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Category Archives: Transhuman News
Salad could be grown on Mars, scientists say – The Independent
Posted: May 18, 2020 at 3:42 pm
Salad could be grown on Mars, scientists have said after successfully sending seeds on a mission to space.
The research saw a million rocket seeds sent on an actual rocket to the International Space Station. The mission, in 2015, was supported by British astronaut Tim Peake.
When the seeds came back to Earth six months later, 600,000 children across the UK took part in an experiment organised by the Royal Horticultural Society to grow and monitor these seeds.
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
Although spaceflight did not compromise seed viability and development of the seedlings, the researchers said the "germination vigour" of the seeds was reduced.
They believe their findings, published recently in the journal Life, take scientists a step closer to knowing whether edible crops can be cultivated on long space missions.
Dr Jake Chandler, of the Royal Holloway's department of biological sciences in London and lead author on the paper, said: "Transporting high quality seeds to space and beyond will be crucial for growing plants that support human exploration of space, Mars and other worlds.
"Our study found that a six month journey to space reduced the vigour of rocket seeds compared to those that stayed on Earth, indicating that spaceflight accelerated the ageing process."
The researchers say that to maintain the quality of dormant seeds during spaceflights, they need to be protected from the harmful effects of cosmic radiation and mechanical vibrations of the spacecraft.
While aboard the ISS, the absorbed radiation dose of the seeds was found to be 100 times greater compared to the Earth's surface.
The researchers believe the radiation exposure during Mars missions would be at least five times greater than that of the ISS.
But despite these challenges, the experts say growing crops on long space missions could be achievable, if the seeds are sufficiently protected.
Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas flom fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telelscope in February 2010
Nasa/ESA/STScI
The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012
Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy
Nasa
Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth
Getty
An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust
Nasa
The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth
Getty
Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015
Nasa/APL/SwRI
A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun
Nasa
Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand
Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona
Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015
Nasa/Scott Kelly
Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas flom fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telelscope in February 2010
Nasa/ESA/STScI
The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012
Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy
Nasa
Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth
Getty
An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust
Nasa
The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth
Getty
Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015
Nasa/APL/SwRI
A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun
Nasa
Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand
Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona
Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015
Nasa/Scott Kelly
Dr Chandler said: "Thus, while we should carefully consider protecting seeds from potentially harmful factors including space radiation and mechanical vibration, the seeds remained alive, and the prospect of eating home-grown salad on Mars may be one small step closer."
Major Peake, added: "In one of the largest and most inspirational experiments of its kind, more than half a million young people collected reliable data to help the scientists at Royal Holloway investigate the effects of spaceflight on rocket seeds.
"When humans travel to Mars, they will need to find ways to feed themselves, and this research helps us understand some of the biology of seed storage and germination which will be vital for future space missions."
Additional reporting by Press Association
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Salad could be grown on Mars, scientists say - The Independent
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How and when to see the International Space Station in the sky from where you live – Hillingdon Times
Posted: at 3:42 pm
Details of how and when to spot the International Space Station above the UK at night have been revealed.
The stationflies above our heads constantly, and orbits the planet every 90 minutes at a height of over 250 miles.
Of course, it's impossible to see during the day, but at night - and with the space station's orbit passing over Britain just so - it takes on the appearance of a bright star moving across the sky.
It can actually be startling when you first spot it - a glowing orb without the telltale flashes of an aircraft's wing drifting silently through the dark - but the station passes overhead fairly frequently.
It goes through periods when we won't be able to see it for months, as its diagonal orbit crosses other parts of the planet, but every now and then, there comes a space of a few weeks when it flies overhead - and at night.
Times vary ever so slightly depending on your location, but we've used those given by NASA's Spot the Station website for Lancaster - the closest point we could find to the geographical centre of the UK - to try to give a good average.
Here are the dates and times of when the station will become visible, with details ofhow long it will be in the sky in brackets. Here's when to see it:
For more information, and for timings more specific to where you live, visit NASA's Spot the Station website- spotthestation.nasa.gov.
How do I see it?
You should have no trouble spotting the International Space Station as it drifts overhead - we say 'drift', but it's actually travelling at over 17,000 mph.
The station takes on the appearance of a bright star, and is usually much brighter than anything else in the sky.
Sometimes the station will rise over the horizon; other times it might 'fade' into view in the middle of the night sky as it enters into the sun's light.
It will always appear in the west, and will travel eastwards.
And just as it appears, it may disappear in the same way, growing fainter and fainter until its completely enshrouded by the Earth's shadow.
You'll easily be able to spot it with the naked eye (cloud cover permitting of course), though even modestly priced binoculars may be able to pick out some of the station's details, like its large solar panels.
So take a look up, there's a good chance you'll spot the International Space Station, and it can be amazing to think there are actually people living up there and conducting experiments within the space environment.
The experiments that they carry out would be almost impossible to replicate on earth.
