Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

How is gene editing done?

Over the past decade, a new generation of genetic engineering techniques have been developed that are so quick, cheap and easy to use that they have transformed the field. The most significant is Crispr-Cas9, which was developed by Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier in 2012 (and for which they won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020).

Crispr is a technique that adapts the defence systems that some bacteria use to identify and attack viruses, so as to snip out and splice a piece of a living organisms DNA much as a film editor would cut and splice an old film reel. In the past, changing a single gene could take years. Now it can be done within days, at very low cost.

Genetic modification (GM) involves changing the DNA of an organism by inserting all or most of a gene from a foreign species, to produce crops or livestock with improved characteristics. So, for example, much of the corn grown in the US today has been modified by inserting bacterial DNA, so that the plant expresses proteins that kill the caterpillars that often feed on it. Gene editing (GE), by contrast, does not involve inter-species mixing of DNA. Instead, it involves only small, controlled tweaks to a plant or animals existing DNA. Researchers argue that GE secures advantageous mutations that might in time have come from natural breeding methods. It is more precise than GM (it is also known as precision breeding) and is thought to carry fewer risks.

Their potential is vast. GE crops can be engineered to have enhanced resistance to disease, weeds, pests and drought, which would make them better able to adapt to climate change. Gene editing can also produce higher yields: tomatoes, for instance, could be bred to have double the number of branches and twice the amount of fruit, therefore reducing the amount of land needed for crops. And it could reduce food waste: potatoes, say, could be edited to better withstand bruising. Consumers, as a result, could benefit from higher nutritional values in foods and lower prices. Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have used GE to produce tomatoes with higher levels of vitamin D: a single upgraded tomato could provide about 20% of the recommended daily intake of the vitamin. Soybeans have been edited to be lower in unhealthy saturated fats. In livestock, pigs could be genetically edited to give resistance to swine flu and other major diseases.

Like all new technologies, genetic engineering poses some risks, both known and unknown. However, GM food has been grown and eaten in large quantities for more than 20 years. In the US and Brazil, more than 90% of soybean, maize and rapeseed is GM. All the reliable evidence shows that it is safe to eat. And there is a scientific consensus that gene-edited food is safer than GM, since the changes it introduces are similar to those that might come about naturally by evolution or selective breeding. However, GE is certainly not free of risk. Tweaking DNA can lead to unintended off-target effects, such as producing new toxins or allergens; or to new susceptibility to diseases. Environmentalists have also suggested it could have undesirable knock-on effects. The existence of herbicide-resistant GM crops, critics say, has allowed farmers to use weedkiller indiscriminately. GE could have major impacts on animal welfare, too: if animals are made immune to diseases, they could be kept in smaller spaces.

Because of Brexit. Previously, the use of GE was hampered by EU rules on genetic engineering, which are some of the worlds toughest; and in 2018 the European Court of Justice ruled that GE must be regulated in the same way as GM. Now, the Government has an opportunity to move away from the de facto ban enforced in Brussels. Last year, it relaxed rules to make it easier for scientists to conduct trials of GE crops. In May, ministers announced new legislation the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill which would exempt gene-edited foods from GM regulations in England (other UK nations will decide separately). The law would allow such crops to be cultivated commercially, and will introduce simpler regulatory measures to enable these products to be authorised and brought to market more easily. A regulatory system would also be established for the breeding of GE animals (except humans).

The main issue is public opinion. The British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, said retailers were supportive of GE, but their willingness to sell gene-edited food would depend on customer acceptance. In the 1990s, the advance of GM foods was stymied in Europe by the perception that they were Frankenfoods. And today, polls suggest about a third of British adults think gene-edited food is unsafe to eat; 31% say theyre not sure. Another problem is trade: the EU requires all gene-edited imports to be labelled and approved.

GE crops have the potential to produce higher yields, and more nutritious foods, using less water, fertiliser and insecticide. GE breeding could also enhance the health and welfare of farm animals by giving them greater resistance to diseases. However, GE will need to be carefully regulated, to ensure safety and public confidence; globally, this will be hard, given how cheap and easily accessible GE techniques are, and how lucrative they could be. It will also be vital to ensure that the benefits are not monopolised by multinational corporations as, arguably, has happened with GM foods. Ultimately, though, it seems likely that gene editing will be an important tool in facing one of the most important challenges of our time: feeding the world without destroying the planet.

In April, Nature Genetics reported that scores of gene-edited crops were being trialled across 25 countries, but that fewer than ten had been approved for commercialisation. In Japan, the Sicilian Rouge High GABA tomato has gone on sale; it has a high level of GABA, an amino acid thought to lower blood pressure. In the USA, a high-oleic soybean oil (low in saturated fats) is on the market. Scores of others are in the pipeline: mushrooms with longer shelf lives, drought-resistant corn, bananas impervious to Panama disease, a fungus threatening the global supply. In Britain, The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich has created a tomato thats resistant to mildew, and which requires much less fungicide.

The Roslin Institute at Edinburgh University has developed pigs that are immune to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a disease that costs Europes pig industry more than s1.5bn a year. Other breeding projects include chickens resistant to avian flu, sheep with enhanced muscle growth and hornless dairy cows (farmers typically remove horns). The latter, however, illustrated some of the potential pitfalls of GE: a mistake left the cows with bacterial DNA stitched into their genome.

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The gene-editing revolution - The Week UK

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SalioGen Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company developing Gene CodingTM, a new category of genetic medicine, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the addition of five highly accomplished scientists, physicians and biotech industry leaders. The companys new appointments include:

As we continue to build on our foundational scientific discoveries and propel our research and development activities toward the clinic, we welcome Cathryn, Pat, Joe, Feng and Oleg to help drive our progress. The additions of these esteemed experts, each distinguished in their respective specialties, will serve to accelerate our growth by supporting core R&D activities, clinical preparations, and quality and operational needs, said Ray Tabibiazar, M.D., chief executive officer and chairman of SalioGen. We look forward to benefitting from their leadership as they help to maximize the potential impact of Gene Coding not only on the genetic medicines industry, but on patients around the world.

