Sunday, September 30, 2012

Brain tumor growth model


Having a good model of brain tumor growth pattern, as well as a mathematical equation based on the model, could help expedite image-guided surgery by decreasing the amount of time spent in the planning stage when surgeons must determine the size of a tumor before performing image-guided surgery. This paper suggests such a model and mathematical equation.

The general pattern of brain tumor growth is expressed on a slice by slice basis by the equation in the article. An existing model determines the instantaneous tumor area at any given point within a certain slice thickness, but no model exists to determine the volume of a tumor within and between slices. In a process that involved taking the integral of the existing equation, the authors were able to derive the equation for volume of a tumor within and between slices.

The validation design process of this equation involved two patients with similar circular tumors. In a five-step process, the results of the suggested model were accurate when compared to an existing model. The main benefit of the new model is that it indicates a quicker way to determine the volume of a tumor intra and inter slice can soon be developed.

Article:

http://iium.academia.edu/AbdulfattahAboaba/Papers/1896097/Brain_Tumor_Quantification_Equation

Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering Versus Regenerative Medicine

Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering Versus Regenerative Medicine 

For the full article click here

This article was written in the journal of cellular physiology by Arnold I. Caplan. The research was performed at the skeletal research center and the department of biology at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio; and published by Wiley-Liss, Inc. in 2007.

I chose this article because it discussed engineering of stem cells, like an article we read earlier in one of our previous SNBAL assignments. The engineering of stem cells from mature bone marrow peeked my interest because it wasn't from an embryo. I also liked how the article discusses the differences in ages and the affect of age on the stem cells efficiency to reconstruct. I also liked the visual given by the adult mesenchymal stem cells proliferation, and how it can be transformed into bone, marrow, cartilage, muscle, ligaments, and connective tissue.

This article is about tissue engineering from MSC's (Mesenchymal Stem Cells). The benefit of using MSC's over other stem cells is that they can differentiate into distinctive mesenchymal phenotypes. This can be beneficial because it allows   for regeneration of different body systems. However, it can be difficult to find MSC's because as you get older, your body generates less stem cells. The MSC's that come from adult bone marrow contain a rare and multifunctional progenitor cells. The most important functions that these MSC's can perform include the ability to differentiate between end-stage cell types, as previously mentioned, which allows the cells to be used to reform mesenchymal tissue and allows for tissue engineering. MSC's also have regenerative factors which allow for self regeneration in tissues. All these functions allow for the interest in tissue engineering through mesenchymal stem cells. 



Similarities Between Cancer Cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

According to a new paper published in the Stem Cells and Development journal, researchers at University of California - Davis have found multiple similarities between induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), somatic cells that were induced into stem cells, and oncogenic foci (OF), a form of engineered tumor cells.

The pluripotency of these stem cells made them prime candidates for regenerative medicine, and their use avoided the long-standing debate over the ethics of using embryonic stem cells. iPSCs could potentially be harvested from an adult, induced into any needed cell type, and then used as a therapy without the risk of an immune rejection.

In the study, scientists compared the transcriptomes, the set of all RNA molecules, of iPSC and OF.  They found that both cells shared similar metabolic activity and that both lacked genes that guide cells towards normal differentiation.  Their results indicated that more research be performed before steps were made towards clinical use in patients.

As part of their study, the scientists also were able to alter the genetic makeup of tumor-producing cells to make them very similar to iPSCs.  Their motivation was to find a pathway to make cancer cells behave like normal stem cells.

I thought this article was a real eye opener.  I feel like every time I hear about new stem cell therapies, we only hear about their potential.  We don't hear about how these cells could possibly be harmful, let alone cause cancer.  This article made me realize just how much we don't know about the possible side effects of using stem cells.

Article:
UC DAVIS RESEARCHERS FIND MULTIPLE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CANCER CELLS AND INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS

For further information:
Stem Cells and Development Journal
Induced pluripotency and oncogenic transformation are related processes

