Diabetes is one of the leading health problems in our modern world and requires the careful management of a patients insulin levels. New research from Tufts University may make that process a little easier. In mouse tests, the team implanted beta cells that produce more insulin on demand, when theyre activated by blue light.

At the heart of both types of diabetes is insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, allowing cells in the body to properly use it as energy. In type I diabetes, beta cells in the pancreas dont produce enough insulin, sometimes because the immune system destroys those vital beta cells. In type II diabetes, a patients cells stop responding to insulin, or the pancreas cant keep up with demand, meaning blood glucose levels spike to dangerous highs.

Managing the condition requires constant monitoring of blood sugar levels and boosting insulin levels as needed, either by directly injecting the hormone or through drugs that amplify the beta cells production of it.

For the new study, the Tufts researchers engineered pancreatic beta cells that can produce insulin on demand in this case, that demand is pulses of blue light. The beta cells were engineered with a gene that creates an enzyme called photoactivatable adenylate cyclase (PAC) essentially, when these enzymes are activated by blue light, they produce a molecule called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).

In turn, this molecule instructs the beta cell to produce more insulin, but interestingly, it will only do so when theres already a high level of glucose. That helps to prevent a common complication of diabetes treatments, where producing too much insulin can cause the body to consume the available glucose too quickly, resulting in low blood sugar.

To test the new technique, the Tufts team implanted their engineered pancreatic beta cells under the skin of diabetic mice. The researchers found that the cells produced between two and three times more insulin when triggered by blue light and high glucose levels. Importantly, when they fired up the blue light while glucose was low, there was no bump in insulin, indicating that the failsafe worked.

In this way, we can help in a diabetic context to better control and maintain appropriate levels of glucose without pharmacological intervention, says Emmanuel Tzanakakis, corresponding author of the study. The cells do the work of insulin production naturally and the regulatory circuits within them work the same; we just boost the amount of cAMP transiently in beta cells to get them to make more insulin only when its needed.

Similar studies have shown promise in managing diabetes with implanted beta cells either synthetic versions or natural ones produced from a patients own stem cells. Theres still plenty of work to do before this type of treatment makes it to human trials, but the researchers say that using light is a step in the right direction.

There are several advantages to using light to control treatment, says Fan Zhang, first author of the study. Obviously, the response is immediate; and despite the increased secretion of insulin, the amount of oxygen consumed by the cells does not change significantly as our study shows. Oxygen starvation is a common problem in studies involving transplanted pancreatic cells.

Ultimately, tiny sources of light could be embedded alongside the cells, allowing doctors to trigger them remotely when needed. Or they could be automatically activated by a glucose sensor, to fully close the loop.

The research was published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology.

Source: Tufts University

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Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Light-activated pancreatic cells produce insulin on demand – New Atlas | November 4th, 2019

Leslie Mansfield, a California resident who enjoys running a Napa Valley winery and writing cookbooks filed a lawsuit against the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki after her foot was allegedly attacked by a cat. Eventually, the bite marks caused a rare, incurable condition known as host versus graft disease, prompting Mansfield to file the suit.

The incident occurred in September 2015 when Leslie and her husband were visiting the Outrigger Canoe Club to celebrate the end of her leukemia treatments. In the middle of having lunch at the clubs Hau Terrace restaurant, a cat suddenly jumped from a nearby bush and attacked her foot. Mansfield said, all of a sudden I felt this unbelievable sharp, excruciating biteWithin a week it was worse and the bite marks were black and it was really frightening.

According to the lawsuit, the infection from the bite continued to worsen and eventually she began to develop lesions in her mouth, on her skin, and throughout her body. She said, the lesions in my mouth are so swollen around my tongue and cheeks I have deep crevasse-like cuts in the roof of my mouth.

How did a simple cat bite get so infected, though? Well, because Mansfield had recently undergone a stem cell transplant, the bite compromised her immune system. According to Mansfield, who had stem cells donated from her brother, doctors told her that when she got bit by the cat, those cells not only began attacking the pathogens introduced by the cat but they also started to attack her system.

As a result, Mansfield experiences regular painful flares that leave her exhausted and unable to do much of anything. Her quality of life has been diminished and she blames the Outrigger Canoe club that harbored the cat.

When commenting on the matter, attorney Jim Bickerton who is representing Mansfield said, the cat spent its entire existence on those premises. It wasnt a stray that lived somewhere else and came visiting. This was home for this cat. He added that under Hawaii law, the club is not only responsible for the cat bite but its also responsible for the subsequent damage to his clients immune system. He said, if someone has very brittle bones, for example, and they take a small fallYou or I might just fracture a bone or not even have a fracture but they have fractures in 20 places. The person who caused that fall owns all of the damage.

In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the club said, The health, safety, and well-being of all of our members, guests and staff are of primary importance to the Outrigger.

The suit is expected to go to trial next August.

Lawsuit: Cat bite at Outrigger Canoe Club caused womans rare disease

GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE

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Woman Who Was Attacked By Cat Sues the Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki - Legal Reader

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By Robin Mather, Chicago Tribune

Apples may get all of autumns accolades, but its time for pears to muscle in on the action.

Understanding which pear varieties are best for which uses will help you choose wisely from the fruit youll see at farmers markets, farm stands and grocery stores.

You can eat any pear raw, from juicy Bartletts to crisp Asian pears. But in cooking, you may want the pear to retain its shape, or you may want it to melt into a concentrated sauce. I remember pear varieties that hold their shape for poached pears, and for the pear tart we offer here with a simple mnemonic of ABC: Anjou, Bosc and Comice.

Some varieties are more grainy or gritty than others but peeling any pear will help reduce that graininess. As pears ripen on the tree, they develop stone cells, and most of these lie just under the skin. Most pears are harvested before theyre fully ripe for this reason. While the skin is full of nutrients, sometimes you just want that grittiness to go away.

Like apples, cut pears will brown when exposed to air. For salads and other raw uses where appearance is important, place the pears in water acidulated with lemon juice for a quick bath to prevent browning.

These are the varieties youre likely to see this season, with a bit of information about them and their best uses.

Anjou: Firm and mild flavored, Anjous are good for cooking where you want the pear to pick up the flavors of its cooking companions. Red and green Anjous have the same flavor.

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Asian: As crisp as a ripe apple, Asian pears are very mild in flavor. Theyre the outlier in the pear family, more apple than pear.

Bartlett: The juiciest of all the pears, a ripe Bartlett will leave your chin dripping when you eat it out of hand. Choose red or green Bartletts when you want the fruit to cook into a sauce, as we do in the vanilla-cardamom pear butter recipe here.

Bosc: Crisp and mildly sweet, Boscs are the classic choice for poached pears. Theyre easy to recognize because of their cinnamon-colored russeted skin. They tend to be a nice size as well.

Comice: Brightly flavored with the quintessential pear taste, Comice pears are less grainy than many other varieties.

Concorde: A favorite in Europe, the Concorde has a long neck that makes it immediately identifiable. Its distinctively vanilla flavor makes it a favorite for roasting and grilling, but its also great out of hand.

Forelle: A pretty speckled pear thats popular in Europe, this small pear is best for snacking. Its name comes from the German word for trout, because its colors echo the flashing brilliance of the fish. Grown in small quantities in the Pacific Northwest, Forelle tells you its ripe when the skin under its red speckles turns from green to yellow.

French butter: Small with concentrated flavors, make sure French butter pears are fully ripe before use. Underripe fruit has a sharp, tannic flavor. Good for snacking, or in salads.

Seckel: Just as with French butter pears, make sure the little Seckel pears are fully ripe before eating to avoid a tannic hit. Best out of hand, or in salads.

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Robin Mather is a longtime food journalist and the author of The Feast Nearby, a collection of essays and recipes from a year of eating locally on a budget. Follow her as she writes her third book at thefeastofthedove.com.

PEAR-ALMOND TART

This simple tart will look and taste more impressive than its simple ingredients might suggest. Remember that you want pears that will hold their shape for this tart. If you cant find creme fraiche, substitute lightly sweetened sour cream as a garnish at serving time.

Prep: 30 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Makes: about 12 servings

Crust:

2 1/4 cups ground almond meal

4 1/2 tablespoons sugar

8 tablespoons melted salted butter

Filling:

2 cups sugar, divided use (plus more for browning)

3 Anjou, Bosc or Comice pears, peeled, sliced in half

1 1/2 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds

Creme fraiche, sweetened sour cream or whipped cream

For the crust: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine almond meal, sugar and melted butter in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Pat the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 12-inch tart pan and press into place with the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake the crust until just colored, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely before filling.

For the filling: Heat 4 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low. Add the pears; poach until tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove pears from the syrup. Allow to cool, then cut out cores. Cut the pears into fans by slicing into 1/4-inch slices that remain attached by about 1/2 inch at the stem end. Set aside.

Combine milk and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring it to just a simmer over medium heat. (Dont let it boil over.) Combine eggs, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the flour in a large saucepan. Temper the mixture by slowly whisking in a little of the hot milk. Then gradually whisk in the rest. Cook, whisking continuously, over medium heat. At the first sign of a boil, 3 to 6 minutes, remove pan from the heat while continuing to whisk until mixture begins to thicken. Allow the custard to cool.

Spoon cooled custard into the tart shell. Lay the fanned-out pears, stem end inward, in the custard. Scatter the sliced almonds over top. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat the broiler in the oven. Place the tart on the middle rack, 4 to 5 inches from the broil. Serve warm with creme fraiche, sweetened sour cream or whipped cream.

