Archives: 2019-03-12

The human reference genome falls short in ways that have become embarrassing, misleading, and emblematic of the white European dominance of science.

Here’s why that’s undermining personalized medicine In a paper published last week, scientists led by Dr. Pui-Yan Kwok of the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed 154 genomes from 26 ethnic populations, from Han Chinese and Tuscans to Yoruba, Esan, Puerto Ricans, and Peruvians. They found 60 million bases in one or more of these populations

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Smart Needle

Researchers invent a resistance-sensing injection device that knows where to go Syringes and hollow needles—among the most feared and most commonly used tools in medical practice—have been around for more than a century.  However, the precise insertion of these devices depends largely on the technique and skill of the person delivering the injection. And some anatomical

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New Insight into Aging Hearts

Molecular pathway plays major role in the intersection between aging and heart failure A team led by Harvard Medical School researchers based at Massachusetts General Hospital has found that activity of an important signaling pathway increases with aging and with heart failure. In a report published in Science Translational Medicine, the team describes evidence from both humans

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Scientists find method to boost CRISPR efficiency

Discovery made while editing genetic defect behind Duchenne muscular dystrophy Scientists have developed a method to boost the efficiency of CRISPR gene editing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), according to a study that could have implications for optimizing gene therapies for other diseases. The finding stemmed from research at UT Southwestern in which a single-cut gene-editing

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Real Microgravity Promotes Myocardial Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Results from Tianzhou-1 Space Mission

Researchers used time-lapse imaging to show that mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) grown during spaceflight differentiated into cardiomyocytes significantly faster than similar cells grown at Earth’s gravity. The robust cardiomyocyte formation at microgravity, which lasted for 10 days, is described in an article published in Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert,

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Scaffold-free cell patches possible with simple protocol for engineered adipose-derived stem cells

Cell sheets have previously shown greater efficacy for tissue repair than injections of single stem cells. New research conducted by scientists at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc. (both CA, USA) has demonstrated the possibility of producing scaffold-free engineered cell sheets. These cell ‘patches’ could enable better organ repair follow

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In Situ Bioprinting of Autologous Skin Cells Accelerates Wound Healing of Extensive Excisional Full-Thickness Wounds

01 March 2019 P.M.Fornasari While the advent of 3D printers is commonly thought of as a revolution for manufacturing, it could have huge benefits for medicine as well. To help patch up large wounds that might normally require a skin graft, researchers at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) have developed a new bioprinter

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