Category Archives: BioEngineering

Thirty years ago, when the field of tissue engineering beginning to coalesce, experts predicted we were just a couple decades away from creating brand-new organs for patients. After all, replacement parts made of plastic or metal had become a realityjust ask the millions of people living with knee or hip replacements.

So, why arent we, in 2020, growing replacement lungs, livers and kidneys to fill the gap that donor organs cant address?

People asked that question back when tissue engineering was being defined in the 90s, said Jordan Miller, Ph.D., an assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice University. They said: Weve got a scaffold, weve got cells and weve got growth factorsso, give me a liver, then.

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Growing new organs turned out to be a little further off than anyone thought, chiefly because weve learned a lot that we didnt know we didnt know, said Miller. But, thanks to advances in technology, he believes the field is in striking distance this decade.

There are thousands of labs working to make better cells that could eventually work the way natural organs do. But figuring out the best medium to grow cells in or the best recipe of nutrients to feed them are just pieces of the puzzle. Those cells need to be organized in the right way for them to work properly.

You can grow billions of cells in a lab. You can grow hundreds of billions of cells, all flat at the bottom of a petri dish, Miller said. But put them in 3D, in a scaffold with factors, they will die if theyre any bigger than about half a millimeter.

Whats missing, Miller says, is architecture: If you dont have it, you cant get nutrients to cells and cells will die.

RELATED:3D printing lungs using blue light, hydrogel and 'yellow dye #5'

And thats where Volumetric, the startup Miller co-founded with Bagrat Grigoryan, Ph.D., comes in. While others work to solve the cell-sourcing question, as Miller puts it, Volumetric is focused on the architecture those cells will be put into to become tissues, and then organs. It started out with $150,000 in seed funding from Y Combinator and stands to reel in more after pitching its work to investors at the accelerator's Demo Day this week.

He likens building an organ to building a city. The same way cities need roadways to deliver food and remove waste, organs need blood vessels. And, depending on what they do, different organs have additional roadways: The lungs move air through their airways and the kidneys move urine through the urinary tree. Volumetric is using 3D bioprinting to create road maps for these organs.

Instead of 3D-printing hard plastics or metals, Volumetric is using water-based materials to make parts that are biocompatible with the body, mimicking the water content and stiffness of human organs.

What we have been able to do is make the first vascular unit cell for lung tissue in a material that is mostly water, Miller said. He means the smallest building block that, by itself, has organ-level function. In the lung, thats the air sac. In a paper published in Science last May, Volumetric described a hydrogel with the roadways for an air sac and surrounding blood vessel network. It has worked with a small model of the liver lobule and is looking into pancreatic islets and kidney glomeruli.

Theres still some work between these unit cells and a functioning organ. For starters, Volumetric needs to scale up its single air sac to 600 million air sacs to reproduce the function of a lung. And, down the road, it will need to find the cells to put into its architecture to make these new organs.

The beauty of doing architecture is we can give those architectures out to labs all around the world to do studies with. That way, the scientific community together can find the solution, Miller said. Its not only less money we need to raise, but its better because we can try more things.

RELATED:Researchers build 3D-printed heart out of patient's donor cells

And those labs arent the only avenue for collaboration: Volumetrics technology could help companies improve the drug development process. Instead of testing their prospects in animal models that may not translate to humans, they could test them in engineered tissues and organs.

Were talking with pharma companies right now to identify their needs for 3D human-like architecture and their drug development pipeline. That is a very important problem because a lot of drugs fail at the phase 3 clinical trial. If you cant get efficacy at that level, you cant go to market, Miller said.

Research applications aside, he figures the first therapeutic use of Volumetrics technology may be in bridging treatments, which keep patients with failing organs alive long enough to receive a donor organ.

An analogy we like is the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for someone who needs a heart transplant but is not able to get one because supply is low. Sometimes, it may be appropriate to give them an LVAD, Miller said. Its not a heart replacement, but its a heart assist device that buys them more time.

Ultimately, though, Volumetric exists so that organ donation will become a thing of the past. A potential benefit of its technology would be to grow organs for patients using their own cells, resulting in a perfect match and eliminating the need for lifelong immunosuppressive therapy. And creating bespoke organs would solve multiple problems stemming from the shortage of donor organs.

There are very difficult ethical issues that have to be wrestled with, with a limited supply, Miller said.