Cathryn Clary, M.D., MBA previously served as Senior Vice President of Medical at SSI Strategy, a medical consulting firm. She also served as the acting Chief Medical Officer at clinical-stage gene therapy company Solid Biosciences. Dr. Clary served as both Global Head of Policy and Patient Affairs in the Chief Medical & Patient Safety Office, as well as Chief Scientific Officer and Head of U.S. Medical Affairs and Clinical Development in the General Medicines Division at Novartis. Prior to her experience at Novartis, she served in several executive roles at Pfizer, whereshe was responsible for the medical aspects of Zoloft worldwide, and ultimately became the SVP of US Medical Affairs for the entire Pfizer portfolio across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pat Sacco is highly experienced as a biotechnology and life sciences executive in technical and general operations. Most recently, as an independent consultant, he has worked with a number of advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) biotech companies, CDMOs, and specialized program management clients. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at both Translate Bio and Shire (now Takeda), and prior to that held roles of increasing responsibility at Wyeth Biopharma (formerly Genetics Institute) and Genzyme. He has contributed to the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the enzyme replacement therapies REPLAGAL, ELAPRASE, and VPRIV.

Joe Senn, Ph.D. has experience with nearly all therapeutic modalities, including small molecules, biologics, antisense, gene editing and mRNA therapeutics. He most recently served as the Vice President of Nonclinical Development at Moderna Therapeutics for eight years, where he and his team were responsible for progressing over 40 candidates into the clinic. Prior to Moderna, Dr. Senn served as Site Head for Drug Safety at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw development of all immunology products across the portfolio.

Feng Yao, Ph.D. is the inventor of Invitrogen/Thermo Fisher Scientifics T-Rex tetracycline gene switch, a powerful and specific mammalian transcription gene switch. Using this technology, Dr. Yao has established several unique approaches for the genetic engineering of novel recombinant viruses for use in clinical applications across infectious diseases, cancers and neural regeneration. His T-REx technology is widely used and referenced in publications and patent applications, including productions of several FDA approved antibody therapeutics and novel COVID-19 viral vector-based vaccine candidates developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson. Before joining SalioGen Therapeutics, Dr. Yao was an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Oleg Iartchouk, Ph.D. has built and led multiple genomics technologyteams that werepart ofstartup and large global pharmaceutical and biotechnologycompanies.Prior to joining SalioGen, Dr. Iartchouk served as the Global Head of the global Genomics Platform Group at the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, which established genomics applications several fields to advance Novartiss cell and gene therapy portfolioincluding CAR-T cell(Kymriah) and gene (Zolgensma) therapies.Dr. Iartchouk also built the Biomarkers Discovery group at the clinical diagnostics company Natera and the Applied Genomics team at Sanofi Oncology.

About SalioGen TherapeuticsSalioGen Therapeutics has launched Gene CodingTM, a genetic medicine platform, to develop durable, broadly applicable genetic medicines, using its Exact DNA Integration TechnologyTM (EDITTM) platform. EDIT is based on the novel mammal-derived genomic engineering tool, for use in potentially curative genetic medicines. SalioGen is focused on developing therapies for more patients with inherited diseases that are beyond what is addressable with current technologies, initially focusing on inherited macular disorders and inherited lipid disorders.

For more information, please visit http://www.saliogen.com, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements. Words such as may, believe, will, expect, plan, anticipate, estimate, intend and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding the additions of the esteemed experts serving to accelerate SalioGens growth by supporting core research & development activities, clinical preparations, and quality and operational needs, benefitting from their leadership as they help to maximize the potential impact of Gene Coding not only on the genetic medicines industry, but on patients around the world, and the potential of SalioGens Gene Coding approach, including its use in potentially curative genetic medicines. While SalioGen believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the ability of SalioGen to position multiple therapeutic programs for clinical development, the ability of SalioGen to continue building out its Gene Coding platform, expand the companys team, establish manufacturing and automation capabilities critical for Gene Coding and accelerate the advancement of SalioGens preclinical programs as planned, the ability of SalioGen to use its Gene Coding platform and Exact DNA Integration Technology in potentially curative genetic medicines. All forward-looking statements are based on SalioGens expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, SalioGen expressly disclaims any responsibility to update any forward-looking statement contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Corporate Contact:Sung You, M.S., MBASalioGen Therapeuticsinvestors@saliogen.com

Media Contact:Amy Jobe, Ph.D.LifeSci Communications315-879-8192ajobe@lifescicomms.com

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SalioGen Therapeutics Strengthens its Leadership Team to Advance its Gene Coding Platform - BioSpace

The four-part series themed Using the science of the future to shape your present was launched on Sunday, 10July. During the second session held on 17July, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng was joined by geneticist Professor Ambroise Wonkam and human rights activist Leo Igwe to discuss human augmentation.

Professor Phakeng was invited by Switzerland-based think and do tank Geneva Science Diplomacy Accelerator (GESDA) to host a series of virtual engagements on Using the science of the future to shape your present. These sessions are aimed at bridging the understanding of how science might shape the future, and how these predicted futures can be used to shape the present while ensuring that decisions and discussions include voices of the African youth.

The second session posed the question, Are we ready for genetic enhancement? The topic of human augmentation was relevant because over the past century, public health interventions have nearly doubled the average lifespan. This welcome development has been compromised by commensurate rises in the incidence of cancer, Alzheimers and many other diseases of age. However, advances in genetic engineering, neurotechnology and drug development now look set to increase our healthspan too.

