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Emulate, Inc. Receives Corporate Conscience Award for Advancing Human-Relevant Science in Drug Development

Emulate, Inc. Receives Corporate Conscience Award for Advancing Human-Relevant Science in Drug Development

Emulate, Inc. was honored with the Corporate Conscience Award at Humane World for Animals’ 'To the Rescue!' gala in New York City. The award, presented by Christie Brinkley and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, recognizes Emulate's efforts to decrease reliance on animal testing by developing human-relevant scientific models. Emulate's CEO, Jim Corbett, highlighted the company's foundational question: how to better model human biology. He noted that traditional drug development has heavily depended on animal testing for over a century, despite its limitations in predicting human outcomes. Emulate's research, particularly with Human Liver-Chips, has demonstrated the ability to identify seven out of eight toxicities that animal studies have missed. The company is collaborating with the FDA and other organizations to integrate these human-relevant models into real-world drug development processes.

UCLA Study Identifies Lipid Imbalance as Pulmonary Fibrosis Trigger in Mice

UCLA Study Identifies Lipid Imbalance as Pulmonary Fibrosis Trigger in Mice

A new study conducted by UCLA Health, primarily in mice, has identified lipid dysregulation—an imbalance of fats—within alveolar macrophages as a potential trigger for pulmonary fibrosis. Alveolar macrophages are immune cells crucial for maintaining and repairing lung airspaces. The research indicates that when these cells experience a lipid imbalance, they lose their protective functions, malfunction, and actively contribute to the development of the disease. Previously, lipid-filled macrophages were observed in fibrotic lungs but were generally considered a consequence rather than a cause. The study found that in mice deficient in the ABCG1 protein, which manages cholesterol balance in macrophages, lipid accumulation rapidly increased in alveolar macrophages before any other biological changes in the lungs. These accumulated lipids then signaled to neighboring fibroblasts, activating them to produce scar tissue, directly linking lipid dysregulation to fibrosis development. Restoring normal lipid handling...

New Study Links Abdominal Fat to Increased Menopause Symptom Severity

New Study Links Abdominal Fat to Increased Menopause Symptom Severity

A recent study published in the journal *Menopause* indicates that abdominal fat, particularly visceral fat, may intensify the severity of menopause symptoms. Researchers analyzed data from over 1,100 women participating in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). The study moved beyond general weight or BMI, focusing instead on waist-to-height ratio as a marker for abdominal obesity. Findings revealed that women with higher levels of abdominal fat experienced more severe menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, dizziness, sleep disturbances, palpitations, forgetfulness, and irritability. These symptoms also appeared more interconnected in this group. The research suggests that while hormonal shifts primarily drive menopause, visceral fat may amplify the physiological environment, contributing to increased inflammation and insulin resistance, which can worsen symptoms. This connection highlights that menopause symptoms are deeply linked to metabolic health, not solely hormonal ...

Yale School of Medicine Receives $10 Million Gift to Advance Type 1 Diabetes Research

Yale School of Medicine Receives $10 Million Gift to Advance Type 1 Diabetes Research

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) has received a $10 million gift from Anastasia and Igor Bukhman, through the Bukhman Foundation, to fund a five-year, multi-investigator research program aimed at reversing and ultimately curing type 1 diabetes. The gift was inspired by the Bukhman family's personal experience with the disease, as Anastasia's daughter, father, and father-in-law all live with type 1 diabetes. The research program, led by Kevan Herold, MD, the C.N.H. Long Professor of Immunobiology and of Medicine (Endocrinology), will focus on halting the immune system's attack on beta cells and restoring lost insulin-producing beta cells. The initiative is highly goal-directed, aiming for the prevention or reversal of the disease through personalized treatment approaches based on individual genetic and immunologic profiles.

Rockefeller University Researchers Map Tuberculosis Genetic Networks Using CRISPR Interference to Develop Better Treatments

Rockefeller University Researchers Map Tuberculosis Genetic Networks Using CRISPR Interference to Develop Better Treatments

Researchers at The Rockefeller University have developed a new approach to systematically map the genetic relationships within Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (TB). Utilizing CRISPR interference, a technology that allows for the selective reduction of gene activity, the team investigated how disrupting pairs of genes affects bacterial growth. By focusing on genes essential for Mtb's survival, they uncovered thousands of previously unknown genetic interactions, creating the first comprehensive map of its kind for a bacterial pathogen. This map provides new insights into the fundamental biology of TB, including the identification of previously mysterious genes involved in bacterial energy production. The research also offers a new strategy for developing better treatments by identifying gene pairs whose simultaneous disruption is particularly harmful to the bacterium, leading to the prediction and experimental validation of several promising antibiotic combination...

Doherty Institute Researchers Advance COVID-19 Antibody Treatment to Clinical Trials

Doherty Institute Researchers Advance COVID-19 Antibody Treatment to Clinical Trials

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, WEHI, and collaborating institutions at the Doherty Institute have successfully advanced a COVID-19 antibody, PDI204, from discovery to a Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers. This five-year endeavor began at the start of the pandemic, focusing on individuals who had recovered from COVID-19. The team, including Professor Stephen Kent, Associate Professor Adam Wheatley, Associate Professor Jennifer Juno, and Dr. Wen Shi Lee, isolated memory B cells from these individuals to create a library of potential SARS-CoV-2 treatments. PDI204 demonstrated its ability to neutralize early variants of the virus, including Delta and Omicron BA.1, both in laboratory settings and animal models. This sustained efficacy against evolving viral strains supported its progression to human testing, highlighting its potential as a robust antiviral treatment. The project underscores the critical need for rapidly deployable treatments against emerging infectious diseases and prov...