Nutrition information per serving: 428 calories, 22 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 69 mg cholesterol, 54 g carbohydrates, 45 g sugar, 8 g protein, 101 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

VANILLA-CARDAMOM PEAR BUTTER

Prep: 35 minutes

Cook: 8-10 hours

Makes: about 7 half-pints

Youll definitely want to use ripe Bartlett pears for this fruit butter because they cook into a silky puree. Making this pear butter in the slow cooker means you dont have to stand over it while it cooks. Weve given directions to both can and freeze this sumptuous delight.

6 1/2 pounds Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Juice of 1 large lemon

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

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Tumble all ingredients except butter into a slow cooker. Stir to blend, then cover and cook on low until the pear butter is very thick and mounds on a spoon, 8 to 10 hours. Test its readiness by placing a spoonful on a plate; if no liquid escapes around the edges, the pear butter is ready. If it weeps, continue to cook with the lid crosswise to allow excess liquid to evaporate.

Stir in the butter until it is fully melted. Ladle the hot pear butter into sterile half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. To can, apply lids and rings just until finger tight; process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. To freeze, allow the pear butter to cool to room temperature, then freeze without lids. Once pear butter is frozen, add lids and freeze for up to six months.

Nutrition information per tablespoon: 21 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 3 g sugar, 0 g protein, 5 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

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Pear tart and pear butter recipes a delicious way to enjoy the fruit - The Gazette

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IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --AIVITA Biomedical, Inc., a biotech company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, today announced that it will be presenting at the following regenerative medicine and investor conferences in November:

Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual MeetingOral PresentationPresenter: Dr. Daniela Bota, MD, PhD, University of California, Irvine; AIVITA GBM Principal InvestigatorTitle: Phase II trial of therapeutic vaccine consisting of autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor cell antigens from self-renewing cancer cells in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastomaTime: November 6-10, 2019Location: Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center, National Harbor, MD

The Regenerative Medicine Consortium of the Gulf Coast Consortia for Biomedical SciencesOral Presentation Presenter: Dr. Hans S. Keirstead, AIVITA Chairman and CEOTitle: Clinical and Commercial Application of Scaled Human Stem Cell DerivatesTime: November 8, 4:00 PM CTLocation: Bioscience Research Collaborative, Houston, TX

NYC Oncology Investor ConferenceOral Presentation Presenter: Dr. Hans S. Keirstead, AIVITA Chairman and CEO Title: AIVITA Corporate PresentationTime: November 12, 4:50 PM - 5:10 PMLocation: Rockefeller Center, New York, NY

Society for NeuroOncology Annual MeetingPoster PresentationTitle: Phase II trial of AV-GBM-1 (autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor associated antigens) as adjunctive therapy following primary surgery plus concurrent chemoradiation in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.Time: November 20-24, 2019Location: JW Marriott Desert Ridge, Phoenix, AZ

About AIVITA Biomedical

AIVITA Biomedical is a privately held company engaged in the advancement of commercial and clinical-stage programs utilizing curative and regenerative medicines. Founded in 2016 by pioneers in the stem cell industry, AIVITA Biomedical utilizes its expertise in stem cell growth and directed, high-purity differentiation to enable safe, efficient and economical manufacturing systems which support its therapeutic pipeline and commercial line of skin care products. All proceeds from the sale of AIVITA's skin care products support the treatment of women with ovarian cancer.

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SOURCE AIVITA Biomedical, Inc.

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Many for-profit stem cell clinics advertise therapies that are not backed by science and may actually cause harm.

For-profit stem cell clinics have popped up around California in recent years, advertising that they can treat everything from arthritis to Alzheimers, without FDA approval.

They claim that injections of stem cells (naturally occurring blank slate cells that can grow into any type of cell) can help alleviate pain or illness by replacing or regenerating diseased tissue claims that are not supported by existing research. The procedures can cost thousands of dollars out-of-pocket, and regulators have warned that patients have developed tumors, suffered infections and even lost eyesight after unapproved procedures.

No one knows how many clinics there are, but California reportedly has more than any other state. We asked Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, director of the UC San Francisco Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program, about whats real and whats not in stem cell medicine.

How do these clinics operate?

There has been an explosion of so-called clinics offering stem cell treatments for a wide range of ailments, none of which have been shown to be effective. They are largely unregulated. Many clinics claim that they can treat untreatable illnesses like Alzheimer's disease, autism, muscular dystrophy, or stroke. The list is quite extensive.

The majority are using fat tissue for their stem cells, obtained through liposuction. These are usually autologous cells, which means that they are taking the patient's own tissue and extracting cells to re-administer to the same patient, usually through an intravenous route. In addition to fat cells, some clinics administer bone marrow stem cells or umbilical cord or placental stem cells, which come from unrelated donors.

The clinics often advertise through testimonials from patients who've received their therapies. Many of the conditions that the testimonials address are the kinds that normally improve or fluctuate over time, such as joint pain, low back pain, arthritis, or multiple sclerosis.

The problem is that patients will receive a treatment, and then, within a month or two, they'll notice that the aches and pains in the joints are improving, and they will attribute the improvement to the stem cell therapy, when in fact it would've happened regardless.

What is the risk of trying an unproven stem cell treatment?

Reports of physical harm have included infections and the development of tumors. When using cells that are not the patients own, umbilical cord cells for example, immune responses can occur often triggering inflammatory conditions.

In cases where stem cells have been delivered into the eye, blindness has been reported, and when they have been delivered to the central nervous system through lumbar puncture (spinal tap), adverse outcomes including serious infections of the central nervous system and tumors have occurred.

Then there's the emotional cost associated with raising false hope, and the financial loss that comes from exorbitant fees charged for ineffective, potentially harmful therapies.

Why arent there more legitimate stem cell therapies available?

Stem cells have been in the news so much over the last decade or so that I think it has created the impression that therapies are already on the market. The reality is that it is very early days for the science. The most interesting, most promising animal studies are only now beginning to be translated into clinical trials, and the process for approval of therapies takes many years and very few are likely to succeed.

Unfortunately, the public needs to be patient, but the good news is that potential treatments are progressing along the pipeline.

What are some examples of proven stem cell therapies?

For the last 50 years or so, there have been countless patients successfully treated with hematopoietic stem cells, commonly known as bone marrow transplants. This remains the prototype for how a stem cell therapy can work. Other successful examples include corneal stem cell grafts for certain eye conditions, and skin grafts for burn victims.

There are efforts to see if stem cells could successfully treat diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes. There are clinical trials testing whether stem cell therapy might work against macular degeneration, a blinding disease that is very common as people age. There are also early stage clinical trials for nervous system disorders including stroke, spinal cord injury, and ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease).

All of these examples are still at a very early stage, where the primary goal is to make sure that the approaches are safe. To determine if they are effective will require large, well-controlled, relatively long-term clinical trials.

What will it take to advance stem cell therapy into more real treatments?

This is where basic research comes in. The field is evolving quickly, there's much to be done, and there's still a huge amount of promise in stem cell therapies down the road. But it's going to take a lot of very careful and very laborious research before we get there.

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Stem Cell Therapy: What's Real and What's Not at California's For-Profit Clinics - UCSF News Services

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Saving the life of a fellow Canadian can be as easy as checking a box online or saying yes to being an organ donor when you renew your drivers license. But, thats just the beginning for those wanting to make a difference.

Deceased donations

In Alberta, individuals over the age of 18 can register their intent to become an organ or tissue donor when they die by using the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Registry. (Go to myhealth.alberta.ca online and search organ donation registry.) As well, agents and provincial registries are required to ask the donor question when clients are renewing a drivers licence or identification card.

For those who have Alberta Health Cards issued prior to 2018, the back of the card can be signed (with a witness) to declare their intention to donate.

The Alberta registry has been integrated into the provinces health care system through the use of donor co-ordinators. If a person has declared his or her intent to donate and is in a position to be considered for organ or tissue donation, a co-ordinator will discuss it with family members, who ultimately make the final decision.

Each deceased donor can provide up to eight organs (both lungs, both kidneys, liver, heart, pancreas, intestines), while donated tissues can benefit up to 75 individuals.

Living donations

The vast majority of living organ donors spares one of their two functioning kidneys to a person in need, though living liver donations also occur to a lesser extent.

In most cases, family members or acquaintances donate a living organ if theyre healthy enough to safely act as a donor. Once a viable donor is found, transplant programs in both Calgary and Edmonton perform the surgeries for kidneys, while live liver transplants are only performed in Edmonton.

Theres also been a rise in so-called altruistic donors, who are willing to share their organs with a stranger. Both the Kidney Foundation of Canada and Canadian Blood Services can advise prospective living donors on where to turn, while Alberta Health can connect donors to local living donor programs.

Canadian Blood Services also operates the Kidney Paired Donation Program, an inter-provincial initiative that maintains prospective donors in a registry if they arent a compatible match for their intended recipient. Since January 2009, some 500 living donors across Canada have entered the KPD program, including 90 anonymous donors who joined the program without a specific recipient in mind. Non-directed, anonymous donations are responsible for more than two-thirds of the transplants in the KPD program, and all patients with a match have received a transplant in less than a year.

The Living Donor Services Program Edmonton: Phone 780-407-8698; toll free 1-866-253-6833; email: livingdonors@ahs.ca.

Southern Alberta Transplant Program Calgary: Phone 403-944-4635.

More information on kidney health is available from the Kidney Foundation of Canada: http://www.kidney.ca; 780-451-6900 or 403-255-6108.

More information on liver health is available from the Canadian Liver Foundation: http://www.liver.ca; 403-276-3390 or 1-800-563-5483.

Details about Green Shirt Day and Logan Boulet are at greenshirtday.ca.

