or nurse about the benefits and drawbacks of screening.

The American Cancer society commissioned a systematic evidence review of the breast cancer screening literature:

They recommend that women with an average risk of breast cancer should undergo regular screening mammography starting at age 45 years.

Women aged 45 to 54 years should be screened annually.

Women 55 years and older should transition to biennial screening or have the opportunity to continue screening annually.

Women should have the opportunity to begin annual screening between the ages of 40 and 44 years. Women should continue screening mammography as long as their overall health is good and they have a life expectancy of 10 years or longer.

The primary benefits of screening are to find cancer early and lower the chances of dying of breast cancer. Drawbacks include:

False-positive test results can occur.

False-positive results can lead to extra testing and cause anxiety.

False-negative test results can delay diagnosis and treatment.

Finding breast cancer may lead to breast cancer treatment and side effects, but it may not improve a womans health or help her live longer.

Mammography exposes the breast to low doses of radiation.

Pain or discomfort during a mammogram.

If these tests show any suspicious findings, a more detailed test is ordered. A biopsy is undertaken and sent for tissue diagnosis.

Treatment options for breast cancer patients include:

Mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast.

Lumpectomy is surgery to remove the cancer and a section of healthy tissue around it.

Radiation therapy that kills cancer cells.

Chemotherapy The medical term for medicines that kill cancer cells or stop them from growing.

Hormone therapy Some forms of breast cancer grow in response to hormones.

Targeted therapy Some medicines work only on cancers that have certain characteristics.

There are medications to help prevent breast cancer for women who are at high risk. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should ask their doctor what they can do to prevent cancer. Genetic testing also assists in identifying genes that can cause breast cancer. Once an abnormal gene is identified, surgical and hormonal interventions can reduce or prevent breast cancer.

Cancers that can be screened:

Breast cancer The main test used to screen for breast cancer is mammogram.

Colon cancer There are multiple screening tests for colon cancer.

Cervical cancer Tests used to screen for cervical cancer is the Pap smear.

Prostate cancer Test used to screen for prostate cancer is a PSA test.

Lung cancer Test used to screen for lung cancer is a low-dose CT scan.

Ovarian cancer To screen for ovarian cancer, a blood test called CA 125, and an ultrasound, or both, are used.

Yash Jani, a senior at Deerfield-Windsor School, plans to study medicine upon high school graduation.

Here is the original post:
The facts about breast cancer awareness | News - The Albany Herald

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Newswise Washington, D.C., October 1, 2019 MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute has enrolled its first patient to a clinical trial to determine whether cardiac stem cells reduce inflammation enough to improve heart function in patients with heart failure severe enough to require a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD. STEMVAD is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study that will assess the effects of multiple intravenous administration of CardioCells proprietary mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). It is expected to enroll 30 patients.

The STEMVAD trial is the next step in MedStar Heart & Vascular Institutes earlier research that discovered one of the major problems in heart failure is persistent inflammation," said Stephen Epstein, MD, director of Translational and Vascular Biology Research at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute. "And these mesenchymal stem cells control inflammation, leading to improved heart function.

Approximately six and a half million adult Americans have heart failure, of whom 200,000 to 250,000 are estimated to have end-stage heart failure and need a heart transplant. However, with the very low supply of donor hearts, LVADs are increasingly used. An LVAD is a small pump that helps circulate the patients blood when their heart becomes too weak to pump effectively on its own. Although highly effective in alleviating symptoms and improving longevity, patients with LVAD support have a high incidence of serious complications.

Innovative therapies to improve heart function and outcomes of patients with advanced heart failure are sorely needed, added Selma Mohammed, MD, PhD, research director of the Advanced Heart Failure Research Program at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute.

If we are successful in showing intravenously delivered stem cells improve outcomes in patients, the results would likely extend to the general population of heart failure patients, and in the process, fundamentally transform current paradigms for treating heart failure, concluded Ron Waksman, MD, director of Cardiovascular Research and Advanced Education at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute. For more information on whether patients may qualify for the trial, call Michelle Deville, research coordinator, at 202-877-2713 or email michelle.deville@medstar.net.

###

Conflict of Interest Statement: Dr. Stephen Epstein is an equity holder in CardioCell, serves on its Board, and consults for the company.

About MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute:MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute is a national leader in the research, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. A network of 10 hospitals and 170 cardiovascular physicians throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia and the Greater Washington, D.C., region, MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute also offers a clinical and research alliance with Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute, the nations No. 1 heart program. Together, they have forged a relationship of shared expertise to enhance quality, improve safety and increase access to advanced services. MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute was founded at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, home to the Nancy and Harold Zirkin Heart & Vascular Hospital. Opened in July 2016, the hospital ushered in a new era of coordinated, centralized specialty care for patients with even the most complex heart and vascular diagnoses.

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First Patient Enrolled in Novel Stem Cell Trial for Heart Failure Treatment - Newswise

Regenerative medicinewhich involves regrowing damaged or dysfunctional cells, tissues, and organs, in order to treat and cure human diseaseholds great promise. Discoveries in stem cell research and tissue engineering as well as advances in regulatory and industry support have brought regenerative medicine treatments closer than ever to the clinic. Two areas showing particular potential are diabetes and vascular disease. Whether acquired or congenital, diabetes afflicts millions of people worldwide and presents a tremendous burden both in terms of physical deterioration and loss of economic capacity. Current treatments rely mainly on lifetime injections of exogenous hormones and palliative treatments with pharmaceuticals, neither of which can address the lack of properly functioning beta cells in the pancreas. Similarly, vascular diseases are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. The ability to generate new, clinical-grade vascular tissue is critical to the long-term treatment of complications arising from ischemic injury, stroke, aneurisms, retinopathy, and other acute and chronic vascular conditions; significant progress has been made in using stem cell sources to produce this tissue. But what is needed to get such potentially transformative treatments over the finish line?

During this webinar, the speakers will:

This webinar will last for approximately 60 minutes.

University of Miami Miller School of MedicineMiami, FL

Juan Domnguez-Bendala, Ph.D., is director of the Stem Cell Development for Translational Research and research associate professor of surgery at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Before joining the DRI faculty, he worked at the Roslin Institute (Scotland, United Kingdom) under the supervision of one of the creators of Dolly the sheep. He obtained his Ph.D. there and acquired considerable experience in embryonic stem cell research and state-of-the-art genetic engineering techniques. Working with other DRI faculty and international collaborators, Dr. Domnguez-Bendala is currently involved in several projects that focus on the use of stem cells to obtain pancreatic islets that could be safely and efficiently transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes. He is also working on new methods for the endogenous regeneration of pancreatic beta cells.

Mayo ClinicRochester, MN

As deputy director of Translation for the Center for Regenerative Medicine, medical director of the Advanced Product Incubator, and director of the Van Cleve Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Behfar has worked to establish off-the-shelf good manufacturing practice (GMP)-grade regenerative technologies. Over the last two decades, his program has engaged in evaluating cell-based technologies for restoration of skeletal and cardiac muscle function. During this time, he initiated clinical trials in heart failure along with Dr. Andre Terzic, using stem cells to restore cardiac function and treating over 400 patients. Through that experience, it was discovered that exosome secretion was the primary driver of the regenerative action of stem cells. More specifically, an exosome product was purified (termed purified exosome product, or PEP) from our regenerative platform that revealed massive biopotency in activating regeneration through mitogenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and provasculogenic influence. This discovery now serves as the basis for many preclinical and clinical efforts at Mayo Clinic.

Science/AAASWashington, D.C.

Dr. Oberst did her undergraduate training at the University of Maryland, College Park, and her Ph.D. in Tumor Biology at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. She combined her interests in science and writing by pursuing an M.A. in Journalism from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Oberst joined Science/AAAS in 2016 as the Assistant Editor for Custom Publishing. Before then she worked at Nature magazine, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Endocrine Society, and the National Institutes of Mental Health.