You have to be quite sick to be on the organ donation waitlist, he said. But there is a whole class of conditions that would preclude someone from being on that listpeople with cancer, for example, or those with alcohol-related liver damage who dont meet certain criteria for a transplant.

The duo sees their work as the logical next step in the evolution of therapies for human disease. Treatments have evolved from small molecules to biologics, antibodies and cell therapies.

At Volumetric, we are working on the next stages after that: tissue-level, then organ-level therapies The potential is to make replacement organs for a patient from their own stem cells and in a way that the organ would be so compatible with their body that it would eventually become a part of their body and not have to be replaced, Miller said.

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Exclusive: How far are we from lab-grown organs? This Y Combinator startup is printing a road map - FierceBiotech

Highlights

An American woman who has recovered from the novel coronavirus has a simple message for people who are worried: Don't panic -- but do think about high-risk individuals and stay home if you feel ill.

Elizabeth Schneider lives in Seattle, the biggest city of Washington state, which has the most deaths in the United States from the disease sweeping the globe.

The 37-year-old, who has a PhD in bioengineering, said she was sharing her story "to give people a little bit of hope" through her own relatively mild experience with the infection, which she treated herself from home.

But, she added, "obviously, it's not something to be completely nonchalant about, because there are a lot of people who are elderly or have underlying health conditions.

"That means that we need to be extra vigilant about staying home, isolating ourselves from others."

This week, US health authorities citing Chinese data said 80 percent of cases have been mild, while the remaining serious cases that required hospitalization affected mainly people over 60 and those with conditions like diabetes, heart disease or lung disease.

The party

Schneider first began experiencing flu-like symptoms on February 25, three days after going to a party that was later identified as the place where at least five other people also got infected.

"I woke up and I was feeling tired, but it was nothing more than what you normally feel when you have to get up and go to work, and I had been very busy the previous weekend," she told AFP in an interview Wednesday.

By midday, however, she felt a headache coming on, along with a fever and body aches. She decided to leave the office of the biotechnology company where she works as a marketing manager, and went home.

After waking up from a nap, Schneider found she had a high temperature, which peaked at 103 degrees Fahrenheit that night (39.4 Celsius).

"And at that point, I started to shiver uncontrollably, and I was getting the chills and getting tingling in my extremities, so that was a little concerning," she said.

She turned to over-the-counter flu medications to treat the symptoms and called a friend to be on standby in case she needed to be taken to an emergency room -- but the fever began to recede in the coming days.

Schneider had been following news reports about the novel coronavirus. The first US case was detected in Washington in late January.

The state has since gone on to become the epicenter of the disease in the country, with more than 260 cases and at least two dozen deaths. Nationwide, there have been more than 1,100 cases and 30 deaths.

Because she didn't have the most common symptoms like a cough or shortness of breath, "I thought, okay, well that's definitely why I don't have coronavirus," said Schneider.

She had gotten a flu shot but assumed her illness was a different strain. A visit to the doctor would only result in her being asked to go home, rest and drink plenty of fluids.

'Pleasantly surprised'

A few days later, however, she discovered through a friend's Facebook post that several people from the party had all developed similar symptoms, and she began to get more suspicious.

Several of these people went to their doctors, where they were found to be negative for the flu, but they were not offered coronavirus tests because they too were not coughing or having breathing trouble.

Knowing that she would also likely be turned down for the test, she decided to enroll in a research program called the Seattle Flu Study, hoping it might provide an answer. The team behind the study sent her a nasal swab kit, which she mailed back and waited several more days.

"I finally got a phone call from one of the research coordinators on Saturday (March 7), telling me that 'You have tested positive for COVID-19,'" she said.

"I was a little bit pleasantly surprised, because I thought it was a little bit cool," Schneider admitted, laughing, though her mother cried when she told her.

"Granted, I probably would not have felt that way if I was severely ill," she said. "But from a scientific curiosity perspective, I thought it was very interesting. And also the fact that I finally got confirmation that that's what I had."

By this time, her symptoms had already subsided, and she was told by local health authorities to remain at home for at least seven days after the onset of symptoms or 72 hours after they subsided.

It's now been a week since she's felt better. She has started going out for errands but is still avoiding large gatherings and continuing to work from home.

Schneider said she hoped her example, which will probably be typical of the high majority of cases, could comfort others.

"The message is don't panic," said Schneider. "If you think that you have it, you probably do; you should probably get tested."