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How and when to see the International Space Station in the sky from where you live - Hillingdon Times
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International Space Station tracker: how to see the ISS fly over Scotland in May – The Scotsman
Posted: at 3:42 pm
LifestyleOutdoorsThe International Space Station flies above our heads constantly, orbiting the planet every 90 minutes at a height of over 250 miles
Friday, 15th May 2020, 1:25 pm
Of course, it's impossible to see during the day, but at night - and with the space station's orbit passing over Britain just so - it takes on the appearance of a bright star moving across the sky.
It can actually be startling when you first spot it - a glowing orb without the telltale flashes of an aircraft's wing drifting silently through the dark - but the station passes overhead fairly frequently.
It goes through periods when we won't be able to see it for months, as its diagonal orbit crosses other parts of the planet, but every now and then, there comes a space of a few weeks when it flies overhead - and at night.
We've given the date, the time the station will become visible, and how long it will be in the sky in brackets. Here's when to see it:
May 15 - 10:51pm (5 minutes)
May 16 - 12.26am (6 minutes)
May 16 - 2:03am (6 minutes)
May 16 - 3:40am (5 minutes)
May 16 - 10:04pm (4 minutes)
May 16 - 11:39pm (6 minutes)
May 17 - 1:15am (6 minutes)
May 17 - 2:52am (6 minutes)
May 17 - 10:51pm (6 minutes)
May 18 - 12:27am (6 minutes)
May 18 - 2:04am (6 minutes)
May 18 - 3:42am (3 minutes)
May 18 - 10:04pm (5 minutes)
May 18 - 11:40pm (6 minutes)
May 19 - 1:16am (4 minutes)
May 19 - 2:53am (1 minutes)
May 19 - 10:52pm (6 minutes)
May 20 - 12:28am (5 minutes)
May 20 - 2:05am (1 minutes)
May 20 - 10:04pm (6 minutes)
May 20 - 11:41pm (6 minutes)
May 21 - 1:18am (2 minutes)
May 21 - 10:53pm (6 minutes)
May 22 - 12:30am (3 minutes)
May 22 - 10:05pm (6 minutes)
May 22 - 11:42pm (5 minutes)
May 23 - 1:19am (1 minutes)
May 23 - 10:54pm (6 minutes)
May 24 - 12:31am (2 minutes)
May 24 - 10:06pm (6 minutes)
May 24 - 11:43pm (4 minutes)
May 25 - 10:55pm (5 minutes)
May 26 - 12:33am (1 minutes)
May 26 - 10:07pm (6 minutes)
May 26 - 11:44pm (3 minutes)
May 27 - 10:56pm (5 minutes)
You should have no trouble spotting the International Space Station as it drifts overhead - we say 'drift', but it's actually travelling at over 17,000 mph.
The station takes on the appearance of a bright star, and is usually much brighter than anything else in the sky.
Sometimes the station will rise over the horizon; other times it might 'fade' into view in the middle of the night sky as it enters into the sun's light.
It will always appear in the west, and will travel eastwards.
And just as it appears, it may disappear in the same way, growing fainter and fainter until its completely enshrouded by the Earth's shadow.
You'll easily be able to spot it with the naked eye (cloud cover permitting of course), though even modestly priced binoculars may be able to pick out some of the station's details, like its large solar panels.
So take a look up, there's a good chance you'll spot the International Space Station, and it can be amazing to think there are actually people living up there and conducting experiments within the space environment.
The experiments that they carry out would be almost impossible to replicate on earth.
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International Space Station tracker: how to see the ISS fly over Scotland in May - The Scotsman
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MB&F and LEpe 1839’s Latest Clock is a Horological Space Station – HYPEBEAST
Posted: at 3:42 pm
Following the release of its Bulldog-inspired watch earlier this march, Swiss luxury watchmaker MB&F has returned alongside premier clockmaker LEpe 1839 for its latest clock, the Starfleet Explorer. Arriving six years after the launch of the Starfleet Machine, the two brands latest horological space station exudes a spacecraft-like design fit for exploring the galaxy.
Designed by MB&F and crafted byLEpe 1839, the Starfleet Explorer has been crafted in stainless steel and hand-lacquered polymer, arriving in three unique colorways of blue, green, or red. Not only does it display the hours and minutes, it also features an animation whereby three spacecraft perform a five-minute orbit around the station. Finishing off the piece is an eight-day power reserve as well as the capability to be manually wound using a key that winds the clocks movement and sets the time.
Take a detailed look at MB&F and LEpe 1839s Starfleet Explorer clock above. Exclusive to 99 units per colorway, they are currently available for 10,700 CHF (approximately $11,000 USD) via MB&Fs webstore.
For more design news, COPAZE has crafted a Honda S2000-themed air freshener and home rug.