See the rest here:
Regenerative medicine today: Are diabetes and vascular disease treatments ready for the clinic? - Science Magazine

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Technological Growth of Autologous Stem Cell Based Therapies Market (2019-2025) | Business Overview, Product Specification and Top Manufactures &...

A few weeks ago, Mark Skylar-Scott and SbastienUzel,researchers working in Jennifer Lewis Lab at Harvards Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), came up with a breakthrough new technique that could one day provide organ tissues for therapeutic use. The method, called SWIFT (sacrificial writing into functional tissue), allows 3D printing to focus on creating the vessels necessary to support a living tissue construct.

All organs need blood vessels to supply their cells with nutrients, but most lab-grown organoids lack a supportive vasculature. This is where the SWIFT method comes into play, 3D printing vascular channels into living tissues. Two weeks ago, 3DPrint.com went into some of the main details of the research, but now we have gone straight to the source and spoken with two of the co-first authors of the paper, which came out on September 6 in Science Advances, to understand the process behind the method, as well as the collaborative work shaping the future of Harvards bioengineering aspirations.

Inspired by the 3D bioprinting techniques emerging from the Lewis lab and the community in general, Mark [Skylar-Scott] and I decided that is was time to tackle, head-on, the challenge of cell function and density, and tissue volume, which were keeping us from reaching organ manufacturing at therapeutic scale, revealed Uzel. Using patient-derived organoids or 3D cell spheroids as our building blocks appeared like a natural choice. They are cellularly dense and exhibit great functional and architectural similarities with the organs they are meant to mimic.

A branching network of channels of red, gelatin-based ink is 3D printed into a living cardiac tissue construct composed of millions of cells (yellow) using a thin nozzle to mimic organ vasculature.

Uzel went on to explain that the idea of this SWIFT printing process really took shape when we speculated that once jammed into a dense slurry, those organoids would behave as predicted by the science of colloid suspensions and therefore could serve as a supporting living matrix for the free form templating of perfusable vessels. The rest was many months of testing and optimization!

Both researchers and their colleagues found a way to pack living cells tightly enough together to replicate the density of the human body. Actually, they assembled hundreds of thousands of organ building blocks (OBBs) composed of patient-specific-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids, which offer a pathway to achieving tissues with the requisite cellular density, microarchitecture, and function required. At the same time, they introduced vascular tunnels via embedded 3D bioprinting in between the OBBs to mimic blood vessels that are needed to deliver fluids, like nutrients and oxygen, that are vital to survival.

As an example, the group of researchers created a perfusable cardiac tissue that fuses and beats synchronously over a seven-day period. The SWIFT biomanufacturing method enables the rapid assembly of perfusable patient and organ-specific tissues at therapeutic scales. What is so novel about the new lab-grown heart tissue is that it beats, just like a normal human heart, and has an embedded network of the blood vessels that would be needed to survive if it was ever transplanted into a patient. It still needs to be tested before it can be used in humans, and their channels arent yet truly blood vessels, but if the innovation works for heart tissue, the experts expect SWIFT could also be used for other organs.

Living embryoid bodies surround a hollow vascular channel printed using the SWIFT method.

We believe that this new technique addresses the technical roadblocks of cell density and manufacturing scalability. From a biology standpoint, making each building block more functional and performant, meaning being able to contract stronger in the context of cardiac tissues, for instance, is among the challenges that need to be overcome and will require gaining even more insights in pluripotent cell differentiation and how it can be recapitulated in vitro. We will also need to better emulate the multicellular and hierarchical complexity of the vessels as found in the human body, proposed Uzel.

The researchers consider that on the manufacturing side of the process, the cost of reagents for scaling up cell culture and differentiation will have to be drastically reduced for de novo organ manufacturing to be a viable option looking into the long term.

When it comes to considering SWIFT as one of the main advances in the last few years towards bioprinting organs, Skylar-Scott claims it would be presumptuous to say that SWIFT came out of a vacuum.

There have been many great works in this decade that have applied 3D printing to generate perfusable tissues, and our work builds on these efforts. What really does get us excited about SWIFT is how we have brought the matrix for embedded printing to life, and, by using organoids, we hope that SWIFT may serve as a bridge between the bottom-up self-assembly of developmental biology, and the top-down directed assembly of 3D printing, Skylar-Scott asserted. We can say, with reasonable certainty, that any successful engineering of a complex organ from scratch will require a combination of these two approaches.

The recent progress in the field of bioprinting has brought us a lot closer to the eventuality of 3D printed organs. The field is moving faster than we expected. Just five years ago, we were afraid to use the big O word [organs], but we are now, as a field, beginning to tentatively see a path forward, he continued.

SWIFT is one of the projects at Harvard that could ultimately be used therapeutically to repair and replace human organs with lab-grown versions containing patients own cells. There is actually so much research at Wyss and SEAS, from scaling up tissue engineering to engineering miniature kidneys, its even one of the first places where researchers entirely 3D-printed an organ-on-a-chip with integrated sensing. Moreover, the creation of highly-organized multicellular biological tissues and organoids is structurally diverse and complex, so tissue manufacturing techniques require extreme precision, making us wonder what type of bioprinter the researchers are using.

According to Skylar-Scott, they exclusively use custom made printers and extruders in the lab, that for the purposes of wacky experimentation, they offer the most versatility by far. He also suggests that these printers are large and expensive, but, for many processes, including SWIFT, were confident that it can be replicated with commercially available or open-source alternatives.

As part of the SWIFT project evolution, collaborations are underway with Wyss Institute faculty members Christopher Chen, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Tissue Microfabrication Laboratory at Boston University and Sangeeta Bhatia, Professor at MITs Institute for Medical Engineering & Science (IMES) and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS), to implant these organ-specific tissues created by SWIFT into animal models and explore their host integration, as part of the 3D Organ Engineering Initiative, co-led by 3D printing pioneer and Wyss core faculty member, Jennifer Lewis, and Chen.

We are currently working on rodent models for our initial in vivo phase. Along with perfecting our technique and improving the performance of printed tissues, we are investigating how small vascularized SWIFT-printed cardiac constructs integrate within the animal and connect to the existing blood stream. Once confident that the SWIFT tissues behave appropriately in small animals, the hope is to move to larger chunks of tissue to be tested on larger animals, in preparation for tests in humans in the long run, revealed Uzel.

The collaborative work to make SWIFT a reality is a great example of integrating various disciplines and professionals into bioprinting projects.

A process like SWIFT combines various expertise, from developmental biology to materials science or mechanical engineering. The strength of the lab is that it is built around great talents in all those disciplines. The Lewis lab is roughly divided into bioprinting and non-bioprinting work, but the two groups share technologies, techniques, and printing inks very frequently, said Scott.

Tissues created without SWIFT-printed channels display cell death (red) in their cores after 12 hours of culture (left), while tissues with channels (right) have healthy cells.

He went on to explain that it is unlikely that 3D printing can print all length-scales of an organ from centimeter-scale ventricles to micrometer scale capillaries. So, we specifically designed the SWIFT process so that it can work with organoids being built by the stem cell and developmental biology communities. By bridging the 3D printing and organoid fields, we believe there is a great potential for collaboration, and have already heard from researchers interested in using SWIFT to test scaling up their organoid systems. This interest has come from all sorts of specialists in different organs, including kidney, liver, heart, and brain.

With so much going on, a typical day at the lab for Uzel and Skylar-Scott is not so typical. Although most of the daily tasks involve a combination of cell culture, printing ink formulation and characterization, CAD design and fabrication of printing and perfusion systems, tissue maintenance, imaging, and analysis. At busy times, Skylar-Scott says they could have upwards of four hours of work per day just to keep their cells fed, which has led to many long nights and weekends in the lab.

Similar to most academic labs, graduate students and postdocs all have two or three projects running in parallel.