Staying human

Professor Wonkam, who is professor of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, elaborated on the medical benefits of genetic enhancements. He also pointed out that it was critical to include the youth in these conversations. It was also important that the subject should not be approached only from European and American perspectives since many of the challenges that could be addressed by emerging technologies affect Africa.

Igwe, who is a human rights advocate, reflected on the potential that emerging technologies have to eradicate major diseases. This will also have an impact on other social issues such as poverty and mortality rates. There are, however, major ethical questions which still have to be resolved.

Phakeng highlighted the need for governments, businesses and academia to work together to prepare us for the future promised by these medical advances. People are often scared of these developments because they see this as an attempt to play God.

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UCT VC hosts webinar on human augmentation - University of Cape Town News

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The mice model market is expected to grow from US$ 1,705. 70 million in 2022 to US$ 2,340. 90 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5. 4% from 2022 to 2028. The growing usage of mice models in virology and infectious diseases and the rising consumption of personalized medicine are bolstering the growth of the mice model market.

New York, July 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Mice Model Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type, Service, Technology, Indication, End User, Application, and Mode" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06295682/?utm_source=GNW Moreover, the rising advancements in gene editing tools are likely to emerge as a significant future trend in the mice model market during the forecast period.

However, various regulations and laws for the ethical use of animals in research are hampering the overall market growth.Scientists have used animals to model human diseases for over a hundred years.Mice are particularly useful for this because they share many of the same biological traits as humans and have over 80% identical genetic components to humans.

A mice model is a laboratory mouse used to study some aspect of human physiology or disease.Various model organisms are used in this regard, but mice are particularly useful because they share mammalian traits with humans and suffer from many of the same diseases as humans.

Many mice models have been created to target specific human diseases using selective breeding and genetic engineering.The use of mice models in disease research programs has contributed to significant medical breakthroughs.

Mice are the model of choice because they are strikingly similar to humans at the genomic level and the disease pathophysiology in mice is similar to humans. Mice models are an inexpensive and efficient tool to speed up research and drug testing. These features provide researchers with a powerful tool for understanding the mechanisms of human disease and for testing novel drug therapies.Mice models are essential tools to study the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and for the preclinical evaluation of vaccines and therapies against various human pathogens.The use of genetically defined inbred mouse strains, humanized mice, and gene knockout mice has enabled the research community to study the process of the way pathogens cause diseases, the role of specific host genes in controlling or promoting disease, and potential targets for prevention or identification of treatment for a variety of infectious agents.

With the emergence of new infectious diseases, the animal model has become a vital tool for studying disease mechanisms and developing therapeutics.Mice with xenografted human immune systems have been used to study the pathogenesis of various infectious agents, including Plasmodium falciparum (malaria), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, dengue virus, and influenza virus.

These models have been beneficial for studying HIV, including analyzing viral and host factors that promote viral replication, HIV interactions with the hosts immune response, and as platforms for testing therapeutic approaches to control or cure HIV infection.Mice models are an essential resource for studying the mechanisms underlying infectious disease pathogenesis and as platforms for testing potential vaccines and therapies.

Mice models are necessary for learning about infections from many human pathogens. They are widely used for preclinical screening of vaccines/therapies because of their high reproducibility, low cost, and ease of experimental manipulation.

Over the past century, advances in the development of vaccines, antibiotics/antivirals, and infection control measures have significantly reduced the public health burden of infectious diseases.However, there has been an increase in contagious viral diseases over the years.

In the past two decades, there have been three outbreaks of COVID-19SARS-CoV in 2002, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019.However, the current SARS-CoV-2 is much more severe than the SARS-CoV in 2002 and has spread to more than 213 countries, affecting millions of people.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 has prompted animal models to study its pathology and develop an effective treatment.Aside from coronavirus studies, mice models are considered the best small animal models for hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Zika virus, and cytomegalovirus (CMV).

According to the WHO, over 17 million people die from infectious diseases yearly. Over the past two decades, over 30 new infectious diseases have emerged. As per the UNAIDS, 38 million people were affected by HIV at the end of 2019. Mice models have been widely used for various viral studies due to their small size, low cost, ease of use, and high reproducibility. Thus, the growing number of infectious disease is driving the mice model market.The mice model market is segmented into type, service, technology, indication, end user, application, and mode.Based on type, the market is segmented into inbred mice, outbred mice, genetically engineered mice, hybrid mice, surgically modified mice, and spontaneous mutant mice.

The inbred mice segment is estimated to account for the largest market share from 2022 to 2028.Mice Model Market OpportunitiesBasic research, safety assessment for large molecule therapeutics, simulation of a few human-specific infectious diseases, and efficacy testing of immunotherapy approaches all use humanized mice models.The human protein is expressed in cells and tissues while the mouse protein shows a different variability.

Humanized mice models are generally used to study cancer genetics, autoimmune diseases, regenerative medicine, human hematopoiesis, infectious diseases, transplantation, and autoimmunity.They enhance the translational value of preclinical research by enabling researchers to understand disease pathways in a better manner.

Both mice and human genes & proteins are examined for fidelity and structure to determine the optimal expression and functionality of the human protein in a mouse.Recent models also reflect hematopoiesis, natural immunity, neurobiology, and molecular signaling pathways that influence disease pathobiology.

These mice models also enable studies of human pathobiology, natural disease processes, and therapeutic efficacy across a broad spectrum of human diseases. Overall, humanized mice models offer low-cost, high-throughput studies of infection or degeneration in natural pathogen-host cells and the opportunity to test disease transmission and eradication.Humanized mice models have been xenografted with human cells or engineered to express human genes.These mice are used extensively to elucidate and understand human physiology and the etiology of human-specific infections.