Stem cell donations

Stem cell transplants replace a patients unhealthy stem cells with a donors healthy ones, and can be used to treat cancers and other diseases. The three sources of stem cells are from bone marrow, peripheral (circulating) blood and umbilical cord blood.

Prior to any donation, the donor will undergo a comprehensive health assessment before undergoing the procedure. Peripheral blood stem cell donation only requires blood to be drawn from a needle in hospital following five days of under-the-skin injections to boost the number of blood cells in the bloodstream.

Bone marrow donations are performed under anesthesia, with hollow needles used to withdraw stem cells from bone marrow in the back of pelvic bones. The procedure lasts between 45 to 90 minutes and the marrow replenishes itself in four to six weeks.

Those who wish to become a stem cell donor can call Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) or by visiting the agencys website at blood.ca.

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Organ donations: What you can do to help save a life - Calgary Herald

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31-Oct-2019

Ingredients

Since ancient times medicinal plants have been used for their health beneficial properties, to protect and promote the skin and for treatment of various diseases.

Plantshave an enormous capacity to produce complex chemical molecules with bioactive properties.The market for botanicals is expanding with an increasing demand for plant bioactives. It is therefore important to produce the plant raw material a sustainable way. Often traditional production does not support this.

Plant cell cultivation enables sustainable production of high-quality plant raw material. Based on this technique it is possible to target and enrich specific cell types, such as plant stem cells.

Since the cultivation takes place in a clean and controlled environment, the produced plant raw material is free from adulteration, pollution, pesticides and herbicides. Besides cell enrichment, it is further possible to increase the production of bioactives through the MET (Metabolic Enhancement Technology).

For bioactives it is also important to consider their availability in the final product, otherwise their beneficial properties will not be available to our cells. Some bioactives are not available in dry cells even when these are grinded.

This can be due to that they are tightly bound to a cell structure, such as the cell wall. However, these can be made accessible through extraction where these actives are released from their bound position.

The extract with the highest quality and health beneficial properties are high in concentration and standardised to selected actives or group of molecules. This way it is possible to ensure that the extract is always the same in terms of properties and efficacy.

In vitro Plant-tech develops and produces high quality plant raw material and extracts using the plant cell cultivation technology. We are proud of our green and sustainable production platform, producing superior products with compassion for nature.

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Plant bioactives, combining tradition with technology - Cosmetics Business

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IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --AIVITA Biomedical, Inc., a biotech company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, today announced that it will be presenting at the following regenerative medicine and investor conferences in November:

Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual MeetingOral PresentationPresenter: Dr. Daniela Bota, MD, PhD, University of California, Irvine; AIVITA GBM Principal InvestigatorTitle: Phase II trial of therapeutic vaccine consisting of autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor cell antigens from self-renewing cancer cells in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastomaTime: November 6-10, 2019Location: Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center, National Harbor, MD

The Regenerative Medicine Consortium of the Gulf Coast Consortia for Biomedical SciencesOral Presentation Presenter: Dr. Hans S. Keirstead, AIVITA Chairman and CEOTitle: Clinical and Commercial Application of Scaled Human Stem Cell DerivatesTime: November 8, 4:00 PM CTLocation: Bioscience Research Collaborative, Houston, TX

NYC Oncology Investor ConferenceOral Presentation Presenter: Dr. Hans S. Keirstead, AIVITA Chairman and CEO Title: AIVITA Corporate PresentationTime: November 12, 4:50 PM - 5:10 PMLocation: Rockefeller Center, New York, NY

Society for NeuroOncology Annual MeetingPoster PresentationTitle: Phase II trial of AV-GBM-1 (autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor associated antigens) as adjunctive therapy following primary surgery plus concurrent chemoradiation in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.Time: November 20-24, 2019Location: JW Marriott Desert Ridge, Phoenix, AZ

About AIVITA Biomedical

AIVITA Biomedical is a privately held company engaged in the advancement of commercial and clinical-stage programs utilizing curative and regenerative medicines. Founded in 2016 by pioneers in the stem cell industry, AIVITA Biomedical utilizes its expertise in stem cell growth and directed, high-purity differentiation to enable safe, efficient and economical manufacturing systems which support its therapeutic pipeline and commercial line of skin care products. All proceeds from the sale of AIVITA's skin care products support the treatment of women with ovarian cancer.

SOURCE AIVITA Biomedical, Inc.

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AIVITA Biomedical to Present at Upcoming Regenerative Medicine, Oncology and Investor Conferences in November - PRNewswire

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Hair care is being taken to the next level, by utilising recombinant DNA technology to restore one's confidence and crowning glory.

Such hair restoration products or treatments are made using recombinant DNA - or DNA cloning - where selected pieces of DNA from different organisms are combined to construct artificial DNA.

At Ageless Medi-Aesthetics, its latest AnteAge MD Hair Treatment is a non-invasive procedure that involves applying the AnteAge MD Hair Growth Factor solution or serum - made from potent recombinant growth factors and cytokines - onto skin prepared with microneedling.

Dr Lam Bee Lan, director of Ageless Medi-Aesthetics, told The New Paper: "Recombinant DNA technology is more efficient in producing large amounts of artificial messenger proteins effective for skin and hair renewal compared with stem cells derived from plants."

Methods of hair restoration are often divided into two broad categories - invasive techniques and topical and/or oral solutions. They can either be expensive or linked to side effects such as erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction and loss of libido.

But Dr Lam cautioned that before treatments are prescribed, patients must consult with a physician to ascertain if they are suitable for them.

"Treatments based on recombinant DNA technology should be worked in as a first-line treatment when you start to experience more hair loss than usual, or as part of a regular routine in maintaining a full head of hair.

"For more severe hair loss, patients should consider a hair transplant," she said.

While there are minimal side effects such as occasional soreness and redness that will resolve within one to two hours, Dr Lam noted that most patients will experience slowing down of hair loss after the first session, while new hair will grow after the second session.

Home-grown scalp specialist PHS Hairscience has also explored stem cell technology and cell signalling technology since 2014 to treat hair loss or greying hair on the cellular level.

Ms Anita Wong, its chief executive and founder, told TNP: "As the body ages or changes due to reasons such as stress or lifestyle choices, cell functions can deteriorate, and cell activity that directly impacts new hair growth or melanin (hair pigment) production becomes less than optimal."

PHS Hairscience's marquee treatment, Miracle Stem Cell Solution, leverages on stem cell science and cell signalling to reactivate dormant follicle cells to promote hair growth. At $297 a session, it can be complemented with the FEM/HOM Thickening range of products.

She said: "These active botanical stem cells also work to increase the life span of hair follicles so your hair can remain in the anagen (growth) phase of the hair growth cycle for a longer period of time.

"Keeping the hair in this growth phase will maximise the length and thickness of new hair, as well as stop the existing strands from shedding."

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Restore your crowning glory with recombinant DNA tech - The New Paper

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The question remains unanswered as to whether a peer-to-peer collaborative model will prosper where medtech companies that are in some instances one step ahead of big pharma in terms of drug development are happy to be a third- party provider to big pharma that have the budgets and networks to truly deliver the regenerative medicine revolution.

In a recent document published by the UK government in response to the Regenerative Medicine Inquiry by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, policymakers stressed the importance of commercialising new therapies to meet the changing needs of the health sector.

In the UK, the Regenerative Medicine Expert Group (RMEG) has been tasked with developing an NHS regenerative medicine strategy to ensure the NHS is fully prepared to deliver innovative treatment and that regulations support and not hinder its delivery.

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult is also continuing to work to bridge the gap between translational research and commercialisation.

However, for the UK to be well-positioned to offer safe and effective regenerative therapies, a strategy is needed that covers the whole value chain from academic research, commercial development and clinical application.

The effect of Brexit on the UKs regenerative medicine sector remains unclear, but the UK has the opportunity to develop an independent framework outside the EU regulatory system to accelerate the development of new therapies and its economic potential while upholding the highest patient safety standards.

In any case, EU and UK regulators need to prioritise the standardisation of regulations governing manufacturing, quality control and the supply chain to keep up with advancements made by the FDA in the US.

Establishing an efficient supply chain for regenerative medicine

The promise of regenerative medicine requires an innovative look at the complete product life cycle, including the development of an efficient distribution network.

Once these novel drugs become mainstream, the entire healthcare ecosystem will have to adapt. Regulatory approval for any drug relies on it safely and successfully fulfilling its medical intent.

As such, information about supply chain management needs to be submitted to the regulator after the completion of phase 3 clinical trials, including packaging, labelling, storage and distribution.

The clinical supply chains required to deliver these therapies are arguably the most complex the industry has seen so far. Regenerative medicine is either personalised or matched to the donor-recipient. They are also highly sensitive to exogenous factors like time and temperature.

Advanced IT solutions and monitoring systems are being developed and employed to ensure end-to-end traceability. These are giving clinicians access to view the progress of therapies and their distribution in real-time and allow users to automatically schedule or amend material collections in line with manufacturing capacity, helping to keep the supply chain as agile as possible.

The live tissues and cells which form the basis of regenerative medicine products are highly sensitive and some have a shelf life of no more than a few hours.

Therefore, materials need to be transported from the site of harvest to manufacturing facilities, and from manufacturing facilities to medical institutions under strictly controlled conditions, within certain times and temperatures, according to cell and tissue requirements.

Temperature-controlled logistics solutions are vital to ensure a safe, effective and financially viable supply chain network for these high-value shipments. Cryopreservation is one technique increasingly being used to deliver medicines at optimum temperature using vapour phase nitrogen; however, many clinical settings remain ill-equipped to handle such equipment.

On-site production is an alternative manufacturing arrangement, particularly for autologous products which are derived from a patients own cells.