For SWIFT, we had to culture so many cells for a single print, that we were only running about one print per week. Since staring at cells doesnt make them grow faster, it is often helpful to have a second project to focus on, joked Skylar-Scott.

For example, they are currently working on new 3D printer hardware technology and focused on testing the SWIFT printed tissues in vivo so they can begin to test for additional function. All in a days work.

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SWIFT: Uzel and Skylar-Scott are Paving the Way for the Future of Bioprinting - 3DPrint.com

TORONTO , Oct. 7, 2019 /CNW/ - TruTrace Technologies Inc. (CSE: TTT) (OTCQB: TTTSF) ("TruTrace"), creator of the first fully-integrated blockchain platform that registers and tracks intellectual property for the cannabis industry, and Sigma Analytical Services ("Sigma Analytical"), a provider of comprehensive testing and analytical services for the cannabis industry, today announced that the two companies have entered into a letter of intent ("LOI") to establish a strategic working relationship.

TruTrace Technologies Inc. (CNW Group/TruTrace Technologies Inc.)

Pursuant to the LOI, TruTrace plans to include Sigma Analytical as a genetics verification and testing partner in its blockchain-secured traceability ecosystem, and the parties will explore development and integration opportunities to rapidly expedite and optimize testing processes in the cannabis and hemp industries.

Sigma Analytical is also expected to participate in the TruTrace Technologies and Shoppers Drug Mart medical cannabis verification pilot program (the "Pilot Program") as a testing partner. The Pilot Program, which is designed to increase transparency, interoperability and product identification within the medical cannabis industry, uses TruTrace's StrainSecure technology as a central hub for identity management, asset tracking, validation, and product authentication.

"Sigma has been advancing the understanding of cannabis chemistry and has established a global scientific network of pioneers to facilitate standardizing testing and quality assurance in this new and promising field of science," said Ashton Abrahams , Chief Operating Officer of Sigma Analytical. "Working with TruTrace and Shoppers Drug Mart to track and trace the process and products will have significant synergy with what Sigma is doing and will be valuable to the fast-growing cannabis industry."

"We are pleased to add Sigma Analytical as a partner in our StrainSecure ecosystem," said TruTrace Technologies CEO Robert Galarza . "The Sigma team has established a track record of innovation in the cannabis industry and we look forward to collaborating with them as we continue to build out our platform and processes."

As a full-service testing and research GMP-compliant laboratory, Sigma Analytical offers comprehensive testing and analytical services, as well as R&D, and consulting in cannabis, hemp and derived products across North and South America . Equipped with the most advanced analytical instruments and validated SOPs, Sigma possesses a tremendous amount of acquired know-how and expertise in the areas of cannabis and hemp sample preparation, processing, digestion, method development, and analysis.

Under the StrainSecure program, the TruTrace team collects plant testing data and performs genomic verification in plant batches which are then registered in a blockchain-enabled database for intellectual property protection and strain validation. All information gathered from the plants, including their molecular and chemical makeup, can be tracked via the program.

About TruTrace Technologies:

TruTrace Technologies has developed the first integrated blockchain platform to register and track intellectual property in the cannabis industry. TruTrace's technology allows cannabis growers and breeders to identify and secure rights to their intellectual property. It also streamlines the administrative process and reduces the costs of genetic and mandatory quality-control testing for legal cannabis. TruTrace's technology is proprietary, immutable and cryptographically secure, thereby establishing an accurate and permanent account for cannabis strains from ownership to market.

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About Sigma Analytical Services

Sigma Analytical Services, headquartered in Toronto, Canada , is a unique full-service testing and research GMP-compliant laboratory offering comprehensive testing and analytical services, R&D, and consulting in cannabis and derived products along with consulting and high-level training for set-up and operation of cannabis quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and R&D labs. Sigma Analytical maintains a global presence with projects and laboratories spanning North and South America , as well as several strategic partnerships with major analytical instrument providers, testing labs, producers, service providers, and universities across Canada , South America , United States , Europe and Australia . Sigma Analytical has emerged as a thought leader in advancing the understanding of cannabis chemistry and is establishing a global scientific network of pioneers to facilitate research and knowledge sharing in this new and promising field of science.

For more information about the company please contact us at +1 888 406 0016 or visit sigmaanalytical.com.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding: TruTrace's plans to include Sigma Analytical as a genetics verification and testing partner in its blockchain-secured traceability ecosystem, and that the parties will explore development and integration opportunities to rapidly expedite and optimize testing processes in the cannabis and hemp industries; Sigma Analytical's expected participation in the Pilot Program as a testing partner; and that Sigma Analytical working with TruTrace and Shoppers Drug Mart to track and trace the process and products will have significant synergy with Sigma Analytical's operations and will be valuable to the fast-growing cannabis industry. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that it will prove to be correct and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Forward-looking information necessarily involves known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with: the ability of the parties to rapidly expedite and optimize testing processes in the cannabis and hemp industries; the Pilot Program, including its intended scope, characteristics, and perceived benefits; the ability of TruTrace Technologies' platform to increase transparency, interoperability and product identification within the medical cannabis industry; general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments in Canada , the United States , and elsewhere; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; and other risks beyond the Company's control. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information contained in this news release. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Sigma Analytical Services (CNW Group/TruTrace Technologies Inc.)

SOURCE TruTrace Technologies Inc.

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TruTrace Technologies and Sigma Analytical to Collaborate on Genetic Testing for Cannabis - Yahoo Finance

FAIRMONT, W.Va. The DNA service 23andMe is known for checking your ancestry, but a woman from Fairmont recently found out she had Celiacs Disease through their health test.

23andMes genetic test requires the customer to spit into a tube, which is then sent to their laboratory, where they can test genetics for health predispositions, ancestry, wellness, carrier status and traits. The service outlines the results on their mobile app.

I originally got it because theres a lot of diabetes on one side of my family. Both my grandmothers had mastectomies due to breast cancer and my mom had the aggressive form of ovarian cancer, said Carolyn Mayes, The thing that stuck out to me the most is that I have a higher risk of Celiac disease. Ive never heard of that and neither did my husband.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where eating gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. Mayes said when she started reading the symptoms, it started to make sense.

I always had migraines that never went away and my dad said, Why dont you do Tylenol? I said, Tylenol doesnt work for me,' Mayes explained. I always try to donate blood and each time I can never do it because my iron was always low. I asked my doctor, Can you test me for Celiac disease? And I came back with my test results and I was positive for Celiac disease.

Since then, Mayes eats a strict gluten-free diet.

And I can tell with certain things, like I started getting nauseated really quickly. I dont feel good. And I just automatically can tell, and now I get bloated, said Mayes, I have to be aware of certain medications now. Even vitamins, all my medications have to say certified gluten free.

Those who use 23andMe can test their likelihood of many diseases, including Alzheimers, Parkinsons and certain types of cancer. The company can list genetic health risks and if you are a carrier for certain conditions. However, 23andMe does not diagnose any health conditions.

Any time a customer receives a variant detected result, its important for them to partner with their healthcare provider and get that confirmed in a clinical setting, said Altovise Ewing, medical liaison for 23andMe.

Because Celiacs Disease is a hereditary condition, Mayes said she knows what health conditions to look for in her children, and now she wants her husband to get tested, too. She said her daughter is already showing symptoms of a gluten intolerance.

I know like most people are kind of wary about like genetic testing done, but I feel like its really important to know what your genetics are because I wouldnt have even known I had Celiac disease and I ate bread. All my friends have said, Carolyn youre eating sandwiches every single day. I was like, I love bread, said Mayes. I wouldve never known I have Celiac disease, and I would continue [to eat gluten], and I know Celiac untreated lifelong can give you intestinal cancer or colon cancer and it can do a lot of damage within your body. So I was really glad I did 23andMe.

