StemCell Therapy

Today (August 11), Big Idea Ventures (BIV) announces the launch of its second food technology accelerator program in New York City and Singapore. This years cohort includes 12 early-stage startups working in the plant-based and cell-based space, innovating new technologies that will be vital if we are to successfully shift towards a more sustainable food system. Below we highlight the exciting companies in BIVs latest cohort.

Founded: 2018

Founder: Vince Lu

Headquarters: Beijing, China

Mission: Zhenmeat is Chinas first and leading plant-based meat startup creating sustainable protein substitutes that are tailored to the Chinese palate. Its products include plant-based pork, mooncakes, sausages and meatballs, made from pea protein, fungus, cellulose, coconut oil and various natural flavour extracts and spices. Zhenmeat is also working on vegan crayfish and pork tenderloin. Their products are currently sold online and through various restaurant partners in China.

Founded: 2019

Founders: Stephen Michael Co, Carlo Antonio Ng & Carissa Jane Lim

Headquarters: Manila, Philippines

Mission: WTH Foods (Worth The Health) is a plant-based meat company developing sustainable alternatives made using carefully-sourced local ingredients and inspired by regional flavours. Its products include pinoy pulled jackfruit pork, jackfruit nuggets and mung bean-based ground meat. WTH Foods products are currently available online via its website.

Founded: 2019

Founder: Vinayaka Srinivas & Thanh Hung Nguyen

Headquarters: Singapore

Mission: GaiaFoods is Singapores first cell-based red meat company. Using stem cell biotechnology, the company cultivates meat that tastes and looks exactly like real meat but without the need to harm animals, making it a cruelty-free and sustainable alternative, and does not contain any hormones, antibiotics or the use of any toxic chemicals.

Founded: 2015

Founders: Alejandro Cancino & Paola Moro

Headquarters: Brisbane, Australia

Mission: Fenn Foods is an Australian startup creating healthy, affordable and tasty plant-based protein alternatives made using ethically sourced ingredients such as textured vegetable protein derived from soybeans, yeast extract and pea protein. Its products include a beef alternative dubbed veef, schnitzel and chicken burger patties. The company does not use any ingredients that are GMO and source as many local and organic produce as possible.

Founded: 2020

Founder: Nieves Martnez Marshall

Headquarters: Berkeley, California, U.S.

Mission: Novel Farms, Inc. uses synthetic biology to make cruelty-free, cost-efficient and functionalised 3D scaffolds for the production of structured cultured meats and their first project is jamon iberico. Its technology helps to improve the marbling and texture of cell-based meats and can also reduce manufacturing costs. Its mission is to transform more sustainable and slaughter-free cell-based meats into a sought-after culinary experience.

Founded: 2013

Founder: Aleem Ahmed

Headquarters: San Francisco, California, U.S.

Mission: Wild For Co. connects farmers to families by creating nutritious and delicious foods using the ancient Ethiopian superfood grain teff. Its star product is a vegan-friendly air-popped chip made with teff, which is naturally gluten-free, high-protein, high-fibre and is packed with nutrients such as calcium, iron and the essential amino acids.

Founded: 2019

Founders: Kartik Dixit & Shraddha Bhansali

Headquarters: Mumbai, India

Mission: EVO Foods is Indias first plant-based egg startup using food science and plant biochemistry to develop a vegan egg alternative. Its first product is a 100% plant-based liquid egg made from protein derived from lentils, which contains no cholesterol and antibiotics. It recently received angel investment from Wild Earth founder Ryan Bethencourt, as well as VegInvest and Shiok Meats co-founder Sandhya Sriram.

Founded: 2019

Founder: Patricia Bubner

Headquarters: Berkeley, California, U.S.

Mission: Orbillion Bio is a startup looking to develop premium cell-based meat products from heritage cell lines that are directly sourced from farmers. On a mission to accelerate the broad availability of a variety of nutritious cultivated meat products, the startups first product will be bison jerky that is low-fat, low-cholesterol and high-protein.

Founded: 2020

Founders: Darko Mandich & Aaron Schaller

Headquarters: Berkeley, California, U.S.

Mission: MeliBio is using microbiology to cultivate sustainable and clean honey that has the same taste and nutritional profile as conventional honey. Because it is produced without traditional beekeeping techniques, its honey does not harm pollinator diversity, especially wild and native bee populations, which have been jeopardized over the years by the expansion of commercial beekeeping.

Founded: 2020

Founders: Jason Rosenbaum & Hailey Swartz

Headquarters: New York City, New York, U.S.

Mission: Actual Veggies creates chef-crafted fresh and refrigerated burgers that puts vegetables front and centre all their burgers are colourful, showcasing their primary vegetable ingredient. They contain only fresh farm veggies and natural binding units, such as kale, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and beets. With added plant proteins such as legumes and seeds, each patty has around 10 grams of protein.

Founded: 2018

Founders: Kerem Erikci & Can Akcali

Headquarters: Ankara, Turkey

Mission: Biftek.co is a startup producing cultivated medium that can replace fetal-bovine-serum (FBS) in the production of cell-based meats. Using its novel culture supplement formulation to grow muscle stem cells, its solution is 80% to 90% less expensive, which can help food techs lower the cost of producing cultivated proteins.

Founded: 2016

Founder: Bonnie Lau

Headquarters: San Francisco, California, U.S.

Mission: Yoconut is a plant-based dairy brand creating delicious, healthy and allergy-friendly coconut-based yoghurts that contain live cultures and no added sugar. Currently, the brand has five vegan coconut yoghurt products in various flavours, and is available online as well as in a number of stores across California.

Lead image courtesy of Veef / Fenn Foods.

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Meet The 12 Next-Gen Food Techs Transforming The Future Of Protein - Green Queen Media

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Billions of animals are killed for food every year. In fact the total number slaughtered every two years exceeds the number of people that have ever lived.

Whether youre a keen meat eater or not, theres no ignoring that its production consumes a huge amount of natural resources:15,000 litres of water to produce a single kilogram of beef.

Many studies highlight the health benefits of reducing meat consumption too. A report published in the JAMA Internal Medicine found that eatingtwo servings of red meat, processed meat or poultry a weekwas linked to a 3-7% higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Growing alternatives

Its no surprise, then, that theres a growing amount of interest in meat alternatives.

A start-up firm in Israel, Redefine Meat, is using industrial-scale 3D-printing to produce a plant-based alt-steak that it says has a structure and texture similar to that of the real thing.

Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, the companys chief executive and co-founder, told Reuters: We can do the entire cow, not only one part of the cow.

In 2019, his firm raised $6 million in funding an indication of how seriously the non-meat meat market is being taken. According to a report in Vox,demand for meat alternatives in the US leapt by 264%while the coronavirus pandemic was raging. Redefine Meat says it expects the category to beworth $140 billion annually by 2030.

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Heres to your health

Eating too much meat red meat in particular has been associated with a range of health problems for decades includingheart diseaseand some forms of cancer. It has beenlinked with obesitytoo.In the US, over 70% of people are overweight or obese.

In China, meat consumption has grown as economic development has ushered in a series of societal changes. Rapid urbanization and the adoption of so-called Western lifestyle habits, like eating more fast food and meat in general, are two of the more visible examples. Under the surface, there are signs peoples health is starting to suffer.

A McKinsey report from 2019 sums it up by saying: Alas, as incomes have grown, so too have waistlines.Diets high in protein and fat have taken hold in China, leading to a 10% urban-area obesity rate projected to increase to 25% by 2030 if left unchecked. Obesity is already costing the country more than $93 billion annually, or 1.1% of GDP.

Meatless meatballs, burgers, sausages and more have been available in supermarkets around the world for decades. They tend to contain things like soy, rice, peas and other vegetables.

The challenge for such products has tended to be that no matter how they taste, their texture doesnt resemble meat. Thats something the use of 3D-printing technology could overcome, as it creates layers of interwoven fibres that more closely mimic the real thing.

In 2013, meanwhile, a food scientist in the Netherlands hit upon a different approach. Mark Post of the University of Maastricht unveileda burger grown in a laboratory from cattle stem cells and muscle tissue. At a biochemical level, his burger is made from the same stuff as a regular burger meat tissues.

But it didnt come from an animal. Technically it isnt the flesh and muscle fibre of any cow. Whether or not that means it is meat may be a question for philosophers to ponder.

A route forward

As well as consuming resources, the meat industry generated considerable amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Compared with the production of a regular meat burger,plant-based alternatives use up to 99% less water, 95% less land, and 90% less emissions, according to the United Nations.