Stem Cell Therapy may lead to ALS Cure


           ARTICLE: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/767898

           BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics in Tel Aviv, Israel has conducted a clinical trial that shows that adult stem cell therapy may lead to the stabilization or even possibly to the cure of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  Patients were transplanted with stem cells derived from their own bone marrow and then were treated with the NurOwn stem cell technology.   Though it is early in the study, BrainStorm’s NurOwn therapy is showing improvement in many patients across multiple areas.  Areas where improvement was shown include speech, muscle strength, and breathing. Chaim Lebovits, the President of BrainStrom, said that the early results of the trial show that the stem cells might not just stop the deterioration in these ALS patients, but that it might even cure ALS.  He says that the coming phases in the trial will show for sure, but the results so far reaffirm their belief that the drug has enormous potential and may even be successful with less severe indications such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.
            So far the treatment has been safe and BrainStorm is awaiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin ALS trials at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
            I chose this article because I was intrigued by the possibility of stem cells used for treatment of Neurological diseases such as ALS, MS, and Parkinson’s.  I have a friend who is being tested for ALS, and the thought of using the body’s own stem cells to cure a disease that basically destroys the lives of 5,600 people who are diagnosed in the U.S. each year is a miraculous use of stem cell technology.  Though the trial is in the early stages, the results are an exciting development in the area of Biomedical Research.

Engineering of a Complex Organ; Progress Toward Development of a Tissue-engineered Lung



The engineering of complex organ structures such as the lungs is difficult due to a variety of factors not present in simple organ structures like the skin.  

A large number of different cell types such as endothelial cells, Clara cells, smooth muscle cells, and specialized pneumocytes  found in the lungs increase the organ’s complexity and present difficulties as to how to these cells should be acquired.  Stem cells have proven to be a useful cell source due to their multipotency, however problems arise as there are growth factor requirements that must be met in order to insure differentiation. 
Many factors must be considered when constructing a support scaffold.  The scaffold must remain long enough to provide framework necessary for cell growth and tissue development while retaining optimal elasticity.  Porosity of the scaffold is necessary.  Nutrient transport and cell-to-cell signaling cannot be inhibited if the engineered lung is to be effective.

To achieve production of a fully functional lung engineers are currently trying to develop the individual components of the lungs to gain the knowledge necessary to construct the entire organ structure.  Advances in these individual components have been made, but a better understanding of lung regeneration as a whole is needed before a final product can be created.

I found this article particularly entertaining, because it presented many of the problems being faced by engineers today who are trying to construct complex organs.  Disease will be rendered trivial as the engineering of controlled organ systems is realized.  There are many articles addressing the building of organ structures, but the lungs in particular interest me because many of my best friends and fraternity brothers are smokers and I figure at some point I’ll have to whip them up a fresh pair of lungs if they’re to stick around.

Nerve repair with injected gel

At the University of Texas at Austin, scientists have been working on a material that would be implanted in humans to help nerves repair themselves. Usually nerves cannot grow across a large gap once they have been severed. However, the gel-like material these scientists are developing will allow the nerves to grow across these gaps. The artificial material in development is a gel that is implanted with cells that secrete proteins that stimulate nerve growth. The gel is also coated with the proteins and sugars that nerves latch on to as they grow. The gel would be injected with undifferentiated cells and the gel would guide how these cells differentiated in nerve repair. The testing of this gel is still at an early stage and has yet to undergo animal testing.

based on the article found at http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/biomedical/devices/artificial-materials-to-repair-damaged-nerves-and-disappear

Blood type relation to coronary heart disease

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston have made studies relating a person's blood type and the chance of them developing coronary heart disease. The results of the research shows that people with non-O blood types A, B, or AB were more likely to develop heart diseases than those with O blood. Researchers said that the gene for blood type is often close to genes that code for proteins involving inflammation and cell adhesion, which contribute to coronary heart disease.

There is also evidence that blood type is related to cholesterol levels. Blood type A is associated with LDL which can clog arteries. And type AB is associated is linked to inflammation which can affect blood vessels.

The reason this articles interests me so much is because many people in my family, including my father have suffered from heart disease, and I may suffer from it in the future too, and in a way I do since my LDL levels are just above the range of "normal" in the scale. Which is why I try to have my HDL levels high and try to take preventive supplements that might help keep arteries clean.

This blog was based on the article in this web page: http://labtestsonline.org/news/120924chd/

Novel use of nanoparticles target non-invasive treatment for deep cancer


Researchers at the National University of Singapore have discovered a new technology that can lead to a non-invasive method of treating deep cancer. Research, led by Professor Zhang Yong, has proven that their nanoparticle technology could reduce tumor growth and control the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product.