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Marion County woman finds out she has Celiac disease through ancestry test - WBOY.com

Humans have been selectively breeding animals for thousands of years: cows that produce more milk, pigs that grow to larger sizes, sheep that have thicker wool. Genetic testing, which has become faster and more accessible, has made this process even easier.

So why not do the same with oysters?

Oyster hatcheries already try to breed animals with characteristics that make them more marketable, like meatier bodies or specific shell shapes. But the briney bivalves currently face threats from warming oceans and several parasitic diseases. The traits that could help them survive are harder to spot.

Now, a group of shellfish geneticists is trying to help the oyster industry select for the traits that will make oysters both thrive in their environment and melt in your mouth.

Theres a lot of room for improvement to breed a better oyster, says Katie Lotterhos, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern. Were bringing in new expertise and new tools into the industry that will help increase productivity.

Lotterhos is part of the Eastern Oyster Breeding Consortium, a group of researchers from 12 institutions, which recently received a grant from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to develop new tools to help oyster hatcheries choose the right oysters to breed.

The group is specifically focused on the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, which ranges from the Atlantic coast of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. While these animals are all the same species, they have different adaptations depending on the region where they are found, Lotterhos says. Animals in the south may be better able to handle warm water, while those growing near the mouths of rivers might be adapted to water with less salt in it.

So instead of just thinking about one trait, like disease, were trying to breed for multiple traits, Lotterhos says.

Oysters are what scientists call broadcast spawners, which means that when the timing is right, they eject eggs and sperm into the water around them and leave the rest to chance. This doesnt make it easy for growers, whose farms are typically located in coastal areas open to the ocean, to ensure that the right oysters are reproducing, or even staying on the farm.

Instead, most growers purchase seed (baby oysters about the size of your fingernail) from hatcheries, where oysters are encouraged to spawn in a more controlled environment. With the help of genetic analysis, hatcheries could provide oyster seed that is specifically tailored to particular regions and resistant to certain diseases, ensuring that more of the oysters survive to adulthood.

In individuals of the same species, the vast majority of their genetic code is identical. But scattered throughout that code are occasional variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms (which researchers write as SNPs and pronounce as snips).

Members of the consortium previously sequenced the entire genomes of eastern oysters growing as far south as Louisiana and as far north as Maine. Lotterhos and her colleagues will be analyzing these sequences to figure out which variations are tied to important oyster traits.

They will be compiling the small segments of DNA that contain those variations on a tool called a SNP chip (snip chip). Oyster hatcheries will be able to use the SNP chip to determine which of their oysters have these same desirable traits.

Once you know which genetic markers contribute to certain traits, like disease resistance, you can use individuals that have those markers in the breeding process, Lotterhos says.

The hope is to breed a better oyster able to cope with changing ocean conditions and also appeal to restaurants and other customers. The slimy, salty experience of eating a raw oyster may not be for everyone (Lotterhos admits theyre not her favorite food), but for the bivalve buff in your life, this research could provide a ray of hope on the half shell.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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How to breed a better oyster - News@Northeastern

Stock image.

Every year, many seniors are targeted by scammers who want to steal their Medicare numbers to do things like rack up fake health care charges and commit identity theft. These scams hurt seniors and other people eligible for Medicare, cost taxpayers money and result in higher health care costs for everyone. The good news is that you can protect yourself from fraud and help Medicare stop scammers in their tracks.

The first step in protecting yourself from Medicare fraud is knowing how to spot it. Over time, scammers have become very sophisticated. One of the latest scams you should look out for concerns genetic testing. Scammers are offering free genetic tests and claiming Medicare will cover it, so they can get your Medicare number and use it to commit fraud and identity theft. Other Medicare scams include offers for free or reduced-price medical equipment, consultations or health services. These scams can happen anywhere, including through telemarketing calls, health fairs and even knocking on doors.

Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) removed Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards. Even with this change, people with Medicare should still guard their Medicare card and treat it like a credit card, check Medicare claims summary forms for errors, and be wary of any unsolicited requests for your Medicare number. Medicare will never call beneficiaries to ask for or check Medicare numbers.

DO protect your Medicare number and treat your Medicare card like its a credit card.

DO remember that nothing is ever free. Dont accept offers of money or gifts for free medical care.

DO review your Medicare claims for errors and problems, including things like fake charges, double billing or other fraudulent activity, waste or abuse.

DO visit medicare.gov/fraud to learn more about how you can protect yourself from Medicare fraud.

DONT give your Medicare card or Medicare number to anyone except your doctor or people you know should have it.

DONT accept medical supplies, equipment or genetic testing kits from door-to-door salesmen or solicitors at a mall or fair.

DONT let anyone persuade you to receive health care services you dont need, such as genetic testing. Only make these decisions with your doctor.

If you think you may have spotted fraud, you should report it right away. No matter how minimal the information you share is, it could be the missing piece to stopping the next fraud scheme. If you are a victim of fraud, know you wont be penalized or lose your coverage for reporting it. Even if you are not a victim, its important to report any fraud scams you encounter to Medicare. Report suspected fraud by calling 1-800-MEDICARE which is: 1 (800) 633-4227, or online through the Office of the Inspector General.

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Community: Protecting Yourself from Medicare Fraud (10/7/19) - Southeast Missourian

Many of us rely on makeup as the secret to eternal youth. From covering up dark circles with concealer to adding a flush of colour with a rosy blush it's the perfect little pick-me-up.

But, of course, it's never that simple.

And if you're using the wrong products or the wrong techniques, you may not end up quite as fresh faced as you had hoped.

From using too much powder foundation to forgetting to use SPF, many of our go-to habits could actually be making us look older.

We speak to skin expert Paul Banwell to find out exactly what we should and shouldn't be doing.

To keep your skin hydrated, Paul says you can use simple methods to keep looking youthful.

He says: You can use a high intensity moisturiser, or use indigestible products like a liquid collagen drink - I recommend Skinade, the leading collagen drink which is carefully formulated, a mixture of vitamins and minerals which results in optimal skin health.

Wearing oil based products can clog pores and cause breakouts.

Paul says: The effects of clogged pores can be aided with medical facials like the photogenic facial from TBC Skin atelier, or microdermabrasion, followed by Dermalux LED treatments.

Alternatively, I'd recommend a hydroxyacid boost for pH equilibrium and chemical exfoliation - Rationale's Catalyst Range is best.

However, you can also make a difference by making small changes at home.

Paul says: Similarly, overusing fragranced and alcohol based products may dry out the skin, and in turn cause premature lines and wrinkles.

Try to use oil free products, and aim to use hydrating foundations and creams.

Pollution can be responsible for skin dryness, dullness, clogged pores and skin ageing.

Paul says: Some tips for shielding your skin from pollution are wearing sunscreen, using a good moisturiser to create a barrier between your skin and pollutants and double cleansing your skin - use a product like the Rationale Catalyst cleanser.

Sun exposure, both UV and infrared, can result in sunburn which also causes ageing issues for the skin as the years pass.

They're often credited with giving us a matte, flawless finish but powder foundations can be one of the worst culprits when it comes to ageing. Paul says: Avoid powders, as they tend to set into the fine lines of wrinkles which can make your skin look flaky.

For immune protection, and a product which can be used during a Sunday night ritual to make your skin look fresh and luminous for the week ahead which means you won't need to wear foundation, use the immunologist mask - to be performed weekly (the pot lasts 6 months).

It hydrates and reduces inflammation in problem/ sensitive skin.

While concealers are great for hiding flaws and imperfections, they can also draw attention to any unwanted lines and wrinkles.

Paul says: Concealers might be covering the dark circles, but they also accentuating fine lines, so make sure to only apply concealer to the inner half of your under eye.

Prepping the skin before wearing makeup is also key to a youthful glow. Paul says: Skin around the eyes is thinner that the rest of your face and shows age faster!

Eye creams and products that contain Retin A, a form of vitamin A, are most effective and promote the stimulation of collagen and elastin to tighten the skin.