Humanized mice models are used in biomedical research to develop therapeutics due to their numerous advantages, such as small size, high reproductive cycle, ease of handling, and increased genomic similarity to humans.These humanized mice models are essential in preclinical research studies because they mimic several human-specific diseases and can be used to study the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy approaches.

Humanized mice models have also been essential in designing and developing vaccines and antibody-based therapies for COVID-19.These models have developed since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, which further helped in providing a more profound and better understanding of the infection and the effectiveness of antiviral therapeutics and supported the development of efficient drugs and therapies to treat COVID-19 patients.

Due to the aforementioned factors, the humanized mice models will continue to be widely used in the coming years, thereby contributing to the mice model market growth.The World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), Centers for Personalized Medicine (CPM), and Organizations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are among the primary and secondary sources referred to while preparing the report on the mice model market.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06295682/?utm_source=GNW

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What goes on in that gastrointestinal tract of yours? Well, we have a general idea, but evidence is mounting that the gut and the microbes that live there play an important role in a huge variety of health issues. Persephone Biosciences is a biotech startup that with the help of $15 million and a lot of poop is building a library of the human microbiome and assembling a best-of list of helpful life forms that could do everything from easing digestion to fighting serious disease.

The democratization of once exclusive and expensive tools like rapid genetic sequencing has nurtured a new generation of biotech companies and therapeutic approaches. In this case its taking a closer look at how everyones microbiome the often unique set of microorganisms that live in and on our body and perform various tasks for mutual benefit differs and what those differences mean for our health.

Co-founder Stephanie Culler came from a background of genetic work at Genomatica, where they were working on producing chemicals normally sourced from petroleum by modifying bacteria to make it via fermentation.

It required five years of genetic engineering, but it worked it allowed us to build a blueprint of how to engineer a bacteria, she said. Now were doing something similar using the same tools. But we used to map a single microbe, and now were doing it with multiple microbes, building a precision map of the whole gut biome.

Theres a lack of fundamental understanding in this field, she explained. Despite evidence that its involved in many processes, theres historically been insufficient data to answer questions like how the microbiome affects disease progress, the effectiveness of therapeutics, the development of the immune system, even things like allergies. Part of why is the difficulty of collecting enough raw research material.

Persephones all-in-one poop kit. Image Credits: Persephone Biosciences

The company has trained machine learning models on large datasets it has compiled itself through the laborious collection of stool samples from a large number of people, both healthy and suffering from various conditions.

Its not easy to give poop samples theres a stigma, Culler explained. So we focused on how to get it done easily. The initial funds we got through Y Combinator [one of our favorites in 2018] set us up to develop that infrastructure, to get large volumes of patient data.

The microbes within the samples were isolated, sequenced and catalogued, then that data was combined with lots of other health records blood tests, behavior, medications and so on. Machine learning is an efficient way of sorting through that kind of noisy dataset, and it identified both patterns worth investigating and what Culler called superheroes among the microbes.

For instance, a certain strain or functional type of bacterium may die out in the gut in the years preceding a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Why? No one knows, but you dont have to know for that kind of early marker to save lives. And what if its presence could be reinstated? That could very well have a positive therapeutic or preventative effect.

You and I might have different strains of the same bacteria, but theres a consensus set of good functions that you want, Culler said. But then in disease studies, they might be completely missing, or they have other, scary strains.

Image Credits: Persephone Biosciences

As we get older, our diet changes, we get ill, we take antibiotics and the microbiome starts to disappear, she continued. Were trying to round up all the right microbes: a one size fits all, trained on our data, consensus set of organisms that everybody needs one super pill thats a new category of probiotics.

Its a little more complicated than that, though, Culler elaborated. Different age ranges and conditions would likely have different needs, though a superhero set would probably be helpful (and certainly not harmful) to anyone.

You may be wondering how these differ from the probiotic pills and drinks already out there. Well, those can be helpful to some, but the truth is theyre not really our local microfauna.

Much of what we have on the market is legacy strains that were discovered over 100 years ago, lots of them from milk-based products these are not actual members of the gut microbiome. We analyzed 150 products and there were only 29 strains that overlapped with a healthy microbiome, Culler said. (And no superheroes.)

Compare that to the thousands of candidates theyve identified, all of which are sourced directly from people, and recently at that, so they reflect a modern diet, among other things. Instead of a critter someone found in milk a century ago, you could have the best of breed from actual humans.

There are two broad ways forward for Persephone, both of which the company hopes to make happen over the next year. The easier of the two is the probiotic supplement, which needs only to be tested and found generally recognized as safe by the FDA. This is the same designation any other supplement gets where general health benefits are suggested but no therapeutic claims made, like that it cures something.

These supplements would first be targeted for pediatric use, since increasingly infants are born with incomplete gut microbiomes due to things like C-sections, antibiotics and formula. As helpful as those things are, they appear to work to the detriment of the gut possibly contributing to the huge increase in allergies, among other things. A shelf-stable liquid probiotic additive could be a standard addition to any new parents baby bag.

A Persephone employee works in the companys lab. Image Credits: Persephone Biosciences

More testing is needed of the infant gut biome, and Persephone will announce a large new partnership in infant health and a new nationwide study to help dial this in very soon. Fortunately, baby poop collection is super easy, Culler said. If anything parents have too many samples.

The company would scale up to older ages and adults over time, while investigating specific applications like relieving IBS, inflammation and other problems these microbes could affect.

The other way forward, which Persephone is pursuing in parallel, applies microbes therapeutically in cancer treatment, where it is theorized that it could enhance the effect of immunotherapy drugs. This is the type of thing that needs more serious FDA approval through clinical trials.