Yong’s team used nanoparticles, which are able to convert near-infrared light to visible or  UV light, to control gene expression. Genes release certain proteins to ensure that our body works well and remains healthy. However, sometimes, this process can go wrong and cause our body to malfunction the process of gene expression. Near-infrared  light is non-toxic and is able to penetrate deeper in the tissues. When the near-infrared reaches the certain parts in the body, the nanoparticles convert the near-infrared light back to UV light to successfully activate the genes by controlling the amount of proteins expressed. Conventional light therapy has been used to treat tumors by using visible light to activate light sensitive drugs that kill cancer cells. However, the visible light cannot penetrate to the deep-seated tumors. But with near-infrared light is able to penetrate much deeper and able to activate the light sensitive drugs.

I found this article interesting and important to the bioengineering community for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, non-invasive treatments and methods continue to grow in importance and enlarge the scope of medical technology. Also, I found it interesting how the application of nanoparticles, drugs can be activated by near-infrared light, since it safe and is able to penetrate deeper into tissues to treat diseased cells. Lastly, this technology has developed a platform for a wide range for future innovations.






Article available: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-nanoparticles-non-invasive-treatment-deep-cancer.html

Protein Suppresion could help improve immune response as age increases.

Article

The above article discussed how scientist from Standford University School of Medicine believe that a protein called DUSP6 interferes with the ability of immune cells to respond to the presence of foeign substances. The scientist noted that as people ages, their immune response began to decline. Not only that but the effectiveness of vaccine also decreased with age. The team of scientist sought to identify what possible alterations could cause an age related decrease in the immune response. They looked specifically at T-Helper cells.  There are two types of T-Helper cells but the scientist discovered DUSP6 in Naive T-Helper cells. Naive T-Helper cells have never had contact with any antigens before but once they do get into contact with them, they are able to effectively activate and direct other immune cells.

The scientists compared blood cells taken from younger people (ages 20-35) and older people (ages 70-85) in response to stimulation. In this test, the scientist saw that there was a difference due to age in T-Helper cells but not in Memory T-helper cells. The age related difference was discovered to be due to the  enzyme DUSP6. DUSP6 detaches phosphate groups from other enzymes and this causes the activity of other enzymes to decrease.  It was also shown that DUSP6 levels increased as people aged. This was due to a decrease in the effectiveness of miR-181a, which is a molecule that slowed down the production of DUSP6. Thus as miR-181a became less effective, DUSP6 numbers increased. The Stanford team noted that the levels of miR-181a decrease with age and eventually deplete at age 65-70.  By artifically increasing miR-181a levels caused a decrease in DUSP6 cells. But it was also shown that increasing levels of DUSP6 would negate the effect of increasing miR-181a levels. A study done on zebrafish saw that a chemical called BCI blocked DUSP6's effects in cardiac cells. The Stanford team did tests using the BCI chemical. They saw that increasising the amount of BCI caused an increase in the activation of  T-helper cells. The team has yet to start clinical trials.

The reason I found this article so interesting was because it discussed why our body is sometimes not affected by vaccines. It was interesting to learn that our body has a system set up so as to make us succeptible to new diseases. It's shows why we get sicker as we age but as humans we are trying to fight that process. It seems odd that our body functions to work against our health as we age. The thought of nature versus human interference comes to mind. By a natural sense we are supposed to get sicker and die because of suppresed T-Helper Cells but we are trying to activate those cells so we can live longer. One thing though that I wished they discussed in the article was what other functions, if any, does the enzyme DUSP6 have. Is it only meant to remove phosphate groups from other enzymes to weaken our T-Helper cell activation or does the removal of phosphate groups play a vital role in our biological system when we get older.

Stanford University Medical Center. "Blocking key protein could halt age-related decline in immune system, study finds." ScienceDaily, 30 Sep. 2012. Web. 30 Sep. 2012.

Thermoresponsive nanocomposite hydrogels with cell-releasing behavior

Hydrogels can be formed from polymers, and by using different combinations of polymers theses hydrogels can exhibit different properties. The specific hydrogels in question have the ability to change between a hydrophobic surface and a hydrophilic interface.

The fact that cells prefer to grow and form tissues on a hydrophobic surface has caused problems in attempting to separate them from this medium. The use of enzymes or chelating agents, which are known to cause damage to some of the cells, was the old method of separation. And due to the fact that cells were being damaged in their removal, this is obviously not a preferred method. Now with the use of this thermoresponsive hydrogel cells can be detached from their scaffold with no damage.

This new technology has very diverse sets of applications. Because of the fact that these particular hydrogels are responsive to temperature as opposed to light, they can be used inside the human body to coat sensors and keep them from becoming encapsulated by the body. They can also be used to grow tissues in the lab for testing purposes, and possible in the future as technology progresses they can become part of a system that allows us to more easily generate tissue outside the body to be used for transplant to a patient.

