Archive for February, 2020

According to researchers, a certain bacterial strain has acquired a new gene that makes it able to resist antibiotics via the DNA sequence known as CRISPR, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (not to be confused with the CRISPR gene-editing technology).

Bacteria acquire CRISPR sequences from infecting viruses called bacteriophages, which insert fragments of DNA into bacterial genomes, the University of Washington School of Medicine, which was involved in the study, reported in a news release explaining how bacteria get these pieces of DNA via viral infection. (Yes, even bacteria can get a viral infection.) These bacteriophages hijack their host system to reproduce and can leave bits of DNA behind. In this case the CRISPR sequence appears to have included the drug-resistance gene.

The recent study, led by Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant professor of laboratory medicine at the UW School of Medicine, discovered nearly identical bacteria among these unrelated men in the two cities, and concluded it is likely being transmitted by men who have sex with men.

Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of diarrhea around the world. In fact, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate, it causes 1.5 million illnesses in the United States every year. People usually recover without treatment, but those with serious cases or compromised health require antibiotics. What makes this new strain particularly dangerous is that it is resistant to those antibiotics used for treatment.

Enteric infections can be sexually transmitted infections, Greninger said in the press release, about the intestinal infections that can be transmitted via anal intercourse, rimming, or other sexual practices. The international spread of related isolates among MSM populations has been shown before for Shigella, so it makes sense to see it in Campylobacter as well. The group of bacteria called Shigella cause about 500,000 cases of diarrhea in the United States annually, and outbreaks among gay and bisexual men have been noted for two decades.

Men who have sex with men are at higher risk of multidrug resistance because theyre more likely to have taken antibiotics to treat past STIs, the authors of the new study state. According to MedScape, Campylobacter infections may be more common and cause prolonged or recurrent diarrhea among those living with HIV.

While STI rates have increased significantly over the last few years, less is known about STIs related to intestinal bacteria. This outbreak among gay and bisexual men with a strain that is resistant to antibiotics raises the stakes.

The global emergence of multidrug-resistant enteric pathogens in MSM poses an urgent public health challenge that may require new approaches for surveillance and prevention, the authors concluded.

Read more:
Gay and Can't Stop Pooping? This Could Be Why - HivPlusMag.com

Medical treatment involving stem cells is an ever-growing, billion-dollar industry, so chances are you have heard about it in the news. Here in the U.S. and around the world, stem cells are being used in various therapies to treat a wide variety of health problems and diseases, including dementia, autism, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, osteoarthritis, cancer, heart disease, Parkinsons disease, and spinal cord injury. Treatments for such health issues may sound promising, but the risk is many of those being sold and advertised arent yet proven to be safe and effective. This is why its so important to educate yourself before jumping into any kind of stem cell treatment.

To gain a better understanding of this new age of medical research, one must first understand what stem cells are and how they work. Stem cells are special human cells that can develop into many different types of cells. They can divide and produce more of the same type of stem cells, or they can turn into different functioning cells. There are no other types of cells in the body that have this natural ability to generate new cell types.

So where do stem cells that are used for research and medical treatments come from? The three main types of stem cells are embryonic (or pluripotent) stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells come from unused, in vitro fertilized embryos that are three to five days old. The embryos are only donated for research purposes with the informed consent of the donors. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, which means they can turn into any cell type in the body.

Adult stem cells are found in small numbers in developed tissues in different parts of the body, such as bone marrow, skin, and the brain. They are specific to a certain kind of tissue in the body and are limited to maintaining and repairing the tissue in which they are found. For example, liver stem cells can only make new liver tissue; they arent able to make new muscle tissue.

Induced pluripotent stem cells are another form of adult stem cells. These are stem cells that have been manipulated in a laboratory and reprogrammed to work like embryotic (or pluripotent) stem cells. While these altered adult stem cells dont appear to be clinically different from embryonic stem cells, research is still being conducted to determine if the effects they have on humans differ from actual embryonic stem cells.

Stem cells can also be found in amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood. These stem cells have the ability to change into specialized cells like embryonic stem cells. While more research is being conducted to determine the potential of these types of stem cells, researchers already actively use these through amniocentesis procedures. In this procedure, the stem cells drawn from amniotic fluid samples of pregnant women can be screened for developmental abnormalities in a fetus.

The main difference between embryonic and adult stem cells is how they function. Embryonic stem cells are more versatile. Since they can divide into more stem cells or become any type of cell in the body, they can be used to regenerate or repair a variety of diseased tissue and organs. Adult stem cells only generate the types of cells from where they are taken from in the body.

The ability for stem cells to regenerate under the right conditions in the body or in a laboratory is why researchers and doctors have become so interested in studying them. Stem cell research is helping scientists and doctors to better understand how certain diseases occur, how to possibly generate healthy cells to replace diseased cells, and offer ways to test new drugs.

Clearly, stem cell research is showing great potential for understanding and treating a range of diseases and other health issues, but there is still a lot to learn. While there are some diseases that are showing success using stem cell treatments, many others are yet to be proven in clinical trials and should be considered highly experimental.

In our next article, various stem cell treatments, FDA regulations, and other stem cell hot topics will be explored. It will also focus on what to look for when considering stem cell therapies so people arent misled or misinformed about the benefits and risks.

For more information regarding the basics of stem cells visit these sites:

https://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/1.htm

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bone-marrow-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117

Continued here:
The 411 on Stem Cells: What They Are and Why It's Important to Be Educated - Legal Examiner

DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chimerix(CMRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on accelerating the development of medicines to treat cancer and other serious diseases, today announced that it will host a live conference call and audio webcast on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. ET to report financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2019, and to provide a business overview.

To access the live conference call, please dial (877) 354-4056 (domestic) or (678) 809-1043 (international) at least five minutes prior to the start time, and refer to conference ID 1397800. A live audio webcast of the call will also be available on the Investors section of the Company's website, http://www.chimerix.com. An archived webcast will be available on the Chimerix website approximately two hours after the event.

AboutChimerix

Chimerix is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to accelerating the advancement of innovative medicines that make a meaningful impact in the lives of patients living with cancer and other serious diseases. The two clinical-stage development programs are dociparstat sodium (DSTAT) and brincidofovir (BCV).

Dociparstat sodium is a potential first-in-class glycosaminoglycan compound derived from porcine heparin that has low anticoagulant activity but retains the ability to inhibit activities of several key proteins implicated in the retention and viability of AML blasts and leukemic stem cells in the bone marrow during chemotherapy (e.g., CXCL12, selectins, HMGB1, elastase). Mobilization of AML blasts and leukemic stem cells from the bone marrow has been associated with enhanced chemosensitivity and may be a primary mechanism accounting for the observed increases in EFS and OS in Phase 2 with DSTAT versus placebo. Randomized Phase 2 data suggest that DSTAT may also accelerate platelet recovery post-chemotherapy via inhibition of platelet factor 4, a negative regulator of platelet production that impairs platelet recovery following chemotherapy. BCV is an antiviral drug candidate in development as a medical countermeasure for smallpox. For further information, please visit the Chimerix website, http://www.chimerix.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include those relating to, among other things, Chimerixs ability to develop BCV as a medical countermeasure for smallpox; Chimerixs ability to submit and/or obtain regulatory approvals for BCV; and Chimerixs ability to enter into a procurement contract for BCV as a medical countermeasure. Among the factors and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks that BCV may not obtain regulatory approval from theFDAor such approval may be delayed or conditioned; risks that development activities related to BCV may not be completed on time or at all; Chimerixs reliance on a sole source third-party manufacturer for drug supply; risks that ongoing or future trials may not be successful or replicate previous trial results, or may not be predictive of real-world results or of results in subsequent trials; risks and uncertainties relating to competitive products and technological changes that may limit demand for our drugs; risks that our drugs may be precluded from commercialization by the proprietary rights of third parties; risks related to procurement of brincidofovir for the treatment of smallpox and additional risks set forth in the Company's filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:Investor Relations: Michelle LaSpaluto919 972-7115ir@chimerix.com

Will OConnorStern Investor Relationswill@sternir.com 212-362-1200

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Chimerix to Report Fourth Quarter and Year End 2019 Financial Results and Provide an Operational Update on February 25, 2020 - Yahoo Finance

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announces financial results for fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

2019 was a tremendous year for BrainStorm, with significant progress and achievements across all clinical and operational fronts, stated Chaim Lebovits, President and Chief Executive Officer of BrainStorm. Most importantly, we fully enrolled our pivotal, double blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial of NurOwn for the treatment of ALS. We announced the trial conducted at six major U.S. medical centers of excellence for ALS, was fully enrolled on October 11, 2019, and on October 28, 2019 the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), completed the second planned interim safety analysis for the first 106 patients who received repeat dosing of NurOwn in the Phase 3 trial. The DSMB concluded the trial should continue as planned without any clinical protocol changes. He added, In addition, one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed journals, Neurology, published NurOwn Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial in ALS: Safety, Clinical and BioMarker Results, bringing news of our investigational therapy to the global scientific community. And, just last week, we were happy to announce that the Company recently held a high level meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss potential NurOwn regulatory pathways for approval in ALS.

Ralph Kern, MD, MHSc, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer of BrainStorm added, 2019 was also a very significant year for those who suffer from progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In February 2019, we announced Cleveland Clinic would serve as our first contracted site for a Phase 2 open-label, multicenter study of repeated intrathecal administration of NurOwn (autologous MSC-NTF cells) in participants with progressive MS (NCT03799718). We enrolled our first patient in March. We contracted with The Stanford University School of Medicine, The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, and the Mount Sinai Medical Center to further enroll patients. Dr. Kern added, The importance of our research in progressive MS was acknowledged by a $495,000 grant award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through its Fast Forward Program, and mid-December, the Data Safety Monitoring Board completed the first, pre-specified interim analysis, of safety outcomes for 9 participants and after careful review of all available clinical trial data, the DSMB unanimously concluded that the study should continue as planned without any protocol modification. As of December 31, 2019 we have enrolled 10 patients in the study (50% enrollment completed).

Fourth Quarter Corporate Highlights:

Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2019 and Recent Updates

For further details on BrainStorms financials, including financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019, refer to the Form 10-K filed with the SEC today.

Conference Call on Tuesday, February 18th @ 8:00 am Eastern Time

The investment community may participate in the conference call by dialing the following numbers:

Those interested in listening to the conference call live via the internet may do so by visiting the Investors & Media page of BrainStorms website at http://www.ir.brainstorm-cell.com and clicking on the conference call link.