None of which gets us away from the rising global demand for meat. But there are short- and long-term changes that will help address some of these concerns. The UN cites a study undertaken by the University of Michigan, on behalf of the meat-substitute producer Beyond Meat. It suggests that Americans eat, on average, three burgers per week but could save the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by 12 million cars, simply by swapping one of those weekly meals with a plant-based alternative.

The UNs Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggests a series ofchanges in consumers attitude and behaviour will be requiredto secure a more sustainable global food supply. These include raising awareness among the general public of the importance of tackling food waste: around the worldone-third of all food produced ends up in the garbage.

The FAO also calls for a rebalancing of food prices to reflect the total cost of food production and supply. That includes the loss of biodiversity from land-clearance, emissions and pollution, and the consumption of water. And it suggests a reduction in per-capita meat consumption in affluent countries.

This article was first published in World Economic Forum.

Also read: Nagaland bans sale of dog meat after incidents of pets being shot at sight spark outrage

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Meat-lover who wants to save the planet? 3D printed steaks are your solution - ThePrint

ABC Health

Updated:10/07/202017:28h

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Spanish researchers have seen that a fat stem cell therapy improves the prognosis in patients with Covid-19. The research, which has just been published in ClinicalMedicine, magazine that belongs to the group The Lancet, shows that a cell therapy with stem cells from adipose tissue for the treatment of critically ill patients covid-19, which has been applied through a compassionate use program, reduces 75% of treated patients inflammation and increases the activity of your immune system.

The patients included in this study have been treated in four Spanish centers: Fundacin Jimnez Daz, the Clnica Universidad de Navarra, the Hospital Universitario de Salamanca and the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Maran.

Research has evaluated the tolerability and safety of administration to patients of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Mesenchymal stem cells, known as multipotent cells, can differentiate into various cell types while maintaining a high capacity for renewal.

Those coming from adipose tissue cells (adipocytes) They have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, are easily accessible and have a great capacity to expand also in the laboratory over long periods of time without losing their characteristics.

Advanced mesenchymal stem cell therapy is already approved for some inflammatory diseases. In turn, there is preclinical evidence that intravenous administration of this cell therapy in models of respiratory infection caused by viruses reduces lung damage. For this reason, together with the fact of the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of lung damage associated with SARS-CoV-2, we think that this therapy could be a beneficial alternative for severe covid-19 patients , points out the Felipe Prosper, senior researcher at Up.

The research presents the results of a study in which cells have been treated for the first time mother mesenquimales Covid-19 patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. In our Cell Production units we have been able to store these stem cells and have them available to administer to the 13 patients participating in the study.

They were all in critical condition and they had previously received treatment with antivirals and anti-inflammatories, a therapeutic protocol that is currently being used to combat the disease, he explains. Francisco Fernndez-Avils, of the Gregorio Maran General University Hospital.

Patients received between one and three doses of these cells from healthy donors. Two weeks after the first dose, nine patients improved their clinical condition and seven were already extubated and out of the ICU. In no case did we observe any adverse effects related to treatment , confirms Fermn Snchez-Guijo, of the University Hospital of Salamanca and of Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), and first signatory of the published work.

In this preliminary series of cases, the researchers observed a general improvement of ventilation, radiological and biological parameters of patients associated with this cell therapy. According to the experts, the results obtained in this study represent the basis for further progress in order to demonstrate whether this treatment is really effective in patients with covid-19 pneumonia.

The therapy already has the approval of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) to carry out the phase 2 clinical trial whose objective will be to demonstrate the efficacy of the treatment against standard therapy.

This work is the first published study that includes a series of patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia treated with this cell therapy. Currently, multiple studies have been started with stem cells in patients with covid-19 pneumonia, both in Spain and in other countries of the world, in which the use of various sources of stem cells such as bone marrow, fat, or placenta .

We are convinced that our results are particularly relevant as they support the performance of these studies, says the doctor. Damin Garca Olmo, from Jimnez Daz Foundation.

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Fat stem cells improve prognosis in patients with Covid-19 ...

Autologous fat grafting and adipose-derived stem cells are two distinct entities with two different risk profiles, and should be regulated as such. Autologous fat grafting prepared with the additional step of stromal vascular fraction isolation is considered a form of "stem cell therapy" given the high concentration of stem cells found in stromal vascular fraction. Much ambiguity existed in the distinction between autologous fat grafting and stromal vascular fraction initially, in terms of both their biological properties and how they should be regulated. The market has capitalized on this in the past decade to sell unproven "stem cell" therapies to unknowing consumers while exploiting the regulatory liberties of traditional fat grafting. This led to a Draft Guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 proposing stricter regulations on fat grafting in general, which in turn elicited a response from plastic surgeons, who have safely used autologous fat grafting in the clinical setting for over a century. After a series of discussions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its Final Guidance in November of 2017, which established clear distinctions between autologous fat grafting and stromal vascular fraction and their separate regulations. By educating ourselves on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final stance on fat grafting and stem cell therapy, we can learn how to navigate the regulatory waters for the two entities and implement their clinical use in a responsible and informed manner.

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Making Sense of Stem Cells and Fat Grafting in Plastic ...

COVID-19

Scientists ponder human challenge trials for COVID-19 vaccinesThousands of volunteers from around the world are willing to be exposed to live COVID-19 virus to test whether vaccines might work. No such trials are planned in the U.S. yet, but researchers and bioethicists say such trials have worked before and might be tried once the risks are better understood.Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org

Experts share insights on coronavirus vaccines at Fred Hutch virtual eventIn a webinar, Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Tom Lynch interviewed former Hutch president Dr. Larry Corey and Dr. John Mascola, director of the federal Vaccine Research Center, about their work at the center of efforts to speed the development of coronavirus vaccines.Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org

COVID-19 and cancer expose societys health care gapsFred Hutch public health scientists have been working to disrupt preventable health disparities in cancer and other diseases for decades. Now theyre using their expertise to protect vulnerable communities dealing with the very disparate spread of COVID-19.Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org

Antibodies a hot topic in COVID-19 researchWhen the pandemic struck, dozens of scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center set their existing work aside and began applying their antibody-wrangling skills. Experience with other viruses is guiding efforts to develop new tests, treatments and assays to counter SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

What happens if the coronaviruss spikes mutate?In a first of its kinds study, scientists led by virologist Dr. Jesse Bloom did a deep mutational scan of the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2, the area that binds to the ACE2 receptor in human cells and allows the virus inside. The work could have implications for vaccine design and understanding how the virus could evolve to escape immunity.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

Eating the rainbow and other food tips for uncertain timesStress-eating an entire loaf of garlic cheese bread may give you comfort but it won't do much for your immune system. We turned to Fred Hutch experts for practical tips on how to eat during the current pandemic or any time of upheaval without losing any of the important nutrients needed to fight disease or prevent gaining weight.Media contact: Tom Kim, tomkim@fredhutch.org

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Infectious disease

Antibody blocks Epstein-Barr virus in preclinical trialFred Hutch researcher Dr. Andy McGuire and his team have shown that an antibody isolated from patients blocked the Epstein-Barr virus in preclinical studies, which is good news for a vaccine. EBV causes mononucleosis and is responsible for Burkitt lymphoma and a wide range of cancers and immune disorders globally.

Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

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Clinical oncology and cancer prevention

Making clinical trial information more accessibleDr. Heather Cheng recently won a Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award from the National Cancer Institute to focus on translating clinical trial information in new ways, to help patients identify potential opportunities to participate in trials.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

Immunotherapy trial in advanced bladder and other urinary tract cancers shows 'exciting' resultsResults from a large trial of the immunotherapy drug avelumab for patients with advanced urothelial cancer could change how cancers of the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract are treated.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

Building genetic diversity into cancer researchWith a $3.5 million award from the National Cancer Institute, Fred Hutch researchers are launching an ambitious effort to build more equity into cancer risk prediction. Their aim: creating and disseminating colorectal cancer risk-prediction models also known polygenic risk scores for the multiethnic populations that need them.Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org

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Cell biology

In cancer, the context 'makes' the mutationHutch scientists discover how a gene can both drive and inhibit cancer in preclinical models of small-cell lung cancer.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

New open source software empowers scientists to uncover immune secretsCancer is maddeningly complex, and its interplay with the immune system involves a huge cast of cells and much chemical chatter. Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center want to make studying that complex network significantly easier and cheaper.Media contact: Tom Kim, tomkim@fredhutch.org

Mutated skin stem cells self-correct to prevent cancerResearchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shed light on why inherited cancer-driving mutations don't always lead to cancer. In new work in mice, they show that skin stem cells that share a tissue-wide mutation restrain tumor development by balancing mutation-driven skin cell overgrowth with a reduced rate of skin stem cell renewal.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

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Basic sciences

Discovering new strategies used in arms race between bacteria and the viruses that infect themHutch postdoctoral fellow Dr. Kevin Forsberg was approved for a NIAID New Innovators Award to study how bacteria have evolved to prevent viral infection, and viruses have evolved to overcome bacterial defenses. The work could have implications for new antimicrobials and manipulating the microbiome to improve health.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

Pudgy middle age: Does a little fat have an upside?Scientists from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center studying cellular aging in yeast have discovered that a little extra fat could protect against stress.Media contact: Molly McElroy,mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

Studying how maternal immune factors shape infant healthImmunologist Dr. Meghan Koch has been named a 2020 Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences. Her research examines how maternal immune factors in breast milk influence infant microbiome, immune development and health.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org

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Other notable news

Mourning Dr. Supriya 'Shoop' Saha, rising star in liver cancer research

An update on our efforts to change

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AtFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutchs pioneering work inbone marrow transplantationled to the development ofimmunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nations first National Cancer Institute-funded cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Womens Health Initiative and the international headquarters of theHIV Vaccine Trials Network.