The reason that I chose this article is because my Mother suffers from diabetes, and one of the up and coming technologies to help people with this condition is a glucose sensor that can be delivered under the skin. This will allow patients to no longer be constantly sticking themselves and drawing blood, but instead to check a sort of interface that interacts with the sensor that is inside the patient. In theory with a coating of this hydrogel the sensor can be kept clean an allowed to function inside the body uninhibited.


Article was found here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961208002330

Building Lungs From Scratch

Article found here.

Laura Niklason, a biomedical engineering professor at Yale, has discovered a way of creating the first lungs that are capable of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. What had been keeping researchers from doing this before was the lack of a scaffolding to create the lung inside of to give it the correct shape and mechanical properties. Niklason used a similar technique found in growing hearts, livers, and kidneys. She used a detergent to wash out cells from the lung tissue of rats that could cause an immune reaction after transplantation. What was left behind was a matrix that had the correct shape, mechanical properties, and vasculature.

Niklason was surprised to find that not only did the matrix have all the right properties, it also kept a kind of zip code for new cells. When she implanted new lung cells into the matrix, they landed in the places that they were supposed to be. She then used a bioreactor to simulate and stimulate the growth of the cells as if they were in the womb growing. In the end, the lungs exchanged gas for a few hours which is an amazing accomplishment.

The reason I picked this article is because my grandmother smoked all throughout her middle ages and now has trouble breathing. She uses an oxygen tank wherever she goes and has trouble talking for long periods of time. Having implantable lungs could save many a life.

Brain implant improves decision making in monkeys

Brain implant improves decision making in monkeys
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/14/science/lat-sci-sn-brain-implant-improves-decision-making-in-monkey-20120914


The device that was developed by a group of scientists manipulates ongoing brain activity to assist the monkey in making a correct decision versus a wrong choice. By using this in a monkey, it gives hope to brain injured patients that they one day maybe able to perform basic tasks.
            Brain prosthetics in recent years has been overtaken by the efforts of scientists and engineers to restore physical ability. Under recent studies however, the coordination of millions of brain cells are still used in order to have even the simplest of cognitive tasks be performed. Scientists now have capabilities to record activity in order to figure out which region of the brain is responsible for which sort of actions, and in this case, correct decision-making.
            They first succeeded in having the monkey look at a picture and distinguish that image amongst a group of images.  Every time the monkey was correct in its decision it received a reward, and after two years when the monkeys were now fairly skilled, the researchers were able to find out that the pre-frontal cortex was believed to be the area of the brain that contributed to decision making and thought. Scientists began to give the pattern of the monkey’s decision making into the pre-frontal cortex like software, and the monkey’s performance success increased by about ten percent.
            In order to predict whether or not their new device would be successful in humans, they decided to give their monkeys cocaine, which would obviously impair the decision-making. They repeated the experiment by giving the correct answer software to the monkeys at the right moment.  The decision-making was at first impaired due to the cocaine usage but immediately increased again when the stimulator was turned back on.
            The research team thinks that in the future this device could be a prototype to assist people who have had brain injuries and help them perform basic tasks. They believe there is a lot more work to be done, but it could be successful in years to come. 
             
I found this article interesting because of how mysterious the brain is.  There are still many parts of the brain that we are unsure about and how those parts perform their functions like storing memories and knowledge.  I think it is so cool that in future years, those who have had strokes or trauma to the brain might have hope in performing just simple tasks that can make life so much easier for them. I know right now my grandfather has Alzheimer's disease and I know my grandmother would appreciate some help for him being able to do the little things like eating or going to the bathroom.  This type of device provides so much hope and support for families in the future.  It could save on money in the long run for families on stay in nurses and hospital visits. The first step in this device is just decision making, but in the long run and in the near future, it could be created to do so much more than that. 