A webcast replay of the conference call will be available for 30 days on the Investors & Media page of BrainStorms website:

About NurOwnNurOwn (autologous MSC-NTF cells) represent a promising investigational approach to targeting disease pathways important in neurodegenerative disorders. MSC-NTF cells are produced from autologous, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that have been expanded and differentiated ex vivo. MSCs are converted into MSC-NTF cells by growing them under patented conditions that induce the cells to secrete high levels of neurotrophic factors. Autologous MSC-NTF cells can effectively deliver multiple NTFs and immunomodulatory cytokines directly to the site of damage to elicit a desired biological effect and ultimately slow or stabilize disease progression. NurOwn is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 ALS randomized placebo-controlled trial and in a Phase 2 open-label multicenter trial in Progressive MS.

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.is a leading developer of innovative autologous adult stem cell therapeutics for debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds the rights to clinical development and commercialization of the NurOwnCellular Therapeutic Technology Platform used to produce autologous MSC-NTF cells through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement as well as through its own patents, patent applications and proprietary know-how. Autologous MSC-NTF cells have received Orphan Drug status designation from theU.S. Food and Drug Administration(U.S.FDA) and theEuropean Medicines Agency(EMA) in ALS. Brainstorm has fully enrolled the Phase 3 pivotal trial in ALS (NCT03280056), investigating repeat-administration of autologous MSC-NTF cells at six sites in the U.S., supported by a grant from theCalifornia Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM CLIN2-0989). The pivotal study is intended to support a BLA filing for U.S.FDAapproval of autologous MSC-NTF cells in ALS. Brainstorm received U.S.FDAclearance to initiate a Phase 2 open-label multi-center trial of repeat intrathecal dosing of MSC-NTF cells in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (NCT03799718) inDecember 2018and has been enrolling clinical trial participants sinceMarch 2019. For more information, visit the company'swebsite.

Safe-Harbor StatementStatements in this announcement other than historical data and information, including statements regarding future clinical trial enrollment and data, constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could causeBrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'sactual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Terms and phrases such as "may", "should", "would", "could", "will", "expect", "likely", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "predict", "potential", and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, BrainStorms need to raise additional capital, BrainStorms ability to continue as a going concern, regulatory approval of BrainStorms NurOwn treatment candidate, the success of BrainStorms product development programs and research, regulatory and personnel issues, development of a global market for our services, the ability to secure and maintain research institutions to conduct our clinical trials, the ability to generate significant revenue, the ability of BrainStorms NurOwn treatment candidate to achieve broad acceptance as a treatment option for ALS or other neurodegenerative diseases, BrainStorms ability to manufacture and commercialize the NurOwn treatment candidate, obtaining patents that provide meaningful protection, competition and market developments, BrainStorms ability to protect our intellectual property from infringement by third parties, heath reform legislation, demand for our services, currency exchange rates and product liability claims and litigation,; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available athttp://www.sec.gov. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BrainStorm's forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or assumptions if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, unless otherwise required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

CONTACTS

Corporate:Uri YablonkaChief Business OfficerBrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.Phone: 646-666-3188uri@brainstorm-cell.com

Investor Relations:Preetam Shah, MBA, PhDChief Financial OfficerBrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.Phone: 862-397-8160pshah@brainstorm-cell.com

Media:Sean LeousWestwicke/ICR PRPhone: +1.646.677.1839sean.leous@icrinc.com

BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETSU.S. dollars in thousands(Except share data)

BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSSU.S. dollars in thousands(Except share data)

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BrainStorm Announces Operational Highlights and Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2019 Conference Call and Webcast @ 8:00 am Eastern...

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - For five years now, the Ruehle family has held a teddy bear drive in memory of Mike Ruehle, who passed from cancer in 2014.

The teddy bears are given to adults and children with a cancer connection, in Mike's memory.

Family and friends knew Mike as "Bear."

The family asks people to consider donating a teddy bear in memory of a loved one, or in honor of healthy family members.

If you'd like to donate, every bear must be new with the tag still attached. The donations will stay in Siouxland.

There are five different locations where you can drop off the bears:

Ruehle's family says the teddy bear drive has donated more than 3,000 stuffed animals to several Siouxland agencies.

But who is the man who inspired the teddy bear drive?

"Very thoughtful person, very giving, he always took the time to listen to other people, just a really compassionate, kindhearted person," said Kerry Ruehle, Mike's Widow.

Mike Ruehle, or as his family called him, Bear, passed away six years ago, after a 12 year battle with cancer.

The family said he was very active in the community and was often coaching numerous sports teams.

They said he had a big heart, and always did what he could to make others feel better, even while he himself had cancer.

"If there were any patients his doctor had, who were having a difficult time with the news or with the adjustment. He would reach out to my dad, and see if my dad would sit down with them and talk about what was going on with them," said Rhett, Mike's son.

Part of the reason the teddy bear drive was started was because of Bear's compassion towards children who were also dealing with cancer.

"He would see a young child going through similar things that he was going through. He would always go out of his way to talk to that little kid and brighten their day a little bit," said Rhett.

Mike had had three different kinds of cancers, and due to the chemotherapy, eventually was diagnosed with MDS, which is a bone marrow failure disorder.

Doctors determined that the best treatment would be a stem cell transplant. The transplant surgery went well, but months later his body began rejecting his brother's stem cells, and within five weeks he had passed away.

"It was a shock because he had been ahead of schedule and everything else. And he had come through things beautifully, so it was quite a shock. But it was god's plan I guess," said Kerry.

But Mike's family wanted a way to keep Mike's memory alive, and that's what also helped start the teddy bear drive.

"My oldest granddaughter is five, she never met her grandpa. But in some ways, she feels as though she did, because of talking about him and she helps me with the bear drive," said Kerry

Read more:
Family honors the memory of loved one by collecting teddy bears for families dealing with cancer - KTIV

The latest market report published by Credence Research, Inc.GlobalBone Marrow Transplantation Market Growth, Future Prospects, Competitive Analysis, 2018 2026,

Access Free Sample Copy of Research Report @ https://www.credenceresearch.com/sample-request/59660

Market Insights:

Blood cancer is characterized by overproduction of an irregular type of blood cells, resulting in the overproduction of normal cells in the bone marrow preventing normal cells from performing important functions. According to the study references issued by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company by 2040 nearly 1,100,000 people will die from blood cancer, which will account for 7 percent cancer deaths.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplant are reigning the market. The inherent features associated with allogeneic procedures are the graft is free from contaminated tumor cells. Immune graft versus malignancy effect is produced by the immunocompetent cells derived from healthy donor. Low risk of disease recurrence and significant rise in the number of healthy donors drive the allogeneic bone marrow transplantation market growth. Autologous procedure will grow at a rapid pace in the near future due to rise in number of stem cell banks, which store healthy cells from patients and after conditioning treatment are introduced in them to produce healthy blood cells.

Lymphoma is dominating the indication segment for bone marrow transplantation market. There are 2 types Hodgkin lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The primary factors responsible for its supremacy are significant rise in the patients newly diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and excellent survival rate in patients post bone marrow transplantation procedure. Leukemia is the abnormal high production of white blood cells by the bone marrow. Technological advancement in the bone marrow transplantation technique will reduce the disease recurrence in leukemia patients receiving stem cell therapy.

Access Free Sample Copy of Research Report @ https://www.credenceresearch.com/sample-request/59660

North America is presently the leading regional segment for bone marrow transplantation market with a market share of 38%. The major factors responsible for its significant growth are rising prevalence of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and presence of sophisticated healthcare infrastructure. Europe with a market share of 32% is at second position owing to significant rise in the number of myeloma patients and domicile of major players such as PromoCell GmbH, Merck Millipore Corporation and Lonza Group Ltd. Asia Pacific with a market share of 20% will grow at a faster pace in the near future on account of technological advancement in bone marrow transplantation technique and proactive government policies to curb the mortality rate associated with blood cancer.

Biotechnology firms actively engaged in bone marrow transplantation procedures are AllCells LLC., Conversant Bio., Cellular Dynamics International, Gamida Cell Ltd., Hemacare Corporation, Lonza Group Ltd., Merck Millipore Corporation, Mesoblast Ltd., PromoCell GmbH and STEMCELL Technologies.

Key Market Movements:

Browse the full reportBone Marrow Transplantation Market athttps://www.credenceresearch.com/report/bone-marrow-transplantation-market

About Us:

Credence Researchis aworldwide market research and counseling firm that serves drivingorganizations, governments, non-legislative associations, and not-for-benefits.We offer our customers some assistance with making enduring enhancements totheir execution and understand their most imperative objectives. Over almost acentury, weve manufactured a firm extraordinarily prepared to this task.

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Bone Marrow Transplantation Market: Lower risk of disease recurrence and significant rise in the number of healthy donors drive the market growth -...

The global Acromegaly Treatment market is driven by the growing prevalence of the genetic disease, changing lifestyle. Also, factors such as rising incidence of hormonal diseases, such as hypopituitarism and endocrine diseases, and high demand for the advanced treatment is expected to increase the demand for Acromegaly treatment market.

Factors, such as unavailability of precise treatment and high cost of the surgery can restrain the market growth.

Some of the key players operating in this market include Pfizer Inc., Chiasma Inc., Novartis AG, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Wockhardt Ltd., Troikaa Pharmaceuticals Limited, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Aegis Therapeutics LLC, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Inc, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Peptron Inc, among others.

You can get a sample copy of this report @ https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/804039

Increasing government support, favorable government insurance policies and schemes for the patients and rapid developments in technology will offer lucrative opportunities.

Based on Application, the Acromegaly Treatment market is segmented into Hospitals, Clinics, and others.

Based on Disease Types, the Acromegaly Treatment market is segmented into Ectopic Acromegaly, Pseudo Acromegaly.

Regionally, North America was the largest revenue generator in the Acromegaly Treatment market in 2017, because of high investments in research and development activities to investigate the applications of Acromegaly Treatment market.

Key Benefits of the Report:

* Global, Regional, Country, Application, and Disease Types Market Size and Forecast from 2014-2025

* Detailed market dynamics, industry outlook with market specific PESTLE, Value Chain, Supply Chain, and SWOT Analysis to better understand the market and build strategies

* Identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scale

* Expert interviews and their insights on market shift, current and future outlook and factors impacting vendors short term and long term strategies

* Detailed insights on emerging regions, Application& Disease Types, and competitive landscape with qualitative and quantitative information and facts.

Global Acromegaly Treatment Industry 2020 Market Research Report is spread across 121 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector.

Inquire more or share questions if any before the purchase on this report @ https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/804039

Target Audience:

* Acromegaly Treatment providers

* Traders, Importer and Exporter

* Raw material suppliers and distributors

* Research and consulting firms

* Government and research organizations

* Associations and industry bodies.

Research Methodology

The Market is derived through extensive use of secondary, primary, in-house research followed by expert validation and third party perspective like analyst report of investment banks. The secondary research forms the base of our study where we conducted extensive data mining, referring to verified data sources such as government and regulatory published materials, technical journals, trade magazines, and paid data sources.