However, this throws up a number of compliance and infrastructure challenges, as the hospital would need to comply with a host of regulations including installing a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-licensed clean room.

As a first-generation technology, stakeholders will have a greater tolerance for higher pricing... but only for a limited time period. By streamlining the currently very expensive manufacturing process and improving supply chain management, yields will automatically get larger and costs will slowly come down.

While there are many challenges in the road ahead, 2019 certainly appears to be the start of regenerative medicines move to the big time.

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Delivering the promise of regenerative medicine - PMLiVE

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Delivering the promise of regenerative medicine – PMLiVE | October 30th, 2019

Stem Cell Therapy Market research analysis and insights displayed in this report are very thoughtful for the businesses to make enhanced decisions, to build up better strategies about production, marketing, sales and promotion of a particular product. Stem Cell Therapy market report also takes into consideration several major factors such as revenue, cost, gross and gross margin while analysing market data. Various markets at local, regional and international level are thought of in this Stem Cell Therapy report. All this helps in extending their reach towards the success. The use of advanced tools and techniques applied for this report makes it the premium in the class. By understanding clients needs precisely, this report merges business and product information for the sustainable growth in the market. Geron Corporation, Vericel Corporation, Pluristem Therapeutics, Cytori Therapeutics, Fate Therapeutics are some players grooming the market.

Stem Cell Therapy Market is expected to reach USD 15.63 billion by 2025, from USD 7.72 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The Stem Cell Therapy market report contains data for historic year 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025 (Updated values listed in sample report).

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Stem cell therapy is the therapy which uses stem cells for the treatment or prevention of a disease. Bone marrow transplant is the widely applicable therapy which is followed by umbilical cord blood. Research is going on to develop various sources (such as cord blood cells, bone marrow and skin) to use these cells for treatment of various disorders like neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and other conditions. Some of the major players operating in the global stem cell therapy market are

Others: ViaCyte, Inc, AbbVie, Mesoblast Ltd., Roslin Cells, Regeneus Ltd, ReNeuron Group plc,, International Stem Cell Corporation, Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., Advanced Cell Technology, Cryo Cell International, Cytori Therapeutics, Inc., Geron Corporation, and Invitrogen and others. The global stem cell therapy market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of the global stem cell therapy market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.

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Major Market Drivers and Restraints:

Drivers:

Restraints:

Segmentation:

The global stem cell therapy market is segmented based on

Type

Product

Application

End Users

Geographical Segments

On the basis of type, the market is segmented into

Allogeneic stem cell therapy

Autologous stem cell therapy

The allogeneic stem cell therapy segment is expected lead the market because of commercialization of allogeneic stem cell therapy products and wide application with easy scale up process.

Based on products, the market is segmented into

Adult stem cells

Human embryonic stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells and others

The adult stem cells accounts highest share in market due to ability to generate trillions of specialized cells which may lower the risks of rejection and repair tissue damage.

Based on application, the market is segmented into

Musculoskeletal disorders

Wounds and injuries

Cardiovascular diseases

Surgeries

Gastrointestinal diseases, and other applications

The musculoskeletal disorders segment leads the market due to availability of stem cell-based products for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and bone & joint diseases.

Based on end users, the market is segmented into

Therapeutic companies

Cell and tissues banks

Tools and reagent companies

Service companies

The growing number of stem cell donors, improved stem cell banking facilities and because of the research and development therapeutic companies held the largest share in stem cell therapy.

By Geography

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America)

Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific ( Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia Pacific)

Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Rest of Middle East & Africa)

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Stem Cell Therapy Market Trends, Secondary Research With Geron Corporation, Vericel Corporation, Pluristem Therapeutics, Cytori Therapeutics, Fate...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Stem Cell Therapy Market Trends, Secondary Research With Geron Corporation, Vericel Corporation, Pluristem Therapeutics, Cytori Therapeutics, Fate… | October 30th, 2019

MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation (TLI) announces today plans to build on its existing Regenerative Medicine Program through a research collaboration with cellular therapy industry leader RenovaCare. As part of TLIs efforts to conduct vital research in regenerative medicine and chronic disease, this initiative aims to innovate methods for reducing complications from burn and diabetic wounds across large populations.

Our research base, collaborative institutions and long history of innovation align with RenovaCares commitment to breakthrough biomedical technologies, says Bill Oldham, founder and chairman of the Board, TLI. The patented RenovaCare SkinGun technology and its ability to ultra-gently spray stem cells could present a special opportunity for investigations and applications in a wide range of regenerative therapies. Working together, our overall goal is to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of patient care by not only developing new treatment methods, but also by making thoughtful and systematic changes to healthcare and health systems.

TLIs Regenerative Medicine program seeks to adapt new strategies based upon sound scientific evidence, utilizing its infrastructure to support the continuation of scientific and medical work, as well as the development of grant-funded research and other initiatives.

Dr. Robin A. Robinson, who is a TLI Fellow, Vice President of Scientific Affairs, RenovaCare, and named one of the top 100 innovators in medicine by Medicine Maker in 2018, states, This exciting collaboration between RenovaCare and TLIs Regenerative Medicine Program is the first step toward the development of meaningful and quality therapeutic treatments that will benefit patients around the world.

About TLI Foundation:

TLI Foundation is a nonprofit foundation focused on driving innovative thinking and action on global issues relating to health, education and economic empowerment. The organization is committed to fostering transformative change and improving the health and well-being outcomes of communities around the world. Visit https://www.thoughtfoundation.org/

About RenovaCare:

RenovaCare, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing first-of-their-kind autologous (self-donated) stem cell therapies for the regeneration of human organs. Initial products under development target the bodys largest organ, the skin. Investigative clinical use of their flagship technology has shown to be promising new alternatives for patients suffering from burns, and chronic and acute wounds. https://www.renovacareinc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191028005527/en/

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Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation to Expand Its Regenerative Medicine Program Through New Collaboration with RenovaCare - Yahoo Finance

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation to Expand Its Regenerative Medicine Program Through New Collaboration with RenovaCare – Yahoo Finance | October 30th, 2019

Non-surgical regenerative cell-based treatment uses the bodys natural healing ability to repair damaged bones, muscles, cartilage, tendons and ligaments.Knee injuries are painful and often patients are unable to walk. Our treatment protocol always uses products following FDA guidelines.Injections done with ultrasound guided needle recognition capability to ensure safety as well target the area needing treatment. Plasma; Alpha-2-Macroglobulim (A2M) is the new biologic treatment for your arthritic knee (osteoarthritis)When your hips hurt, or your knee is stiff, or your back is throbbing, that means your joint is bone on bone and there is no lubrication to ease movement.Regenerative medicine giving new hope to patients suffering from painful joint injuries such as knee, shoulder and hip with a chance to live a pain free life.Regenerative cell-based ultrasound guided injection now available to treat pain associated with joint injury. There are indications that it reduces the pain and swelling of the joints and helps lubricating and improve movements.Commonly Treated Conditions: Osteoarthritis of the Hips, Knee, and Shoulders Rotator Cuff tears of the Shoulder Meniscus, ACL and PCL tears of the kneeOur stem cell treatment using your own stem cells and with using imaging guidance ensures precise injection of stem cell, it is a highly-specialized practice.Besides treating above injuries we have advance stem cell micro-needling treatment for the following: Cell-based PRP Hair Restoration combining micro-needling with growth factors and hair follicles voluma vitamins plus BLotinyl T1, Biotin, Anti-aging and Kopexil. Non-toxin facial renewal Anti-Aging APGF Advanced Peptide Micro-needling PRP, Dual Anti-Aging Ampoules for deep hydration, more collagen to reduce wrinkles and firm skin.Dr. Ibrahim is the staff physician at Valencia Medical Center specializing in regenerative medicine, pain management, and rejuvenation. Call for a consultation at 661-222-9117.

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Hormones Control your Health, Mood and Behavior A balanced hormone means happier, healthier life and success in career and relationship. - Magazine of...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Hormones Control your Health, Mood and Behavior A balanced hormone means happier, healthier life and success in career and relationship. – Magazine of… | October 29th, 2019

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg Philanthropies, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), and The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute today announced an initiative to fundamentally advance and expand the science of precision medicine, in which diagnostic disease markers are defined with pinpoint accuracy to help researchers understand disease pathways and customize therapeutic approaches. The collaboration will combine the renowned clinical and medical expertise of Johns Hopkins with the unique stem cell technologies and research capabilities of the NYSCF Research Institute to accelerate Hopkins' pioneering Precision Medicine Initiatives.

"Johns Hopkins is working intensively to realize the great promise of precision medicine for all those in our care, locally and globally," said Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels. "This significant new collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies and NYSCF moves us ever closer to that aim as we join together our far-reaching research capacities to advance knowledge and deliver better health outcomes for populations and people around the world."

This collaboration will also establish an unprecedented cache of human disease models available to researchers worldwide thus promoting the real world application of precision medicine and driving a new paradigm for understanding and improving the approach to human disease.

"Bloomberg Philanthropies' mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. "For years, Johns Hopkins University and the New York Stem Cell Foundation have shared that mission and we're honored to deepen our partnerships with them as they explore new, innovative ways to save lives through the application of precision medicine."

Diseases manifest themselves differently in different patients. To understand the basis of these differences and to tailor treatments for specific patients, researchers need more accurate biological tools. Stem cell models provide a "biological avatar" of the patient from which they were created, allowing scientists and clinicians to better understand, define, and account for differences in individual patients and groups of patients.