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Tip Sheet: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, COVID-19 and health disparities, eating in tough times and immune protection in breast milk - Fred Hutch News...

Plasma transfers exercise benefit in mice

Exercise has a broad range of beneficial healthful effects. Horowitz et al. tested whether the beneficial effects of exercise on neurogenesis in the brain and improved cognition in aged mice could be transferred in plasma (blood without its cellular components) from one mouse to another (see the Perspective by Ansere and Freeman). Indeed, aged mice that received plasma from young or old mice that had exercised showed beneficial effects in their brains without hitting the treadmill. The authors identified glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase D1 as a factor in plasma that might, in part, mediate this favorable effect.

Science, this issue p. 167; see also p. 144

Reversing brain aging may be possible through systemic interventions such as exercise. We found that administration of circulating blood factors in plasma from exercised aged mice transferred the effects of exercise on adult neurogenesis and cognition to sedentary aged mice. Plasma concentrations of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)specific phospholipase D1 (Gpld1), a GPI-degrading enzyme derived from liver, were found to increase after exercise and to correlate with improved cognitive function in aged mice, and concentrations of Gpld1 in blood were increased in active, healthy elderly humans. Increasing systemic concentrations of Gpld1 in aged mice ameliorated age-related regenerative and cognitive impairments by altering signaling cascades downstream of GPI-anchored substrate cleavage. We thus identify a liver-to-brain axis by which blood factors can transfer the benefits of exercise in old age.

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Blood factors transfer beneficial effects of exercise on neurogenesis and cognition to the aged brain - Science Magazine

Written by Jayashree Narayanan | Pune | Updated: July 9, 2020 6:38:55 pm Lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho on dry fasting and why it matters for your body. (Source: PR Handout)

Dry fasting for good health has raised eyebrows for its complete abstinence from food and water for an extended period, but the trend has been presented as a superior form of fasting and cleansing by Luke Coutinho in his book The Dry Fasting Miracle: From Deprive to Thrive, published by Penguin Random House India.

Coutinho, a holistic lifestyle coach-integrative medicine, who has co-authored the book with Sheikh Abdul Aziz Nuaimi aka Green Sheikh, from UAEs Ajman royal family, advocates dry fasting and intermittent fasting for healthy living. He talks to indianexpress.com on the book, why fasting is for everyone, and how it could be a way to build immunity given the pandemic concerns.

Excerpts:

Why do you think fasting is important?

Fasting in earlier times was built into ones lifestyle; people ate early because there was hardly any light after sunset and their next meal would only be after sunrise. This practice spread to all religions as a discipline due to its health and spiritual benefits. Sickness too was followed by fasting, because it allowed the body to redirect its energy towards healing and repairing. So, fasting is very natural to us, however, we have moved too far away from this concept because of the habit of constant nibbling, an abundance of food and storage options, etc. Our bodies were never designed to eat the amount of food we actually eat today. Overeating turns out to be one of the most common causes of sickness, more so when the quality of food is bad and inappropriate.

Today, science is proving how necessary fasting is for the immune system, digestive system, energy, spirituality, cardiovascular health, obesity, mental health and so much more.

Fasting draws up an image of no food, no water, and basically starving. How is dry fasting different?

Fasting is not starvation. Fasting is not deprivation. Fasting is a discipline where one willingly gives their body and digestive system a break, redirecting the energy towards rejuvenation and detoxification. Fasting is way more disciplined and planned. Skipping meals is not fasting.

Fasting must be practiced around the same time, so our body builds a memory around when it can expect food. Starvation can lead to nutritional deficiencies and acidity, whereas a well-planned fasting schedule eradicates acidity.

Isnt it dangerous for the body to go without food and, more importantly, water for more than 12 hours?

Dry fasting is a cleansing practice that involves complete abstinence from food and water (in any form) for a brief period of time, which could range from 10 hours to 16, 18, 20 hours, depending upon an individuals comfort level.

Our digestive system utilises almost 80 per cent of the energy into digestion, absorption and assimilation with 20 per cent of the energy towards healing, repair, recovery, growth, rejuvenation, detoxification and building the immune system. Too much eating, eating at the wrong timings, overeating can all drain energy, leaving little or no energy for repair and recovery. Fasting gives the digestive system a temporary shutdown, boosting the immune system, stem cell regeneration, hormonal balance, etc.

Dry fasting also sends our body into the autophagy mode (prolonged fasting) wherein its intelligence sacrifices the sickest cells and activates stem cell regeneration. All of this and more can be achieved through fasting, provided its done the right way.

Of course, if someone has a medical condition and cannot fast, they must refrain or modify it according to what their health experts recommend. For example, dry fasting may not suit someone with recurrent UTI infection, so he/she may adopt intermittent fasting. Or someone on water restriction may not be able to do intermittent fasting and can take short fasts under expert guidance only.

Interestingly, the book also mentions hard dry fasting, which means absolutely no contact with water, not just consumption of it but also bathing, washing or cleaning. Is it possible?

Yes, for a brief period of time. Also, hard dry fasting is intense, so its a personal choice whether one is comfortable with fasting by not washing hands, bathing, brushing, or handling water. Not many people are because they go to offices and travel or work and that is absolutely fine. Soft dry fasting (which includes brushing, bathing, etc) if done the right way is powerful in itself.

Fasting is viewed from a religious angle. But in the book, you mention, it is more than that. Can you elaborate?

Fasting does have religious and spiritual significance but its benefits extend beyond that. In fact, it improves the health of an individual from all dimensions physical, mental, emotional, intellectual as well as spiritual.

Fasting is also turning into another fad simply because it is used as a quick fix to achieve health goals, especially losing weight and belly fat.

Fasting is not a solution for weight gain. Use it to instill discipline with reference to eating and constant nibbling, start listening to your body.

Secondly, individuals try to complete with each other on fasting and the number of hours fasted. If someone is doing a 16-hour fast, everyone wants to do a 16 hour fast. Fasting is not a competition. Its what suits you. There is no magic number of hours one should fast.

Lastly, some people claim to be fasting but still have tea/coffee/juices, etc. Such an approach can be detrimental to ones health. Fasting is not a fad.

You mention that the human body is designed for fasting and the simplest way to begin is to have an early dinner. But, people rarely follow that and tend to even eat at odd hours. Is it healthy?

Times may have changed, but not the way the human body functions.While the wisdom of early dinner comes through our grandparents, today, science is proving how late-night meals mess up our digestion, immunity, blood sugar levels, weight, etc. The very fact that the pancreatic cells have melatonin receptors on them proves that our pancreas is meant to shut down when our body starts to secrete melatonin which is when the sun sets. A person who has had a late-night dinner would be able to answer how heavy and uncomfortable it could make one feel the next day and even during the course of the night. Even worse, if the dinner is heavy, because our body is just not designed to digest it at night.

By far, eating an early dinner which is as close to sunset is a powerful lifestyle change. It can result in better immunity, digestion, energy levels, better skin and hair, etc.

Considering each and everyones body systems are different, do you think dry fasting is everyone?

Absolutely. What do you lose by trying? Most people do not fear fasting, they resist moving out of their comfort zones. There are so many people who report literally magical benefits from fasting. If someone is in a dilemma, read about these inspiring stories.At the same time, fasting doesnt have to suit all. Also, if one form of fasting doesnt suit a person, for e.g. dry fasting, in case of a health condition like recurrent UTI, they can adopt intermittent fasting. In the end, its about what suits a person.

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Fasting is not starvation or a fad, it is a discipline: Luke Coutinho - The Indian Express

What is meat?