"If your symptoms aren't life-threatening, simply stay at home, medicate with over-the-counter medicines, drink lots of water, get a lot of rest and check out the shows you want to binge-watch," she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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A Patient Recovered From Coronavirus Shares How To Handle It - NDTV News

The global Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market reached ~US$ xx Mn in 2018 and is anticipated grow at a CAGR of xx% over the forecast period 2019-2029. In this Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market study, the following years are considered to predict the market footprint:

The business intelligence study of the Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market covers the estimation size of the market both in terms of value (Mn/Bn USD) and volume (x units). In a bid to recognize the growth prospects in the Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market, the market study has been geographically fragmented into important regions that are progressing faster than the overall market. Each segment of the Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market has been individually analyzed on the basis of pricing, distribution, and demand prospect for the following regions:

Each market player encompassed in the Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market study is assessed according to its market share, production footprint, current launches, agreements, ongoing R&D projects, and business tactics. In addition, the Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market study scrutinizes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.

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On the basis of age group, the global Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives market report covers the footprint, and adoption pattern of the segments including

In global market, the following companies are covered: Celanese CorporationKoninklijke DSM N.V.E.I.du Pont de Nemours and CompanyKerry Group PlcGalactic SAHawkins Watts LimitedInnophos Holdings IncKemin Industries, IncCargill, IncorporatedAkzo Nobel N.V.Albemarle CorporationNaturalin Bio-Resources Co., LtdShandong Kunda Biotechnology Co., LtdShanghai Ruidian Trading Development Co.Ecochem Group Co., LtdNingbo Pangs Chem Intl Co., Ltd.Zhejiang Silver Elephant Bioengineering Co., Ltd.Shandong Tong Tai Wei Run Chemical Co., LtdLaiwu Taihe Biochemistry Co., LtdSEEBIO BIOTECH (SHANGHAI) CO.,LTD

Market Segment by Product TypeNaturalBenzoatesNitritesSulfiteSorbatesPropionatesOthers

Market Segment by ApplicationBakeryConfectioneryMeat, Poultry & Sea FoodDairyBeveragesSnack FoodFrozen FoodFats and OilsOthers

Key Regions split in this report: breakdown data for each region.United StatesChinaEuropean UnionRest of World (Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

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Steven Hodi Jr., the i3 Centers other PI, and director of Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), is leading the clinical cancer vaccine trial. He has been at the forefront of developing cancer immunotherapies using immune checkpoint inhibitors, a class of drugs able to re-activate tumor-destroying T cells that are muted in the tumor microenvironment. The funding for this center provides a unique opportunity to unite key investigators for translating fundamental advancements in immunology and biomedical engineering into highly synergistic approaches to improve the treatments for cancer patients, said Hod

Using both in vivo and ex vivo biomaterials-based approaches, the i3 Center aims to boost tumor-specific activities of cytotoxic T cells, by boosting different stages of the normal process by which T cells develop, and acquire anti-cancer activity. T cells normal development starts in the bone marrow where hematopoietic stem cells generate T cell progenitor cells. These migrate to the thymus to differentiate into nave T cells, which then travel further to lymph nodes. There, they encounter cancer-derived antigens presented to them by specialized antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that can activate T cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells.

In relation to adoptive T cell therapies in which T cells are given to patients to fight their cancers, one team at the i3 Center will be led by Dana-Farber researchers Catherine J. Wu and Jerome Ritz, who along with Mooney, will develop and test biomaterials that can better mimic normal APCs in activating and directing the function of patient-derived T cells outside the human body, prior to their transplantation. Wu is chief of the Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies, and Ritz is executive director of the Connell and OReilly Families Cell Manipulation Core Facility at Dana-Farber.

We need to make efforts to enhance the ability of theimmune systemto recognizetumor cells. One directionmylaboratoryis taking makes use of innovative biomaterialsto help us to efficiently expandpolyclonaltumor-specificfunctionally-effectiveT cellsex vivoin a way that can be readily translated to theclinical setting. In our studies, we are currently focusing on melanoma and acute myeloid leukemia, said Wu, whose research interests include understanding the basis of effective human anti-tumor responses, including the identification and targeting of the tumor-specific antigens.

A second project explores the use of DNA origami, biocompatible nanostructures composed of DNA, to create cancer vaccines. DNA origami could provide significant advantages in presenting tumor-specific antigens and immune-enhancing adjuvants to APCs because the concentrations, ratios, and geometries of all components can be modulated with nano-scale precision to determine configurations that are more effective than other vaccination strategies. The project will be run by Wyss Institute Core Faculty member William Shih, Derin Keskin, lead immunologist at Dana-Farbers Translational Immunogenomics Lab, and Mooney.

