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    Category Biology/Biotechnology

    Patient-specific Cells Generated from Thymus Organoids

    March 30, 2023, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Figure thumbnail gr1
    Generation of hPSC-derived TECs in vitro
    (A) Schematic of TEP-only sTOs.
    (B) Representative IF images of KRT8 (green) and KRT5 (magenta) in day 16–22 TEPs and week 2 TEP-only sTOs (TEPs, n = 2 indepdendent experiment (ind. exp.), 2 hPSC lines; sTOs, n = 3 ind. exp., 2 hPSC lines).
    (C–H) FC plots and quantification of EPCAM/HLA-DR (C and D), EPCAM/CD205 (E and F), and EPCAM/GFP (G and H) expression in day 16–22 TEPs and week 2 TEP-only sTOs.
    (I) tSNE plots of EPCAM, HLA-DR, CD205, and GFP expression in 16–22 TEPs and week 2 TEP-only sTOs, n = 3 ind. exp., 1 hPSC line.
    Plots show percentage of the mean; data are shown as mean Â±
    ± SEM.

    Researchers have used pluripotent stem cells to make thymus organoids that support the development of patient-specific T cells, researchers report Marc...

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    A Plant-based Compound that Inhibits Reactivation of HIV viral Reservoir, giving the Immune System a break

    March 29, 2023, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Researchers identify a plant-based compound that inhibits reactivation of the HIV viral reservoir, giving the immune system a br
    Overview of HIV inhibitor screening strategy and identification of (–)-hopeaphenol. (A) Representative flow cytometry examples of HIV-GFP reporter expression in unstimulated live J-Lat 9.2 cells treated with 0.1% DMSO control (left), live cells stimulated to express HIV-GFP by 0.1 μg/mL of the control latency-reversing agent PMA (center), and suppression of PMA-induced virus expression in live cells by 10 μM hopeaphenol (right); (B) chemical structure of (–)-hopeaphenol; (C) effects of hopeaphenol on PMA-induced HIV production in J-Lat 9.2 cells. Blue dotted line denotes half-maximal inhibition. In panel C, results denote the mean ± SD from three independent experiments. Credit: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (2023). DOI: 10.1128/aac.01600-22

    As of 2022, approximately...

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    Scientists warn of Rise in potentially Fatal Bacterial Infection due to Global Warming

    March 29, 2023, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Environment/Geology

    An injured man on the beach.
    Getty images.

    Continued warming of the climate would see a rise in the number and spread of potentially fatal infections caused by bacteria found along parts of the coast of the United States.

    Vibrio vulnificus bacteria grow in warm shallow coastal waters and infect a cut or insect bite during contact with seawater. A new study led by the UK’s University of East Anglia (UEA) shows that the number of V. vulnificus infections along the East Coast of the US, a global hotspot for such infections, has gone up from 10 to 80 per year over a 30-year period.

    In addition, every year cases occur further north. In the late 1980s, cases were found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the southern Atlantic coast but were rare north of Georgia. Today they can be found as far north as Philadelphia.

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    How Fit is your Gut Microbiome? New research shows duration and not intensity of exercise is most important

    March 28, 2023, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    How fit is your gut microbiome?
    Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

    It is well known that the microbiomes of athletes are different from of those who are sedentary. To investigate how exercise shapes the gut microbiota in non-athletes, the study assessed information on the type, time and intensity of exercise in relation to microbiomes in a large cohort of middle-aged adults.

    Exercise has many benefits – strengthening muscles and bones, preventing disease and extending lifespan. It is also known to change the composition and activity of the trillions of microbes in our guts known as the microbiome.

    It is well known that the microbiomes of athletes are different from those who are sedentary. This is not overly surprising according to the author and PhD student Shrushti Shah...

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