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MB&F and LEpe 1839's Latest Clock is a Horological Space Station - HYPEBEAST
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Kriya Therapeutics announces $80 million Series A financing to advance gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases – PRNewswire
Posted: May 17, 2020 at 4:45 am
PALO ALTO, Calif. and DURHAM, N.C., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kriya Therapeutics announced today that it has raised $80.5 million in a Series A financing to fund the development of transformative gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases. Kriya was formed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and has an industry-leading gene therapy team that includes former senior leadership from Spark Therapeutics, AveXis, Sangamo Therapeutics, and other gene therapy companies. Kriya's pipeline today includes multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, severe obesity, and other indications. The company is located in the Bay Area, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and is building a platform infrastructure in partnership with leading academic institutions and industry pioneers.
Series A investors include QVT, Dexcel Pharma, Foresite Capital, Bluebird Ventures (associated with Sutter Hill Ventures), Narya Capital, Amplo, Paul Manning, and Asia Alpha. This Series A round follows an initial seed financing completed by the company in the fourth quarter of 2019 led by Transhuman Capital, who also participated in the Series A round.
Kriya is focused on developing gene therapies for diseases affecting millions of patients, expanding the field of gene therapy beyond rare monogenic disorders. Kriya is targeting diseases where the underlying biology is well-understood, with the goal of rationally designing one-time gene therapies to durably express therapeutic proteins within the appropriate human tissues.
"There have been numerous successful gene therapies focused on rare monogenic diseases in recent years," said Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Kriya Therapeutics. "We see tremendous potential to expand the field and apply gene therapy to highly prevalent serious diseases. We are focused on designing gene therapies using algorithmic tools, scalable infrastructure, and proprietary technology to optimize the efficacy and durability of our treatments. We look forward to accelerating the development of our pipeline, platform technologies, and internal GMP manufacturing capability with the funds raised in this Series A financing."
Kriya's initial pipeline includes multiple AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity:
Kriya's founders and leadership team have deep experience in the design, development and manufacturing of successful gene therapies and biological medicines:
"Kriya is building a leading team and cutting-edge infrastructure to engineer best-in-class gene therapies for severe chronic conditions and accelerate their advancement into human clinical trials," said Roger Jeffs, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Kriya. "The company is committed to incorporating the latest advancements in the field into the design and development of its therapeutic constructs. Through its R&D laboratory capabilities in the Bay Area and in-house process development and manufacturing infrastructure in Research Triangle Park, I believe that Kriya will be uniquely positioned to become a leader in the gene therapy field."
About Kriya Therapeutics
Kriya Therapeutics is a next-generation gene therapy company focused on designing and developing transformative gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases. With core operations in the Bay Area, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Kriya is establishing a platform for the development of gene therapies targeting serious chronic diseases affecting millions of patients. The company's initial pipeline includes multiple programs for the treatment of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity. For more information, please visit http://www.kriyatx.com.
ContactNachi Gupta, M.D., Ph.D.Chief of Staff[emailprotected]
SOURCE Kriya Therapeutics
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Kriya Therapeutics announces $80 million Series A financing to advance gene therapies for highly prevalent serious diseases - PRNewswire
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IU team pursues breathtaking regenerative medicine advances – The Advocate
Posted: at 4:41 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A dime-size nanochip developed by a world-renowned researcher who recently relocated to Indianapolis could help transform the practice of medicine. It could also turn Indianapolis into a manufacturing and research hub for radically new disease and trauma treatment techniques.
It all began in August 2018, when Chandan Sen, one of the worlds leading experts in the nascent field of regenerative medicine, moved his lab from Ohio State University to the Indiana University School of Medicine. He brought along a team of about 30 researchers and $10 million in research grants, and now serves, among a myriad of other positions, as director of the newly formed Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, to which IU pledged $20 million over its first five years.
IU recruited Sen away from Ohio State in part because of its desire not just to promote academic research in his field but also to help develop practical, commercial products and uses for his breakthroughs.
A scientist prefers to be in the lab and keep on making more discoveries, said Sen, 53.
But I thought that, unless we participate in the workforce development process and the commercialization process, I dont think that the businesspeople would be ready to do it all by themselves. Because its such a nascent field.
Its definitely new and its potential sounds like the stuff of science fiction.
Regenerative medicine, as its name hints, seeks to develop methods for replacing or reinvigorating damaged human organs, cells and tissues.
For instance, instead of giving a diabetic a lifetimes worth of insulin injections, some of his skin cells could be altered to produce insulin, curing him. Such techniques might also be used for everything from creating lab-grown replacement organs to, someday, regenerating severed limbs.
Regenerative medicine offers a form of medicine that is neither a pill nor a device, Sen said.
It is a completely new platform, where you dont necessarily depend on any given drug, but are instead modifying bodily functions.
Sen and his teams signal contribution to the field is a technique theyve dubbed tissue nanotransfection, or TNT. Put simply, it uses a nanotechnology-based chip infused with a special biological cargo that, when applied to the skin and given a brief electrical charge, can convert run-of-the-mill skin cells into other cell types. Potentially, the technique could be used for everything from regrowing blood vessels in burn-damaged tissue to creating insulin-secreting cells that could cure diabetics.