For forecasting, regional demand & supply factor, investment, Market dynamics including technical scenario, consumer behavior, and end use industry trends and dynamics , capacity Production, spending were taken into consideration.

We have assigned weights to these parameters and quantified their Market impacts using the weighted average analysis to derive the expected Market growth rate.

The Market estimates and forecasts have been verified through exhaustive primary research with the Key Industry Participants (KIPs) which typically include:

* Original Manufacturer,

* Application Supplier,

* Distributors,

* Government Body & Associations, and

* Research Institute.

Order a Copy of Global Acromegaly Treatment Market Report @ https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/804039

Table Of Content

1 Executive Summary

2 Methodology And Market Scope

3 Acromegaly Treatment Market Industry Outlook

4 Acromegaly Treatment Market Type Outlook

5 Acromegaly Treatment Market Application Outlook

6 Acromegaly Treatment Market Regional Outlook

7 Competitive Landscape

End Of The Report

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Acromegaly Treatment Industry 2020 Global Market Size, Demand, Growth Prospects, Key Insights, Top Companies and Forecast till 2025 - Instant Tech...

CLEVELAND Too bad there isnt some magic pill we could take to make the dream of sleep a reality.

One popular supplement that a lot of people take to deal with sleep issues is melatonin.

Melatonin is a hormone that our body produces naturally to help promote sleep. Most people can produce enough melatonin on their own, but there are some cases where it may be helpful to take a supplement.

The 3News Go! team reached out to Michelle Drerup, PsyD from the Cleveland Clinic's Sleep Disorders Center to find out more about melatonin. Dredrup is a sleep psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist, who specializes in treating conditions like insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, sleep apnea and more.

Sleep problems are very common. In fact, Drerup says about 10 percent of the population has symptoms of an insomnia disorder that impacts their daily functioning.

Dredrup also says theres not a lot of data out there on the efficacy of using melatonin at bedtime, but it may help you fall asleep.

RELATED: Do I have sleep apnea? Here are the symptoms to watch for

RELATED: 'Being fatigued is no different than being drunk' | Father shares story after sleepy driver fatally crashes into wife on Ohio Turnpike

Melatonin is a hormone of darkness," she says. "We call it the vampire hormone. It doesn't help with sleep maintenance or staying asleep, but more so it has some benefit for sleep onset for some people, as well as those who have delayed sleep phase disorder.

Dredrup says melatonin can also help for people dealing with jet lag.

But with so many different dosage options available, how do you know where to start?

Dredrup says, start with as small of a dose as possible.

I usually do not recommend higher than anything than 3mg. It doesn't tend to be effective at higher dosages for most people and it will just tend to make them feel groggy.

If youre considering using melatonin to help you fall asleep, its also a good idea to check with your doctor. Melatonin can interact with some medications, like blood pressure and diabetes drugs.

Link:
The vampire hormone: What you need to know about melatonin - WKYC.com

Dr. Amauri Caversan, ND, a Naturopath in Toronto, and his practice, the Dr Amauri Wellness Centre, has published a blog post about the thyroid, the diseases that affect the thyroid, and some Naturopathic approaches which may help with thyroid function. The thyroid is an essential organ in the human body, located in the neck. Its shaped like a butterfly and releases hormones that work to regulate energy levels, metabolism, muscle control, fertility, and much more.

Because the thyroid and the hormones it releases have such broad ranging effects in the body, thyroid difficulties can be a cause for serious concern, which is why its very important to maintain healthy thyroid function. Thyroid dysfunction may lead to a number of symptoms, including constipation, weight gain, unbearable fatigue, weakness, and problems with memory. The most common thyroid issues are either that the thyroid is under functioning, as in hypothyroidism, or over functioning, as in hyperthyroidism.

The thyroid produces two main hormones, known as T3 and T4, both of which are essential to the metabolic function of cells. When the thyroid is underperforming, or not creating the amount of hormones that the body needs, the bodys metabolism is compromised. This can cause a range of symptoms including fatigue, memory problems, mood swings, depression, weight gain, muscle cramps, and cholesterol elevation. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is Hashimotos thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder in which the bodys immune system treats the thyroid like a threat. The immune system creates antibodies which prevent the thyroid from creating sufficient hormones for the body to function. Because the symptoms of hypothyroidism can be so severe, it is very important for people experiencing hypothyroidism to seek treatment to maintain their thyroid hormone levels at a healthy level.

One point discussed by the blog post is Naturopathic Medicine for thyroid function. The clinic offers a range of naturopathic treatments which may provide some benefits to thyroid health. Whether a person has hypothyroidism or the equally serious hyperthyroidism, the Dr. Amauri Wellness Centre would like them to consider a visit to a naturopath to discuss their condition.

The diagnosis of thyroid disorders is generally conducted through blood work or a thyroid ultrasound. Blood tests may include TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, thyroid peroxidase and anti-thyroid antibodies. TSH is the hormone produced by the pituitary gland that signals to the thyroid that it needs to produce more hormones. The level can indicate whether the body has enough thyroid hormones, too much or too little. Free T3 and Free T4 measure T3 and T4 and can be indicative of a thyroid disorder, but generally are not used on their own for diagnosis. Thyroid peroxidase and anti-thyroid antibodies are tested to determine if the thyroid disorder is caused by an autoimmune disorder.

Anyone looking for a Toronto-based Naturopath interested in learning more about Dr Amauri Caversan, ND and his naturopathic practices can visit his website or contact his office. The office offers a number of treatments that could offer some benefit in the case of thyroid disorders, including thyroid replacement therapy with natural dessicated thyroid hormones and recommendations for diet changes and supplement additions. Dr Amauri Wellness Centre may also suggest herbal formulas or IV therapy.

In addition to offering services for patients who may be dealing with thyroid disorders, Dr Amauri Caversan, ND and his clinic offer a number of other naturopathic treatments for people with a variety of issues as well as those who are just interested in their general wellness. Some of these treatments include acupuncture, cold laser treatments, naturopathic manipulation, and shockwave therapy. The Dr Amauri Wellness Centre caters a number of their services to people suffering from chronic pain, which often persists in spite of many attempts at treatment. Dr Amauri Caversan, ND does his best to understand each patients individual situation, because he understands that every situation is unique and no two people will respond in exactly the same way to exactly the same conditions.

People can visit the naturopathic clinic located at 1200 Bay Street #1102, Toronto, ON M5R 2A5, or call (416) 922-4114 for further inquiries.

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For more information about Dr. Amauri Wellness Centre, contact the company here:

Dr. Amauri Wellness CentreDr. Amauri Caversan, ND(416) 922-4114info@dramauriwellnesscentre.comDr. Amauri Wellness Center1200 Bay Street #1102Toronto, Ontario M5R 2A5

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Naturopathic Clinic In Toronto Recommends These Naturopathic Approaches To Help Correct Thyroid Function - Press Release - Digital Journal

These days, you can chart cultural change through public loos.

In Los Angeles, gone are the bold-print doorsigns that say gender neutral restroom, complete with baffling stick men/women dressed in the kind of half-skirt, half-trouser ensembles that belong on a Jean Paul Gaultier runway; the interlinked Mars and Venus symbols with pompous explanatory small print welcoming everyone, regardless of gender or expression. Thanks, guys, but its a bathroom none of us are planning to stay long enough to feel the love.

Today, the signs simply read: We Dont Care. Or, my personal favourite: Whatever. Just wash your hands.

However, in the UK, when it comes to bathroom signs, there is no such levity. Were still desperately contorted about trans and gender issues and a long way from levelling out a debate that, I fear, hasnt yet reached peak insanity.

I thought wed peaked last year, when Always, the sanitary towel company, agreed to remove the Venus symbol from its wrapping after the trans lobby complained that not everyone who has periods identifies as a woman.

I thought wed peaked when the police were forced to reveal that convicted rapists were allowed to be logged as female when arrested, if that is how they choose to identify themselves. When the BBC promoted an educational short film telling nine-year-olds that there were over 100 genders, that had to be it?

Surely we peaked last January, when former policeman Harry Miller was visited by police after tweeting transphobic comments (such as: I was assigned mammal at birth, but my orientation is fish. Dont mis-species me)? Miller claimed that the Humberside Police officer who interviewed him had said hed committed no crime, but we need to check your thinking.

Which is Orwellian enough but after Miller discovered his tweet incident had been entered onto his police record, as a non-crime hate incident, he launched legal action so that a court might establish once and for all that he had not broken any law. The police probe was decreed unlawful by the High Court on Friday.

But this is no time to celebrate, thanks to the opposition Labour Party, which, in the midst of its leadership contest, is busy descending into a farcical civil war over transgender rights.

A controversial pledge card calling on the party to expel transphobic members has exposed a faultline running through the movement between and those who sign up wholeheartedly to the trans-activist insistence that transwomen are women, and seasoned Left-wing feminists, who worry about proposed reforms to make it simpler to transition legally and, thus, access all-female spaces such as changing rooms and toilets.

Out there in the Labour heartlands, these are not the issues keeping voters up at night. Its as if the party has learnt nothing from Trump or Brexit or from Jo Swinson, the headmistressy and super-woke former Liberal Democrat leader whose election campaign went up in smoke on the altar of transgender ideology.

But all of this pales in importance beside an easily missed news item tucked away in this weekends Sunday papers. One headline ran: NHS endorsing guide for transgender patients that approves puberty blockers and declares anatomy is not always a good guide to determining a childs sex.

The NHS has already tarnished itself over matters of gender. More than once, the scandal-hit Tavistock Clinic, the countrys only NHS gender identity service for children, has found itself in the eye of the storm after accusations that it was fast-tracking young people into changing gender and offering children as young as 11 hormone-blocking drugs. But at least this shockingly proactive approach has been limited to patients within the clinic until now.

A number of NHS trusts across the south west are to send out a Supporting Trans People toolkit, written by trans campaigners and branded with NHS logos, that declares that anatomy is not always a good guide to determining a childs sex. It also condones the use of puberty blockers on adolescents, drugs that are, at present, licensed in the UK only to treat children who start puberty abnormally early, not those just questioning their gender identity.

Both the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and NHS England have ordered national reviews into the ethics of prescribing such treatment.

Its the inherent contradictions in PC-culture-gone-mad that I cant get past. Because if you pare down the argument for hormone blockers, its all about protecting youngsters mental health a mental health that could understandably suffer if someone felt trapped in the wrong body for years.

So what do we do? We pump them full of drugs that keep them in that state, preventing their natural sex hormones, oestrogen and testosterone, from kicking in.

Its official: weve hit new levels of gender insanity.