That question is unlikely to be asked along with the usual ones Medium or well-done? Cheese or no cheese? over grills being fired up all over the United States this summer. (Unless, of course, you invite a philosopher to your barbecue.) But it is a timely one and how we answer it how we ultimately define the word meat could have a significant impact on the future of our food supply, our health and the health of the planet.

Its no secret by now that the case against meat keeps getting stronger. The social, environmental and ethical costs of industrial agriculture exacerbated by a pandemic being traced back to a live animal market, and a vulnerable meat processing industry have become too obvious and damaging to ignore. Yet Americans on average consume more that 200 pounds of animal flesh each year. And, like it or not, it is still part of how the United States sees itself cultural icons, from cowboys and ranchers to the Golden Arches, express the countrys long, tragic love affair with meat.

But just as the meaning of American identity has changed over time, so too has the food people eat to celebrate it. Fifty years ago, few barbecues included burgers made of tofu or lentils for the stray vegetarians found in so many families today.

For centuries, the definition of meat was obvious: the edible flesh of an animal. That changed in 2013, when the Dutch scientist Mark Post unveiled the first in vitro hamburger. By bathing animal stem cells with growth serum, Dr. Post and his colleagues were able to grow a hamburger in their lab. Their burger had essentially the same composition as a normal hamburger but a different origin. Although Dr. Post estimated that the first in vitro burger cost about $325,000 to create, the price has come down significantly and his team is one of several groups seeking to commercialize in vitro meat and bring it to market. (Dr. Posts first burger was grown using fetal bovine serum, a slaughterhouse byproduct; his team and others have sought out animal-free replacements.)

This prospect has triggered opposition from the agriculture industry, which in the past three years has petitioned lawmakers in some 25 states to introduce bills to prevent alternative meat products being labeled meat.

The timing of these bills is not coincidental. Lawmakers know that plant-based meat substitutes have become big business: In 2019, plant-based meat sales totaled $939 million, an 18 percent increase over the year before, while sales for all plant-based foods reached $5 billion. The real reason for the meat industrys interest in grocery labels is that it is threatened by this surge in popularity.

Missouri was the first jurisdiction where such a bill became law and it has already been subject to a first-amendment challenge, a fate that most likely awaits its counterparts in other states.

The debates now going on in many different state legislatures and courthouses all revolve around this question: What is meat? The best answer, in my view, is one that takes the arrival of in vitro flesh as occasion to reconceive and broaden our idea of meat.

A helpful distinction is drawn by Jeff Sebo, the director of the animal studies program at New York University, between a food items origin, substance and function. The traditional view of meat holds that its must originate in the body of an animal. The substance of meat is what it is physically made of: muscle tissue composed of protein, water, amino acids and the rest. Meats function is on one level something that we experience the familiar combination of taste and texture in the mouth. Nutritionally, meats function varies it can affect our health for better or worse, depending on how we prepare it or how much we consume.

A new framework that would allow us to classify lab grown meat as just meat would involve rethinking those principles. In vitro meat generally satisfies the last two requirements substance and function but not the first, origin. (I dont include plant-based products here because they do not meet any of the three conditions.)

It may seem like cheating to consciously redefine meat in order to accommodate the lab-grown version. In fact, history is full of this type of conceptual revision. Someone asking 100 years ago what a car is could be forgiven for offering a definition that mentioned an internal combustion engine or a human driver. In the age of self-driving and electric cars we recognize that these are no longer defining features of cars. Similarly, the commonly accepted definition of marriage was that of a union between a man and a woman. When same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States that version was reclassified as but one option among others, all equally legitimate.

Revised understandings of cars and marriage involve the same kind of shift. In the jargon of philosophers, we realized that we had long been mistaking one particular conception of cars or marriage for the very concept. Revising our understanding of meat to make room for in vitro meat involves a similar move. We should strip down our understanding of meat so that an element previously deemed essential in this case, being sourced in an animal carcass is no longer strictly necessary. On this updated, more minimalist understanding, all that is necessary for something to qualify as meat is that it has a meaty substance and function. Just as Model Ts and Teslas both qualify as cars, animal-sourced and lab-grown versions would then both qualify as real meat.

Two considerations support trimming the conceptual fat from our understanding of meat in this way. The first is intuitive. Imagine you are served two pieces of steak, one from a slaughterhouse the other from a lab, which have an identical taste and nutritional effect. Food is by definition what we eat, and if our experience of eating the two morsels is the same surely they warrant a common concept.

The second is linguistic. We use the word milk to classify fluids from cows, coconuts and nursing mothers, among other sources. If milk can have more than one origin, why not meat?

Ludwig Wittgenstein argued in Philosophical Investigations that the meaning of a word is its use in the language. Given that the term in vitro meat and its synonyms (lab-grown meat, cultured meat) are already widely used, it is tempting to go the full Wittgenstein and cite common usage as grounds to declare the case for in vitro meat closed. But, to be fair, a conceptual debate should not come down to a popularity contest: same-sex marriage was once unpopular, yet that hardly settled the dispute over the nature of marriage. A more cautious handling of the linguistic evidence takes it to place the burden of proof on those who would define meat to exclude the in vitro version. Our default presumption should be that it is meat, barring good arguments otherwise.

Such definitions are disingenuous, motived by financial considerations rather than a good-faith inquiry into the meaning of terms.

Our ancestors regarded animals in a host of different ways as currency, transportation, even objects of religious veneration that may now seem strange to us. In vitro meat holds out the possibility that our descendants may someday feel the same way about eating them.

Andy Lamey teaches philosophy at the University of California, San Diego and is the author of Duty and the Beast: Should we Eat Meat in the Name of Animal Rights?

Now in print: Modern Ethics in 77 Arguments, and The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments, with essays from the series, edited by Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley, published by Liveright Books.

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Is Meat Grown in a Lab Really Meat? - The New York Times

Jul 4th 2020

Editors note: Each of these climate-change articles is fiction, but grounded in historical fact and real science. The year, concentration of carbon dioxide and average temperature rise (above pre-industrial average) are shown for each one. The scenarios do not present a unified narrative but are set in different worlds, with a range of climate sensitivities, on different emissions pathways

IN THE LATE 1980s Michael Crichton, a novelist and filmmaker, had a lucrative idea. He picked up on the work of Allan Wilson, a geneticist at the University of California, Berkeley, and let his imagination run riot. Wilson had extracted DNA from an extinct type of zebra called a quagga. The DNA in question was fragmented, and the extinction of the quagga only a century in the past, but that did not matter. Crichton speculated about recovering far older DNA than the quaggas by looking in the guts of bloodsucking insects preserved in amber that had formed millions of years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs. If the insects had been feasting on dinosaurs, he mused, they might have preserved those creatures DNA. And if you have somethings DNA you could, perhaps, recreate it. The result was Jurassic Park.

Sadly, there is no sign of any real DNA having been preserved from that far back in the past. But be a bit less ambitious in your time-travelling, and apply the three decades worth of biotechnological advances that have happened since Jurassic Park was published to the question of how you might go forward from here, and the aspiration of recreating at least some prehistoric creatures no longer seems completely fanciful. It may, moreover, be of practical importance, because one animal the de-extinctionists have in their sights is the woolly mammoth. And some people believe that reintroducing mammoths into the wild would make a change to the ecology of Earths northern reaches sufficiently large as to help curb global warming.

This, then, is the idea behind the Harvard Woolly Mammoth Revival Project, run by George Church. Unlike the long-dead dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, mammoths were present on Earth as recently as 4,000 years ago. That, and the fact that many of the parts of the world in which they lived are still pretty chilly, means quite a lot of mammoth DNA remains reasonably intact in frozen corpses recovered from the tundraenough for palaeogeneticists to have reconstructed the animals genome. And with a genome, as Crichton mused, you can aspire to produce an animal.

Mammoths are a species of elephant. This helps because two (or, according to some taxonomists, three) other species of these animals remain alive today to provide assistance to the mammoth-revivers. Though African elephants (one species, or possibly two) are closer in size to mammoths than their Asian cousins are, genetics show that the Asian variety are mammoths closest living relatives, so it is they that are the focus of Dr Churchs research.

People once fantasised about cloning a mammoth directly, from cells or cell nuclei somehow revived from a fossil specimen. Dr Churchs approach is less ambitious and more realistic. It is to engineer the crucial elements of mammothness into Asian-elephant cells and then use these modified cells to create beasts which have the characteristics of mammoths, even if they are not strictly the real thing.

The technology that may make this possible is CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, which permits precise changes to be made at particular places in an existing genome. In the case of mammoths the task does not, at first sight, seem too hard. An Asian elephants genome is 99.96% similar to a mammoths. Unfortunately, the 0.04% of difference amounts to about 1.4m places in the genome where the genetic letters of the DNA message differ between the species. Most of these differences are, admittedly, in places where they probably do not matter. But there are 2,020 exceptions which, collectively, change the nature of 1,642 genesabout 6.5% of the total. It is these differences that make mammoths and Asian elephants distinct.