The new initiative will use induced pluripotent stem cells to study disease characteristics in subgroups of patients, identifying markers that lead to varying disease manifestations. For example, by examining stem cells from seemingly similar patients with different forms of multiple sclerosis, we may be able to better understand the full range of disease mechanisms and pathways.

The Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine Initiative already includes 16 Precision Medicine Centers of Excellence (PMCOE), each focusing on a specific disease, and is now working to develop 50 Precision Medicine Centers in the next five years. Johns Hopkins believes that this advancement in the study and application of precision medicine has the potential to transform the diagnosis and management of many diseases.Often, what is now categorized as a single disease is actually made up ofmultiple diseases that display similar symptoms, but require quite different therapies. Using a wide range of data sources, precision medicine seeks to better elucidate these differences, so that doctors can treat patients with precisely targeted therapies. At Johns Hopkins, dozens of researchers are bringing this idea to reality across a spectrum of debilitating and life-altering diseases.

In this collaboration, the process will begin with the full consent of patients in JHUSOM PMCOEs who wish to participate. Biological samples from the JHUSOM PMCOEs will be collected by the NYSCF Research Institute where scientists will create stem cell models of disease using the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array, the world's first end-to-end automated system for generating human stem cells in a parallel, highly controlled process.Integrating robotics and machine learning, NYSCF's technology reprograms skin or blood cells into stem cells, differentiates them into disease-relevant cell types, and performs genome editing to unravel the genetic basis of disease.

"The NYSCF Research Institute has invented and scaled the most advanced methods of human cell manipulation, which is critical for studying disease at the level of the individual patient," explained NYSCF CEO Susan L. Solomon. "By combining our capabilities with Johns Hopkins' extensive clinical data and expertise, we will be able to develop effective, personalized therapies for patients suffering from diseases with a high unmet need."

The stem cells generated by NYSCF will be used to research and drive effective therapeutic and diagnostic development in a wide range of diseases that include, but are not limited to, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, chronic renal failure, and cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, pancreas, and bladder. These stem cell lines will reside in the NYSCF Repository and serve as an extraordinary resource in perpetuity for the disease research community. This vast collection will allow scientists unprecedented insights into the biochemical and genetic mechanisms underlying different diseases and subtypes thereof, thereby illuminating avenues for effective, tailored interventions.

"Stem cell science holds enormous potential for the treatment of a wide range of diseases," said Paul B. Rothman, dean of the School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "By combining this approach with Johns Hopkins' groundbreaking work on precision medicine, we are creating a scientific powerhouse that will help us advance medicine and science at an even faster pace. I am excited to see the discoveries and innovations that will be produced by this collaboration."

About Bloomberg PhilanthropiesBloomberg Philanthropies invests in 510 cities and 129 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $767 million. For more information, please visitbloomberg.orgor follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

About The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute is an independent non-profit organization accelerating cures and better treatments for patients through stem cell research. The NYSCF global community includes over 180 researchers at leading institutions worldwide, including the NYSCF Druckenmiller Fellows, the NYSCF Robertson Investigators, the NYSCF Robertson Stem Cell Prize Recipients, and NYSCF Research Institute scientists and engineers. The NYSCF Research Institute is an acknowledged world leader in stem cell research and in developing pioneering stem cell technologies, including the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array and in manufacturing stem cells for scientists around the globe. NYSCF focuses on translational research in an accelerator model designed to overcome barriers that slow discovery and replace silos with collaboration. For more information, visit http://www.nyscf.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Press Contacts:

The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute David McKeon dmckeon@nyscf.org 212-365-7440

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Vanessa Wasta wasta@jhmi.edu

SOURCE The New York Stem Cell Foundation

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Bloomberg Philanthropies, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute Announce an...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Bloomberg Philanthropies, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute Announce an… | October 28th, 2019

28 October 2019, 12:40

The Emmerdale actress welcomed baby Ace into the world in July of this year

Charley Webb has revealed that she's storing her baby son Ace's skin cells in an emotional Instagram post.

Read more: Strictly judge Craig Revel-Horwood blames viewers for shock Catherine exit after fierce backlash

Sharing an adorable photo of the tot, who she shares with her husband Matthew Wolfenden, she wrote: "We decided to store Aces stem cells. As parents every single one of us wants to do whats best for our children. When I was pregnant, I heard about the possibility of collecting and storing my baby's umbilical cord stem cells, which could then be used in the future should they be needed for treatment (I hope with every part of me we never need it).

"After researching, we learned that the baby's umbilical cord is a valuable source of stem cells, and these cells can be collected at birth and stored.

Read more: Coronation Streets Sally Dynevor couldn't watch Sinead's devastating death after her own cancer battle

"These could then be used as a crucial part of treating or curing an illness. Currently, there are over 80 diseases cord blood stem cells can treat. I decided to use Smart Cells to store the stem cells: the process was easy (genuinely) and they organised everything.

"Like I said, we hope we never need to use them, but it's comforting to know that we have them stored if we ever do. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and Im so grateful we were able to do this. Xx".

Many parents rushed to voice their approval, with one commenting: "Amazing! Such an important thing and I think every parent should consider doing this as it may save a life so respect for you. And Ace is so cute."

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Primary school bans all drinks except water from pupils' packed lunches

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Charley Webb reveals she's storing her baby son Ace's skin cells in emotional post - Heart

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Charley Webb reveals she’s storing her baby son Ace’s skin cells in emotional post – Heart | October 28th, 2019

In 2018, the market size of Disposable Diabetes Devices Market is million US$ and it will reach million US$ in 2025, growing at a CAGR of from 2018; while in China, the market size is valued at xx million US$ and will increase to xx million US$ in 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during forecast period.

In this report, 2018 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Disposable Diabetes Devices .

This report studies the global market size of Disposable Diabetes Devices , especially focuses on the key regions like United States, European Union, China, and other regions (Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia).

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This study presents the Disposable Diabetes Devices Market production, revenue, market share and growth rate for each key company, and also covers the breakdown data (production, consumption, revenue and market share) by regions, type and applications. Disposable Diabetes Devices history breakdown data from 2014 to 2018, and forecast to 2025.

For top companies in United States, European Union and China, this report investigates and analyzes the production, value, price, market share and growth rate for the top manufacturers, key data from 2014 to 2018.

In global Disposable Diabetes Devices market, the following companies are covered:

Bayer HealthcareAbbott LaboratoriesJohnson& JohnsonBecton DickinsonF.Hoffmann La-RocheNovo NordiskMedtronicSanofiARKRAYTerumo

Segment by RegionsNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndia

Segment by TypeDiagnostics DevicesDelivery Devices

Segment by ApplicationHospitals PharmaciesRetail PharmaciesE-Commerce

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The content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:

Chapter 1, to describe Disposable Diabetes Devices product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market driving force and market risks.

Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Disposable Diabetes Devices , with price, sales, revenue and global market share of Disposable Diabetes Devices in 2017 and 2018.

Chapter 3, the Disposable Diabetes Devices competitive situation, sales, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.

Chapter 4, the Disposable Diabetes Devices breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions, from 2014 to 2018.

Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales, revenue and market share for key countries in the world, from 2014 to 2018.

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Chapter 10 and 11, to segment the sales by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2014 to 2018.

Chapter 12, Disposable Diabetes Devices market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2024.

Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Disposable Diabetes Devices sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion, appendix and data source.

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Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Revenue, Opportunity, Segment and Key Trends 2017 2025 - Health News Office

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market Revenue, Opportunity, Segment and Key Trends 2017 2025 – Health News Office | October 27th, 2019

Founded in 1958, the AO foundation is a medically guided, not-for-profit organisation led by an international group of surgeons specialised in the treatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Today, the AO has a global network of over 200,000 health care professionals. Each year it offers over 830 educational events around the world, which are supported by nearly 9,000 faculty and are attended by over 58,000 participants. It has 20,000 surgeon members working in the fields of trauma, spine, craniomaxillofacial (CMF), veterinary, and reconstructive surgery.

The Mission of the AO foundation is promoting excellence in patient care and outcomes in trauma and musculoskeletal disorders. The focus of the AO clinical divisions, clinical unit, and Institutes, is on producing new concepts for improved fracture care, delivering evidence-based decision making, guaranteeing rigorous concept and product approval as well as timely and comprehensive dissemination of knowledge and expertise. The AO is made up from four clinical divisions (AOTrauma, AOSpine, AOCMF, AOVET), one clinical unit (AORecon), and four institutes the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI), AO Education Institute, AO Clinical Investigation & Documentation and AO Technical Commission (AOTK).

AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) is both the academic arm and the translational arm of the AO foundation. In its work to further the AO foundations mission (promoting excellence in patient care and outcomes in trauma and musculoskeletal disorders), ARIs purpose is to advance patient care through innovative orthopaedic research and development.

The goals of ARI include: Contribute high quality applied preclinical research and development (exploratory and translational) focused towards clinical applications/solutions; investigate and improve the performance of surgical procedures, devices and substances; foster a close relationship with the AO medical community, academic societies, and universities; and provide research environment / research mentorship / research support for AO clinicians.

Our Bone Regeneration focus area looks at bone healing in response to fracture involving a complex sequence of dynamic events, directed by numerous different cell types and growth factors. A critical factor for bone repair is the maintenance, or effective restoration, of an adequate blood supply, which is necessary to provide the damaged tissue with oxygen, nutrients and growth factors, as well as immune cells and mesenchymal stem cells required to repair the damage and induce new bone formation. Although bone generally has a high regenerative capacity, in some cases this inherent bone healing is compromised, which results in delaying healing or non-union of the bone fracture with increased health care costs and reduced quality of life issues for affected patients.