Suncream shouldn't just be reserved for your annual holiday or trips to the beach. Rather, it should be part of your daily skincare regime.

Paul explains: UV exposure causes 90% of skin damage. Even people who already have signs of premature skin ageing can benefit from making lifestyle changes.

We should all be protecting our skin by using SPF 30 or higher which gives your skin a chance to repair some of the damage.

Fine lines and wrinkles absolutely have a part to play here too, and the best way to eradicate these is through protecting the skin against phototoxic damage and minimising loss of skin integrity.

Collagen peptides in a drink like Skinade will increase collagen turnover and are proven to minimise fine lines.

At the Banwell clinic, we offer Ultimate Sunscreen protection with Rationale B3-T, which will ensure skin is not affected as strongly when in sunlight.

After a long day, it can be tempting to just roll into bed without a second thought for your skin. But you may end up paying the price as a result.

Paul says: Sleeping in your makeup can result in the breakdown of healthy collagen which leads to premature skin ageing. Make sure to take your makeup off thoroughly, and Id recommend a Plasma Shower facial to boost cleansing of the skin, using stem cell technology.

Plasma showers alone help improve texture and quality of skin but can be boosted by various mesotherapy treatments including stem cells, hyaluronic acid and vitamins.

Essentially it encourages hydration, which is essential for optimum physiological functioning of the skin and to optimise all biological processes and immune protection.

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Make-up mistakes that make you look older - and item that should go in the bin - Mirror Online

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) In a dish sits a human liver.

Not removed from a person, but created from scratch.

Its not like wahoo and the next morning you think, ah, Im gonna make a human liver,' says Dr. Alejandro Soto-Gutirrez of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center.

It took five years of trial and error but using stem cells, genetic and tissue engineering, organ cultures and a team of experts in these areas, the researchers have come up with this.

Alexandra Collin de Lhortet, Ph.D. of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine explains the process.

A rat liver gets stripped of its cells so that only the connective tissue remains.

From a small piece of human skin, the scientists pluck out stem cells and coax them into becoming human liver cells and the cells are collected.

Then theyre injected into the chamber, called a bioreactor, where they take up residence in the empty rat liver.

The entire process from gathering the cells to make a liver, to get to this point, where you have an actual mini human liver in a bioreactor, takes several months.

It will stay alive, or viable, for only a few days.

But in that short time, the researchers can try different medicines to treat the diseased liver.

You could test any sort of therapeutic by simply injecting this chemical through the system, says Dr. Collin.

In the past, animal livers played a role in this kind of research but human livers didnt always respond in the same way.

With this system, the cells have had genetic modification to recreate diseases, for example, fatty liver, a growing problem in the United States.

This technology has the potential for personalized medicine. From your skin cells, they could grow your own mini liver to figure out which medicines would work for you.

I believe its a very good biological tool to screen treatments that are not otherwise being tested in humans themselves because its dangerous, says Dr. Soto.

As its designed, it would be a long stretch to create livers for transplantation.

If you mean how far we are to make actual livers for people, I think we are very far away. Were probably many years away. But this is a good step, Dr. Soto says.

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After 5 Years Of Trials, Doctors Create Human Liver From Scratch - CBS Pittsburgh

Jenni Murray is spot on staying slim can take its toll on your features, says Christa DSouza

I do love Jenni Murray. For telling it like it is. For those of you not aware of the comments she made at the Henley literary festival, let me recap for you. She recalled the advice given to her by Barbara Cartland Jenni, you know, when you get older you sacrifice your face or your figure. Dont sacrifice your face, just sit down a lot. Murray went on to explain how, despite having gone through a gastrectomy to lose weight, she had, at the age of 69, decided to follow Babss advice because she didnt want to end up looking like Nigel Lawson. And thats no insult to Nigel Lawson, she went on to say in her mellifluous, unbitchy way, but you know, when he

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Do you have 'diet face'? It's everywhere | Times2 - The Times

PURE Cell Facial

Stem cells are controversial in medicine, but not in beautyat least not when it comes to the PURE Cell Facial available at the PURE Spa inside the Pelican Grand on Fort Lauderdale beach. The live roseroot stem cells used during this 80-minute service travel deep into the pores to regenerate skin and stimulate collagen. The spa is one of only two locations to offer the treatment, which uses products from Maria kerberg. Products are deepened into the skin using a mask that feels as thick as the molds orthodontists stick in your mouth to create retainers. The treatment makes the skin look tighter, and results can last four to six weeks. (2000 N. Ocean Blvd.,Fort Lauderdale; 954.556.7600) - Alyssa Morlacci

Forget everything you thought you knew about a relaxing massage and prepare yourself for ultimate bliss with the help of a quartz sand bed. Lucky for South Floridians, The Spa at Auberge Beach in Fort Lauderdale offers the award-winning, state-of-the-art Gharieni Quartz Treatment table (only one of two in South Florida) known to ionize the air, which supports the immune system and helps purify the body. During a massage, tight muscles are soothed with quartz sand poultices, targeting specific areas of concern. Guests interested in trying the bed can do so when booking the Resort and Balance Massage, the Quartz Sand Sound and CBD Wrap, or the Quartz Massage with Amethyst Oil. (2200 N. Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 754.900.4067) - Melissa Puppo

This month, relax and rejuvenate with a wealth of treatments and packages starting at $99. Portions of proceeds benefit five local charities in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Four Seasons ResortPalm Beach

Take part in the 100-minute Pink Oceana Experience Package, which features a warm scalp treatment and massage and warmed application of a detoxifying ancient ocean clay wrap mixed with exfoliating Himalayan salt, all followed by a full-body Himalayan Salt Stone Massage. The treatment also includes your choice of sparkling ros or antioxidant-infused hibiscus tea and a Himalayan Salt Detox Bath Soak to take home. Enjoy pool, beach and fitness room access, in addition to a voucher for breakfast or lunch, and a 10-percent discount on all spa retail.(2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; 561.582.2800; $390)

Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa

For a facial thats ideal for all skin types, book the Si-Rose Facial Treatment. During the 50-minute treatment, rose extracts and rosehip oil help skin to restore vital hydration and balance. Its then followed by a warmed rose quartz massage to help increase circulation. (3800 N. Ocean Drive, Riviera Beach; 561.340.1755; $99)

The Sanctuary Salon & Spa

Get the best of both worlds with the Fire & Ice Sensation Package. This treatment includes a harmonized, rhythmic massage utilizing hot and cold remedies designed to reduce stress, relax and detoxify the body. Organic oil blends are then warmed for a custom therapeutic conditioning treatment before finishing up with a designer blowout. (101 N. Clematis St., Ste.115, West Palm Beach; 561.721.9648; $99)

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Must-Try Spa Treatments During The Palm Beaches' Spa And Wellness Month - Jupiter Magazine

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --AIVITA Biomedical, Inc., a biotech company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, today announced the publication of an article titled "Preliminary observations on soluble programmed death-1 protein as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with patient-specific autologous vaccines" in the oncology journal Oncotarget. Robert O. Dillman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at AIVITA, and other key members of the AIVITA team authored the article.

The publication suggests that because of its role as an immune checkpoint, levels of soluble programmed cell death protein-1 (sPD-1) could be useful as a prognostic biomarker or predictive biomarker in cancer patients treated with vaccines. The authors theorized that very low blood levels of sPD-1 may indicate lack of an existing anti-cancer immune response, while very high levels may indicate an active immune response that is suppressed. In between these extremes, a decrease in PD-1 following cancer vaccine injections may indicate an enhanced immune response that has not been suppressed.