Read Celia Walden at telegraph.co.uk every Monday, from 7pm

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Weve finally hit peak insanity over trans havent we? - Telegraph.co.uk

When Tyler Wilson came home after his deployment in Afghanistan in 2005, he was paralyzed from the waist down. He had been shot four times and still had a bullet lodged in his spinal cord.

Ten years later, when he and his wife, Crystal, decided to start a family, they needed medical assistance. But insurance didnt cover their surgical or hormone treatments. Neither did the Veterans Administration.

They basically said, thank you for your service, Tyler said, but youre on your own for this one.

When they got the bill for the first round of treatment, it was $40,000. Four rounds of treatment, and thousands of dollars later, they have two boys Matthew, 3, and 6-month-old Michael.

The Wilsons now are trying to make sure other people dont have to struggle so hard financially to start a family, working with lawmakers and other individuals to get The Colorado Building Family Act passed at the state Capitol.

House Bill 1158 would require insurance companies to cover the most effective treatment for infertility, called in vitro fertilization (IVF) where the egg and sperm are fertilized in a lab then transferred into the uterus. The expanded coverage would also include the harvesting and freezing of eggs and sperm for people undergoing medical treatment that threatens fertility, such as chemotherapy.

Income should not be a barrier for becoming a parent, said Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat who is helping lead the charge on the bill. The treatment is out there, we just have to make it accessible and affordable.

The bill passed unanimously in the House Health and Insurance Committee on Wednesday, after hours of testimony from individuals and couples including the Wilsons who struggle with infertility, and the hefty costs associated with its treatment.

No one spoke out against the bill, though a handful of insurance companies are monitoring the bills outcome.

Amanda Massey, executive director of the Colorado Association of Health Plans, a trade group that represents insurance companies, says her organization is neutral on the measure, but warned that the expansion of coverage will likely increase insurance premiums.

We are really just here to remind legislators that this has a cost, Massey said, adding that this bill would impact approximately one third of Colorado health plans.

A data analysis done by Californias Health Benefit Review Program for Californias State Legislature last year estimated that including IVF treatment in insurance coverage would increase individual monthly premiums by $2.76 for the state plan and $3.72 for the small group market.

But similar data appears to be lacking for Colorado.

Since the 1980s, 16 states have passed laws that require insurers to cover fertility diagnosis and treatment, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Colorado, insurance companies are required to cover X-rays and diagnostic lab procedures related to infertility. Insurance must also include coverage for artificial insemination, with the typical procedure being intrauterine insemination (IUI) where sperm is inserted directly into the uterus by a doctor.

A woman under 35 has only a 25% chance of getting pregnant from IUI, after three rounds of treatment. For women over 40, that drops down to a 15% chance, according to Dr. Sara Barton, an infertility expert at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine.

So its largely an ineffective treatment, but its the one that insurance companies will cover, Barton said during testimony. IVF, she said, has a 65% success rate on the first round of treatment.

So I definitely understand the fact that premiums may go up a little bit. However, what I want to educate people on is the fact that, because insurance is not covering it, there are long-term, downstream costs that are causing riskier health decisions for both moms and babies, Crystal Wilson said.

The bill also aims to help individuals undergoing medical treatment like chemotherapy have biological children in the future by preserving eggs and sperm.

If this was covered by insurance, I would have been able to have kids, said Carley Rutledge, a 25-year old film producer based in Denver who spoke in support of the bill. Rutledge was diagnosed with bone cancer when she was 16, but was unable to preserve her eggs before receiving chemo.

Around 2,000 people in Colorado between the ages of 15 and 44 are diagnosed with cancer each year, according to Dr. Leslie Appiah, a doctor who specializes in infertility and reproductive health problems at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

For males under 18, 66% of them will experience difficulty with testicular function after cancer treatment. And 40% of women from ages 18 to 39 will be less likely to conceive after cancer treatment.

For state Rep. Kerry Tipper, a Democrat from Lakewood who is also sponsoring the bill, the topic is deeply personal.

Tipper and her husband have been trying to get pregnant for over four years.

Weve always envisioned being parents. The house we bought, the life weve built everything has centered around us building a family, Tipper said. And to know that that might not happen was devastating. But we have hope, because the majority of people that get treated have success and we are really good candidates for the treatment.

Last session, Tipper had three artificial inseminations. And so far this session, shes had two more. She says her experience has been hard to talk about and it has left her feeling isolated.

But these are issues that can be overcome a lot of the time, she said. And a lot of times, its just an issue of cost. And to me, its unfathomable that you have someone with a medical diagnosis and they cant access a cure because of the cost. And we know that in other states thats not an issue.

To help pay for their infertility treatment, the Wilsons created a GoFund me account to pool money from friends, family and sympathetic strangers. And they applied to a handful of grants, two of which they received. But still, the fertility treatment for their first son cost them $14,000 out of pocket. To conceive their second child, it took three more rounds of treatment.

Read more health stories from The Colorado Sun

Tipper says she and her husband havent encountered the cost barriers that a lot of people face. They have health coverage through her husbands company, which is based in Massachusetts, where insurance companies are required to cover infertility treatment.

And even though we have insurance, we still pay a lot of money out of pocket for it, she added.

What I realized early on is that what people do when they dont have insurance coverage is they go into debt. They get second mortgages on their house. They max out their credit cards. They work three jobs. All so they can have a family, said Tipper.

Which adds a lot of stress, and makes it even harder to get pregnant, she says.

Infertility is also still a really stigmatized topic, Tipper said. We dont talk about it a lot, and it can be so isolating for people.

She said when she started drafting the bill, she was overwhelmed by how many individuals reached out to share their difficult fertility stories.

Weve had [legislative] aids telling their representatives that theyve struggled with this issue and representatives who have shared in confidence with us that they struggle with this too, Tipper said.

There are so many people, even in this chamber, that have been impacted by this issue.

The Wilsons frequently speak about their struggles with infertility and the lack of insurance coverage for such. In 2016, they traveled to Washington to lobby Congress to include IVF treatment in military insurance coverage.

The VA now covers some infertility treatment, but the criteria couples have to meet is stringent, Crystal said. The Wilsons were denied and had to appeal their case nine times before they finally received assistance from the VA for treatment to have their second son. But the IVF failed, and they had to do the process again at a different clinic.

We want to make sure that anybody that is diagnosed with infertility after us dont have to fight like we did, Crystal Wilson said. We dont want other people, years or generations down the line, to have to fight the same fight.

Crystal said that the conversation at Colorados Capitol on Wednesday felt different.

The fact that every single representative on the committee voted in favor of the bill was, honestly, to my recollection, has never happened in any other state, and in D.C., it definitely didnt happen, Crystal Wilson said.

Rep. Perry Will, a Republican from New Castle, choked up while trying to express his support for the bill. My grandkids are the most important thing that God gave me, he said.

Later, he shared with The Colorado Sun that his daughter struggled for years to get pregnant. And fertility treatment helped give him a grandchild. Now he has three.

Infertility is a bipartisan issue, Will said. It impacts everyone. Its about family.

The bill now heads to the House Appropriations Committee for its next hearing. If signed into law, the legislation would take effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

Updated at 8:05 a.m. on Feb. 14, 2020: This story was updated to correct attribution of a quote. Dr. Sara Barton, testifying about the effectiveness of artificial insemination techniques, said So its largely an ineffective treatment, but its the one that insurance companies will cover.

An earlier version of the story also misidentified the home cities of two lawmakers, Rep. Leslie Herod, a Democrat from Denver, and Rep. Perry Will, a Republican from New Castle. Also, the status of House Bill 1158 was described incorrectly. It next heads to the House Appropriations Committee.

This reporting is made possible by our members. You can directly support independent watchdog journalism in Colorado for as little as $5 a month. Start here: coloradosun.com/join

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One in eight people struggle with infertility. Colorado lawmakers want insurance to cover treatment - The Colorado Sun

So many noticeable things happen when you lose weight your clothes fit better, you have more energy and you may even feel more confident. But what is actually happening inside your body when the scale ticks down?

The benefits of losing 10 pounds go far beyond appearance.

Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Well, quite a lot, as it turns out. And these positive changes might start sooner than you think. In fact, when you lose just 10 pounds especially if you're overweight it can kickstart a whole host of bodily shifts toward better health.

To fully understand the biology of weight loss would take the equivalent of 30 semester hours. To save you the trouble of enrolling in university, here's a brief explanation of what's really happening in your body during the early stages of weight loss and the benefits of losing 10 pounds.

You gain weight when you eat more calories than your body needs to support its basic functions think: respiration and digestion and energy output, including exercise. Your body converts these excess calories to fat and stores it in your fat cells for later, just in case there's a shortage.

When that shortage doesn't come, and when you continue to exceed your calorie needs, more and more fat is stored in your fat cells, which begin to grow larger and larger. This is the reason your pants seem to get smaller and smaller.

But when you start to lose weight, the opposite happens.

"Dieting produces a condition of negative energy balance, where energy in is less than energy expended. The body must then use stored energy to survive, which primarily comes from our fat cells," Joseph Houmard, PhD, director of the human performance laboratory and professor of kinesiology at East Carolina University, tells LIVESTRONG.com. "With this 'stress' of negative energy balance, hormones in the bloodstream magnify the ability of the fat cells to release stored fat to be used for energy in other tissues."

As this happens, your fat cells shrink and your pants seem to get bigger and bigger.

This doesn't happen immediately, though. According to authors of a research review published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in March 2014, during the early stage of weight loss the body is primarily burning stored carbohydrates and protein as well as a considerable amount of water.

This early phase lasts several days or weeks, until the body shifts to burning fat for energy. You can expect your fat cells to start whittling away by the time you reach the 10-pound mark, though, which means you'll start noticing changes in the mirror.

A drop in blood pressure is one of the positive things that happen when you lose 10 pounds.

Credit: annebaek/iStock/GettyImages

Beyond being able to wear skinny jeans, one of the most important reasons to lose 10 pounds or more is heart health.

Being overweight increases the volume of blood your body must circulate through your blood vessels, which increases strain on the arteries, according to the Mayo Clinic. Over time, high blood pressure can lead to a narrowing and hardening of the arteries, affecting their ability to carry fresh, oxygenated blood to the heart. This increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease.

The good news is that your blood volume decreases quite quickly when you start to lose weight. "The efficiency of weight loss is quite remarkable, with as little as 2 pounds of weight loss producing a one point drop in blood pressure," Dr. Houmard says. "Thus, relatively modest amounts of weight loss in the range of 4 to 8 pounds can decrease blood pressure by 3 to 8 points, which is significant in terms of reducing risk for heart disease and other conditions."

Just how weight loss reduces blood pressure is complex. According to Dr. Houmard, it has to do with a combination of changing hormones, better kidney function and a decreased strain on the heart.