Dr Churchs team are therefore concentrating on mammothising what they perceive to be the most pertinent of these genomic locations. They are tweaking the genes of laboratory-grown Asian-elephant skin cells one at a time, focusing on changes they hope will promote mammoths famed hairiness, their propensity to store layers of fat beneath their skin, their cold-adapted haemoglobin and even the protein molecules in their cell membranes that act as channels for the passage of sodium ions, and which are also adapted to the cold. Whether they also tinker with genes for size is, for now at least, undecided.

The teams hope, once enough mammothness has been engendered into these cells, is that they can then be induced, by what is now a well-established laboratory procedure, to turn from being skin cells into stem cells. A stem cell is one that has the developmental plasticity needed to give rise to all sorts of other cells as it multiplies. In the short term, this approach will let Dr Church and his colleagues grow tissues such as blood, for further study. In the longer term, perhaps using an artificial womb, a stem cell of this sort might be grown into an embryo that can be brought to term. Not quite a true mammoth. But not a bad imitation.

That is all a huge technical challenge. But it is not completely fanciful. And success would usher in the second part of the plan: to liberate groups of newly created mammothoids into the wild, and let them multiply and change the Earth. This is the long-held dream of another group of researchers, led by Sergey Zimov, who runs the Russian Academy of Sciences Northeast Scientific Station, near Cherskii. Not only is it an attractive idea in its own rightfor who could resist the idea of mammoths once again thundering over Siberia?but it might also alter the climate for the better.

Dr Zimovs plan is a grand project of biogeoengineering. Recreated mammoths are the boldest part of his aspiration to revive the grassland-steppe ecosystem that dominated Siberia until the arrival there of human beings, about 30,000 years ago. It had more or less disappeared by about 10,000 years ago, the end of the Pleistocene epoch, to be replaced by the modern tundra, which is dominated by moss and small trees.

This shift in vegetation was, Dr Zimov and his colleagues believe, a result of the extinction or near-extinction at that time of most of the areas large herbivore species. This was almost certainly a consequence of hunting by human beings. Where once there were woolly rhinoceros, musk ox, bison, saiga, yaks, wild horses and mammoths, there now remain only reindeer and elk. The hooves of those vast herds of herbivores were, he believes, the crucial factor stopping the spread of moss at the expense of grass. And the crashing bulk and appetites of the largest speciesmammoths in particularwould have dealt with young trees before they could grow up, as is still the case for elephants in what remains of Africas savannah. The loss of the grassland, climate modelling suggests, propelled an increase in temperature.

One factor driving this change was that forest and moss are darker than grassland. Their spread has therefore increased the amount of sunlight absorbed by the area they are growing in, causing warming.

A second factor was that large animals helped maintain the soil in the perpetually frozen state known as permafrost, by churning up the winter snowfall and thus bringing the soil into contact with the freezing winter air. But without them, the snow instead forms an insulating blanket that allows the soil beneath to warm up. And when permafrost melts, the organic matter in it breaks down, releasing methane and carbon dioxideboth greenhouse gases.

The third pertinent effect is that grass sequesters carbon in the soil in its roots. In Arctic habitats it would do this better than the small, sparse trees now present, and much better than moss, a type of plant that has no roots. Carbon stored this way is thus kept out of the atmosphere where, in the form of carbon dioxide, it would contribute to global warming. When the grass disappeared, the storage capacity did, too.

All these things point to the idea that restoring the Siberian grasslands at the expense of the tundra would be a good thing to do. And Dr Zimov has indeed made a start at doing so, in an area of tundra, covering 160 square kilometres (62 square miles), near his research station. In 1988 he enclosed part of this area and has gradually populated it with reindeer, Yakutian horses, elk, bison, musk ox, yaks, Kalmykian cows and sheep. These coexist with several species of predator, including lynx, wolverines and brown bears. He calls this rewilding project Pleistocene Park, and thinks it would benefit greatly from having a few mammoths, or even mammoth substitutes, in it as well.

Pleistocene Park is an experiment, but it seems to be working. Grasses now dominate large parts of it, carbon storage in the soil is going up and the rate of nutrient turnover is increasing, too. This last point is important because a faster turnover of nutrients means more animals can be supported by a given areaa prerequisite for re-establishing large herds.

Clearly, for Dr Zimovs project to have any effect on the climate it would have to be carried out on a grand scale. The Northeast Siberian coastal tundra, to give the area of habitat in which Pleistocene Park is located its proper name, covers about 850,000 square kilometres, so the park is, at the moment, a mere pinprick. It would also take many decades, even without the complication of introducing as-yet-imaginary mammothoids into the mix.

Expansive though the tundra is, however, whether that effect will be large enough to weigh in the scales of a planet-sized problem is a matter of debate. The models suggest that the global temperature rise brought about by the shift from steppe to tundra was a bit over 0.1C. Reversing this shift would, presumably, push the temperature down by a similar amount. That, as Chris Field of Stanford University, in California, who was one of the modellers, points out, would help stabilise the climate, provided global temperature rises above preindustrial levels can be kept, by other means, below 1.5-2C, the objective agreed in Paris in 2015. But if the rise were much greater than this, he thinks the permafrost would melt anywaymammoths or no.

For more coverage of climate change, register for The Climate Issue, our fortnightly newsletter, or visit our climate-change hub

This article appeared in the The World If section of the print edition under the headline "Doing the tundra quick-steppe"

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What if mammoths are brought back from extinction? - The Economist

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Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) Market Recent Industry Developments and Growth Strategies Adopted by Players - Cole of Duty

Studies conducted throughout its emergence and spread have documented the disturbing ways COVID-19 - the infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus - damages the body.

Coronavirus' are a family of respiratory infections so naturally the focus has mainly been on the damage it inflicts on the lungs.

However, a study of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan reported a range of neurological symptoms.

More than a third of coronavirus victims who were hospitalised in the Chinese city exhibited neurological symptoms, including dizziness, headache and seizures.

READ MORE:Coronavirus update: The current R number - are people in the UK still at risk of COVID-19?

Professor Hartung and colleagues made the discovery after adding low levels of SARS-COV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, to tiny neuronal balls known as mini-brains that are grown from human stem cells.

The researchers found the virus infected neurons in the mini-brains via the ACE2 human protein that is known to be an important entry point for SARS-COV-2.

The virus then multiplied within the neurons; within three days the number of copies had increased at least tenfold.

It is really critical to know that our most precious organ can be directly affected by the virus, said Prof Hartung, a toxicology expert at Johns Hopkins, adding it was still unclear how frequently this happened in COVID-19 patients.

According to the NHS, the main symptoms of coronavirus are:

"Most people with coronavirus have at least one of these symptoms," explains the health body.

UK health advice says to stay at home (self-isolate) if you have any of the main symptoms of coronavirus.

Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, must also self-isolate.

A support bubble is where someone who lives alone (or just with their children) can meet people from one other household.

There is currently no specific treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19), but you can often ease the symptoms at home until you recover.

However, If you have a high temperature, the NHS says it can help to:

"If you have a cough, it's best to avoid lying on your back. Lie on your side or sit upright instead," adds the health site.

Read more here:
Coronavirus symptoms: How COVID-19 can damage the brain - what to look for - Express

Stephen Raffone had difficulty breathing. He coughed up sputum and was wheezing. Doctors told him he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition that causes blocked airflow from the lungs.

As a result, he was being treated for stage 4 COPD.

His doctor was also treating him for cellulitis, an inflammatory and painful bacterial skin infection where extremities appear red and swollen and the area can feel hot and tender to the touch, as well as poor circulation.

My legs were beginning to get ulcerated and they were breaking down, said Raffone.

He was administered the Roman Catholic Churchs Last Rites three times several years ago when he was a patient in Richmond University Medical Center.

Raffone, who is now 63, was in need of a lung transplant.

He was a heavy smoker and it took its toll. However, because he was in a weakened state due to other serious health conditions, doctors told him hed never survive the surgery.

The Westerleigh resident, who has been in need of 24-hour care for the last several years, requires the assistance of two nurses who rotate 12-hour shifts.

One, a close family friend, suggested Raffone see a medical specialist who performs stem cell therapy, a procedure where the patients own stem cells are removed, treated and returned to his or her own body after a conditioning regimen.

She contacted Dr. Alexandre M. Scheer of Scheer Medical Wellness and he agreed to see Raffone.

Dr. Alexandre M. Scheer (Courtesy/Stephen Raffone)Staten Island Advance

But since Raffone was unable to leave his home, Scheer visited Raffone for a consultation and to evaluate his condition.