Dissolvable Electronics Developed by Biomedical Engineers

Biomedical Engineers at Tuft University have developed ultra thin silk-silicon based electronics that will dissolve after a specified amount of time. These instruments are completely biocompatible and will harmlessly disintegrate into their surroundings. The so called, "transient-electronics" will hopefully be used one day for medical implants that will not require surgical removal. According to the senior author of the publication, these circuits are the exact opposite of today's electrical devices, which are made aimed at longevity. These circuits take traditional circuit methods ( usually made of magnesium and silicon) and make them very thin, and after that enclose them in a silk protein. The circuits are so small that they can dissolve in only a few grams of water or body fluid and the entire circuit can be completely reabsorbed with no harm to the host. The silk encasing the electronic comes from the cocoon of the silkworm and is very strong while also being completely biodegradable. Today, theses devices have effectively shown in rats where a thermal device was aimed at watching and preventing post-surgical infection. In the future researches would like to develop more intricate devices that can be more adaptable and responsive to environmental changes in light, pressure, or overall chemistry.

Doctors use arm and rib cage cartilage to re grow ear

Article found here.

Johns Hopkins University re-grew an ear for a skin cancer patient over a 20 month period. The patient, Sherrie Walter, was diagnosed with basal-cell carcinoma in 2010. It began as a sore on her left ear and then spread into her ear canal, leading doctors to take her ear, neck glands, part of her skull and lymph nodes. Ear reconstruction is normally done with skin from the ear or neck area. Since most of her skin was no longer there this caused an issue. Doctors then decided that a prosthetic was not the optimal option since Ms. Walter was missing some skull bone. They agreed on a newer method: growing an ear on the wrist. The procedure took over 20 months. They  took cartilage from her rib cage and skin and arteries from various areas of her body. The implant was put under the skin on the forearm and the replacement was detached in March of 2012. After detachment the new ear needed to be altered to match her other ear cosmetically. The surgery to attach Ms. Walter's new ear was last Tuesday and surgeons are expected to release the results of the surgery in one week's time.

Scientists Create Atlas of Human Brain

Article found here.

The Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle has created an “atlas” of the human brain that maps genetic activity across the brain.  The atlas, using a 3D rendering system, uses colors to show regions of the brain with high gene expression and regions with low gene expression. The Allen Institute has successfully compiled the map for two middle-aged male brains, and plan to use them “as a baseline against which they and others can compare the genetic activity of diseased brains.”  The low gene regions and higher gene regions tend to correlate to the region of the brain; the cortex shows more gene activity than the brain stem, and the regions of the cortex that correlate to a certain function also showed a distinct gene coding pattern.

I found this article interesting for several reasons; first, I never thought that gene activation was organized throughout the brain but rather as a cellular process, and because it answered questions due to genetics involvement with brain activity while asking new questions for potential brain research.  Also, the brain atlas findings contrasted with previous facts of the brain, such as the difference between the left and right hemisphere in function while the atlas shows no distinct change in gene activity between the two sides.  Overall, the brain-gene activity atlas is an innovative new way to study and possible cure neurological and psychiatric conditions.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Stem Cells Therapy for HIV treatment

UC Davis Health System researchers found the ability of stem cells to fight against virus that causes AIDS. According to the article, the UC Davis Health team demonstrated the efficiency of anti-HIV stem cells in mice to simulate infected patients with the same conditions. By replacing the immune system with stem cells "engineered with a triple combination of HIV-resistant genes" and using gene therapy techniques and viral vectors, they proved their technique to be capable of replicating a normally function human immune system by "protecting and expanding HIV-resistant immune cells". To reduce the differences between mice and human patient's immune system, researchers parallel mice's immunity with genetically modified human blood stem cells.

This innovative stem cell therapy contains the following resulting combination vector: 
  • a human/rhesus macaque TRIM5 isoform, which disrupts HIV from uncoating in the cytoplasm
  • a CCR5 short hairpin RNA (shRNA), which prevents certain strains of HIV from attaching to target cells
  • a TAR decoy, which stops HIV genes from being expressed inside of the cell by soaking up a critical protein needed for HIV gene expression

The modified stem cells were directly transferred into the infected mice with HIV. Later on, they provided data and results that confirm the success of the study. Infected mice showed significance improvement on their immunity: "HIV-resistant genes were protected from infection and survived in the face of a viral challenge, maintaining normal human CD4 levels". Author explains that CD4+ T-cells are specialized immune cells that HIV attacks and make copies from them. 

In 2007 Timothy Ray Brown, a positive HIV patient and also known as the Berlin Patient, received a stem cell transplant as a part of a lengthy treatment course of leukemia. After several and extensive tests, results have shown that the transplanted stem cells cure the HIV, and his Doctors believe that “cure of HIV infection have been achieved”.