Acrivon Therapeutics Expands into Immunology with Acquisition of Aquilion AB Compounds

Acrivon Therapeutics Expands into Immunology with Acquisition of Aquilion AB Compounds

Acrivon Therapeutics Expands into Immunology with Acquisition of Aquilion AB Compounds

CSIR-CCMB Researchers Identify Potential Tuberculosis Drug Targets Using CRISPR Technology

CSIR-CCMB Researchers Identify Potential Tuberculosis Drug Targets Using CRISPR Technology

Researchers at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad have identified critical weaknesses in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (TB). Led by CCMB Director Vinay Kumar Nandicoori, the team mapped the bacterium's protein export machinery, identifying 92 key components and nearly 200 molecular reactions. Through CRISPR-based gene silencing, they reduced the activity of the SecA1 and Tat pathways, leading to a sharp decline in bacterial growth in laboratory cultures and immune cells. This disruption affected the export of over 100 proteins linked to SecA1 and approximately 140 linked to Tat, also damaging the bacterial cell membrane, making it unstable and more permeable. These findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, suggest new potential drug targets for TB, a disease that accounts for nearly a quarter of global cases and about a third of drug-resistant infections.

NIH Awards Boston University $57.5 Million for Infectious Diseases Research

NIH Awards Boston University $57.5 Million for Infectious Diseases Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $57.5 million to Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). This five-year grant, provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is intended to support NEIDL's mission to understand and combat major threats to domestic and global health. The funding will directly cover the lab's operations, including biosecurity systems, biosafety programs, facility maintenance, regulatory compliance, specialized biocontainment training, and advanced technical research support services. NEIDL, one of only two national biocontainment labs in the United States, operates at Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4), enabling researchers to study highly dangerous pathogens such as Ebola, Marburg, Zika, and SARS-CoV-2 in a secure environment. This award follows a previous $7.5 million NIH grant in 2024 for facility modernization.

Dr. Drew Weissman's Discoveries in mRNA Technology Lead to Nobel Prize and New Therapeutic Applications

Dr. Drew Weissman's Discoveries in mRNA Technology Lead to Nobel Prize and New Therapeutic Applications

Dr. Drew Weissman, an American physician and immunologist, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside Katalin Karikó for their discoveries concerning RNA modifications that enabled effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. Weissman's career began with studies on HIV interactions with immune cells before he collaborated with Karikó in the late 1990s, leading to their seminal 2005 study on modified nucleosides and immune recognition. Their work continued, demonstrating the advantages of incorporating pseudouridine into mRNA for greater protein production and biological stability, and later addressing issues of double-stranded RNA contaminants. Beyond COVID-19, Weissman has contributed to research on mRNA Zika vaccines and a universal influenza vaccine. His work also extends to cell reprogramming, with studies using mRNA to generate temporary CAR T cells for cardiac fibrosis and delivering mRNA to hematopoietic stem cells for conditions like sickle-cell disease. He is a founding scie...

Cornell Faculty Member Gunther Hollopeter Advances Research on Membrane-Associated Protein Complexes

Cornell Faculty Member Gunther Hollopeter Advances Research on Membrane-Associated Protein Complexes

Gunther Hollopeter, an associate professor in molecular medicine at Cornell University, is leading research focused on understanding the intricate functions of membrane-associated protein complexes. His team utilizes C. elegans genetics, live imaging, and biochemical assays to investigate these cellular mechanisms. A significant discovery from his lab includes identifying two protein classes, NECAPs and muniscins, which play opposing roles in regulating the clathrin adaptor complex AP2 during endocytosis. These allosteric modulators are crucial for understanding how cells selectively internalize endocytic sites and cargo. Hollopeter completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington and earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, before joining Cornell's faculty in 2015.

Romanowsky Stains, Including Wright and Giemsa, Explained for Blood and Marrow Smear Analysis

Romanowsky Stains, Including Wright and Giemsa, Explained for Blood and Marrow Smear Analysis

A Romanowsky stain is a type of stain used for blood-film and marrow-smear analysis, characterized by its composition of an acidic dye (eosin) and basic thiazine dyes, primarily methylene blue and its derivatives like azure B, in a methanol-based solution. This combination produces distinct colors, including pink-tan red cells, blue cytoplasm, and purple chromatin, which are crucial for differential staining. Wright, Giemsa, and Wright-Giemsa stains are all members of this family, but their published protocols are not interchangeable due to variations in pH, concentration, staining time, and fixation methods. For instance, the WHO standard operating procedure for Giemsa staining of malaria blood films specifies a pH of 7.2 and an 8-10 minute staining time, while an Abcam Wright-Giemsa kit protocol uses a pH of 6.8 and a 5-minute staining time. The effectiveness of these stains is influenced by factors such as the number and ratio of acidic and basic dyes, the solvent used, staining duration, and fixation t...