In a third project, David Scadden, professor at Harvards Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, will collaborate with Mooney to build on their previous work. They will engineer biomaterials that recreate key features of the normal hematopoietic stem cell niche in the bone marrow. Such implantable biomaterials could help rapidly amplify T cell progenitor cells, and enhance T cell-mediated anti-cancer immunity. Scadden also is the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, and co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

The i3 Centers investigators anticipate that it will stimulate additional cross-disciplinary concepts and research, due to the culture of continuous interactions, sharing of findings, data and samples between all investigators, as well strong biostatistical expertise provided by Donna Neuberg, a senior biostatistician broadly involved with exploring immune-modulating cancer interventions at the Dana-Farber.

This new i3 Center for cancer immunotherapy innovation really embodies how the Wyss Institute with its unparalleled capabilities in bioengineering and serving as a site for multidisciplinary collaboration, and can liaise with clinicians and researchers at our collaborating institutions to confront major medical problems and bring about transformative change, said Wyss Founding Director Donald Ingber. He is also theJudah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biologyat HMS and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Childrens Hospital, and Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS.

Read more:
NIH-funded i3 Center formed to advance cancer immunotherapy - Harvard Gazette

Wednesday, March 04, 2020 2:08 p.m. EST by Thomson Reuters

By Linda Carroll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Today's artificial limbs can look very natural, and now an innovative process makes prosthetic hands move more naturally as well.

In an innovative experiment, scientists have shown that the nerves in patients' arms can be trained to control the movements of prosthetic fingers and thumbs.

"This is the biggest advance in motor control for people with amputations in many years," said Paul Cederna, a professor of plastic surgery and biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan.

A challenge to powering prosthetics has been the minute signals put out by an amputee's nerves. Cederna's team boosted the signal by wrapping tiny bits of muscle around nerve endings, according to their study published in Science Translational Medicine.

As the nerves grow into the muscle, the person's thoughts can create a muscle twitch that produces a signal big enough to be picked up by tiny wires connected to a nearby computer, which tells the prosthetic hand to move.

"Our ultimate goal is to have prosthetic limbs that the person views as a part of their body," Cederna said.

In an example of how well the system works, a woman who was nervously tapping her own fingers prompted the prosthetic to tap right along with it, Cederna said. "It was just doing what the other hand was doing, like it was a part of her," he noted.

"This worked the very first time we tried it. There's no learning for the participants. All of the learning happens in our algorithms. That's different from other approaches."

The procedure also worked for another amputee in the study who had lost not only his hand, but also part of his arm.

"It's the coolest part of what they've shown," said Lee Fisher, an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh's department of physical medicine and rehabilitation and bioengineering.

Participants were able to pick up blocks with a pincer grasp, move their thumb in a continuous motion, lift spherical objects, and even play in a version of Rock, Paper, Scissors, according to the study.

The approach is an "exciting innovation," but no one can predict when it will be marketable, said David Putrino, co-director of the abilities research center at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York."Currently it takes 17 years to get something (from the lab) out into clinical practice," he said.

(Reporting by Linda Carroll; Editing by Richard Chang)

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Prosthetic innovation: 'It's like you have a hand again' - study - Midwest Communication

Professor Martin Warren has been appointed as the new lead for the Quadram Institutes Food Innovation and Health science programme on the Norwich Research Park.

A Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Kents School of Biosciences, Martin was awarded a BBSRC Professorial Fellowship to work on the bioengineering of complex metabolic pathways and in 2018 gained a Royal Society Industrial Fellowship.

Prof. Warren will retain his role at the University of Kent on a part-time basis, as well as an affiliation with the University of East Anglia.

Quadram Institute director Prof. Ian Charles said: Im delighted to be able to announce Martin Warrens appointment as lead for our Food Innovation and Health research programme.

His research interest in vitamin B12 forms an important part of our research at the Quadram Institute and he joins at an opportune moment as we start looking ahead developing our science strategy.

After completing his PhD studies, Prof. Warren moved in 1989 to Texas A & M University, where he worked as a research associated with Prof. Ian Scott FRS on vitamin B12 biosynthesis.

In 2007 he was awarded a BBSRC Professorial Fellowship to work on the bioengineering of complex metabolic pathways.

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Quadram unveils lead for Food Innovation and Health Research programme - Business Weekly