While a variety of risk factors have been identified that predispose a patient to an increased risk of developing delayed bone healing or non-union, it is currently not possible to identify specific at-risk patients at an early stage. Using in vitro, in vivo and microfluidic technologies, the aim of the Bone Regeneration Focus Area is to gain a greater understanding of the cellular interactions and mediators, including immunoregulation, underlying such impaired healing responses. By determining how cells such as immune cells, mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial cells normally interact during the repair process, and how this process is altered during impaired healing, we can then identify key mediators of the healing process. Our goal is to use tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches to promote bone healing, aimed at restoring bone integrity and its effective biomechanical properties.

In terms of this focus area, we aim at investigating the potential mechanisms leading to intervertebral disc (IVD) damage and evaluating novel biological treatment methods for IVD repair and regeneration. Acute and chronic damage to the IVD are major causes of low back pain. However, the factors that contribute to the loss of function of the IVD and the underlying pathophysiology are still poorly understood. We have established a whole IVD organ culture system with the ability to maintain entire discs with the endplates for several weeks under controlled nutrient and mechanical loading conditions.

Within this bioreactor, the beneficial or detrimental effects of nutrition, mechanical forces, and/or biochemical factors on disc cell viability and metabolic activity can be investigated. We have developed various defect and degeneration models, allowing us to design and evaluate appropriate biological treatment strategies. These include implantation of cells, delivery of anabolic, anti-catabolic or anti-inflammatory molecules, biomaterials or a combination thereof. Data from ex vivo models are also correlated to in vivo observations to identify molecular markers of IVD damage or degeneration.

To study the potential of new therapies for articular cartilage repair and regeneration, a bioreactor system applying multiaxial load to tissue-engineered constructs or osteo-chondral explants has been established. The bioreactor mimics the load and motion characteristics of an articulating joint. Chondral and osteochondral defect and disease models enable us to test tailored treatments under physiologically relevant mechanically loaded ex-vivo conditions. Cell- and material-based therapies as well as chondrogenic or anti-inflammatory factors are under investigation for cartilage repair and regeneration.

Biomaterials for skeletal repair can provide structural and mechanical features for the filling of defects, but also be a carrier for drugs, cells and biological factors. One of our goals is the development of 3D structures for bone, disc and cartilage tissue engineering, using tailored polymers and composites manufactured with additive manufacturing processes.

Our experience lies in the design of biocompatible, biodegradable polymers and their processing with controlled architecture and embedded biologics. A second field of research investigates the preparation of hyaluronan, a natural occurring biopolymer, based biomaterials which can be used to deliver drugs and cells. These injectable biodegradable materials have considerable potential in infection prophylaxis and tissues repair. We are also developing innovative technologies for the structuration and assembly of tissue-like matrices aiming to mimic for example, biological matrix mechanical and structural anisotropy. Additive manufacturing technologies will lead to the development of patient specific implants that can be tailor made to each individual case.

The Stem Cell focus area is particularly interested in stem cell therapies for bone and cartilage that could be applied within a clinical setting. We are increasingly investigating donor variation with the aim to predictively identify the potency of cells from individual donors. In the search for biomarkers to determine patient specific healing potential, exosomes and non-coding RNA sequences such as miRNA are increasingly being used as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. The development of a serum-based biomarker approach would dramatically improve patient specific clinical decisions.

We also aim to investigate the role of mechanical and soluble factors in the activation of mesenchymal stem cells, and the promotion of differentiation and tissue repair. We can induce chondrogenic differentiation of human MSCs purely by mechanical stimulation and this is leading to new insights into cell behavior under loading conditions. Mechanical forces can be applied by way of rehabilitation protocols and are able to modify stem cell and immune cell function. Such studies are forming the basis of the emerging field of regenerative rehabilitation. In addition to the effect of load on direct differentiation, it is known that biomechanical stimulation can modulate the cell secretome. Investigating these changes could lead to the identification of new targets that may be present during articulation. This offers new avenues for potential clinical therapies.

The Musculoskeletal Infection team focusses their research activities on Fracture-Related Infection (FRI), with goals to optimise antibiotic prophylaxis, reduce the burden of therapeutic interventions, and study the impact of co-administered medication on infection. Our studies include preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, as well as an increasing focus on observational studies in human patients.

In collaboration with ARI colleagues in the preclinical testing facility, we now have models that can mimic an open fracture, with a chronology and fixation that more accurately reflects clinical reality. Further advancements in our animal models in the past year include the controlled delivery of antimicrobials via the use of programmable, implantable pumps to more precisely control antibiotic dosing. In addition, we have investigated in more detail the use of anti-inflammatory medication in our animal studies and found it can have a major impact on treatment outcome, and so will be a focus for future studies with clear relevance for trauma patients. The preclinical evaluation of novel anti-infective interventions under Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) conditions has also continued in the past year, with two novel antimicrobial intervention studies performed in this space in the past year.

On the in vitro side, we have begun to develop an in vitro model for Staphylococcus aureus infection that has the potential to include human immune system cell-lines. This can not only reduce future animal studies but will also allow us to test interventions in a human-specific system. The antibiotic loaded hydrogel that has been in testing in ARI for several years, has now also been tested against MRSA biofilms and continues to be superior to aqueous solutions of antibiotics. In patient samples, we have made our first preparations for a study on the impact of antibiotic therapy on the human gut and skin microbiome. This is an under explored area of immense potential for bone health and will be a multi-year investigation with expert collaborations internationally.

A Fracture-Related Infection (FRI) consensus meeting in Davos in December 2016 achieved consensus on the fundamental features of FRI, and a proposal for defining the presence of FRI was reached. The establishment of this definition offers the opportunity to standardise preclinical research, improves the reporting of clinical studies and finally of course also aids in the decision-making during daily clinical practice. In the following 18 months, the expert group shifted attention to the next phase, validating the diagnostic criteria and develop treatment principles for FRI and a consensus on diagnosis and treatment principles for FRI.

In reflecting the greater complexity of this question, and to engage with other professional organisations, the group has grown to include external partners. Joining the ARI, AOTrauma and the AOTK Anti-Infection task force (AITF), is the European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS), the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA), and the Pro-Implant Foundation, as well as a broadened panel of experts with extensive clinical experience in FRI. A first meeting of the expert group took place in Zrich in February. Prior to the meeting, the group was asked to review and consider the published literature on FRI, within nine specific concepts that were then presented for discussion in dedicated sessions during the meeting. The meeting engaged 35 experts and key opinion leaders in the field of FRI. Recommendations were developed on diagnosis and treatment of FRI. These guiding principles will be made available through scientific publications and an AO Bone Infection App.

Internal fracture fixation existed but only in individual hospitals and not globally, that is where ARI and AO came in and rolled this out globally and invented many new additions to this. ARI invented compression plates, minimal invasive surgery for trauma (plates, screws, nails etc.), locking plates for fractures close to articulating joints and for osteoporotic patients.

Currently tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) is in the research stage of its life cycle and has not really translated into routine surgical practice in orthopaedics. The combination of cells and biomaterials however has great potential in repair. The main issues are again regulatory, and the best way forward would be to develop techniques that can be applied in a single surgery within the operation room. Anything beyond this window and outside the operation room will take a significant amount of time to get approval and will likely not be surgeon friendly and obviously will be very costly.

TERM has its biggest potential in orthopaedics in the areas of cartilage repair (delaying classic orthopaedics), disc regeneration (back pain being one of the largest problems globally) and in bone this could be in large bone defects, but not a major area in fracture repair, where appropriate mechanical stimulation can be used to drive the repair to optimum levels and speed (which is also in the research stage). TERM has also potential in tendon and ligament repair.

Imaging and biomarkers for diagnostics and therapy (Theranostics) will be important in early detection of diseases or complications and then to prevent further development of the disease, delaying the time until classic orthopaedics is required. This may go beyond stopping the disease and towards tissue regeneration. The earlier the detection, the more potential for TERM.

The main challenges for a researcher are in translation and the fact that large companies today exist in a more complex regulatory environment, which means they are inclined to be very risk averse. This means in practice they need to see evidence of benefits or proof-of-concept in a clinical setting. The researchers in turn need to have greater awareness of these regulatory issues relating to medical development and CE approved manufacturers, than in the past. The increasingly complex regulatory environment of course has a greater impact on small companies and spin-offs, and can be seen as having a dampening effect on innovation development. Incremental innovations or solutions to niche problems will struggle to get the funding needed to carry them through the regulatory approval process. Researchers do benefit from this too, since in an environment in which companies are inclined to be more risk averse, they place a higher premium on solutions or concepts that have been through a rigorous clinical testing process. In orthopedics, we are approaching an innovation plateau with metals, and new technologies (such as tissue engineering, which is showing good results in research at present) still need to kick in to date little has translated to the patient in this field. 3D printing may have a place in spine or craniomaxillofacial areas, but offers little benefits to trauma in the most common areas for fracture repair. Surgeons who promote patient specific implants (PSI) in joint replacement have little proof that this offers clear improvements compared to current well-tested and proven joint replacement implants. The seamless integration of digitisation and robotic help into the patient treatment work-flow is another area to grow to help the surgeons in their daily practice.

Prof R. Geoff Richards

Director

AO Research Institute Davos

geoff.richards@aofoundation.org

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Advancing patient care through innovative orthopaedics - SciTech Europa

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Advancing patient care through innovative orthopaedics – SciTech Europa | October 27th, 2019

23 Oct 2019

A multi-institutional group, including members of the Tau Consortium, unveiled a stem cell tool kit for scientists studying primary tauopathies. In the November 12 issue of Stem Cell Reports, researchers co-led by Celeste Karch ofWashington University, St. Louis, and Alison Goate and Sally Temple of Icahn School of Medicine in New York, describe a collection of fibroblasts, induced pluripotent stem cells, and neural precursor cells. The cells come from 140 skin samples, some given by donors with richly documented clinical histories who carry pathogenic MAPT mutations or risk variants. Others come from noncarrier family members, patients with a sporadic tauopathy, and cognitively normal controls. The set includes induced pluripotent stem cell lines from 31 donors and 21 CRISPR-engineered isogenic lines. The cells are available to other researchers for study.