Fast forward a year and a half and Scheer has continued with those visits almost every Saturday free of charge also underwriting the cost for treatments, as well as Uber rides from Manhattan to Staten Island, in order to perform the stem cell procedure.

RAFFONES NURSE SPEAKS

One of Raffones nurses recounted Raffones journey.

She explained that when they started to explore stem cell therapy she placed calls to several doctors, but the biggest thing that jumped out at her was the astronomical cost.

But there was something about Dr. Scheer. And I just knew he was the right one, said the registered nurse for more than 30 years. "He wasnt interested in money. His goal is his patients outcome. Stephen did pay for the first set of treatments, but since then, Dr. Scheer has not taken a dime.

When the patient began treatments, the first therapy was a tremendous boost and then every week after that he was treated for seven weeks. In the beginning, the doctor visited every week and brought whatever supplies was needed. The PRP (platelet rich plasma) treatments are daily.

I draw the blood, I spin the blood," she said. We have a small centrifuge here so it separates the blood. The PRP is given by a nebulizer. It takes about 30 minutes. And once a week he gets a protein enriched plasma, which takes about a half hour, she added.

He has chronic venous ulcerations of the both lower extremities from the knee down, she said.

Raffone has end stage COPD. But since he started the treatments, hes gone to the hospital only once. And he has tested negative for antibody COVID-19.

RAFFONES TREATMENT BEGINS

Raffone was required to install the centrifuge machine with needles and plasma tube, a laboratory device used for the separation of fluids, gas or liquid, based on density. Separation is achieved by spinning a vessel containing material at high speed.

Initially, Dr. Scheer sent a plastic surgeon to my home to perform liposuction, a type of fat-removal procedure used in plastic surgery, where they separate the fat and preserve the stem cells, Raffone said. They did this four times weekly at the beginning. Dr. Scheer has been visiting my home pretty much each week since Sept. 22, 2018. But right now the stem cell therapy is done once a month."

They draw blood out and spin it. Its all done through IV. Right now stem cell infusion is done once a month and daily through a nebulizer. Dr. Scheer does it on Saturday and my nurse and dear friend to Dr. Scheer does it during the week. My house looks like a hospital. Dr. Scheer is keeping me alive and everything is healing up so well, said Raffone.

Stephen Raffone's left leg before stem cell treatment. (Courtesy/Stephen Raffone)Staten Island Advance

Raffone says he wanted to come forward with his account at this time because hes so grateful and especially today when so many negative stories are in the news.

We need some good stories. There are very few people like Dr. Scheer, especially now during the COVID-19 crisis, he said.

My nurse draws the blood and puts it in a centrifuge when the doctor cant make it from the city. But Dr. Scheer is still coming to my house in spite of the COVID-19 crisis," Raffone continued.

Raffone has been confined to a bed one that he says turns you from side to side and upside down. But Dr. Scheer is confident that when restrictions are lifted and physical therapy sessions resume, Raffone will be able to walk.

The stem cell therapy is not only helping to combat Raffones COPD, but it has also helped him with cellulitis on his leg.

Stephen's Raffone healed left leg after stem cell therapy. (Courtesy/Stephen Raffone)Staten Island Advance

Scheer, a staunch supporter of stem cell therapy, has a background in neurosurgery and regenerative medicine. He performs surgery at several surgical centers in Manhattan.

It has to do with the amount of cells your bone marrow," he said. What we do is . . . saturate the body with stem cells. It suppresses the inflammatory response. COVID-19 also is an inflammatory disease. The COVID-19 kills the lungs. So you dont have oxygen going through. The stem cells protect, so you have continual oxygen transfer.

Dr. Scheer, who practices at Sheer Medical Wellness in Manhattan, says you can regenerate yourself.

I want my patients to be fine. I will pay for the patient. Im happy Stephens alive. And then my life is made. Stephen will now be able to walk after physical therapy. He was on 12 liters of oxygen daily. Hes now on two liters. I know his nurse very well and thats how we connected. The stem cell treatment is the appropriate treatment for him. I pay out of pocket because I know the right treatment for his condition," he added.

Dr. Scheer points out in China and in Israel stem cell therapy is the treatment they use for COVID- 19.

Its where you take Eastern and Western medicine and put it together. The patients body and will to live and having the right outlook on life has a lot to do with proper health. Our group is so big. We have 40 different doctors in my practice. Im the medical director, he said. Stem cell treatment is the future of medicine. At $10,000 a treatment, its very expensive. And the number depends on the issue at hand.

THE INITIAL CALL

When Scheer spoke to Raffone, He said I cant get out of bed,' the doctor said. "I drove to Staten Island and I got to know Stephen and his family very well. Its not a one-time treatment. Im seeing him on a weekly basis. There is a relationship that occurs. And thats what matters and thats what keeps people alive. Hope is what keeps them alive. And Im doing this since 2001. The treatment involves platelet enriched plasma that suppresses inflammatory reactions in the lungs. Whats happening is youre able to suppress the inflammatory reaction. His legs and his heart are getting better as well. This is a treatment until we can get him walking.

Scheer says Raffone must undergo physical therapy in oder for him to walk around freely.

And hell be able to travel to my office. Im not giving up on him. Im paying out of pocket. A quarter of my patients, I pay for. Stephen has gone through so much. Hes alive because of stem cell therapy. And due to his lung condition with COVID, he has not contracted it."

Scheer says its been a team effort, with multiple doctors coming into play.

Stephen is keeping himself alive. Im just the tool that can help. I just do the best I can for as many people as I can.

Read more:
Westerleigh resident is alive because of stem cell therapy by his doctor -- for free. Heres his story. - SILive.com

Biologic, or regenerative, therapies have altered the way many equine veterinarians treat problematic joints. Some of the most mainstream and popular modalities they currently use to manage osteoarthritis (OA) in horses are autologous conditioned serum, autologous protein solution, platelet-rich plasma, and mesenchymal stem cells.

Most biologic therapies involve collecting and concentrating the horses natural anti-inflammatory and regenerative proteins or cells so they can be injected into an area of pathology (disease or damage) in the same horse.

Autologous conditioned serum is a cell-free extract of whole blood that has been processed to contain high concentrations of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IRAP), a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory protein within the body. It is marketed under the trade names IRAP and IRAP II.

When preparing ACS, veterinarians collect venous blood in a proprietary syringe system that encourages porous glass beads to bind with white blood cells. During an incubation process the bound white cells release high concentrations of IRAP. The veterinarian then draws the serum off into small portions and freezes it for future injection into arthritic joints. In clinical studies of ACS, researchers have reported improved synovial membrane (joint surface lining) health, stimulation of natural IRAP production, and improved lameness.

Platelet rich plasma is blood plasma thats been centrifuged or filtrated to have a higher concentration of platelets than whole blood. Many horse owners are familiar with PRP and its use in tendon and ligament injuries; however, veterinarians are using it more regularly for treating joint disease.

One of platelets roles in the body is to modulate tissue healing. They do so by releasing growth factors and signaling molecules that initiate repair and promote anabolic (supporting tissue growth) effects. Veterinarians have capitalized on this ability by injecting high concentrations of platelets directly into damaged or inflamed regions. Because many PRP systems allow for stallside preparation, it is a convenient option for immediate treatment without the hassle of incubation or culturing in the lab, as is the case with ACS and stem cell preparation, respectively.

Historically, equine veterinarians have primarily used PRP to help treat soft tissue injuries. More recent work has led to intra-articular (in the joint) use with promising results. Although researchers have demonstrated how platelet-derived products work in vitro (in the lab) and veterinarians have seen promising anecdotal results in vivo (in the live horse), theyve yet to produce evidence-based confirmation of its clinical efficacy.

Mark Revenaugh, DVM, owner of Northwest Equine Performance, in Mulino, Oregon, says the main factors standing between researchers ability to gather objective data and establish a consensus on PRPs efficacy are the high variability among preparation systems, individual patient reactivity to the product, and an unknown ideal concentration of platelets for particular injuries.

Most practitioners cant always check how many platelets are being used, he says. Depending on the system, one veterinarian may be using 100,000 platelets/milliliter and another veterinarian may be using 1 billion platelets/milliliter. These are not the same treatments, even though both are called PRP. I would love to see an industry standard develop.

Overall, PRPs positive anecdotal results and relatively easy preparation make it a useful option for treating osteoarthritis (OA) in horses.