Blood samples were obtained at baseline and four weeks later during a randomized trial in which patients with metastatic melanoma were treated with either AIVITA's immunotherapy, or an active control article. Median survival was more than twice as long in patients treated with AIVITA's immunotherapy. The combination of a very low baseline sPD-1, or absence of a very high PD-1, at baseline followed by a decline in sPD-1 at week-4 of the study was predictive of surviving 3 or more years in patients treated with AIVITA's immunotherapy, but not with the control article. Among patients treated with AIVITA's immunotherapy, these sPD-1 criteria appropriately classified 80% of 3-year survivors, and 86% of patients who did not survive three years.

"These observations suggest that sPD-1 may be a useful biomarker for melanoma patients being treated with our platform immunotherapy, and/or to predict efficacy after only three injections," said Dr. Robert O. Dillman, Chief Medical Officer at AIVITA. "We look forward to confirming these results in larger studies and investigating whether it can predict response in other cancers."

AIVITA is currently conducting three clinical studies investigating its platform immunotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer, glioblastoma and melanoma. AIVITA uses 100% of proceeds from the sale of its ROOT of SKIN skincare line to support the treatment of women with ovarian cancer.

CLINICAL TRIAL DETAIL

OVARIAN CANCER

AIVITA's ovarian Phase 2 double-blind study is active and enrolling approximately 99 patients who are being randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either the autologous cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy or autologous monocytes as a comparator.

Patients eligible for randomization and treatment will be those (1) who have undergone debulking surgery, (2) for whom a cell line has been established, (3) who have undergone leukapheresis from which sufficient monocytes were obtained, (4) have an ECOG performance grade of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky score of 70-100%), and (5) who have completed primary therapy. The trial is not open to patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

For additional information about AIVITA's AVOVA-1 trial patients can visit: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02033616

GLIOBLASTOMA

AIVITA's glioblastoma Phase 2 single-arm study is active and is enrolling approximately 55 patients to receive the cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy.

Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) who have recovered from surgery such that they are about to begin concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CT/RT), (2) for whom an autologous tumor cell line has been established, (3) have a Karnofsky Performance Status of > 70 and (4) have undergone successful leukapheresis from which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained that can be used to generate dendritic cells (DC). The trial is not open to patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

For additional information about AIVITA's AV-GBM-1 trial please visit: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03400917

MELANOMA

AIVITA's melanoma Phase 1B open-label, single-arm study will establish the safety of administering anti-PD1 monoclonal antibodies in combination with AIVITA's cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy in patients with measurable metastatic melanoma. The study will also track efficacy of the treatment for the estimated 14 to 20 patients. This trial is not yet open for enrollment.

Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) for whom a cell line has been established, (2) who have undergone leukapheresis from which sufficient monocytes were obtained, (3) have an ECOG performance grade of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky score of 70-100%), (4) who have either never received treatment for metastatic melanoma or were previously treated with enzymatic inhibitors of the BRAF/MEK pathway because of BRAF600E/K mutations and (5) are about to initiate anti-PD1 monotherapy.

For additional information about AIVITA's AV-MEL-1 trial please visit: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03743298

About AIVITA Biomedical

AIVITA Biomedical is a privately held company engaged in the advancement of commercial and clinical-stage programs utilizing curative and regenerative medicines. Founded in 2016 by pioneers in the stem cell industry, AIVITA Biomedical utilizes its expertise in stem cell growth and directed, high-purity differentiation to enable safe, efficient and economical manufacturing systems which support its therapeutic pipeline and commercial line of skin care products.

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SOURCE AIVITA Biomedical, Inc.

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AIVITA Biomedical Announces Publication Concerning a Predictive Biomarker for Melanoma Patients Treated with the Company's Platform Immunotherapy -...

One of the biggest barriers to entry for a regular dry brushing technique is finding a brush that's right for you. Of course you'll want something that's simultaneously exfoliating, encourages lymphatic drainage, and is comforting to the touchbut that likely means different things for different people. And, thus, people will respond differently to various brush strengths. Then there's the question of shape preference: do you like a handle or something handheld? Also, if you're vegan, you'll need to opt for a synthetic or natural plant-derived option, like sisal bristles, which are made from agave fibers. Then there's where you want to be doing the dry brushing, be it your whole body, just your face, or both.

While some of these answers are obvious (face versus body, vegan versus non), some take some guessing-and-testing: You likely won't know what type of handle you like until you try, nor will you know what bristle strength you're looking for. But a good rule of thumb is beginners should default to softer bristles, as they don't know how their skin will react, while more advanced can feel comfortable experimenting with stiffer options.

Here, we gathered the best on the market, with a wide variety of variables, so you can find one that will work for you.

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9 Of The Best Dry Brushes For Head-To-Toe Exfoliation - mindbodygreen.com

The young Israeli patient I visited in the isolation room at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in the late 1970s was very ill. Ravages of the disease and its harsh treatment were clearly evident.

Diagnosed with a uniformly terminal disease, he had traveled to this renowned center in the Longwood Medical Area to be treated with a newly developed regimen of aggressive therapy. This world-famous academic hub is the medical campus where Harvard Medical School and many of its affiliated hospitals are all located. Major breakthroughs in medicine were developed here, including the first curative treatment of leukemia, the first kidney transplant, the first use of an electrical current to restore heart rhythm. It was here that creative man leaped forward with innovative advances that saved lives.

At the time I was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School. Our family resided several houses from the Ravs daughters home where the Rav was living, and our Maimonides community was fortunate to be able to spend eight to ten hours with the Rav every weekend in prayer and in learning. The creative gesture so central to the Ravs philosophy of halakhic man is a prime characteristic of biomedical research, and my oscillation between the universe of cutting edge biomedical research and the world of Torah learning with the Rav, while worlds apart, was harmonious. With the Rav often expressing curiosity about aspects of my research, I began to intuit that the work might not be merely creative but in fact a religious gesture.

A central theme in the Ravs weltanschauung is his emphasis on halakhic mans creative gesture. Ish haHalakhahs mission and continuous challenge are to heal and repair a purposely flawed world, for in the creation process a modicum of chaos was formed prior to the worlds creation and deliberately injected into both organic and inorganic matter, including into man himself.[1]

Man himself symbolizes, on the one hand, the most perfect and complete type of existence, the image of God, and, on the other hand, the most terrible chaos and void to reign over creation.[2] In order to enable man to cope with his inexorable chaos and sin, the tool of repentance was also created prior to the worlds formation (Pesahim 54a).

In a reference to creative introspection in Eight Chapters, Maimonides states: The perfect man needs to inspect his moral habits, weigh his actions, and reflect upon the state of his soul every single day. Whenever he sees his soul inkling toward one of the extremes, he should rush to cure it and not let the evil state become established (chap. 4).

Max Scheler, an early proponent of positive creative repentance, points out that modern philosophy, on the other hand, sees in retrospection and repentance mostly a negative, superfluous, uneconomical act due to disharmony of the mind and ascribed to lack of thought, sickness or various illusions..[3]

Emulating Maimonides, the Rav emphasizes an essential continuous remodeling, a re-creation of the sinners self as being a healthy, critically indispensable creative process. Halakhic man is engaged in self-creation, in creating a new I. He does not regret an irretrievably lost past but a past still in existence, one that stretches into and interpenetrates with the present and the future.[4]

The Ravs perspective on repentance is related to Schelers definition of creative repentance and to Henri Bergsons distinction between subjective, qualitative time-perception versus chronos, quantitative objective time. Both Scheler and Bergson ascribe to the principle of memory and experiential plasticity. The concept of plasticity, the property of being easily molded and remolded, has received intense scientific attention in the last decade, especially as related to the field of memory and neuroscience.

The presumed inability of the brain to generate new cells or to establish new neural networks is currently vigorously challenged and has indeed been proven incorrect. The process by which man can modify imprinted memories to affect his present and future behavior pattern is currently under scientific investigation. Epigenetic biochemical modifications of DNA and changes in neural networks triggered by ongoing experiences have been documented to alter both content and intensity of memories. The association between past triggering stimuli and the resurfacing of memories and behavior patterns has been shown to be moldable utilizing imaging and histological techniques. Previous memories can be reinforced, intensified, modified, or completely erased.