In the next year and a half we want to be in the clinic; well definitely be in it in 2024 for lung cancer, said Culler. Beyond oncology were very interested in the gut-brain axis; these superbugs [i.e., the superhero microbes, not viruses] are important for any disease.

Theres also a new collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks on new synthetic biology tech, and ARGONAUT, a large-scale study with Johnson & Johnson looking at the gut-immune axis and biomarkers for cancer detection and treatment. Plenty on the companys plate, so dont be surprised if you start seeing Persephone-powered studies appear with some frequency.

The progress attracted this $15 million seed round, co-led by First Bight Ventures and Propel Bio Partners, with participation from Y Combinator, Fifty Years, Susa Ventures, American Cancer Societys BrightEdge Fund, Pioneer Fund and ZhenFund.

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Persephone puts poop to work to explore and heal your gut microbiome - TechCrunch

United States The CRISPR Market research report added by Report Ocean, is an in-depth analysis of the latest developments, market size, status, upcoming technologies, industry drivers, challenges, regulatory policies, with key company profiles and strategies of players. The research study provides Market overview, definition, regional market opportunity, sales and revenue by region, manufacturing cost analysis, Industrial Chain, market effect factors analysis, size forecast, market data & Graphs and Statistics, Tables, Bar & Pie Charts, and many more for business intelligence.

Some of the Major Players involved in the research and development of CRISPR market are; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Editas Medicine, Caribou Biosciences, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics A, Intellia Therapeutics, Inc., Cellectis, Horizon Discovery PLC, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Precision BioSciences, GenScript Corporation, Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (SGMO), Lonza Group Limited, Integrated DNA Technologies, New England Biolabs, OriGene Technologies, Inc,.Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc

Global CRISPR Market to reach USD 6000 million by 2025. Global CRISPR market is valued approximately USD 248 million in 2015.

Request To Download Free Sample of This Strategic Report:https://reportocean.com/industry-verticals/sample-request?report_id=4605

Global CRISPR Market Size Study by Application(Genome Editing, Genetic Engineering, Gene Library, CRISPR Plasmid, Human Stem cells, Genetically Modified Organism, Cell Line Engineering), by End-User (Biotechnology Companies, Pharmaceutical Companies, Academic Institutes, Research & Development Institutes) and Regional Forecast 2017-2025 USD Billion and Million Units)

The growth is primarily driven by the rising demand for drug discovery and a significant rise in research spending. Further, increasing prevalence of genetic disorders due to late pregnancies and changing lifestyle patterns have drawn the significant attention of the researchers towards this emerging technology.

Due to easy availability of gene editing tools and cost-effectiveness, the technology has the highest adoption Gene Editing application. Some more applications include Genetic Engineering, Cell Line Engineering, and others. However, these applications still have restricted use due to some ethical issues. The total market revenue has been broadly segmented into application segment, end-user segment, and geography.

Each of the segments is further divided as follows:

Applications: Genome Editing Genetic Engineering Gene Library CRISPR Plasmid Human Stem Cells Genetically Modified Crops (GMO) Cell Line Engineering

End User: Biotechnology Companies Pharmaceutical Companies Academic Institutes Research & Development Institutes

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Regions: North Americao U.S.o Canada Europeo UKo Germanyo France Asia Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japan Latin Americao Brazilo Mexico Rest of the World

Among end-user segment Biotechnology firms and Research & Development Institutes currently captures more than 60% of total revenue share. High investments from these end-user segments are the primary driving force for the adoption this emerging technology. However, during over forecast period, Pharmaceutical firms are expected to witness highest growth rate. Significant developments in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology are expected to generate huge opportunities in coming years.

The global market is dominated by North America region followed by Asia Pacific. The rising prevalence of infertility and genetic disorders in the Asia Pacific region are the primary driving factors. Agriculture and Animal breeding are the emerging applications in the Asian countries. North America captures approximately 38% of the total revenue share in 2015. Europe is also an emerging region for the development of this technology.

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The market report presents the estimated size of the ICT market at the end of the forecast period. The report also examines historical and current market sizes. During the forecast period, the report analyses the growth rate, market size, and market valuation. The report presents current trends in the industry and the future potential of the North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa markets. The report offers a comprehensive view of the market based on geographic scope, market segmentation, and key player financial performance.

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CRISPR Market 2022 Global Size, Share, Key Players, Production, Growth and Future Insights 2030 This Is Ardee - This Is Ardee

With just three months remaining until the International Genetically Engineering Machine (iGEM) Jamboree in Paris, France, the 2022 UC Santa Cruz iGEM team is making steady progress on their project: an alternative treatment for Type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects the bodys ability to regulate blood sugar and the 7th leading cause of death globally. Their project addresses the high costs and limited availability of diabetes medication with a yeast-based treatment, which would allow underserved populations around the world to grow and access the medicine locally.

Each year, a new team of UCSC undergraduates participating in iGEM chooses a synthetic biology project that aims to solve a pressing global health issue and joins hundreds of other teams from universities around the world in a global competition. The UCSC team is advised by David Bernick, associate teaching professor of biomolecular engineering (BME), and receiving additional support and mentorship from UCSC Ph.D. student and TA Eric Malekos and Hartnell College intern Gabino Guzman.

After forming in December 2021, the teams first priority was to identify a project that was both viable and addressed a pressing global health challenge.

We asked team members which project, out of four total, they thought would be the most feasible and would be able to make a substantial impact, said Elizabeth Beer, BME student and one of this years captains. At the end, we had consensus on moving forward with the diabetes treatment idea.

When both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals eat, glucagon-like-peptide-1s (GLP1s) are naturally secreted in response to the rise in blood glucose levels. The secretion of GLP1s causes a cascade effect, which ultimately leads to the release of insulin to regulate blood sugar.