Obviously, such applications are still down the road a ways. But the technology is far enough along that some products are already making it to market and investors, entrepreneurs and established companies are sniffing around for opportunities. According to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, more than 1,000 clinical trials worldwide are using regenerative medicine technologies.
Thousands of patients are already benefiting from early commercial products, and we expect that number will grow exponentially over the next few years, said Janet Lambert, the alliances CEO.
Lambert predicts that the number of approved gene therapies will double in the next one to two years. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration predicted it would be approving 10 to 20 cell and gene therapies each year by 2025.
These new techniques could do more than just revolutionize medicine. They could also upend the medical industry as we know it. And the IU School of Medicine and Indianapolis could lead the way.
There are really only two or three places in the country that did the kind of comprehensive work that Dr. Sens group was doing, said Anantha Shekhar, executive associate dean for research at IU School of Medicine. And they were doing it from the lab all the way to the clinic, where they were already applying those technologies in patients.
So it was very attractive to think of starting with a bang bringing a comprehensive group here and creating a new center.
Instead of merely treating chronic conditions, regenerative medicine could end them, once and for all.
For instance, consider a car with an oil leak. The traditional medical approach might be to live with the chronic condition by pouring in a fresh quart of oil every few days. The regenerative medicine approach would fix the leak. Its good for the car, good for the cars owner but not necessarily good for the guy who was selling all those quarts of oil.
Which is why these new techniques, if they catch on, could cause turmoil in the medical industry.
Because regenerative medicine has the potential to durably treat the underlying cause of disease, rather than merely ameliorating the symptoms, this technology has the potential of being extremely disruptive to the current practice of medicine, Lambert said.
This has the potential to be hugely disruptive, Sen added, because so much of medicine today relies on huge industrial infrastructures to manage, not cure, chronic diseases and disabilities.
If such disruption comes to pass, the leaders of 16 Tech, a 50-acre innovation district northwest of downtown that aspires to house dozens of medical-related startups and established firms, would love to be its epicenter.
The Center for Regenerative Medicine will be one of the tenants of 16 Techs first building, a $30 million, 120,000-square-foot research and office building scheduled to open in June.
Regenerative medicine is probably one of the next major waves of medical innovation in the world, 16 Tech CEO Bob Coy said. To have him here doing this work gives Indianapolis and Indiana an opportunity to develop an industrial cluster in regenerative medicine.
Coy believes the most momentous early step on that road was the recent establishment by Sen of masters and doctoral programs in regenerative medicine at the IU School of Medicine. Its the first degree of its type in the country, earning IU and Indianapolis the enviable status of first mover.
I think, for example, of (Pittsburghs) Carnegie Mellon University, which, back in the late 1960s, created the first college of computer science in the country, Coy said. And now you know Carnegie Mellons reputation in computer science.
What isnt in place yet is a state or city program to promote development of a regenerative medicine hub.
We need to start doing that, Coy said. That means putting a lot of the infrastructure in place to support startups that are based on this technology, as well as recruiting companies that want to collaborate with Dr. Sen.
In spite of the lack of a coherent recruitment program, Coys phone has started to ring, thanks largely to Sens presence.
There have been a few meetings Ive had with people who already have relationships with him, who, when they come to town, have reached out to meet and talk about what were doing at 16 Tech, he said.
One of the first 16 Tech startups with designs on the regenerative medicine niche is Sexton Biotechnologies.
The company was groomed by Cook Regentec, a division of Bloomington-based Cook Group charged with incubating and accelerating technologies for regenerative medicine and the related field of cell gene therapy.
Any products that show promise are either folded into the company, turned into their own divisions or, as in Sextons case, spun off as an independent entity with Cook retaining a financial stake.
Its a measure of the newness of this field that Sextons 17 employees arent working on new medicines, but rather marketing basic tools needed to conduct research. The companys offerings include a vial for storing cell and gene products in liquid nitrogen, and a cell culture growth medium.
Theres a ready market for such tailor-made gear, because, for years, researchers in the regenerative medicine field had to make do with jury-rigged equipment.
What most of those companies did was repurpose things like tools from the blood banking industry, or tools from bio pharma, said Sean Werner, Sextons president.
So thats why a lot of newer companies are starting to build tools explicitly for the industry, as opposed to everybody just having to cobble together stuff that was already out there.
Werner said investors recognize the momentous opportunity in regenerative medicine and are flocking to the field.
Its not something you have to explain, he said. Companies and VC groups are trying to get a piece of it.
What has investors and medical researchers charged up is the almost unlimited range of potential applications, from healing burns to, perhaps someday, regenerating limbs.
I think it would be a huge revolution if were able to, for example, regenerate insulin-secreting cells in children who have become juvenile diabetics or have for whatever reason lost their pancreas, Shekhar said. Those are the kinds of things that will start to change the way we see certain diseases.
Lambert predicted that, as the science advances, so will the business case.
While early programs focused primarily on rare genetic diseases and blood cancers, were already seeing the field expand into more common age-related neurological disorders, such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers, she said.