Autologous protein solution (marketed under the trade name Pro-Stride) is essentially a hybrid of ACS and PRP. Its two-step stallside preparation process involves separating whole blood and sequestering white blood cells and platelets in a small fraction of plasma. The veterinarian then concentrates the separate blood components by filtration, leaving a solution of white blood cells, platelets, and serum proteins that provides the anti-inflammatory mediators of IRAP and the platelet-derived growth factors of PRP.

In a 2014 study out of The Ohio State University, researchers revealed that an intra-articular APS injection can significantly improve lameness, weight-bearing symmetry, and range of joint motion in horses that dont have severe lameness or significant compromise to the joint structure.

Mesenchymal stems cells are adult stem cells that can direct regeneration and repair of damaged tissue. Veterinarians have used this type of stem cell as a treatment strategy for equine soft tissue injury for some time; its only recently that veterinarians have begun using them to treat OA, and its not fully clear how they work in this capacity. Researchers working on early stem cell studies hoped to establish evidence that stem cells injected into regions of injury would develop into the respective tissue. While this hypothesis proved to be incorrect, continued research has revealed that these cells might instead have anti-inflammatory effects and the ability to recruit other stem cells to the area that could, in fact, heal damaged tissue.

The two most common forms of mesenchymal stem cells are adipose (fat)-derived and bone-marrow-derived. Some study results have shown that bone marrow sources yield smaller concentrations thanbut are superior toadipose sources in their ability to differentiate into musculoskeletal tissue. Some encouraging data supporting the use of mesenchymal stem cells for treating OA exists, but researchers have only published a small number of studies with promising results. Equine veterinarians have used MSCs to treat intra-articular soft tissue injury (meniscal and cruciate damagecartilaginous tissues and ligaments that support the stifle), with successful anecdotal results. Theyve reported more variable outcomes when using it for primary intra-articular injuries.

Carter Judy, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, staff surgeon at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, in Los Olivos, California, says he currently prefers to use PRP and APS for OA treatment over MSCs. However, he admits there is much to be discovered. What will be interesting to see is how manipulating the cells and providing them with different signals and markers can make their efficacy much more potent and focused, he says.

When weighing treatment options for horses with OA, veterinarians should base their decision to use a certain biologic modality on its cost, availability, and how a horse has responded previously.

Our knowledge base of how the biologics work is improving, but we are in the infancy of understanding, Judy says. Much of the use is based on the clinical response as much as is it on the scientific data.

More:
Regenerative Therapy Options for Horses With Osteoarthritis - TheHorse.com

Our relationship to Neanderthals has been a point of contention for over a century. It all began with an inaccurate reconstruction of the first Neanderthal ever found, which portrayed them as brutish, stooped-over cavemen (turns out, that Neanderthal was an injured old man with arthritis).

But within the last half century, scientists have noticed the many biological and behavioral similarities that show just how close our species are. While these similarities are clear from hard objects like bones and tools, perishable objects, which comprise the majority of material culture items in humans, have been lacking.

Now, scientists have discovered a Neanderthal feat that hammers another nail in the coffin of supposed Neanderthal inferiority. Last month, an international team of researchers found a small section of a twisted cord attached to a stone flake in Neanderthal site in southeastern France, dated to over 40,000 years old. This constitutes the oldest direct evidence of fiber technology ever found.

A stone flake with three distinct twisted fibers preserved (indicated by the box).

M.-H. Moncel

When artifacts are recovered from archaeological sites, they are generally imaged using high powered microscopes to zoom in on tiny marks and details on the stones. Previously, plant fibers had been found on stones at this site, but they were too poorly preserved to be interpreted. When the team examined this particular flake, they were surprised to find three distinct twisted fibers, which were then twisted together in the opposite direction to form a 3-ply cord.

While it may not sound like much, this piece of string hints at something much more significant. For one, extracting and manipulating plant fibers requires working memory, as well as understanding plant seasonality and the concept of numbers. Also, such cords are the building blocks for creating other textiles, such as baskets, fabrics, and nets. Once adopted, these objects would have been indispensable in daily life.

This little piece of string provides unprecedented insight into the lives of our extinct relatives, which, despite an abundance of genetic, archaeological, and skeletal data, have been extremely difficult to interpret. It seems as though we humans arent as unique as we like to think.

Continue reading here:
Fat cells remember their diets early in life - Massive Science

He was tired of the daily pain that made even shaking someone's hand almost unbearable.

Marlette lost his arm in an accident when he was a teenager, but as an active kid, he didn't this slow him down. He continued to play football and golf, running track and even wrestling.

But over time, the strain on his remaining arm and wrist took a toll.

So to relieve his pain, he traveled from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Munich, Germany, with the hopes that a special procedure using stem cells could make a difference.

"There's no cartilage," Marlette said of his wrist. "I'm bone-on-bone. It is constantly inflamed and very sore."

As Marlette grew older, even the simplest things, like tucking in his shirt or putting on a jacket, became incredibly painful.

Regenerating hope

Marlette developed cysts and holes in the bones of his wrist. Doctors prescribed anti-inflammatory medications, but they only managed the pain, doing nothing to actually heal the problem. One day, his doctor, Dr. Bob Van Demark at Sanford Health in South Dakota, where Marlette works in finance, saw a presentation by Dr. Eckhard Alt.

It was about a new treatment using stem cells.

"Following an infection or wound or trauma," Alt said, "there comes a call to the stem cells in the blood vessels, which are silent, and nature activates those cells."

Stem cells are located throughout our bodies, like a reserve army offering regeneration and repair. When we're injured or sick, our stem cells divide and create new cells to replace those that are damaged or killed. Depending on where the cells are in the body, they adapt, becoming specialized as blood cells, muscle cells or brain cells, for example.

Alt was the first person to use adipose tissue, or fat, as a prime source of stem cells, according to Dr. David Pearce, executive vice president for research at Sanford health.

"He observed that the simplest place to get some stem cells is really from the fat," said Pearce. "Most of us could give some fat up, and those stem cells don't have to be programmed in any way, but if you put in the right environment, they will naturally turn into what the cell type around them is."

Fat tissue has a lot of blood vessels, making it a prime source of stem cells, and Alt recognized that stem cells derived from adipose tissue are also particularly good at becoming cartilage and bone.

Bone marrow is another source of stem cells, but these easily turn into blood and immune cells. Stem cells from fat have another fate.

"Fat-derived stem cells have a different lineage they can turn into, that is really cartilage and bone and other sort of connective tissues," said Pearce.

Van Demark traveled to Alt's Munich clinic along with some doctors from Sanford, which is now partnering with Alt on clinical trials in the United States. Marlette's doctor was impressed with what he saw and recommended the treatment to his patient.

Marlette paid his own way to Munich, where he would receive an injection of stem cells from his own fat tissue.

"I had one treatment, and my wrist felt better almost within the next couple weeks," Marlette said. "Through the course of the next seven months, it continued to feel better and better."

One injection was enough for this ongoing improvement.

"We see (from an MRI scan) that those cysts are gone, the bone has restructured, the inflammation is gone, and he formed ... new cartilage," said Alt.

MRIs confirmed what he was feeling: The cartilage had begun to regenerate in his wrist. Because the procedure uses autologous cells, which are cells from the patient's own body, there's little to no chance of rejection by the body's immune system.

A controversial past

Though the procedure worked for Marlette, the use of stem cells as a form of treatment is not without controversy or risk. In the US, they have been mired in controversy because much of the early research and discussion has been centered around embryonic and fetal stem cells.

Marlette traveled to Germany because approved treatments like this are not available in the United States. Clinics have popped up across the country, but they lack oversight from the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Robin Smith, founder of the Stem for Life Foundation, first began working in this field 10 years ago. According to Smith, there were 400 clinical trials for stem cells when she first started; now, there are 4,500. She partnered with the Vatican to hold a stem cell conference last year.

"We're moving toward a new era in medicine," said Smith, who was not involved in this research. "(We are) recognizing cells in our body and immune system can be used in some way -- manipulated, redirected or changed at the DNA level -- to impact health and cure disease. It is an exciting time."

Dr. Nick Boulis is a neurosurgeon with Emory University in Atlanta. His team ran the first FDA-approved clinical trials in the US to inject stem cells in the spinal cords of patients with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and he isn't surprised to see procedures like the one at Alt's clinic in Germany have success.

"Joints and bones heal," Boulis said. "The nervous system is very bad at healing. It doesn't surprise me that we're seeing successes in recapitulating cartilage before we're seeing successes in rebuilding the motherboard."

Smith also cautioned patients to do their research, especially about the types of cells being used. "When you have a health problem, and you need a solution, sometimes you don't have three five, seven years to get there," she said, referencing the slow progression of regulations in places like the United States.

"So really ,look for places that have the regulatory approval of the country they're in. Safety has to be number one," she said.