People living with Type 2 diabetes either lack insulin sensitivity or resist insulin. A class of medication currently used to treat Type 2 diabetes is called GLP1 RA, glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonists. GLP1 RA medications mimic the binding that occurs between GLP1 and its receptor in the body and have longer half lives. This allows for GLP1 RAs to be an attractive and effective treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

GLP1 RAs are really effective for people with Type 2 diabetes because their issue is insulin sensitivity, not necessarily insulin production, said Kiana Imani, a BME student and team co-captain. GLP1 RAs are at the forefront of Type 2 diabetes treatment, but are wildly expensive and not easily accessible in many parts of the world, with underserved populations most affected. Our teams focus is to develop an inexpensive and naturally derived treatment to address the high cost and limited accessibility of diabetes medication.

GLP1 RAs are naturally-derived peptides and can be produced naturally within a plant host, an organism that houses a smaller organism, such as soybeans, yeast, or microalgaeall organisms that the team has considered employing for their project because of their ability to grow fast and be manipulated at the genetic level.

Were trying to find a host or multiple hosts that allows us to prove our concept within the relatively short timeline of our project, said Gia Balius, human biology student and UCSC iGEM team member.

This summer, team UCSC is working in the lab daily. Wet lab work will begin soon as they bring their project to the test phase. The team is divided into four focuses: host development, plasmid design, human impact, and wiki (documentation).

The host-finding group is researching organisms, like yeast or microalgae, to create a bio-encapsulated version of the medication. The plasmid design group will work on inserting the bioengineered gene into the host organism. Plasmids are small DNA structures in the cells of bacteria that have the ability to self-replicate.

The human impact group is connecting with diabetes patients, doctors, and other health professionals to learn more about how their approach can help those that are most impacted by the limited availability and high cost of diabetes medication. The wiki group is building the teams website, where they will share weekly updates, lab notes, resources, and any other information about their project.

Our team structure is completely horizontal; were all equal in the lab and have the freedom to experiment, Imani explained. Were also given a lot of creative freedom from Profesor Bernick, which allows us to get a ton of hands-on experience and learn new concepts by doing.

The past two UCSC iGEM teams won gold at the annual iGEM Jamboree. Team Progenie, which designed a system to target and eliminate a toxic gene found in Shiga toxin-producing E. colia family of bacteria responsible for some of the most severe forms of food poisoningwon in 2021. And the 2020 team earned gold for developing a cellulose-based biodegradable plastic for strawberry growers called Komaplastics that breaks down into glucose monomers that the microbes in soil can use as nutrients and allows farmers to till the plastic into the soil at the end of the growing season, keeping it out of landfills.

The 2022 iGEM competition will be held October 2628 in Paris, France. This will be the first time in three years that team UCSC will be traveling to the competition. Stay tuned for updates on the teams progress this summer and fall at engineering.ucsc.edu/news.

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UCSC iGEM developing yeast-based type 2 diabetes medication for 2022 international competition - University of California, Santa Cruz

SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cell culture media market size is expected to reach USD 10.2 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.1% from 2022 to 2030. Expansion of biosimilars and biologics, growth in stem cell research, and emerging bio manufacturing technologies for cell-based vaccines are the major factors which are likely to drive the market. For instance, in October 2021, the Australian Government funded the Australian-led stem cell research through USD 25 million in grants.

Key Industry Insights & Findings from the report:

Read 150-page market research report, "Cell Culture Media Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Serum-free Media, Classical Media), By Type (Liquid Media, Semi-solid And Solid Media), By Application, By End-user, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research.

Cell Culture Media Market Growth & Trends

The expansion of clear, regulatory approval paths for biosimilars in emerging markets is generating great opportunities for biosimilar monoclonal antibodies. The availability of an approval pathway in the U.S., has led to new opportunities for bio manufacturers to enter major markets around the globe. Biosimilar versions of monoclonal antibodies have the probability to offer cost reductions of 25-30%, and many emerging market countries are vigorously developing pathways for approvals and are swiftly catching up. As this industry is expanding the key biopharmaceutical players are adopting robust culturing technologies to meet the increasing demand; thereby driving the growth of the market.

Moreover, there is growing interest in improving the stem cell culture, because this technology is being used extensively in research for studying the stem cell biology, as well as for therapeutic applications. Furthermore, funding related to this research field has augmented in recent years which has accelerated the growth of the market. In addition to this, key media manufacturers launched new products for stem cell research. For instance, in September 2021, Bio-Techne Corporation launched a novel medium for the maintenance and expansion of induced pluripotent stem cells having applications in both translational and research workflows.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has improved the demand for well-established cell-based vaccine production technologies. Moreover, it has given rise to a few scientific innovations, particularly in the production and testing of vaccine technology. For instance, the Vero line originated from the African green monkey kidney and has been extensively used for viral vaccine manufacturing. It has also been used for the development of various SARS-CoV variants. ProVeroTM1 Serum-free Medium is one such medium manufactured by Lonza Bioscience which is protein-free, and of non-animal origin designed to support the growth of Vero cells and MDCK.

Moreover, in many European countries, cell-based flu vaccines have been approved. A probable advantage of cell culture technology is that it authorizes faster start-up of the manufacturing of vaccines during the pandemic. Today, the development of superior biological models, the optimization of culture growth medium, and the reduced dependence on animal-derived components endure to drive the rapidly developing vaccine development.

On the other hand, ethical issues concerning the use of animal-derived products hinders the industry growth. For instance, FBS is collected from the blood of fetal calves is one of the major ethical issues of serum containing media. It is projected that 600,000 liters of FBS is achieved from up to 1.8 million bovine fetuses are produced globally every year, presenting momentous scientific and ethical challenges. To overcome this issue, numerous workshops were held in the past on the replacement of fetal bovine serum and possible ways to reduce the use of FBS in media.