Other mechanisms behind decreasing blood pressure and blood volume involve terms like "natriuretic peptides" and "renin-angiotensin-aldosterone." But by now you get the basic idea without going into full-on geek mode.

Hormones are your body's Uber. They carry chemical messages through your bloodstream and tissues that affect things like your metabolism, growth and development, reproduction, sexual function and mood. But excess body fat can affect the normal functioning of hormones, according to Harvard Health Publishing, and the processes they affect that are crucial to health.

A wealth of research, including a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in July 2012, has shown that being overweight or obese can increase a woman's risk of hormone-receptive breast cancer. According to BreastCancer.org, the association isn't fully understood, but it's likely due to increases in hormones, including estrogen, that occur with excess weight.

"Estrogenically active fat is linked with breast cancer. If the fat a woman lost was fat that produced estrogen, then hormonal levels will decrease when that fat is lost. This is why weight loss is recommended to reduce the risk of breast cancer," explains Denise Pickett-Bernard PhD, RDN, LDN, a certified practitioner with the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Losing weight can help normalize hormone levels pretty quickly. In the 2012 Journal of Clinical Oncology study, the women lost 10 percent of their body weight, on average, during the 12-month trial, and markers of several estrogen-like hormones, as well as testosterone, decreased by between 10 and 26 percent.

Interestingly enough, whether the women lost the weight via diet only or by a combination of diet and exercise affected the results. Women who both dieted and engaged in regular exercise had much greater decreases in the potentially risky hormones.

It's not all good news, however. While potentially dangerous levels of some hormones change favorably, other unfavorable hormonal changes may take place, and these can affect your ability to lose 10 pounds and then keep the weight off. "Humans are hardwired to store body fat in case of a famine," says Pickett-Bernard. As explained in a research review published in the International Journal of Obesity in August 2015, our bodies tends to adjust to a calorie deficit in an effort to maintain homeostasis and hold onto fat stores.

To maintain status quo, levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin increase, while levels of appetite-suppressing leptin decrease. These hormonal changes can persist even after you've reached your goal, making it difficult to sustain your weight loss.

When you lose 10 pounds via exercise, your muscles and calorie burn will change along with your weight.

Credit: vitapix/E+/GettyImages

If you lose 10 pounds with the help of exercise, your body will adapt, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the beginning of a new workout regimen, you're more likely to see fast results in muscle gain and fat loss. Your body is less conditioned, so you have to work harder, and you'll burn more calories than someone who is more conditioned doing the same activity.

The good news is you're getting fitter; the bad news is that you'll have to gradually progress the intensity, duration and/or frequency of your workouts to continue to achieve results.

Being overweight increases your chances of having a sleep disorder, and having a sleep disorder increases your chances of being overweight, say the authors of a March 2013 review in Nature of Science and Sleep. Talk about a double-whammy.

The good news is that losing 10 pounds can improve your sleep along with your risk factors for obesity. In a 2012 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 77 volunteers who were either overweight or obese and who reported a variety of sleep disorders were divided into two intervention groups a weight-loss diet or a weight-loss diet plus exercise.

After six months, both groups had lost 15 pounds and 15 percent of their belly fat. As a result, both groups improved their overall sleep score by approximately 20 percent. Based on those findings, losing even 10 pounds is likely to help you sleep a lot more soundly.

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What Really Happens to Your Body When You Lose 10 Pounds - LIVESTRONG.COM

Dublin, Feb. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Stem Cell Therapy Contract Manufacturing Market, 2019-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report features an extensive study on contract service providers engaged in the development and manufacturing of stem cell therapies. The study features in-depth analyses, highlighting the capabilities of various stem cell therapy CMOs

Advances in the fields of cell biology and regenerative medicine have led to the development of a variety of stem cell-based therapies for many cardiovascular, oncological, metabolic and musculoskeletal disorders. Driven by the revenues generated from stem cell therapies, the regenerative medicine market is anticipated to generate revenues worth USD 100 billion by 2030.

With a promising pipeline of over 200 stem cell therapy candidates, it has become essential for developers to scale up the production of such therapeutic interventions. Given that stem cell therapy manufacturing requires highly regulated, state-of-the-art technologies, it is difficult for stakeholders to establish in-house expertise for large-scale manufacturing of stem cell therapies.

As a result, stem cell therapy developers have begun outsourcing their manufacturing operations to contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs). Specifically, small and mid-sized players in this sector tend to outsource a substantial proportion of clinical and commercial-scale manufacturing processes to contract service providers. In addition, even big pharma players, with established in-house capabilities, are gradually entering into long-term business relationships with CMOs in order to optimize resource utilization and manage costs.

According to a recent Nice Insight CDMO survey, about 55% of 700 respondents claimed to have collaborated with a contract service provider for clinical and commercial-scale product development requirements. Considering the prevalent trends, we believe that the stem cell therapy manufacturing market is poised to grow at a steady pace, driven by a robust pipeline of therapy candidates and technological advances aimed at mitigating challenges posed by conventional methods of production. Amidst tough competition, the availability of cutting-edge tools and technologies has emerged as a differentiating factor and is likely to grant a competitive advantage to certain CMOs over other players in the industry.

One of the key objectives of the report was to estimate the future size of the market. Based on parameters, such as increase in number of clinical studies, target patient population, anticipated adoption of stem cell therapies and expected variation in manufacturing costs, we have provided an informed estimate of the likely evolution of the market in the mid to long term, for the period 2019-2030.

Amongst other elements, the report includes:

In order to provide a detailed future outlook, our projections have been segmented on the basis of:

Key Topics Covered

1. Preface

2. Executive Summary

3. Introduction

4. Market Overview

5. Regulatory Landscape

6. Stem Cell Therapy Contract Manufacturers in North America

7. Stem Cell Therapy Contract Manufacturers in Europe and Asia-Pacific

8. Partnerships and Collaboration

9. Contract Manufacturing Opportunity Assessment

10. Capacity Analysis

11. Demand Analysis

12. Market Forecast

13. Key Performance Indicators

14. Concluding Remark

15. Executive Insights

16. Appendix 1: Tabulated Data

17. Appendix 2: List of Companies and Organizations

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rktm8d

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.comLaura Wood, Senior Press Managerpress@researchandmarkets.comFor E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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Stem Cell Therapy Contract Manufacturing Industry, 2019-2030 - Availability of Cutting-Edge Tools & Technologies has Emerged as a Differentiating...

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) reported its fourth-quarter financial results on Wednesday afternoon, substantially beating revenue expectations and impressing both analysts and investors alike.

Fourth-quarter revenue grew to $77 million, a substantial increase from the mere $100,000 reported in Q4 2018. Total annual revenue came in at $289.6 million, while last year's income came in at a much smaller $3.1 million. While this surge is mainly due to collaboration agreements with Vertex Pharmaceuticals as opposed to product sales, it's still an impressive increase considering analysts had expected just $45.2 million for the quarter.

Image source: Getty Images.

Other financial metrics, such as CRISPR's cash position, have improved as well. By Dec. 31, cash and cash equivalents grew to $943.8 million, a 106.7% increase from the $456.6 million reported last year. The biotech company is also now reporting a net profit thanks to this revenue hike. Net income came in at $30.5 million, whereas last year CRISPR reported a net loss of $47.6 million in its 2018 fourth quarter.

CRISPR is developing four main treatments. CTX001 is a treatment for patients with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Both of these are genetic blood disorders that impact the blood's ability to transport oxygen throughout the body.

The company's three other drugs, CTX110, CTX120, and CTX130, are types of cancer treatments known as CAR-T therapies. While other healthcare companies are developing their own CAR-T drugs, these types of therapies tend to be quite expensive. CRISPR's technology could make the development process for these types of drugs much cheaper than their competition.

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CRISPR Therapeutics Reports Q4 Earnings, Beats Revenue Expectations - The Motley Fool

PHILADELPHIA - Three patients with advanced cancer suffered no serious side effects from being treated at the University of Pennsylvania in the first U.S. clinical study of cells edited with CRISPR, the gene editing technology.

But neither did they benefit, according to results published this month in Science. One patient with a bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma has died and another has progressed. A patient with sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, also progressed.

Pilot clinical trials are designed to assess safety, not effectiveness. And the inaugural U.S. test of CRISPR-edited cells in humans was so ethically and scientifically fraught that Penn spent more than two years getting necessary approvals for the January 2018 launch.

Still, the experiment was intended to combine and improve on two revolutionary immune-boosting approaches that showed startling effectiveness even in early trials. One approach, which cuts a natural brake on the immune system, has led to a class of cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors. The other approach genetically engineers immune soldiers called T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells; the first approved T-cell therapy, Novartis' Kymriah, was pioneered at Penn and Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania.

Although the CRISPR-edited cells did not melt away tumors or stop cancer progression, the cells did survive and grow in patients for up to nine months. In a previous Penn clinical trial that used engineered T cells to attack multiple myeloma, half the cells were dead in a week.

Penn T-cell researcher Carl June, principal leader of the new study and previous groundbreaking work, sees the CRISPR trial as another incremental step in a medical odyssey. CRISPR technology was invented just eight years ago, yet the version used by Penn is already so outmoded that the trial has been discontinued.

"We learned what we wanted to learn," June said of the study, on which Stanford University collaborated. "It opens up the door for a lot of new approaches."

What they learned was mostly reassuring.

The difficult, many-step manufacturing process was feasible. CRISPR was used on T cells to cut out two genes, one that codes for the immune system brake, and another that could hamper the T cells' ability to latch onto cancer cells. CRISPR also inserted a gene that enabled the T cells to recognize and target a protein found on the cancer cells but not healthy cells.

These edits accidentally caused some unusual rearrangements of DNA in a small fraction of T cells - one of the biggest worries with CRISPR. But as the T cells took hold and multiplied in patients, these rearrangements steadily decreased, "suggesting that they conferred no growth advantage," the researchers wrote.

The edited T cells did not trigger any of the dangerous toxicities related to revving up the immune system that are common with checkpoint inhibitors and engineered T cells.

However, the researchers noted that a longer trial with more patients and higher doses will be needed "to fully assess the safety of this approach."

A problem that has occurred with engineered T-cell therapies also showed up in the CRISPR trial: one patient's cancer cells stopped making the protein, called NY-ESO-1, that the T cells had been edited to target.

In future trials, "we would not just use NY-ESO-1 because we've learned the tumor can live without it," June said. "We'd want to use multiple targets."

Renier J. Brentjens, an oncologist and cell therapy researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, called the paper an important "proof of principle."

"The T cells persisted and found the tumors. It would have been nice to see remissions or tumor regression, but it doesn't necessarily mean the approach is flawed," Brentjens said. "It may be that the target they used is not sufficient."