We no longer look at our genetic makeup and the mature brain as a fixed template that predicts our phenotype, and no longer are our memories an unalterable code. Rather, increasingly, biochemical data support the idea that they are templates upon which environmental and emotional stimuli can impact. Biochemical changes in the brain triggered by environmental and behavioral patterns were identified in identical twins raised in different environments. Scientists have defined conditions in which terminally differentiated cells, such as mature skin cells, which we assumed could never return to their embryonic pluripotent stem-cell status, have in fact definitively reverted and reprogrammed to evolve into new cell types. Recent reports have described the astonishing generation of live mice from skin cells reengineered to be ova.

If cells can revert to their embryonic state, if gene expression can be reprogrammed, if the brain can generate new nerve cells and establish new neural networks, the view of repentant man as a biologically defined new self is viable.

David Anderson from the California Institute of Technology describes a fascinating neuro-anatomical observation. The center in the brain that orchestrates emotion is the amygdala. It communicates with the hypothalamus, which houses the cells that control instinctive behavior like parenting, feeding, mating, fear, and fighting. Anderson found that a nucleus of cells within the hypothalamus contain two distinct populations of neurons: one that regulates aggression and one that regulates mating. About 20 percent of the cells in this nucleus are active both during mating activity and during aggressive behavior, which suggests that these two circuits are linked. How does the brain regulate these mutually exclusive behavior patterns? Anderson found that depending on the specific stimuli applied to this area it can trigger either mating activity or aggression.

Perhaps creating a new self through repentance from love (On Repentance, pp. 163) is associated with using mechanisms previously utilized for aggression and fear for productive activity such as love and fertility. A similar idea is found in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 156a): He who is born under Mars will be a shedder of blood. Rabbi Ashi said: Either a surgeon, a thief, a slaughterer, or a circumciser. Through biochemical processes induced by the intense experiences of the teshuvah process confession, sacrifice, remorse, shame and a commitment to a new I a new self can emerge.

* * *

A decade after I visited the seriously ill young man at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the facility where chaos reigns and where creative man is faced with overwhelming challenges, I attended a scientific conference in Tiberias, burial place of Maimonides. I learned that a daily minyan was available at a nearby archeological site of an ancient synagogue on the shores of the magnificent Sea of Galilee. I was welcomed by a group of yeshiva students from Bnei Brak who had been coming weekly to maintain a minyan at this historical site.

Following services I was approached by a bearded man, who inquired:Are you Dr. Goldberg?

Since I had never practiced medicine in Israel I was surprised to be addressed as a physician.

Do you remember me? he asked. I am that patient you visited at the Dana Farber so many years ago. I am healthy, married and have several children.

The Prophets and the Torah as well recognized a strong connection between sin and illness on the one hand and between repentance and healing on the other (On Repentance, p. 80).

Through the creative gesture both the body and the spirit can be remodeled and healed.

Notes:

1. See Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Halakhic Man (Philadelphia, 1983), p. 102.

2. Halakhic Man, p. 109.

3. Max Scheler, On the Eternal in Man (New Brunswick, NJ, 2010), p. 36.

4. Halakhic Man, p. 113.

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On creativity, plasticity and repentance - Arutz Sheva

LAS VEGAS: Can a skincare line actually have an impact on self-esteem, emotional wellbeing and even your sense of belonging? haia (Happy as I Am) - the new gender neutral, 360-degree wellness skincare line that industry leader, Michael Bruggeman, is debuting at ISPA 2019 - aims to do exactly that by going more than just skin deep.

A 2018 CDC study found suicide is at its highest rate in the U.S. in half a century. According to the World Health Organization, 300 million people have been diagnosed with depression. According to stopbullying.gov, 1 in 4 students have experienced bullying. Bruggeman decided to offer help from the outside in, via the industries he knows the best - skincare and wellness.

Ten years ago, he co-founded the first natural, professional spa brand for men, OM4 MEN, Organic Male, this year he founded the charitable foundation and leadership Institute, One Well World and four years ago, he became chair of the Global Wellness Institute's Beauty Meets Wellness Initiative.

Bruggeman couldn't help but notice a recurring theme when he conducted international roundtables with industry stakeholders in New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Hong Kong; when he spearheaded a Global Consumer Insights Study; and when he attended wellness summits around the world. People yearned to feel good about themselves - no matter their size, shape, race, gender or sexual proclivity - and be confident in who they were. And then there's the happy reality that natural, eco-conscious and clean products are the fastest growing segment in skincare and beauty. That kind of feedback inspired Bruggeman's decision to create haia.

Since beauty and belonging are such cultural drivers, our goal was to create a clean and inclusive skincare brand to help change the idea of living up to the social norm, explains Bruggeman, and remind you to love exactly who you are every day. And what better place to debut it than the spa & wellness industry's annual trade show & conference?

The recipe

Ingredients Using biomimicry from four different biomes - or large, naturally occurring habitats, such as a forest or tundra - he worked with some of the most sophisticated raw material manufacturers in the world to create products containing the latest in clean, nature-derived, active ingredients, such as extremophiles (microorganisms that live in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, alkalinity, or chemical concentration), mesonutrients (the active compounds or antioxidants within superfoods found in longevity-inducing Blue Zone diets), plant stem cells and bioferments that promote a healthy skin microbiome.

Eco Certified/Cosmos Organic Beyond simply choosing organic ingredients, Bruggeman made a decision to work towards having haia qualify for Cosmos Organic, globally recognized as the highest level of organic and natural product certification that exists.

Collections The new line is divided into five different, color-coded collections with cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers exfoliators, eye products and masks. The packaging uses a woven fabric design as a metaphor for weaving a single thread - standing for diversity and individuality -- into a fabric of strength and a work of art.

Affirmations, App & Animation - an April 2017 PSYCHOLOGY TODAY article by Dr. Leena Guptha said people can learn to incorporate self-affirmation into their arsenal of tools for coping with everyday threats and thus become agents in the maintenance of their own well-being. Each haia product has its own carefully selected affirmation such as I am Confident, I am Bold, and I am Worthy, I am Whole, I am Resourceful and I am Resilient.

Customers will be encouraged to access the industry's first ever animated skincare app on the haia website, which will have practical suggestions for implementing daily affirmations into everyday life. The app also features a virtual selfie derm-analysis that will give users personalized recommendations for product selection and use.

The animated characters not only reflect the skincare line's diverse target audience, but they can help take the pressure off spa and retail sales teams by providing a user-friendly and fun way for consumers to discover the regimen that is best for them.

Bruggeman adds, haia brings together the best of science and nature but beyond that, our hope is that the product design will make something as basic as your daily skincare routine inspire confidence, self-esteem and a sense of belonging.

Excerpt from:
haia Happy as I Am, Clean, Inclusive Skincare Brand Previews at ISPA 2019, Business World#224553 - New Kerala

Trinity College Dublin biochemist Luke ONeill has, with the help of illustrator Linda Fhrlin, produced an excellent new book for children, The Great Irish Science book.

To interview him I conscript the help of my nephews Cillian (10) and Senan Cummins (8) and their friend Elisa Mac Gabhann (11). When we arrive at TCDs biochemistry building, Prof ONeill tells us about the 800 scientists working in the building and his own work in immunology.

The immune system is like the defence system, says Senan, who has done his research. Theyve read the book thoroughly and taken notes.

The trouble is the immune system goes wrong sometimes and that makes people sore, says ONeill. So people with arthritis might be sore.

Like this! says Senan and he cracks his wrists.

Do you know what that crack is? asks the professor.

Its nitrogen bubbles, says Senan.

Up in the immunology lab ONeill tests the knowledge of his youthful lab partners. Why is blood red? he asks.