Cell Culture Media Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global cell culture media market based on product, application, type, end-user, and region:

Cell Culture MediaMarket - Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Cell Culture MediaMarket - Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Cell Culture MediaMarket - Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Cell Culture MediaMarket - End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Cell Culture MediaMarket - Regional Scope Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

List of Key Players of Cell Culture Media Market

Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research:

Browse through Grand View Research's Biotechnology Industry Research Reports.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry JamesCorporate Sales Specialist, USAGrand View Research, Inc.Phone: +1-415-349-0058Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519Email: [emailprotected] Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Grand View Compass| Astra ESG Solutions Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

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SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.

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Cell Culture Media Market Size Worth $10.2 Billion by 2030: Grand View Research, Inc. - PR Newswire

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent call to accelerate access to genomics, especially in resource-poor countries, in a report that examines technology gaps and opportunities.

Genomics is the branch of science that uses methods from biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology to understand and use biological information in DNA andRNAto benefit medicine and public health but the technology can also be used in agricultural research.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomics has been essential to detecting the virus initially and new variants subsequently and also integral to the development of tests, treatments and vaccines, said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a virtual press conference from Geneva on Tuesday (12 July).

Further, genomics has massive potential beyond pathogen surveillance for human health. It is timely for countries to invest in infrastructure and human resources in this area.

While genomics technology is driving some of the most ground-breaking research in medical science, including COVID-19 vaccine research and development, its full potential is yet to be realised globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to the WHO Science Councilsinaugural report.

Its not justifiable ethically or scientifically for less-resourced countries to gain access to such technologies long after rich countries do, the authors argue.

American scientist Harold Varmus, chair of the council and a Nobel Laureate, said: Were encouraged by evidence we gathered that genomics has been adopted in many relatively poor countries, and that costs are going down.

There are also incentives to encourage commercial providers of the essential ingredients such as machines, reagents and software to use a variety of economic incentives to further the expansion of the use of genomics.

We are, however, concerned that the already widespread use of genomics in advanced countries should not leave LMICs behind, as has occurred in many other contexts.

A raft of measures has been put in motion aimed at making the technology more accessible in LMICs, including modified pricing models, sharing of intellectual property rights for low-cost versions and cross-subsidisation where profits in one area are used to fund another.

But challenges remain in addressing shortfalls in financing, laboratory infrastructure, materials and highly trained personnel, according to the analysis.

The authors highlight four thematic areas to promote the adoption and expanded use of genomics: advocacy, implementation, collaboration and tackling legal and ethical concerns.

For this to happen, they say governments, academic institutions and businesses have to be convinced of the medical, scientific and commercial benefits of genomics.

The Science Council puts forward a number of recommendations to address ethical, legal and social issues associated with genomics and urges the WHO to become the authoritative source for mediation and guidance on these.

The council was formed following calls from the science world for amoratorium on human genome editing, after biophysicist He Jiankui announced in 2018 that he had used the CRISPR genome-editing technique to alter embryos that resulted in two births.

The Council was established in April 2021 to provide guidance on the science and research strategy of the organisation. It is currently made up of nine members who serve in a personal capacity, rather than as representatives of institutions or countries.

Were optimistic about the future applications of genomics, said Varmus. We believe that adoption of widespread use is feasible and with the help of the WHO and its leaders it can be achieved.

Alessandro Marcello, head of the molecular virology laboratory at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Italy, says the use of genomics in surveillance of viruses received a major boost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new standard for molecular epidemiology is whole genome sequencing. WHO is right in highlighting disparity in different countries, not only in Africa, he said, and added: There are several efforts to fill this gap that need coordination and we are moving in the direction of enabling community labs to be able to sequence locally circulating viruses.

As well as sharing of data, simple and affordable workflows for sequencing are needed, he said, not expensive, centralised facilities.

Dann Okoth

This article is republished fromSciDev.Net under a Creative Commons license.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Global desk.

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'Time to invest in genomics' in poorer countries WHO - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

IT TURNS OUT that the Garden of Eden might have been missing a few things. Today, the fruit aisle is stocked with all kinds of new temptations, and they seem to be getting sweeter. Lets start with the grapes, namely Cotton Candy grapes (green), Gum Drop grapes (purple) and Gummyberries (red). Imagine my disappointment when, in June, I tried some grape jam-flavored Jellyberries from the company Divine Flavor and found they tasted like regular old grapes sweet, but not Smuckers sweet.

These candylike fruits are the product of plant breeding, a practice thats over 200 years old. In 1766, the strawberry-obsessed French botanist Antoine Nicolas Duchesne published a book about the berrys different varieties and their potential for crossbreeding. By the 19th century, farmers were crossbreeding plants constantly, whether in search of better flavor, higher yield and hardiness, bigger berries, more sweetness or resistance to disease. And in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the American botanist Luther Burbank developed over 800 improved and hybrid plants. Plumcot, anyone?

But it was the Cotton Candy grape that, in 2013, arguably kicked off the specialty fruit boom as we know it. The trademarked and licensed varietal was developed by the company International Fruit Genetics and is sold exclusively in the United States by the grape grower Grapery. The fruit breeder Dr. David Cain got the idea for the grape after tasting a new breed of Concord grape that was reminiscent of cotton candy but too mushy to be sold. That breed needed to be crossed with other breeds in order to create a cotton candy-flavored grape that would be seedless and juicy, with snappy skin. (Its also crucial that Cotton Candy grapes be picked at the height of ripeness and refrigerated within six hours for the best texture and flavor.) Since then, the Grapery has grown the Cotton Candy grape crop eightfold, despite it taking two to three years alone for a grapevine to bear fruit, and grape lovers are keeping pace. According to the market research firm 210 Analytics, from May 2021 to May 2022, Cotton Candy grapes sold over $129 million in the States, up from $102 million during the same period the previous year. Additionally, Jim Beagle, Graperys C.E.O., says customers are willing to pay twice as much for Cotton Candy grapes than they are for other ones.