These types of high-quality repositories are becoming increasingly important for the scientific community, Clive Svendsen of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles wrote to Alzforum.

This is the way the field is going, agreed Lawrence Golbe of CurePSP, New York. Golbes organization funds research into progressive nuclear palsy (PSP) and related disorders, and collaborates with the Tau Consortium on other projects. Enthusiastic about the resources potential, Golbe hopes CurePSP grantees will get an automatic pass to use the cells.

Choice Mutations. Cells in the new iPSC collection carry some of the most common MAPT mutations, covering a wide range of clinical and neuropathological phenotypes of frontotemporal lobe dementia (FTLD)-Tau. [Courtesy of Karch et al., 2019.]

Tauopathies have proven difficult to study in animal models, in part because unlike other neuropathologies, they seem to afflict only humans (Heuer et al., 2012). Moreover, while adult human brains express approximately equal amounts of the tau spliced isoforms 3R and 4R, rodents produce almost exclusively 4R (Trabzuni et al., 2012). This is problematic. For example, leading proposals to explain how tau mutations cause disease point to abnormalities in splicing and microtubule binding, which differ between isoforms. The models we had been focusing on were not capturing the complexity of MAPT in human cells, said first author Karch. As a result, human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been gaining popularity in the field. The NINDS Human Cell and Data Repository is helping meet the demand by offering iPSC lines derived from 10 patients harboring MAPT mutations.

However, Karch and her collaborators think the field could benefit from a larger and more diverse collection of human cells, including isogenic iPSC lines. To accomplish this, they collected skin samples from 140 people carrying MAPT pathogenic mutations or risk variants, non-mutation carriers, and patients with sporadic PSP or corticobasal syndrome (CBS), most with comprehensive clinical histories. Although a few cells came from the NINDS repository, most came from patients participating in longitudinal studies at the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center at WashU. The clinical records of most of these patients include detailed neurological and neuropathological workups, as well as fluid biomarkers and neuroimaging data collected from MRI, A-PET, and tau-PET studies.

To capture a broad range of phenotypes associated with some of the most common MAPT mutations, the authors created 36 fibroblast lines and 29 iPSC lines from individuals carrying the P301L, S305I,IVS10+16, V337M, G389R, and R406W mutations, as well as from carriers of the A152T variant, which increases the risk for both PSP and CBS (image above). The latter could be particularly useful for dissecting the mechanisms that underlie the phenotypic differences between the two diseases. The researchers also obtained iPSC lines from two noncarrier family members, and two people who suffered from autopsy-confirmed sporadic PSP. In addition, they stored fibroblast lines from 12 patients with sporadic PSP, five with CBS, 10 with a mixed PSP/CBS presentation, and 69 cognitively normal controls.

Biopsies are available for 27 of the 31 patients whose cells were used to generate iPSCs, and autopsy data for seven, including the two cases of sporadic PSP.

Importantly, the researchers edited 21 iPSC lines using CRISPR/Cas 9. They corrected cells with these mutations: MAPT IVS10+16,P301L, S305I, R406W, and V337M. Conversely, they inserted into control iPSCs these mutations: R5H, P301L,G389R, S305I, or S305S.

The authors also created a stem cell line carrying MAPT P301S,a mutation commonly overexpressed in tauopathy mouse models but not present in the available donors, by editing the P301L line. Isogenic lines are so powerful, particularly in these diseases which are so variable in their onset and progression, even within the same family, said Karch. Gnter Hglinger and Tabea Strauss at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease (DZNE) in Munich agreed. Having a pool of cell lines with different disease-linked mutations and risk variants from several individuals and their isogenic control cells is an excellent resource for the research community to enlighten disease mechanisms, they wrote (full comment below).

Several of the reported lines have already starred in recent studies of tauopathy mechanisms and candidate therapies (e.g., Sep 2019 conference news; Nakamura et al., 2019; Hernandez et al., 2019; Silva et al., 2019).

Karch and colleagues have partially differentiated some of the iPSCs and stored them as neural progenitor cells (NPCs), so that researchers can relatively easily thaw, expand, and differentiate them into neurons. These NPCs have proved useful for large-scale functional-genomics studies, proteomics, and genetic modifier screens (e.g., Cheng et al., 2017; Boselli et al., 2017;Tian et al., 2019).

In addition, the authors inserted a neurogenin-2 transgene into two healthy controls and two MAPT mutant stem cells, P301L and R406W. Neurogenin-2 enables low-cost, large-scale differentiation of stem cells into homogenous excitatory neurons. These transgenic cells are particularly useful for high-throughput drug screens (Wang et al., 2017; Sohn et al., 2019).

Researchers can request all the reported cells online at http://neuralsci.org/tau. They must provide a summary of experimental plans, an institutional material transfer agreement, and a nominal fee to cover maintenance and distribution costs. Karch said the process resembles that of the Coriell Institute and the NINDS repository. Our goal is to share with as few hurdles as possible, she said.

While the authors are still reprogramming fibroblasts they have already collected, they also plan to add more causative mutations, generate more isogenic lines, and obtain more cells from members of the same families to help shed light on phenotypic variability. In addition, Karch said, she hopes repository users will resubmit lines with new modifications they generate.

Jeffrey Rothstein, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, welcomed the new resource. I think it is great they have assembled this collection, he said. Rothstein founded and co-directs the Answer ALS research project, which has amassed 600 iPSC lines from controls and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Rothstein suggested the tauopathy collection may want to prioritize adding cells from donors with the most common form of disease, that is, sporadic. His group aims to generate 1,000 iPSC lines, with a large fraction representing sporadic diseasealso the most common form of ALSto identify the most prevalent disease subtypes. One strategy that has helped his group build their collection, he said, is using peripheral blood mononuclear cells instead of fibroblasts to create iPSCs. More donors are willing to donate blood than have a piece of skin punched out. In addition, iPSCs derived from blood cells are genetically more stable, he noted.

Rothstein emphasized the importance of assembling a large collection of healthy controls. Although isogenic controls are of great value, he cautioned they can be subject to artifacts. One problem is that the cell population can change due to selective pressures during CRISPR editing (Budde et al., 2017). To address this, Karch and colleagues are collecting not only modified iPSC clones, but also control clones that have gone through the editing pipeline but remain unmodified.

Stem-cell users studying tauopathies face another challenge: iPSC-derived neurons express primarily the fetal isoform of tau, 3R0N. However, citing a study that shows three-dimensional neuronal cultures switch to the adult profile relatively quickly (Miguel et al., 2019), Hglinger and Strauss wrote, [It] allows us to be optimistic that current challenges of this model system can be overcome in the future.Marina Chicurel

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Introducing: iPSC Collection from Tauopathy Patients - Alzforum

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Introducing: iPSC Collection from Tauopathy Patients – Alzforum | October 26th, 2019

The 4.5 trillion global food industry is currently being influenced by numerous developments. From how food is designed, grown to how its consumed, the next generation of foodtech entrepreneurs are fighting for its piece of the pie. In the meantime, funding for food tech has skyrocketed and according to a report from Dealroom.co, foodtech has created 35 unicorns globally, with a combined value of 169 billion, of which 30 billion from Europe.

Few innovations introduced by European startups are currently shaping the future of food and give us a glimpse of what the future holds for the food industry.

The Magic of Food Science

One of the most interesting developments in the food industry is the introduction of new origins of food. Have you ever imagined that food could actually be made of electricity, air and water? Well, the Finnish company Solar Foods is here to make you believe it. They have produced a nutrient-rich protein, Solein, with air, water, and electricity as its main resources, laced with bacteria. Solar Foods makes Solein by extracting CO from the air using carbon-capture technology, and then combines it with water, nutrients and vitamins, using 100 percent renewable solar energy. Science fiction? Not so much. More like science fact. The end product looks and tastes like wheat flour, with 50% protein content and 510 % fat and 2025 % carbs. Producing Solein is entirely free from agriculture it doesnt require arable land or irrigation and isnt limited by climate conditions, said Solar Foods. And the best part of it? It will never run out.

Changing the way we source ingredients brings us to the next big thing in food science meat grown in a lab. Lab-grown meat is slowly becoming an alternative food option. A few years ago, Mosa Meat got the worlds attention when it announced the first-ever lab-grown meat burger from cow cells. The spin-off company from Maastricht University introduced the cultured meat in Europe and now, one of the newest companies to enter the market is Higher Steaks. Using state-of-the-art cell culture techniques, the UK-startup develops cell-based meat that has the potential to use 99% less land, 96% less water, 45% less energy and has up to 96% less greenhouse gas emissions, all the while tasting as conventional meat. The company uses stem cells obtained via a small blood sample or a skin patch and patented protocols licensed exclusively from its American university partners, allowing them to reprogramme stem cells into tissues like muscle and fat. A single blood sample could allow indefinite production of many meat products, its website states. Around the world, the demand for clean meat is consistently growing. Optimistically, their pork sausages will reach the market by 2021.