I expect this trend to continue in the coming years, greatly increasing the number of patients poised to benefit from these therapies.
Werner said regenerative medicine also is seeking advancements in manufacturing technologies that will lower the cost of product development.
It all adds up to a huge opportunity the state is well-positioned to seize, Werner believes.
Indiana is a perfect place for this kind of thing to really ramp up, he said. Theres no reason we cant lead the field.
__
Source: Indianapolis Business Journal
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IU team pursues breathtaking regenerative medicine advances - The Advocate
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Precision medicine guides choice of better drug therapy in severe heart disease – Science Codex
Posted: at 4:41 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Is personalized medicine cost-effective? University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Nita Limdi, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and colleagues across the United States have answered that question for one medical treatment.
Patients experiencing a heart attack -- known as a myocardial infarction or an acute coronary syndrome -- have sharply diminished blood flow in coronary arteries, with a high risk of heart failure or death. Coronary angioplasty, a procedure to open narrowed or blocked arteries in the heart, and percutaneous coronary intervention, known as PCI or stenting, can restore blood flow to minimize damage to the heart. These procedures reduce the risk of subsequent major adverse cardiovascular events, or MACE, which include heart attacks, strokes or death.
But then, a treatment decision has to be made.
After stenting, all patients are treated with two antiplatelet agents for up to one year. Which combination of antiplatelets is best? The answer comes through pharmacogenomics, says Limdi, a professor in the UAB Department of Neurology and associate director of UAB's Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute.
Pharmacogenomics combines pharmacology, the study of drug action, with genetics, the study of gene function, to choose the best medication according to each patient's personal genetic makeup. This is also called precision medicine -- tailored medical treatment for each individual patient.
The most commonly used antiplatelet combination after PCI is aspirin and clopidogrel, which is trademarked as Plavix. Clopidogrel is converted to its active form by an enzyme called CYP2C19. However, patients respond to clopidogrel differently based on their genetic makeup.
More than 30 percent of people have loss-of-function variants in the CYP2C19 gene that decrease the effectiveness of clopidogrel. The FDA warns that these patients may not get the full benefit of clopidogrel, which would increase the risk of MACE. So the FDA advises doctors to consider a different treatment such as prasugrel or ticagrelor, trademarked as Effient and Brillinta, to replace clopidogrel.
While most patients undergoing PCI receive clopidogrel without receiving any CYP2C19 loss-of-function testing, academic institutions like UAB that offer precision medicine use pharmacogenomics to guide the selection of medication dosing.
In 2018, Limdi and other investigators across nine United States universities -- all members of the Implementing Genomics in Practice consortium, or IGNITE -- showed that patients with loss-of-function variants who were treated with clopidogrel had elevated risks. There was a twofold increase in MACE risk for PCI patients, and a threefold increase in MACE risk among patients with acute coronary syndrome who received PCI, as compared to patients prescribed with prasugrel or ticagrelor instead of clopidogrel. Prasugrel and ticagrelor are not influenced by the loss-of-function variant and can substitute for clopidogrel, but they are much more costly and bring a higher risk of bleeding.
The IGNITE group then leveraged this real-world data to conduct an economic analysis to determine the best drug treatment for these heart disease patients.
A study led by Limdi and colleagues, published in the Pharmacogenomics Journal, examines the cost-effectiveness of genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy for acute coronary syndrome patients with PCI. This cost-effectiveness study is the first to use real-world clinical data; many cost-effectiveness studies use clinical trial data, which tends to exclude the sicker patients normally seen in clinical practice.
The study compared three main strategies: 1) treating all patients with clopidogrel, 2) treating all patients with ticagrelor, or 3) genotyping all patients and using ticagrelor in those with loss-of-function variants.
"We showed that tailoring antiplatelet selection based on genotype is a cost-effective strategy," Limdi said. "Support is now growing to change the clinical guidelines, which currently do not recommend genotyping in all cases. Evidence like this is needed to advance the field of precision medicine."
Costs, QALYs and ICERs
In the analysis, Limdi and colleagues considered differences in event rates for heart attacks and stent thrombosis in patients receiving clopidogrel versus ticagrelor versus genotype-guided therapy, during the one-year period following stenting. They also included medical costs from those events that are borne by the payer, such as admissions, procedures, medications, clinical visits and genetic testing. The analysis considered variations in event rates and medication costs over time to ensure that the results held under different scenarios.
The study uses an economic measure -- the QALY, which stands for the quality-adjusted life year.
"First, we looked at which strategy provided the highest QALY," Limdi said. "The QALY is the gold standard for measuring benefit of an intervention -- in our case, genotype-guided treatment compared to treatment without genotyping. Universal ticagrelor and genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy had higher QALYs than universal clopidogrel -- so those are the best for the patient."
But health care resources are not infinite. So, Limdi and colleagues then evaluated whether those interventions that have higher QALYs were also reasonable from a cost perspective. This analysis considered the willingness to pay. What would a payor or a patient pay for the highest QALY?