Strawberries, one of the highest-selling fruits in the United States, have also gotten an update. Sunset Grown offers three varieties, including the Wow Berries lolliberry, which has the mouthwatering sweetness of a pink Starburst. Oishiis perfectly ripe Omakase strawberries are fragrant, flavorful and so soft they need to be cradled in foam packaging to survive grocery store shelves from which, at the Whole Foods in Manhattans Chelsea neighborhood, they regularly disappear before noon. (After Oishii acquired over 100 times more growing space in May, it was able to decrease the price of a tray from a whopping $50 to $20.) Driscolls sells a trio of designer strawberries: Ros Berries; pale Tropical Bliss, with notes of pineapple and passion fruit; and my favorite, Sweetest Batch, which the brand describes as tasting like fruit punch. Then theres the new Honeyglow pineapple from Del Monte, which is picked at peak ripeness for a pronounced, rounder flavor than those plucked beforehand and left to ripen in the store or on a kitchen counter. The brand also offers Pinkglow pineapples, which are the color of deli ham and sold in pink boxes for about $15 a pop. I snagged one over Fourth of July weekend and it was juicy and gently sweet, completely devoid of the fruits usual tongue-itching acidity.

Often, in addition to being gustatory, the changes are notably aesthetic. Last summer, the wholesaler Baldor Specialty Foods began selling Picasso melons, an especially sweet honeydew with snow leopard spots on the rind and a beautiful green flesh, says the companys director of merchandising and category development, Matt Rendine, as well as Sunshine Watermelons, which have a golden yellow rind and magenta flesh. Also see the Hidden Rose Apple, the flesh of which is splotched with pink and tastes like strawberry lemonade.

ARE THESE FRUITS, intended above all to be more ideal versions of themselves, actually sweeter? And should we, as poor Eve was made to, feel guilty for eating them? Almost every producer I spoke to mentioned how much sweeter their new fruits were; at Driscolls, they know the Tropical Bliss strawberries are 10 percent sweeter than the traditional red variety. Oishii measures the Brix (sugar) level of every berry before its packaged to keep the quality consistent. And when Ive brought a bag of chilled Cotton Candy grapes to the beach, (probably Keto) friends of mine have scoffed at how they must be packed with sugar, before pouring a glass of ros that probably had even more. Because while natural sugar is still sugar, the amount in these fruits has nothing on actual candy. And hey, theyre still packed with health-affirming antioxidants, vitamin C and fiber, too.

What about the rather common fear of food grown in a less than rustic setting might there be something sinister lurking in these specialty fruits? Early crossbreeding was done by hand, and still is at Driscolls though the brand has a lab where breeders might test 60 different strawberries before lunch. Driscolls global director of strawberry breeding, Phil Stewart, oversees a team that grows over 100,000 varieties a year, and that is always combining traits of one berry with those of another. Its members pick an elite parent plant (one thats supersweet, say) to cross-pollinate with another (one thats got firm flesh), and then examine the hundreds of offspring until theyve created their dream berry. Theyve even experimented with a breed that had notes of Gorgonzola that was really kind of horrifying, says Stewart. For the most part, though, the fruits in this story are less newfangled than they might sound. The Tropical Bliss berry, for instance, is the descendant of one of the oldest varieties of strawberries and was over 25 years in the making.

Genetic engineering usually takes place when a trait of a plant cant be created by crossbreeding. (Though half of the public believes G.M.O.s are harmful to ones health, theres a lack of scientific evidence to back that up.) Of the fruits mentioned here, however, only the Del Monte Pinkglow pineapple was made with genetic modification a gene was toned down to produce less of an enzyme that turns the pineapple from pink to yellow while the marketing teams of the rest go out of their way to remind us that they were created via old-fashioned methods.

At the same time, these fruits might also help expand the future of indoor farming. Its more expensive to grow indoors, but it makes year-round produce possible and creates local food systems, uses less water, avoids the pitfalls of climate change and extreme weather and makes pesticide-free farming the norm. Vertical farms also tend to have better working conditions (horizontal farms require repetitive bending, and then theres the sweltering sun), though they require less labor overall because so much is automated. Oishii, which has received over $50 million in funding and has aims to become the largest strawberry producer on the planet, even has proprietary technology that allows bees to thrive indoors. They live in harmony with our farmers and our A.I.-powered robots, said Oishiis C.E.O., Hiroki Koga.

Most consumers, though, have to be buying and eating these fruits primarily because they like them. Fran Dillard, Driscolls vice president of brand and product marketing, who wore a necklace with a strawberry charm on our video call, thinks their success is reflective of post-peak-Covid optimism. At the start of the pandemic, grocery stores, with their empty flour shelves and obvious dependence on underpaid essential workers, became microcosms of our entire society. Now, at least in some places, theyre overstocked paradises of new treats almost cartoonish and surreal. For a trippy fruit salad, pair pink pineapple with yellow strawberries and be on the lookout for Sunset Growns Moon berries, extra-long blackberries with less of that woody inner stem that are expected later this year. Indeed, maybe, at a time when so much seems out of our control and in need of improvement, knowing that we can at least have a perfect strawberry is a small source of comfort, and maybe that knowledge makes it taste sweeter still. Its very gratifying as a plant breeder to produce something that people like that much, says Stewart, The world needs alfalfa, but nobodys excited when you show up at a party with a box of alfalfa, you know?

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On Gum Drop Grapes and Other Fruits Designed to Taste Like Candy - The New York Times