(c)2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Continued here:
Study suggests editing human genes to fight cancer is safe. But does it work? - PostBulletin.com

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.51 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.04 per share. This compares to loss of $0.92 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 1,175%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.95 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.40, delivering a surprise of 352.63%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG, which belongs to the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, posted revenues of $77.02 million for the quarter ended December 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.42%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $0.12 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG shares have lost about 6.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 3.9%.

What's Next for CRISPR Therapeutics AG?

While CRISPR Therapeutics AG has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for CRISPR Therapeutics AG was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$1.08 on $7.50 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$4.65 on $30.04 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Medical - Biomedical and Genetics is currently in the top 28% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

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CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) Beats Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates - Yahoo Finance

The CRISPR Technology market report [5 Years Forecast 2020-2025] focuses on Major Leading Industry Players, providing info like market competitive situation, product scope, market overview, opportunities, driving force and market risks. Profile the top manufacturers of CRISPR Technology, with sales, revenue and global market share of CRISPR Technology are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast and speak to info. Upstream raw materials and instrumentation and downstream demand analysis is additionally administrated. The CRISPR Technology market business development trends and selling channels square measure analyzed. From a global perspective, It also represents overall industry size by analyzing qualitative insights and historical data.

The study encompasses profiles of major companies operating in the global CRISPR Technology market. Key players profiled in the report includes : Thermo Fisher Scientific, Merck KGaA, GenScript, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), Horizon Discovery Group, Agilent Technologies, Cellecta, GeneCopoeia, New England Biolabs, Origene Technologies, Synthego Corporation, Toolgen and among others.

Get Free Sample PDF (including full TOC, Tables and Figures) of CRISPR Technology Market @https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid2374634

This CRISPR Technology market report provides a comprehensive analysis of:Industry overview, cost structure analysis, technical data and competitive analysis, topmost players analysis, development trend analysis, overall market overview, regional market analysis, consumers analysis and marketing type analysis.

Scope of CRISPR Technology Market:

The global CRISPR Technology market is valued at million US$ in 2019 and will reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2020-2025. The objectives of this study are to define, segment, and project the size of the CRISPR Technology market based on company, product type, application and key regions.

This report studies the global market size of CRISPR Technology in key regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central & South America and Middle East & Africa, focuses on the consumption of CRISPR Technology in these regions.

This research report categorizes the global CRISPR Technology market by players/brands, region, type and application. This report also studies the global market status, competition landscape, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, sales channels, distributors, customers, research findings & conclusion, appendix & data source and Porters Five Forces Analysis.

The end users/applications and product categories analysis:

On the basis on the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate foreach application.

On the basis of product,this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate ofeach type.

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CRISPR Technology Market The Regional analysis covers:

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CRISPR Technology Market 2020 Trends, Emerging Technologies and Growth Analysis BY Forecast to 2025 - Nyse Nasdaq Live

EPS growth is an important number as it gives a suggestion of the future prospects of a company. It is usually expressed as a percentage and is then referred to as the EPS growth rate. Growth in EPS is an important measure of administration performance because it shows how much money the company is making for its investors or shareholders, not only because of changes in profit, but also after all the effects of issuance of new shares (this is especially important when the growth comes as a result of acquisition).

CRISPR Therapeutics AG, belongs to Healthcare sector and Biotechnology industry. The companys Market capitalization is $3.48B with the total Outstanding Shares of 437. On 14-02-2020 (Friday), CRSP stock construct a change of -3.99 in a total of its share price and finished its trading at 55.8.

Profitability Ratios (ROE, ROA, ROI):

Looking into the profitability ratios of CRSP stock, an investor will find its ROE, ROA, ROI standing at -2.6%, -2% and -40.7%, respectively. Return on assets (ROA) is a financial ratio that shows the percentage of profit a company earns about its overall resources. A performance measure used to estimate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the ability of some different investments. ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investments cost.

Earnings per Share Details of CRISPR Therapeutics AG:

The EPS of CRSP is strolling at -0.46, measuring its EPS growth this year at -101.6%. As a result, the company has an EPS growth of -1824% for the approaching year.

Given the significance of identifying companies that will make sure earnings per share at a tall rate, we later obsession to umpire how to identify which companies will achieve high amassing rates. One obvious showing off to identify high earnings per portion count together companies are to locate companies that have demonstrated such build up beyond the p.s. 5 to 10 years.

We cant have sufficient maintenance the once will always replicate the difficult, but logically stocks that have grown earnings per allowance strongly in the subsequent to are a fine bet to keep on to take effect as a result.

Analysts mean target price for the company is $74.96 while analysts mean suggestion is 2.2.

A beta factor is used to measure the volatility of the stock. The stock remained 6.36% volatile for the week and 4.49% for the month.

Historical Performance In The News:

Taking a look at the performance of CRISPR Therapeutics AG stock, an investor will come to know that the weekly performance for this stock is valued at 6.65%, resulting in a performance for the month at -6.31%.

Therefore, the stated figure displays a quarterly performance of 1.45%, bringing six-month performance to 21.04% and year to date performance of -8.38%.

P/S, P/E, P/C and P/B/ SMA50, SMA 200:

The price-to-sales is a valuation ratio that relates a companys stock price to its revenues. The price-to-sales ratio is a symbol of the value placed on each dollar of a companys sales or taxes. As of now, CRSP has a P/S, P/E and P/B values of 16.37, 0 and 5.17 respectively. P/E and P/B ratios both are used on a regular basis by the investor to measure the value of the company and to get the right amount of the share.

Its P/Cash valued at 5.53. The price-to-cash-flow ratio is a stock valuation indicator that measures the value of a stocks price to its cash flow per share

What do you mean by simple moving average (SMA)?

A simple moving average (SMA) is an arithmetic moving average calculated by adding the closing price of the security for some time periods and then dividing this total by the number of time periods. Its distance from 20-days simple moving average is 0.5%, and its distance from 50 days simple moving average is -8.64% while it has a distance of 11.83% from the 200 days simple moving average. The companys distance from 52-week high price is 437% and while the current price is 437% from 52-week low price.

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Current Technicals:: CRISPR Therapeutics AG, (NASDAQ: CRSP) - NasdaqNewsFeed

Crispr Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Equities researchers at Oppenheimer lowered their Q1 2020 earnings per share estimates for Crispr Therapeutics in a research report issued on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer analyst S. Tuerkcan now anticipates that the company will earn ($1.00) per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of ($0.89). Oppenheimer has a Outperform rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Crispr Therapeutics Q2 2020 earnings at ($1.07) EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at ($1.16) EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at ($1.14) EPS, FY2020 earnings at ($4.38) EPS, FY2021 earnings at ($4.80) EPS, FY2022 earnings at ($5.90) EPS, FY2023 earnings at ($3.52) EPS and FY2024 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

Crispr Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $1.19. The business had revenue of $77.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $39.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.92) earnings per share. Crispr Therapeuticss quarterly revenue was up 76900.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Shares of CRSP opened at $55.80 on Monday. Crispr Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $30.75 and a fifty-two week high of $74.00. The firms 50 day moving average price is $57.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.03.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Crispr Therapeutics by 1,373.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,739 shares of the companys stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 13,739 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crispr Therapeutics by 672.8% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 47,140 shares of the companys stock worth $2,871,000 after acquiring an additional 41,040 shares during the period. First Republic Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crispr Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $294,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Crispr Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $145,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Crispr Therapeutics by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,167 shares of the companys stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736 shares during the period. 50.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

In other Crispr Therapeutics news, Director Pablo J. Cagnoni sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $465,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Rodger Novak sold 33,618 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $2,353,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,260. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 21.40% of the companys stock.

About Crispr Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG, a gene editing company, focuses on developing transformative gene-based medicines for the treatment of serious human diseases using its regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated protein-9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene-editing platform in Switzerland. Its lead product candidate is CTX001, an ex vivo CRISPR gene-edited therapy for treating patients suffering from dependent beta thalassemia or severe sickle cell disease in which a patient's hematopoietic stem cells are engineered to produce high levels of fetal hemoglobin in red blood cells.

Featured Article: What is diluted earnings per share (Diluted EPS)?

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Brokers Offer Predictions for Crispr Therapeutics AGs Q1 2020 Earnings (NASDAQ:CRSP) - Enterprise Echo

Defining life is hard. Plants, animals, and amoebas certainly fit, butwhat about virusesorprions? For those who put viruses on the non-living side of that division, things just got a bit awkward with the discovery of hundreds of viruses whose genome resembles bacteria.

Bacteriophages are bacteria-infecting viruses. Some have been usedin place of antibiotics, but their diversity is so great we've barely scratched the surface. Now, a study published inNaturehas turned up 351 bacteriophage species with genomes at least four times as large as most members of their class, almost four times the number known when the study began. These viruses have characteristics usually associated with living organisms, blurring the lines between life and non-life.

One genomic giant has 735,000 base-pairs, 15 times as many as a typical phage, beating the previous 596,000 record and more than many bacteria. The paper notes many of these jumbophages and megaphages are related, suggesting their genome size is an evolutionary stable trait, rather than something that occurred recently.

Large genomes are sometimes full of junk DNA, but these viruses are different. These enormous genomes carry parts of the CRISPR system. Now made famous as a method by which humans can edit our own genes withexceptional precision and power, CRISPR originated as a way for bacteria to fight off viral attacks. In the microbial worlds, where genesget shuffledbetween species, it seems these bacteriophages got hold of CRISPR and turned it to their own ends. Co-first author UC Berkeley graduate studentBasem Al-Shayebthinks the bacteriophages deploy CRISPR to defeat other viruses they battle for control of host bacteria.

These phages inhabit an astonishing variety of locations, from human guts and mouths to soils, hot springs and freshwater lakes, sometimes with closely related jumbophages found in very different environments.

"We are exploring Earth's microbiomes, and sometimes unexpected things turn up. These viruses of bacteria are a part of biology, of replicating entities, that we know very little about," Professor Jill Banfield said in astatement. There definitely seem to be successful strategies of existence that are hybrids between what we think of as traditional viruses and traditional living organisms."

Combined with this week's announcement of a virus containingmostly genes we've never seen beforewe're learning how little we know about the genetics of viruses that don't infect us.

The team suspects understanding bacteriophages' CRISPR adaptations will provide pointers for how we can use it ourselves.

Although phages don't directly infect humans, they can affect our health because they accelerate the transfer of genes between bacteria, including spreading those for antibiotic resistance. Banfield noted that larger genomes are more able to facilitate such gene transfer, so her discoveries may be particularly dangerous, making it important we learn to understand them better.

See more here:
Hundreds Of New Viruses With Enormous Genomes Blur The Boundaries Of Life - IFLScience

Key point:Raytheon is offering an update to the Patton that makes it a killer (of tanks), but not a survivor.