"In our case, the payor would recognize that ticagrelor is more expensive than clopidogrel -- $360 per month vs. $10 per month -- and there is a $100 cost for each genetic test," Limdi said. "So, from the payor perspective, the more effective strategy (one with a higher QALY) -- if more expensive (higher cost) -- would have to lower the risks of bad outcomes like heart attacks and strokes for the gains in QALY that are at, or below, the willingness-to-pay threshold."
A calculation called incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, or ICERs, assesses the incremental cost of the benefit (improvement in QALY). In the United States, a treatment is considered cost-effective if its associated ICER is at or below the willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000 per QALY.
"In our assessment, the two strategies with the highest QALY had very different ICERs," Limdi said. "The genotype-guided strategy was cost-effective at $42,365 per QALY. Universal ticagrelor was not; it had an ICER of $227,044 per QALY."
The researchers also looked at some secondary strategies for a real-world reason. A number of clinicians now prescribe ticagrelor or prasugrel for the first 30 days after PCI, which is considered a period of greater risk, and then switch their patients to the less expensive drug clopidogrel.
The secondary analysis allowed Limdi and colleagues to explore the cost-effectiveness of giving all patients ticagrelor for 30 days, and then switching them to clopidogrel, without genetic testing, versus switching the patients based on genotype. Both strategies were better -- in terms of QALYs -- than a universal switch to clopidogrel at 30 days. However, neither of the two appeared to be cost-effective. Because these secondary strategies used estimated parameters, "the findings should only be considered as hypothesis-generating," Limdi said.
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Sarepta Therapeutics’ (SRPT) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Robert W. Baird – MarketBeat
Posted: at 4:41 am
Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird in a report released on Friday, TipRanks reports. They currently have a $192.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price suggests a potential upside of 35.93% from the company's previous close.
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BidaskClub raised shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Nomura Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $211.00) on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, SVB Leerink reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $216.00 target price on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.05.
Shares of NASDAQ SRPT opened at $141.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.85. The company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 1.87. Sarepta Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $72.05 and a 12-month high of $158.80. The company has a current ratio of 8.31, a quick ratio of 7.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.
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Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of ($2.17) by $1.94. The company had revenue of $113.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.18 million. Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 64.67% and a negative net margin of 160.96%. The company's revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.07) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sarepta Therapeutics will post -8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In other news, Director Richard Barry sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.26, for a total transaction of $4,237,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,163,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $446,920,224.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Lennart Rudolf Wigzell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.89, for a total value of $584,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,196,596.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SRPT. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Sarepta Therapeutics by 32.8% in the first quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 154,611 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,428,000 after buying an additional 38,194 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS acquired a new position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,386,000. Zeke Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Zeke Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $860,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Sarepta Therapeutics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.76% of the company's stock.
Sarepta Therapeutics Company Profile
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc focuses on the discovery and development of RNA-based therapeutics, gene therapy, and other genetic medicine approaches for the treatment of rare diseases. The company offers EXONDYS 51, a disease-modifying therapy for duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Its products pipeline include Golodirsen, a product candidate that binds to exon 53 of dystrophin pre-mRNA, which results in exclusion or skipping of exon during mRNA processing in patients with genetic mutations; and Casimersen, a product candidate that uses phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) chemistry and exon-skipping technology to skip exon 45 of the DMD gene.
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10 Buy and Hold Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio
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Sarepta Therapeutics' (SRPT) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Robert W. Baird - MarketBeat
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Gene Editing Technologies in Diagnostic Platforms Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.4% during the forecast period due to the rise in research…
Posted: at 4:41 am
There has been a rise in government funding and research programs which is paving the way for the growth of the gene editing technologies in diagnostic platforms market. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has allocated funding on the study of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) from 2011 to 2018. The NIH spent about US$ 3,083.4 million between the fiscal year 2011 and 2018 on a total of 6,685 projects. The funding has been increased by 213.1% between the fiscal year 2014 and 2015.
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Moreover, with the help of NIH Common Funds support, National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) program on January 2018 which is working to improve the effectiveness and specificity of gene editing techniques to assist in the diminishing of the burden of common and erratic diseases caused by genetic variations. The program aims at developing quality tools to execute and determine effective and harmless genome editing in somatic cells of the body. These tools will be made extensively available to the research community to lessen the time and expense which is required to develop new therapies. Furthermore, Somatic Cell Genome Editing program will award approximately US$ 190 million to biomedical researchers over the six years starting from 2018 till 2023. Hence, these types of research programs and funding given to the researchers will help the diagnostic platforms to get the tools which will aid them in carrying out gene editing and will drive the future market of the gene editing technologies in diagnostic platforms.
The number of CRISPR related publications, as listed in the SCOPUS database of peer-reviewed research, shows the surge in funding. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of such publications raised 117.5% which is 1,457. In 2019, the number surpassed 3,900 and increased at a rate of 4.8%. Overall, 12,900 papers associated with the technique have been published since 2011, Thus, this increasing research is expected to assist in the gene editing technologies in diagnostic platforms market growth over the forecast period.