Diet for One and the Birth of Personalised Nutrition

One of the biggest advantages of nutrition in the modern age is personalisation. The basic idea is very simple: we all love food, but which food is good for us? Nutrino can give you the answer. The company unlocks the potential of nutritional data and provides its users with smart, personalised analyses of how their bodies interact with the foods they eat. By using machine learning and artificial intelligence, Nutrinos platform collects, processes, and analyses food-related data from its users, matches it with their ever-growing nutritional database and defines an individualised nutrition profile, called FoodPrint. By knowing your own FoodPrint, you will never again question what to eat. Closely related to the idea of eating the food that suits you best is the freedom to choose it. But in todays hectic world, we often forget about its importance.

Luckily, we have Gousto. Providingusers with 40 recipes on a weekly basis, this cook-at-home meal kit service delivers to your doorstep correctly portioned fresh ingredients matched to each recipe of your choice. Backed by an AI recipe recommendation tool, cooking at home has never been easier. Gousto has setanambitious target of delivering 400 million balanced and nutritious meals by 2025. As consumers growingrequest towards greater convenience in eating fresh foods and leading healthier lives increases, Gousto will reach its goal in no time.The same applies for Frichti, the most-funded food startup in France. Aiming to become the second kitchen of Parisians, Frichti offers healthy, seasonal meals at affordable prices, coupled with a fast delivery service. Now their recipe for success is expanding across Europe.

Innovations in Food Creation: 3D Food Printing

As the world goes digital, its time to digitise our kitchens as well. A Spanish startup called Natural Machines has introduced to the world a 3D food printer by the name of Foodini. Foodini uses fresh ingredients loaded into stainless steel capsules to make foods like pizza, pasta, quiche, pancakes or brownies. Not to be mistaken, a real pizza will not come of Foodini, but the dough for the pizza will be as it was prepared by an Italian grandmother. Foodini simply manages the difficult and/or time-consuming parts of handmade food preparation that often discourage people from cooking at home. The decorative potential of the device is also worth mentioning. From everyday foods to elaborate creations, each piece is visually appealing, inviting Michelin-star restaurants to boost their culinary creativity and elevate the restaurant experience.

The Rise of the Functional Beverage

One bottle. One meal. This is the new norm across Europe. Feed has made sure of that. The French startup has introduced a nutritionally complete and convenient meal packed in a bottle, containing just the right amount of protein, essential fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. All the nutrients ones body needs. Just add some water, shake it a bit and drink it. Feed is a new form of nutrition that offers you freedom. Healthy, convenient and economical, Feed will simplify your life,said Anthony Bourbon, CEO of Feed. Feed is vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, GMO-free, nut-free and comes in the form of nutrition bars (100g), drinks (500ml), drink mixes and other products. Holding the reputation of delivering quick nutrition, it seems like meal replacements are here to stay. This just might be the end of food, as we know it.

The Future of Dining is Delivery

Welcome to Keatz, the virtual restaurant without guests. Under the slogan We cook, you enjoy. Keatz has been operating since 2016 as the latest addition to the restaurant delivery marketplace. As one of the pioneers of the Ghost restaurants concept, Keatz is up and running thanks to the ongoing popularity of food delivery platforms. Currently it operates a total of 10 virtual restaurants in Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Amsterdam and Barcelona, focusing exclusively on food made for delivery, with minimal capital expenditure and time. Their idea is rather simple. Why should you do groceries and spend time cooking if you can get a great meal delivered in 20 minutes? Living in an on-demand society, consumers are expecting to get what they need whenever they want, and wherever they want. Food is no exception to that.

Fixing Food Loss with Technology

1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year, taking an enormous toll on the planet. At the same time, hunger remains one of the most urgent development challenges of our time. Luckily,consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and plus, now they have technology to help them distribute the leftovers. This is what Karma is doing. Helping restaurants, cafes and shops to distribute their surplus food to Karma users who get to buy food at half price or more. By making a shared platform on which customers and food providers co-exist and benefit from each other, Karma has found an effective solution for tackling the issue of food waste. A win -win situation.Over 550 tonnes of food have so far been rescued and counting

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The food of tomorrow the latest innovations from Europe's foodtech sector - EU-Startups

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on The food of tomorrow the latest innovations from Europe’s foodtech sector – EU-Startups | October 26th, 2019

Would you live in a city without streets? Or in a flat with no walls? Probably not and the cells in our bodies expect the same level of comfort. Today, were taking a look at the tissues that create and maintain an ideal working environment for our tissues: the extracellular matrix.

Weve had a look at the differences between animal and plant cells before (heres a refresher). One of the key differences between them is that plants reinforce their cells with thick, sturdy walls. These walls are why plant tissues such as wood can get so resilient. However, the reverse of the coin is that it also limits plant cells somewhat: a muscle made out of wood wouldnt be very effective.

Animals need cells that can perform a wide variety of activities, but these cells also need biological and mechanical support to perform their tasks. Thats where the extracellular matrix, or ECM, comes in.

The ECM is a complex mix of proteins and carbohydrates that fills the spaces between cells; it is comprised of the basement membrane and interstitial matrix. Going forward, Ill use the term ECM quite loosely to mean both the extracellular matrix and the interstitial matrix. If I dont mention the basement membrane specifically, Im probably talking about the interstitial matrix (as its the more dynamic and frankly more interesting half of the topic).

Think of the basement membrane as a sheet of plastic wrap the body stretches over every individual tissue or organ to keep everything tidy and in place. This membrane is made up of two layers of cells and its quite fibrous and hard to rip.

The interstitial matrix is, for lack of a better term, the goo that our cells live in. Most of the time, it looks and feels a bit like a clear gel. Its produced by the cells themselves, which secrete and release certain compounds around them.

The simplest definition of the extracellular matrix is that it represents the sum of non-cellular components present within all tissues and organs. As we go forward, keep in mind that the ECM isnt the same everywhere.

Although, fundamentally, the ECM is composed of water, proteins, and polysaccharides, each tissue has an ECM with a unique composition and topology that is generated during tissue development, Christian Frantz, Kathleen M. Stewart, Valerie M. Weaver, 2010.

Collagen, the most abundant protein in mammals, is the main component of the ECM. Outside the cell, collagen binds with carbohydrate molecules and assembles into long molecules called collagen fibrils. These fibrils extend through the ECM and lend flexibility and strength to the material, acting similarly to the role of rebar in reinforcing concrete (which is tough but inflexible). Collagen fibrils are flexible and tough to break, so theyre used to bind together the rest of the ECM. In humans, genetic disorders that affect collagen (such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) cause tissues to become fragile and tear easily.

While the ECM contains a wide range of proteins and carbohydrates, another important set of compounds alongside collagen are proteoglycans (groups of proteins tied to simple sugars). Proteoglycans come with many shapes and functions, depending on which proteins and sugars theyre made of, and perform a wide range of tasks in the ECM. They can also bind to each other, to collagen (forming cartilage), or to hyaluronic acid, making them even more versatile. As a rule of thumb, proteoglycans act as fillers and regulate the movement of molecules through the ECM among other functions.

Their overall structure looks like a tree: the sugar part of the polyglycans are twigs set on a branch (the protein), which ties to a trunk made out of polysaccharide (many-sugar) molecules. A class of proteins in the membranes of cells, called integrins, serve as connection ports between the membrane and material in the ECM (such as collagen fibers and proteoglycan-polysaccharide bundles). Beneath the membrane, integrins tie into the cells support girders (the cytoskeleton).

The type of ECM Ive described so far is your run of the mill variety that youll find in skin, around muscle fibers, in adipose tissue (fat), and so on. But each tissue has an ECM that fully supports its function blood plasma is the interstitial matrix of blood. Unlike the ECM of muscles, for example, which is meant to reduce friction and wear in the tissue, blood plasma primarily works as a medium to carry blood cells around. Blood vessels are coated with a basement membrane, and together, they form the ECM of blood. Each type of animal connective tissue has its own type of ECM, even bone.

Seeing as there are many types of ECM out there, it stands to reason that there are many functions they perform. However, by and large, there are a few functions that all ECMs fulfill.

The first and perhaps most important function is that they provide support to tissues, segregate (separate) them, and that they mediate intercellular communication. The ECM is also what regulates a cells dynamic behavior i.e. whether a cell moves around, and how. The ECM keeps cells in place so we dont simply unravel. The connections formed between the ECM and integrins on a cells membrane also function as signaling pathways.

It is also essential for the good functioning of tissues at large. The ECM creates and maintains the proper environmental conditions for cells to develop, multiply, and form functioning tissues. While the exact details are still unknown, the ECM has been found to cause tissue regrowth and healing after injury. In human fetuses, for example, the extracellular matrix works with stem cells to grow and regrow all parts of the human body. Fetuses can regrow anything that gets damaged in the womb, but since babies cant, we suspect that the matrix loses this function after full development. Researchers are looking into applying it for tissue regeneration in adults.

The ECM can also act as a storage space for various compounds. In joints, it contains more hyaluronic acid which in turn absorbs water and acts as a mechanical cushion. ECMs can also store a wide range of cellular growth factors and release them as needed. This allows our bodies to activate cell growth on a dime when needed without having to produce and ship these factors to a certain area.

It also seems to impact cell differentiation and gene expression. Cells can switch genes on or off depending on the elasticity of the ECM around them. Cells also seem to want to migrate towards stiffer areas of the ECM generally (durotaxis) from less-firm ones.

The ECM isnt very well known today, and it definitely goes unsung. But no matter how you cut it, it is a key part of biology as we know it today. Without it, both animals and plants would be formless, messy blobs quite literally. And I dont know about you but I love it when my tissues stay where theyre supposed to, the way theyre supposed to.

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The extracellular matrix, and how it keeps you in tip top shape - ZME Science

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on The extracellular matrix, and how it keeps you in tip top shape – ZME Science | October 26th, 2019