In my opinion, this study opens another path to understand the many potential tools of Stem Cells and how important they are for future research. It surprises me every day how useful stem cells can be and knowing that it can treat patients with AIDS amazes me a lot. Although, I still believe we have not exploited enough the stem cells, thus there will be more innovative stem cell therapy for today's non curable diseases. 

Probing Matters of the Heart: Stem Cell Differentiation Study Sheds Light On Genetic Basis of Heart Disease


Article link:
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914140044.htm


Biologists from MIT and the University of California at San Francisco have successfully outlined the process embryonic stem cells have to go through in order to differentiate themselves into mature heart cells. This study was the first to track the growth and differentiation of stem cells in such a way that it could be used to understand particular mutations and could help open the door to engineering artificial heart tissue. The biologists also tracked the patterns of histone-modifications by growing mouse embryonic cells in a lab dish while treating them with proteins that drive heart cell development. By doing this they were able to identify when and where groups of genes were being transcribed. They found that many of these were being made in what used to be known as 'junk' DNA; which they discovered actually plays a large role in gene expression and is not 'junk' at all. All of this research could help biologists figure out why variations in sequencing can lead to disease and making it possible for researchers to create new heart cells for multiple functions.


I chose this article because I am hoping to enter into a field where I can work closely with the heart such as cardiac biomechanics. I also volunteered in the Cath Lab at St. Joseph's Hospital in Bryan all summer and saw plenty of procedures which allowed me to also see the effects of all kinds of heart disease and conditions. What I noticed a lot of the time was how severely the heart was effected by things such as heart attacks, such as when part of the heart muscle dies due to a extended period of time without oxygen. As I read this article I thought of how many possibilities these stem cells could afford people with cardiac muscle damage which made me want to share this article.

Molecular Nanoswitches May Help to Diagnose Diseases

Article link here.

          Biomedical engineers at UC Santa Barbara and the University of Rome have recently developed a quick method to diagnose diseases using a technique similar to the body's own sensing mechanisms.The scientists created synthetic molecular nanoswitches which can detect and signal the presence of certain molecules much like the receptor proteins on cell membranes.These nanoswitches can signal the presence of certain molecules via a change in electric current which can easily be measured on cheap electronics. For example, using this technique the researchers were able to detect the presence of anti-HIV antibodies in a matter of minutes. The switches are capable of detecting dozens of different disease markers, including STDs, allergies, and autoimmune diseases.

          This breakthrough could have huge benefits once it gets to market (which may take several years) because it would greatly reduce the time required to diagnose diseases and allow patients to get treatment sooner. Whereas today blood samples must be sent to a lab, analyzed, and the results sent back to the doctor's office before the patient can be diagnosed, hopefully in the future this new technology will allow patients and doctors to start discussing treatment options within a matter of minutes.

Bioengineers Introduce 'Bi-Fi' -- The Biological 'Internet'

Article Found Here


A doctoral candidate and an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University have altered a virus, M13, to create what may be referred to as "Bi-fi", or a biological internet. They have harnessed M13's “non-lethality and its ability to package and broadcast arbitrary DNA strands" and they can control what messages are being sent from cell to cell. This is a big breakthrough, because it allows the message and messenger function to be separated. Theoretically, the only limitation in what can be transmitted is what can be encoded for in DNA.

This article is interesting to me because it could potentially have an important impact on the development of artificial organs, which is a field of research that I want to be involved in. The ability to transmit signals using M13 can help with the creation of complex 3 dimensional structures. While the use of M13 to transmit messages from cell to cell is still very new, the potential benefits seem promising.

Friday, September 28, 2012

VX-765 to Fight Epilepsy

Article link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/health/research/new-epilepsy-tactic-fight-inflammation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

This is a new study on the treatment of epilepsy, what makes this study different is that it focuses on the small percent of the epileptic population that doesn't respond to standard epileptic medicine. This study targets the inflammation. This is because it is believed that the two, inflammation and seizures, are tied together. This study also tries to target and prevent any possible brain damage caused by epilepsy. Some of these seizures and inflammation can be so sever that the doctor has to preform a hemispherecotomy, which is where an entire semiphere of the brain is removed due to the inflammation caused from the seizures.

Dr. Vezzani has been testing a molecule called VX-765, this is known to disrupt the inflamation process and reduce the number of seizures by up to two thirds. When put into phase 2 of testing, subjects only began to experience progress right at the end of the study. And other current treatments, that are using strong steroids, have proven to have long term effects. Currently we are only able to fight the symptoms and not the actual disease, but we should see new science proving otherwise very soon.