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Key Findings of the Report:
In terms of revenue, the gene editing technologies in diagnostic platforms market is expected to reach US$ 7,004.8 Mn by 2027, expanding at 14.4% CAGR during the forecast period due to the rising government funding for genome editing and engineering
Beam Therapeutics, Bio-Connect Group, CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, GeneCopoeia, Inc., GenScript, Horizon Discovery Ltd., Inscripta, Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., Intellia Therapeutics, Inc., Lonza Group Ltd., Merck KGaA, New England Biolabs, OriGene Technologies, Inc., Pairwise, Precision Biosciences, Sangamo Therapeutics, STEMCELL Technologies Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. are the key market participants operating in the gene editing technologies in diagnostic platforms market.
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Gene Editing Technologies in Diagnostic Platforms Market:
By Technology
CRISPR
TALEN
ZFN
Others
By Application
Cell Line Engineering
Genetic Engineering
Animal Genetic Engineering
Plant Genetic Engineering
Others
By End-User
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Companies
Academic and Research Institutions
Contract Research Organization (CROs)
By Geography
North America
U.S.
Canada
Mexico
Rest of North America
Europe
France
The UK
Spain
Germany
Italy
Nordic Countries
Denmark
Finland
Iceland
Sweden
Norway
Benelux Union
Belgium
The Netherlands
Luxembourg
Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
China
Japan
India
New Zealand
Australia
South Korea
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
Rest of Southeast Asia
Rest of Asia Pacific
Middle East and Africa
Saudi Arabia
UAE
Egypt
Kuwait
South Africa
Rest of Middle East & Africa
Latin America
Brazil
Argentina
Rest of Latin America
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Gene Editing Technologies in Diagnostic Platforms Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.4% during the forecast period due to the rise in research...
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Where Are The SARS-CoV-2 Genomes From East Africa? – BioTechniques.com
Posted: May 15, 2020 at 8:48 pm
The first reported case of COVID-19 was 13 March 2020 in Kenya and 10 weeks later, not a single genome is available publicly from any of the East African Community countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan). Why is it so? And why does it matter? Globally the main focus during this outbreak has been rapid COVID testing and not whole-genome sequencing. The team at Nextstrain has highlighted the utility of whole-genome sequencing in addition to rapid testing. We have presented below some of the challenges to obtaining whole genomes in East Africa and most importantly we have suggested a way forward.
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As a diagnostic, whole genomes are critical. Sequences confirm the identity of the disease-causing pathogen and can be further used for studying diversity, tracing movement of virus strains, designing models that can predict the disease spread and to better understand the enemy. A recent French study in bioRxiv has claimed the SARS-CoV-2 strain in France was not imported from China. This highlights the importance of a sequencing initiative to be able to properly trace the progress of the pandemic in every setting the Icelandic approach.
Real-time data are very important because they serve as a diagnostic test that guides quick patient management and decision-making from an epidemiological standpoint; and genomics would provide further tools in designing therapeutic approaches.
Over the years, millions of USD have been spent building genomic sequencing facilities in East Africa. In Kenya, Biosciences for east and central Africa (plant and animal) and KEMRIWellcome Trust (both Nairobi, Kenya) (human health) are partnerships with national governments and international funders but to date neither have delivered a genome.
In Uganda, the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI; Entebbe, Uganda), is a centre of excellence in virus research with the human and infrastructural capacity and international support for genome sequencing. However, UVRI has also not yet delivered a single SARS-CoV-2 genome.
Tanzania has a different landscape. There are no large international sequencing facilities, but the national research organizations, universities and hospitals like Muhimbili National Hospital (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) and the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA; Morogoro, Tanzania) have various platforms such as the Illumina (CA, USA) MiSeq, HiSeq and the Oxford Nanopore MinION. They too have not yet generated any SARS-CoV-2 genomes.
So why have none of these institutions with the sequencing infrastructure and support in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda not delivered the much-needed SARS-CoV-2 genomes yet?
Taking the highest tech genomics tools to the farmers in East Africa
DNA sequencing in Africa is currently a laborious task requiring researchers to send data to a centralized sequencing lab in Kenya or to await results from overseas. Here, Laura Boykin tells her story of working with the Tanzanian Agricultural Research Institute.
For Kenya, the biggest hurdle is a lack of partnerships. So far, all the work on COVID-19 is handled solely by the Ministry of Health (MoH; Nairobi, Kenya). Accordingly, there has been no access to samples considering also that this disease is highly infectious and these samples need to be handled in biosafety level 4 labs. Due to poor partnerships (aka poor coordination), the work is largely being done in KEMRI and private medical labs such as Lancet. The other limitations are:
Power, computers, internet and PCR machines are not a challenge.