Just how far can you soup up a tank from the 1960s?

The M60 Patton was the mainstay of the U.S tank fleet in the 1960s and 1970s, before being replaced by the M1 Abrams tank currently in service. However, more than five thousand Pattons remain in service in the armies of nineteen countries. Earlier this year, Raytheon unveiled its Service-Life Extension Package (SLEP) upgrade featuring a new engine, fire control system and 120-millimeter gun.

This M60 SLEP is in competition with a pre-existing three-tier upgrade offered by Israel Military Industries for their M60Sabra. Sabras in Turkish service, designated the M60T, are active on the battlefield of Northern Syria today, while older-model Pattons are fighting on both sides of the war in Yemen.

The new Pattons are faster and deadlierbut are theytoughenough for the modern battlefield?

Americas Cold War Battle Tank

The M60 traces its ancestry all the way back to the M26 Pershing heavy tank, a few dozen of which saw action at the end of the World War II. The Pershing was evolved into a series of Patton tanks armed with 90mm guns, including the M46, M47 and M48. The M60, introduced in 1960, was the last: a tall-profiled brawler designed to outmatch the ubiquitous Soviet T-54 tank by virtue of its heavier armor and long M68 105 millimeter gun.

The 50-ton M60s were deployed to Europe in case World War III broke out, anddidntsee action in the Vietnam War, except for some bridge-laying and engineering variants. Instead, M48 tanks took on North Vietnamese PT-76s and T-54s in a small number of engagements, and evenbattled Swedish-made tanks in the Dominican Republic.

It was in the Middle East that the M60 Patton first showed its mettle. During the Yom Kippur War, Israeli M60s rumbled to the rescue of the Seventh and 188th Armored Brigades on the Golan Heights, breaking the back of a Syrian onslaught numbering over 3 thousand tanks. However, on the southern front, AT-3 anti-tank missiles devastated M60s counterattacking the Egyptian beachhead on the Suez canal. The Pattons tall profile made it an easy target, while its frontally mounted hydraulics were prone to bursting into flames when the armor was penetrated. Nonetheless, the Israelis were so fond of the Patton that they kept it in service until 2014, upgrading them into several generations ofMagachtanks.

The Patton saw quite a few upgrades over its service life. The avant-garde M60A2 Starship variant used a 155-millimeter gun that could fire Shillelagh anti-tank missiles; it was quickly phased out because of crippling technical limitations. The final version, the M60A3 TTS, came with improved fire control systems and thermal sights that made it an effective night fighter. Some Marine Corps Pattons were even fitted with explosive-reactive armor.

However, by the 1980s the Soviet Union had exported large numbers of the T-72 tank, which equaled or outmatched the Patton in armor and firepower. Meanwhile, the United States introduced the M1 Abrams tank, which proved a decisive technological leap ahead in both firepower (once it received a 120 millimeter gun) and protection, thanks to its composite armor.

The last U.S. M60s were operated by the Marine Corps, and finally saw heavy combat in the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, knocking out around 100 Iraqi tanks for the loss of a single Patton. However, that reflected the unequal training and tactics of the opposing sides more than anything else, and shortly afterwards the Patton was phased out of U.S. service.

However, M60s remain the most numerous main battle tank in service in many countries today, including Egypt (1,700), Turkey (932), Taiwan (450), Saudi Arabia (450), Morocco (427), Thailand (178), and Bahrain (180.)

Whats Improved in the SLEP and Sabra M60s?

Raytheons SLEP upgrade focuses on improved firepower and mobility.

First, it replaces the old M68 gun with the potent 120mm M256 gun used in the Abrams tank. This will transform the Patton from a tank that would struggle against a 1980s era T-72 to one that can penetrate most modern tanks. Furthermore, so as to actually hit the target, the M60 SLEP has a new digital targeting system taken from the M1A1D to replace the Pattons dated technology. Modern targeting computers have made tank gunnery while moving viable, so this is a big plus. Finally, the hydraulic system for rotating the turret has been replaced with an electric one, increasing rotation speed and reducing the aforementioned bursting into flames problem when hit.

Second, Raytheon has replaced the 750 horsepower diesel engine with a brand new 950 horsepower motor. This is nice, because the basic M60 lumbers at 30 miles per hour, while maximum speeds over 40 miles per hour are typical for modern Western tanks.

Now, the prototype filmed in Raytheonspromo videoalso has a lot of features theydontadvertise: slat armor, which can be effective at deflecting shaped charge warheads in rocket propelled grenades, add-on armor panels, and an auxiliary power unit and cooling fans in the back. It appears that these arenotstandard features of the SLEP upgrade.

For comparison, the Israeli Sabra II upgrade also boasts a 120 millimeter gun of comparable performance paired with a new targeting computer, as well as a superior 1 thousand horsepower engine which increases speed to 34 miles per hour. Unlike the SLEP, the Sabra also has beefed up armor, giving the turret an angular shape. This includes the addition of explosive-reactive armorthat is, bricks of explosive that prematurely detonate incoming missiles and shells as well as appliqu armor plates.

A similarMagach7C tank fitted with appliqu armor reportedly survived eighteen hits from Hezbollah AT-3 Sagger missiles without being penetrated. However, the Sagger dates back to the 1960s and current missiles have far greater penetrating power.

How Useful Are Those Upgrades?

The more powerful engines will help the Patton keep up with other mechanized units on the battlefield. However, even with the upgrade, the M60s power-to-weight ratio isnt stellar.

With the 120-millimeter gun and new fire control system, the M60 can both hit and destroy the majority of tanks in use today at medium to long range. M60 operators will likely lack the advanced M829E3 and E4 depleted uranium rounds designed to circumvent the most sophisticated reactive armor systems, but few operational tanks benefit from them so far. So, the M60 SLEP could be a decent tank hunter.

However, the majority of tanks on the battlefield these daysarentfighting other tanks. Theyre exchanging fire with insurgent infantryincreasing numbers of whom are packing modern long-range anti-tank guided missiles like the Kornet, as well as more widespread short-range rocket propelled grenades. The best of these weapons have proven effective even against modern tanks such as the M1 and Merkava.

The Patton is considerably more vulnerable than the M1 or Merkavaand even the older T-72! The Pattons old-fashioned cast steel frontal armor is rated equivalent to 253 millimeters Rolled Hardened Armor, the standard measure of tank armor effectiveness. Modern tanks use composite armor which is drastically more effective for the same weight, especially against shaped charge warheads. A modern M1A2 is rated equivalent to around 800 millimeters verses tanks shells and 1300 verses shaped charges.

By contrast, 90s-era 120 millimeter sabot shells could pierce the equivalent of around 700 RHA, and the AT-17 Kornet anti-tank missile can penetrate 1300 millimeters.

The Patton is also easier to hit because of its tall profile, and more likely to burst into flames when penetrated because the main gun ammunition isnotstowed separately, as it is in the Abrams.

The M60 SLEP doesnt feature improved armor. The upgraded Sabradoesand we know already how the up-armored Pattons have fared against anti-tank guided missiles thanks to Turkey.

On April 21 of this year, a Turkish M60T in Bashiqueh, Iraq,was struck by an ISIS tandem-charge Kornet anti-tank missile, damaging the vehicle but not harming the crew. However, the tank appears to have been put out of operation.

In August this year, Turkish M60A3 and M60T poured over the border in support of allied rebels as part of Operation Euphrates Shield, first chasing ISIS out of the town of Jarablus without a fight and then attacking Kurdish militias. Kurdish fightersknocked outseveral M60s with long-range missiles, inflicting the first Turkish casualties in the intervention.

Turkish M60T Sabra tanks eventually redirected their firepower against ISIS-held townsand unfortunately, were subject to a series of successful attacks by Kornet missiles. In the videos posted online, two of the three Pattons destroyed burst into flames.

In the second incident, only one of the crew survived. By now it is believed at least eleven Turkish Pattons have been destroyed in Syria.

The situation is even worse in Yemen, where Pattons are operated both by Army units supporting Houthi rebels as well as Saudi Arabia. More than 22 destroyed Pattonshave been recorded in the conflict.

See the original post here:
Could America's Old M60 Patton Tank Fight In a War Right Now? - The National Interest Online

Just ten days ago we published a last-gasp Call for Entries to the A Design Awards and Competitionand now its do or die. Well, miss out on the chance to be honoured in one of over 100 main categories and many more sub-categories; honoured in the largest and most diverse design competition in the world.

A Design Award Winners Exhibition.

If you were still debating submitting an entry, take heedas today were here to advise that the deadline for submission is 28 February. With a whole host of benefits and opportunities to be wonincluding representing your country in the World Design Rankings, international press coverage, the invaluable chance of having your designs critiqued by an esteemed panel of academics, members of the press, and experienced academics, a physical trophy, access to the esteemed gala-night presentation, and much moreits high time to get your act together and your work submitted.

If youre unsure of how to classify your designs, take a look at adesignaward.com, where youll find a list of the most popular A Design Award & Competition categories, including Interior Space and Exhibition Design; Architecture, Building and Structure Design; Arts, Crafts and Ready-Made Design; Street Furniture Design; Advertising, Marketing and Communication Design; and Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design. For those whose work could be classed as niche, take a look at the full list here adesignaward.com/design-award-categories.

With just 11 days remaining to be a part of this esteemed competition and reward yourself and your country in the process, we cannot stress enough the importance of not delaying any further. Some of our favourite winning designs will be featured on We Heart on 15 April, and you could be one of them. Until then, take a look at some past winners. But only after youve registered your own potential winning entry. Hurry.

@adesignaward

Barin Ski Resort by Ryra Design Studio, Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category, 20152016.

Hans Gretel Packaging by Antonia Skaraki, Winner in Packaging Design Category, 20182019.

Skynet Display Space by Kris Lin, Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Category, 20162017.

Slash Lamp Lighting Object by Dragos Motica, Winner in Limited Edition and Custom Design Category, 20142015.

Tarkeeb Gate House and Garden Security Booth by William Sarnecky and Michael Hughes, Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category, 20182019.

Jiangshan Fishing Village Renovation Renovation by Mix Architecture,Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category, 20182019.

Cecilip Facade by Dante Luna G, Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category, 20182019.

P Y Lung Breath Training Game by Yuzhen Lin, Yiting Chang and Yuhsiang Hou, Winner in Toy, Games and Hobby Products Design Category, 20182019.

Taetea Tea Experience and Retail by Jie Liu,Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Category, 20182019.

Rising Canes Architecture Modular by Chris Precht, Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category, 20152016.

Da Chang Muslim Cultural Center Cultural by Hejingtang Studio, Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category, 20172018.

Life Extension Residential House by Pin-Chi Yu, Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Category, 20172018.

Wuliepoch Culture Center Culture Center by Yingfan Zhang and Xiaojun Bu, Winner in Interior Space Design Category, 20182019.