They dont know. He explains. Iron goes red when it rusts. Rust is called iron oxide and its quite similar. The reason why blood is red is because it carries oxygen. Why is the grass green?

Same thing? says Senan, hopefully.

The grass is green because the sun is yellow and the sky is blue and that makes green, chips in Etain, Senan and Cillians sister. Etain is here in an unofficial capacity and has not read the book.

ONeill laughs. Another metal called magnesium makes grass green. [Its in] chlorophyll, which is good at absorbing the sunlight and it uses energy in sunlight to make more of itself.

He has another question. Why is your poo brown?

Same thing? says Senan again.

You cant keep saying same thing, says Cillian.

Why is your poo brown? repeats ONeill.

Look, we dont really want to know, says Senan.

The red blood cells that are in your blood eventually get broken down and turn brown, says ONeill. So its mainly coming from red blood cells and you make stuff in your bile to help you digest food and thats a kind of brown.

Oh my God, says Elisa, saying what were all thinking.

Why is the sky blue? asks ONeill.

Because its a reflection of the sea? suggests Elisa.

Close but no cigar, says ONeill. An Irish guy called Tyndall discovered that the blue bounces off the dust particles in the atmosphere. If we didnt have particles in the atmosphere what colour would the sky be?

Black, says Cillian. Like space.

The nearest star to Earth, do you know what it is? asks ONeill.

It begins with an A, says Senan.

Its called Alpha Centauri, says ONeill. Its over four light years away.

The sun is a big star, says Etain.

Yes, its the nearest star, says ONeill.

But you said Alpha Centauri, says Cillian, whos been paying attention.

Yeah, people often get this wrong at quizzes, says ONeill. After the sun, the nearest star is Alpha Centauri.

What is the sun made of? asks ONeill.

About a gazillion years ago the sun was formed from a big giant puff of gas, says Senan.

What is the gas the sun is made of? asks the professor, before offering a clue: There was a Greek god called Helios.

Helium! says Elisa.

And the second one is hydrogen and whats happening is those atoms are bouncing off each other and that creates a huge amount of heat.

At this point theyre all wearing oversized lab coats and goggles and mucking around with dry ice. Is it possible to freeze your body while youre still alive and then come out a few years later and not have aged? asks Elisa.

Thats called cryonics, says ONeill. Were studying cryonics because if you die we could freeze you and if they found a cure a hundred years later we could unfreeze you and give you the cure.

Didnt Walt Disney freeze himself? asks Elisa.

The legend is he froze his head, says ONeill.

Ugh, says Elisa.

We go to a nearby balcony to do some experiments, but someone spots a vending machine and soon Im buying everyone sweets because I am an irresponsible and weak uncle. The first experiment will be to extract DNA from spit.

Who has the most spit? ONeill asks. Theres a short discussion about this. Elisa gets to spit into the glass.

So theres cells in your spit and theres DNA in those cells and the salt is going to burst open those cells. A squirt of soap. And now squeeze some of this pineapple in.

Can I eat it? asks Cillian.

Better not, says ONeill. God knows where its been.

He explains that pineapples have enzymes that are useful for breaking down protein and that the ethanol is going to make the DNA come out of the solution.

He picks out the stringy DNA. The recipe for life, he says. We could make a clone of Elisa.

Elisa eyes him suspiciously, What are you planning to do with my DNA?

For his next experiment, the professor puts a stone representing Ireland into a pool of cold blue water, representing the ocean, into which he pours warmer dyed red water to represent the weather-modifying Gulf Stream. Sadly, this experiment is hindered by our junior scientists desire to make purple.

ONeill cant locate the sheet of paper for the fourth experiment. This is because Senan is drawing on it, so I give the professor a printout of his own book and he creates a volcano with baking soda, vinegar and red dye.

Why is the Earth round but the ground is just flat? asks Senan.

It just seems to be flat but its so huge we dont realise its actually curved, says ONeill. If you went super, super fast you would notice, it would start curving.

Is there life on other planets? asks Elisa.

They reckon theres something like 40 billion planets like the Earth going around stars so there must be life on some of them, says the professor.

In five billion years were going to crash into another galaxy, says Senan. This isnt a question, more a stoically existential statement.

Yes, the Milky Way is going to crash into another galaxy in about five billion years, says ONeill. Thatll be noisy wont it?

No it wont, says Elisa. Because you cant hear sound in space!

The professor is impressed. Thats right! Sound cant travel through a vacuum.

Is it true that seven years on Earth is like two years in space? asks Elisa.

Einstein had this theory, says ONeill, that as you move, time slows down. If you had two identical twins, put one on a space ship and one back on Earth [and] the guy in space will be slightly younger when he meets his brother back on Earth.

Theres a superhero called Quicksilver and hes very fast and when he runs, time slows down, says Senan.

Why did you become a scientist? asks Elisa.

In school I had a biology teacher, Mr Mooney, and he told me about this magical molecule called DNA, says ONeill. I wanted to find out more about that so I went to university and I did science... Science is just about being curious.

Elisa says she wants to be an archaeologist. Archaeologists use science all the time, says ONeill. They use DNA. And they use carbon dating to date how old things are.

You know the moon? asks Senan. If the moon was any closer it would suck up all the water on Earth.

When the moon comes in all the tides go in, says Cillian.

And no one believed that at first, says ONeill. Science is all about having a good idea and then proving it.

All the good science starts off as an idiotic dream, says Cillian, wistfully. Then he asks: What do you do at work every day?

Recently, says ONeill, he and his colleagues have discovered that glucose is burned in a different way in cells when they are having an immune reaction. This, they hope, will lead to new ways of treating inflammatory diseases.

Do scientists test things on animals? asks Elisa.

Sadly, we have to start with animals because its too dangerous to start with humans, says ONeill.

What if there was a robot that could mimic a human or an animal? asks Elisa.

Get this, says ONeill. Were now growing bits of human in the lab and thats better than testing on animals.

How many books have you written? asks Senan.

This is the second book Ive written. Ive written another one for adults) (Humanology).

Whos your favourite scientist? asks Elisa.

Charles Darwin, he says. He explained life on Earth through evolution. Hes Elvis Presley for biologists. He also made sure to include lots of female scientists in his book, he says.

Like Marie Curie! says Elisa.

Yes! Only four people have won two Nobel prizes and shes one of them. Shes very famous for [discovering] radioactivity.

A third of the Arctic is frozen penguin wee, says Senan, who learned this fact from ONeills book.

And shrimps hearts are in their head, says Cillian, matching him with another fact. I just realised, if a shrimps heart is in its head where would his brain be?

Wombat poo is cube-shaped, says Senan.

Maybe wombat wee is triangular, says Cillian.

Senan nods appreciatively. Science is gross but its also very interesting, he says.

The Great Irish Science Book by Prof Luke ONeill is published by Gill Books on October 4th.

Excerpt from:
A third of the Arctic is frozen penguin wee and other science facts for kids - The Irish Times

Researchers have developed a new method to use the gene editing tool, CRISPR, to target specific bacteria and kill them -- an advance that may lead to new techniques for treating bacterial infections, and for customising the gut microbe composition of individuals. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, increases the possibility of using CRISPR technology to alter the makeup of the human microbiome -- the community of microbes that live in and on us -- in a way that could be personalized for each individual.

The researchers from the University of Western Ontario in Canada said that CRISPR could be programmed to target specific stretches of genetic code, and to edit DNA at precise locations, helping researchers permanently modify genes in living cells and organisms, and also to kill bacteria.

But until now, the researchers said that there wasn't a way to efficiently kill specific bacterial strains.

While the idea of using CRISPR to kill cells and organisms is not new, the researchers noted that the main hurdle was in getting the gene editing tool to target specific cells.

"This technology could also be used to help 'good' bacteria produce compounds to treat diseases caused by protein deficiencies," Karas said.

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Researchers develop gene editing method that may alter microbiome makeup - Gadgets Now