The sequencing capacity is there especially in research and academic institutes; the SUA has the Thermo Fisher Scientific (MA, USA) Ion Torrent that they use for foot and mouth disease and other animal research, the Kilimanjaro Clinical research Institute (KCRI, Moshi, Tanzania) has the Illumina MiSEQ (I have seen this personally) which they use for their tuberculosis research; the Government Chemist Laboratory Authority (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) has a genetic analyzer and was able to acquire the Illumina HiSEQ, which they use for their forensic studies; the National Health Laboratory (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) also has a genetic analyzer. There are two laboratories which are capable of sequencing using Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK). These are Muhimbili national hospital and the SUA in collaboration with the NHL. There were no funds to do the sequencing at the beginning of the outbreak but now the SUA has secured some funds to sequence, Muhimbili might get a donation to do so too. Another laboratory that is capable of sequencing but does not have the funds to do so is the KCRI. Capacity and skills are not a problem. However, in a government setting and in most institutes, employees are given specific tasks as per institute mandate. Its true that we have many people trained in sequencing, but some are outside government settings/employment and some of those who are in government employment are not in clinical research. For example, the cassava disease diagnostic team was focused on agricultural research. Some of the trained people are not trained to handle clinical samples. So clearly there is a disconnect between clinical and agricultural disease diagnostic techniques.
Another challenge is lack of local partnerships (internal collaborations among different institutes in Tanzania). There are no good networks that connect healthcare facilities with research and academic institutes. Most healthcare facilities do not have the critical mass of trained experts in sequencing and due to their mandates and the sheer heaviness of their routine workload, they rarely have the bandwidth to pursue research regularly. Herein comes the need to forge strong links between the two that would have been in prime position to address this pandemic. Unfortunately it has not been easy; from my personal experience there are a lot of territorial issues at play that are hard to overcome. Perhaps this pandemic might bring a change in mindset.
Another challenge is global but is felt more in countries like Tanzania; inadequate funding for R&D. While the government, through the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and other institutes, provides for R&D funding, it is still limited especially when compared to the costs of running genomics experiments. External funding is always difficult especially for researchers who are not part of a consortium led by PIs from Europe and/or North America. This has helped establish centers but has meant that the moment funding runs out the lab is less active, the reagents and consumables run out and equipment ends up in disuse.
There appears to be a lack of awareness among policy makers and/or not enough initiative from the local scientists working in this field to inform our policy makers about the importance of whole genome sequencing for management of COVID-19. Since most sequencing initiatives in the country are led by foreign consortia (which we feel needs to change) led from either Europe or North America it is possible that the benefits from such projects are rarely seen by policy makers in Tanzania. We see there needs to be a clear link between the governments and local scientists to work on the same matters from different perspectives. We hope the donated research reagents to the African CDC will reach the institutes as soon as they arrive the airport without customs delays.
There is both human and infrastructural capacity in sequencing at UVRI and the Medical Research Council all based at Entebbe, Uganda. However, the COVID-19 genomes are not yet out in the public arena.
There are computers, access to internet, power and the supplies required to carry out PCR testing and analysis of coronavirus/COVID-19 infections, which were initially provided by the UVRI through its running projects and currently with the support of the government. However, more supplies would be needed to monitor the entry and spread of the virus in the communities.
As of today, it is the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Health (Kampala, Uganda) as the mandated institution of government to lead all COVID-19 pandemic-related issues. This includes checking for possible cases with suspected symptoms, isolation/quarantine, collecting samples, sample analysis and announcement of outcomes of testing and treatment. In addition, task forces were established to coordinate COVID-19-related issues at national, regional and district level. The laboratory analysis of the suspected COVID-19 samples is carried out by UVRI. Although there are other institutions with both human and infrastructural capacity in molecular biology and disease diagnostics, there are limited partnerships on widening the testing for COVID-19 in the country to involve the private sector. This may be partly due to the highly infectious nature of the disease and the requirement to carry out the laboratory testing and analysis in a biosafety level 4 containment facility such as UVRI. However, there are some partnerships within the private sector in management of the disease.
Insight into SARS-CoV-2 genome spells good news for vaccine development
Infectious disease researchers have identified just five SARS-CoV-2 gene variants, suggesting a vaccine for COVID-19 could be highly effective.
This article is written by East African Scientists and international partners who have been working for years on collaborative research projects, including The Cassava Virus Action Project, around managing emerging plant virus disease pandemics using novel molecular diagnostics and genomics. The team was disheartened to watch COVID-19 arrive and spread in East African countries, where they have successfully partnered to build capacity in rapid plant virus diagnostics and genome sequencing using novel portable technologies such as the Oxford Nanopore MinION, which have not been put to good use in the fight against the pandemic.
Professor Elijah Ateka Molecular Biologist
Dr. Joseph Ndunguru Molecular Plant Pathologist
Dr. Daniel Maeda Molecular and Cellular Biologist (Health Focus)
Mr. Charles Kayuki Molecular Biologist
Dr. Peter Sseruwagi Molecular disease epidemiologist
Dr. Laura M. Boykin Computational Biologist
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Where Are The SARS-CoV-2 Genomes From East Africa? - BioTechniques.com
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