Continued here:
Have you completed a creative project that deserves global recognition? Move fast, it's your last chance to register for this year's A' Design...

TIRUCHI

The Indian Institute of Metals, Tiruchi Chapter, has teamed up with Welding Research Institute to conduct a two-day programme on Engineering and Life Extension aspects of Boilers on February 24 and 25.

The programme will highlight the latest trends in boiler design and life extension aspects to original equipment manufacturers, consultants, faculty, researchers and students, a press release issued by the Chairman of Tiruchi Chapter Daniel Sahayaraj said.

Aspiring participants can correspond through email tmaqiim@gmail.com or visit website http://www.iimtiruchi.org or contact over phone: 9442130409, the release said.

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In a step forward towards addressing the issue of regular spares and support for Russian military equipment with the armed forces, 14 MoUs were signed between Indian and Russian companies for setting up joint ventures covering a range of equipment from modern T-90 tanks to legacy Pechora air defence systems.

The MoUs were signed during the 5th India Russia military industry conference held during the Defexpo 2020 in Lucknow. They come under the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on joint manufacturing of spares in India signed last September for mutual cooperation in manufacturing of spares, components, aggregates and other material related to Russian or Soviet-origin arms and defence equipment.

The first Request for Proposal for manufacturing of parts in India under the provision of IGA was also handed over by the Navy to the identified Indian industry, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. The conference was co-chaired by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary and Oleg Ryazantsev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia.

One MoU was signed between the Spetz-Radio Corporation of Russia and the Ananth Technologies based in Hyderabad for the development, production and manufacture of small spacecraft for remote sensing. Joint creation and commercial use [providing a radio frequency resource] of a network of ground control stations for small spacecraft and a network of ground stations for the reception and processing of earth remote sensing data, a list of the agreements concluded said.

One important MoU was signed between the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and the Almaz Antey of Russia for exploring the feasibility of establishing a joint venture in India for the production of various sub systems of air defence missile systems like Tunguska, Kavadrat, the OSA-AKA, Pechora air defence system as well as the Shilka self-propelled air defence gun system. The MoU also covered refurbishment and life extension of the missiles. Most of these air defence systems are now in the process of being phased out and replaced with new ones.

Saying India has taken a number of steps to expedite the collaboration with Russian companies, Dr. Kumar called for expeditious implementation from the Russian side as well which has some procedural issues to sort out. There are also agreements on emerging technologies Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain and robotics based on Russian technologies under the proposed Indo-Russian Joint Venture ICT Center of Excellence.

Lack of timely spares and support has been a constant issue faced by the military a major part of which consists of Russian defence hardware. Several such support agreements are in the pipeline and expected to be concluded soon, officials said.

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Martha* looks expensive. Not freshly minted footballers wife expensive. Not bouncy-haired ladies who dont lunch expensive. But quietly expensive: skin that glimmers like the Cullinan Diamond; a body as smooth as Carrara marble. Just unmistakably well crafted. And so she should: the 34-year-old luxury retailer spends almost 4,000 a month thats how much it costs to be tweaked and perfected by the latest advances in health.

Theres the weekly three-minute cryotherapy sessions at 100 a pop. Then theres the 200 personal training workouts, of which she has four each week. Theres also the mandatory 150 monthly vitamin drip and at least one massage a fortnight (call it 160), as well as a personalised supplement plan that seems a bargain at 50 per week. Thats around 4,000, including the cryo, but not including facials and beauty things, of course, she says. Of course. And, to be fair, its working for her. With her plump, practically line-free face, and raven hair so shiny you could almost reapply your lipstick in front of it, she is a walking advertisement for the power of whacking a hefty monthly mortgage payment at your health.

But how much is good health really worth? Apparently, when youre part of the super-rich set, the answer is: a lot. When UBS investment bank surveyed its millionaires, nine out of ten agreed that health is more important than wealth with its highest earners willing to give up half of their fortune to guarantee an extra decade of good health. Because when you have everything money can buy, what you really want is the one thing it cant. Until now.

An entire industry has sprung up over the past decade, catering largely to the wealthiest 1%, but also to mere fiscal mortals, too, who aspire to perfect health in the way they once aspired to own a Birkin bag. Take last years two-day Goop conference, where doctors, scientists and health-mad celebrities took to the stage at Londons Re:Centre sanctuary. A one-day ticket set visitors back 1,000. But for a two-day, full-access pass with VIP workouts and a room at the shiny new Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel? Try 4,500.(According to Goop, all of these full-access tickets sold out.)

'They can throw as much at their health and body as they like, with MRI scans, DNA tests...'

Or take the new offering from the exclusive Arts Club in London, which has teamed up with Lanserhof, the almost mythical Austrian health retreat that has been peddling longevity and luminosity for decades. Now, those members can pay 6,500 a year (non-members will have to cough up an extra 1,500) to have access to their on-site Lanserhof clinic. For that they can throw as much at their health and body as they like, with MRI scans, DNA tests, osteopathy sessions, shock wave therapy, acupuncture treatments... the list goes on. And on.

At the top end of the health scale, however, the sky is the limit. At RAAD fest, an annual conference held in the US attended by many of the worlds leading billionaires, a number of scientists and technologists parade the latest evolutions in healthcare. They are dystopian-sounding technologies, such as hyperbaric oxygen chambers that offer expediated healing, as well as stem cell IV infusions (yours for around 875 a pop).

What do they all have in common? A big price tag and the promise of immortality. After all, RAAD stands for The Revolution Against Ageing and Death, and is organised by the controversial Coalition for Radical Life Extension. Their mission: to help the super-rich dispose of their money before they hit their graves.But, ideally for them, not to hit their tombstones... ever.

Dr Sabine Donnai is the founder of private health service Viavi and creator of its Health Assessment and HealthStrategy, seen as the Aston Martin of health programmes. Donnai, previously the medical director at Nuffield Health Wellbeing, saw a gap in the market for an assessment that went beyond the norm. The market was there. Theyve worked hard, theyve made money and now they ask, I want to continue enjoying this, so what do I do?, she explains. They want the data. They want the control. They want to understand what their health looks like.

'They dont want to be hassled by illness, but want to live a better life'

Her clientele is split into two groups. The first: the worried well, seeking preventive measures. They come to us to understand a thorough picture of their health and what they can do to improve it, says Donnai. For example, a hormone test might reveal underlying reasons for weight gain, or a toxin level result might expose risks to your immune system. The second, smaller group have been diagnosed with a problem, but want to solve it rather than treat it. The difference is important. Say they have cancer we arent oncologists or surgeons, but our role might be to identify how they could prevent it from returning. They dont want to be hassled by illness, says Donnai. But want to live a better life.

Viavis assessment can go as far as the client chooses. In a single day, you can have everything from a transvaginal scan and breast ultrasound to a urine hormone screen and toxic body burden test. When I ask one client, an international business owner in her forties, why she chose to invest in the test, she says, Its the best. Its hard to put a price on it... she trails off. Viavi, however, is happy to do so: the full Health Assessment and Health Strategy costs 15,000.

On the other side of the city, Workshop Gymnasium is doing for fitness what Viavi is doing for health: catering to the demands of the richest 1%. Hidden in Knightsbridge, beneath the Bvlgari Hotel, it looks more like a hedge fund managers apartment than a gym, with wooden floors, honeyed lighting and towers of glossy green apples beside fans of shiny magazines.

Its top-tier membership will set you back 13,000 a year. There are also add-ons, including supplements and physiotherapy, pushing some members spend past the 20,000 mark. Its where Martha splurges on her 200 an hour PT sessions with founder Lee Mullins, who reports increasing interest in his services from around the world. (Workshop has locations in China, Milan, Dubai and Bali.) They want a customised approach and come for the assessments we offer to tailor their programme, he says of his client base of CEOs, entertainment industry types and models.

They also get training on demand Workshop offers a 24/7 service, in a private setting if requested, with total discretion. Mullins is tight-lipped about his celebrity clients, save a handful of models, including brand ambassadors Amelia Windsor, Clara Paget and Eliza Cummings. Clients can even have a trainer travel with them on business trips or holidays for a fee of up to 2,000 per day.

There are options for those with slightly less disposable income. At BelleCell, a biohacking clinic next to The Ritz London, packages are available at varying levels. Set in a 500-year-old vault, comprising a series of spaceship-like pods, it serves to optimise cell performance and recovery and offer effective health solutions total wellbeing on a molecular level. Which, in English, means they claim to make you better, stronger and healthier. This includes full bio-analysis tests and cell-optimising treatments (oxygen pods, vitamin infusions, alien-esque capsules in which to exercise). The top package, a Genetic Test for Life, will set you back almost 3,000, but therapies start from 110 in order to be accessible to everyone, says founder Kasia Zajkowska, a former molecular bio-scientist. Well, maybe not exactly everyone...

'She spends almost 10,000 a year on aesthetics alone'

Dropping up to 15,000 on a health test attracts a specific section of the super-wealthy, one thats already aware and selective about wellness, says Zajkowska. She claims theyre not doing it for vanity: Their choice to spend is for the most part not about aesthetics, but future proofing. For some, the investment in themselves does come with more of a beauty focus. Carrie, a 51-year-old property business company director, who lives in Cheshire, tells me that yes, she goes to the gym and takes supplements for health and longevity, but she wants to look better, too. She spends almost 10,000 a year on aesthetics alone (monthly facials, radio frequency and micro needling) money that is more than pocket-change to her. But shes willing to prioritise the spend for the results.

For many, even a single treatment at one of these clinics would be a luxury or an impossibility. Never mind a super-screening that costs more than some house deposits. But in England, with the NHS available to all, are they even necessary? Women are offered free cervical screening from the age of 25, free breast screening from 50 and a free NHS health check from 40. This extensive check looks for early signs of high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease and dementia. And, according to former NHS GP Dr Juliet McGrattan, it could be the better option, even when you do have money to blow, due to the legitimacy of the tests.

With any screening test, there is a possibility that a false positive (when something is detected that isnt actually a problem) or a false negative (when something is missed) may occur, she tells me. The NHS has meticulously evaluated its offering to try to ensure it has the lowest number of these results. Her worry is that private tests may not have been so thoroughly evaluated. She adds that private companies cant always offer care beyond the test, so you might be directed to your NHS GP anyway. In her opinion, theres no need to part with money.

As for Martha, her 4,000 monthly investment is about boosting energy, feeling better and staying strong, something us mere mortals can relate to as we weave a rather less extortionate version of wellness into our daily lives. But she admits, Appearances matter. I have to look the part and be seen to be taking part. It seems that consumption isnt always so inconspicuous after all.

*Name has been changed

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Meet The Super-Rich Spending 4000 A Month On Their Health - elle.com