Alt's Munich clinic was approved by the European equivalent of the FDA, the European Medicines Agency. Through the partnership with Sanford, the health group is now launching clinical trials in America, focusing on rotator cuff injuries, a common shoulder injury. This is the first FDA-approved trial of its kind.

Further down the line, Alt hopes to see stem cells used for such issues as heart procedures and treating the pancreas to help diabetics. For him, the growth is limitless.

"I think it will be exponential," he said. "It will be the same thing (we saw) with deciphering the human genome. The knowledge will go up exponentially, and the cost will go exponentially down. For me, the most exciting thing is to see how you can help patients that have been desperate for which there was no other option, no hope, and how well they do."

For Marlette, it has meant a wrist free from pain and a life free from pain medication.

Since the procedure in August, he hasn't taken any of the anti-inflammatory drugs. "I have more range of motion with my wrist, shaking hands didn't hurt anymore," he said. "My wrist seems to continue to improve, and there's less and less pain all the time."

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Patient uses fat stem cells to repair his wrist - CNN

Espaol

Researchers hope stem cells will one day be effective in the treatment of many medical conditions and diseases. But unproven stem cell treatments can be unsafeso get all of the facts if youre considering any treatment.

Stem cells have been called everything from cure-alls to miracle treatments. But dont believe the hype. Some unscrupulous providers offer stem cell products that are both unapproved and unproven. So beware of potentially dangerous proceduresand confirm whats really being offered before you consider any treatment.

The facts: Stem cell therapies may offer the potential to treat diseases or conditions for which few treatments exist. Sometimes called the bodys master cells, stem cells are the cells that develop into blood, brain, bones, and all of the bodys organs. They have the potential to repair, restore, replace, and regenerate cells, and could possibly be used to treat many medical conditions and diseases.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is concerned that some patients seeking cures and remedies are vulnerable to stem cell treatments that are illegal and potentially harmful. And the FDA is increasing its oversight and enforcement to protect people from dishonest and unscrupulous stem cell clinics, while continuing to encourage innovation so that the medical industry can properly harness the potential of stem cell products.

To do your part to stay safe, make sure that any stem cell treatment you are considering is either:

And see the boxed section below for more advice.

The FDA has the authority to regulate stem cell products in the United States.

Today, doctors routinely use stem cells that come from bone marrow or blood in transplant procedures to treat patients with cancer and disorders of the blood and immune system.

With limited exceptions, investigational products must also go through a thorough FDA review process as investigators prepare to determine the safety and effectiveness of products in well-controlled human studies, called clinical trials. The FDA has reviewed many stem cell products for use in these studies.

As part of the FDAs review, investigators must show how each product will be manufactured so the FDA can make sure appropriate steps are being taken to help assure the products safety, purity, and strength (potency). The FDA also requires sufficient data from animal studies to help evaluate any potential risks associated with product use. (You can learn more about clinical trials on the FDAs website.)

That said, some clinics may inappropriately advertise stem cell clinical trials without submitting an IND. Some clinics also may falsely advertise that FDA review and approval of the stem cell therapy is unnecessary. But when clinical trials are not conducted under an IND, it means that the FDA has not reviewed the experimental therapy to help make sure it is reasonably safe. So be cautious about these treatments.

About FDA-approved Products Derived from Stem Cells

The only stem cell-based products that are FDA-approved for use in the United States consist of blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic progenitor cells) derived from cord blood.

These products are approved for limited use in patients with disorders that affect the body system that is involved in the production of blood (called the hematopoietic system). These FDA-approved stem cell products are listed on the FDA website. Bone marrow also is used for these treatments but is generally not regulated by the FDA for this use.

All medical treatments have benefits and risks. But unproven stem cell therapies can be particularly unsafe.

For instance, attendees at a 2016 FDA public workshop discussed several cases of severe adverse events. One patient became blind due to an injection of stem cells into the eye. Another patient received a spinal cord injection that caused the growth of a spinal tumor.

Other potential safety concerns for unproven treatments include:

Note: Even if stem cells are your own cells, there are still safety risks such as those noted above. In addition, if cells are manipulated after removal, there is a risk of contamination of the cells.

When stem cell products are used in unapproved waysor when they are processed in ways that are more than minimally manipulated, which relates to the nature and degree of processingthe FDA may take (and has already taken) a variety of administrative and judicial actions, including criminal enforcement, depending on the violations involved.

In August 2017, the FDA announced increased enforcement of regulations and oversight of stem cell clinics. To learn more, see the statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on the FDA website.

And in March 2017, to further clarify the benefits and risks of stem cell therapy, the FDA published a perspective article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The FDA will continue to help with the development and licensing of new stem cell therapies where the scientific evidence supports the products safety and effectiveness.

Know that the FDA plays a role in stem cell treatment oversight. You may be told that because these are your cells, the FDA does not need to review or approve the treatment. That is not true.

Stem cell products have the potential to treat many medical conditions and diseases. But for almost all of these products, it is not yet known whether the product has any benefitor if the product is safe to use.

If you're considering treatment in the United States:

If you're considering treatment in another country:

Read more here:
FDA Warns About Stem Cell Therapies | FDA

The art (and existing science) of regenerative medicine in equine practice, and whats to come

Regenerative therapy is an umbrellaterm encompassing any method that encourages the body to self- heal. Because it is drawing onits own properties, healing tissue more closely resembles native tissue than weak, disorganized scar tissue typically seen post-injury.

The goal is to allow restoration of normal function and structure of the injured tissue to allow horses to perform at their previous level, whatever that might be, with a reduced risk of reinjury, says Kyla Ortved, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, ACVSMR, assistant professor of large animal surgery at the University of Pennsylvanias New Bolton Center, in Kennett Square.

She says the three main components of regenerative medicine that help tissues self-heal include:

A specific therapy may incorporate some or all three of these components, says Ortved.

Due to the regenerative therapy industrys popularity and continued growth, many articles weve published review recent laboratory studies about stem cell production and data on efficacy andsafety (you can find them at TheHorse.com/topics/regenerative-medicine). Here, well review the basics of three regenerative modalities commonly used in equine medicine and when veterinarians and horse owners might consider each.

With this approach the practitioner collects blood from a horse and processes it using a commercial system that concentrates the platelets. When he or she injects that concentrated platelet product back into the horse, granules within the platelets release an array of growth factors that aim to facilitate and modulate the healing process. Specifically, granule-derived growth factors encourage target tissue cells at the injury site to migrate and proliferate, improve extracellular matrix synthesis, and stimulate blood vessel development.

Recently, leukocyte-reduced PRP hasbecome many equine veterinarians PRP product of choice. These preparations contain fewer white blood cells (leukocytes) and, reportedly, inflammatory mediators than normal PRP products do. These mediators break tissues down, effectively counteracting the anabolic (tissue-building) effects of the platelets and their granules.

Veterinarians can easily prepare ACS by collecting a blood sample from the patient, then incubating it with special commercially available glass beads to stimulate interleukin-1 receptor antago- nist protein (IRAP) production. Theythen inject the resultant IRAP-rich serumsample back into the patient at the target location or injury site. This protein blocks the action of interleukin-1, a powerful and damaging pro-inflammatory mediator. Additionally, glass bead incubation stimulates the production of anti-inflammatory mediators and growth factors similar to those found in PRP.

Ortved says its important to remember that all biologics, including PRP and IRAP, contain various concentrations of growth factors and bioactive protein.

Remember, they are made from your horses blood and, therefore, containall of the components in blood, just in varying concentrations, she says.

Regenerative therapies that contain highconcentrations of IRAP include IRAP II, autologous protein solution (APS), and bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC).

In certain tissues, such as adipose (fat) and bone marrow, we can find specific cells that have the ability to self-renew and grow more than 200 types of body cells. Veterinarians can isolate these cells, called stem cells or progenitor cells, and either:

Perhaps more important than theirability to differentiate into other celltypes, stem cells have powerful anti-inflammatoryproperties and play acentral role in coordinating healing in alltypes of tissues through cell-to-cell signaling,Ortved says.

Which of these three modality typeswill provide the most benefit to yourhorse depends on a variety of factors thatyou and your veterinarian will consider.

Follow this link:
Regenerative Therapies: Helping Horses Self-Heal The Horse - TheHorse.com

Sernova to utilize AgeXs UniverCyteTM gene technology to generate transplantable, universal immune-protected therapeutic cells for Sernovas Cell PouchTM Platform

ALAMEDA, Calif. & LONDON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AgeX Therapeutics, Inc.(AgeX: NYSE American: AGE), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for human aging and regeneration, and Sernova Corp. (TSX-V:SVA)(OTCQB:SEOVF)(FSE:PSH), a clinical-stage regenerative medicine therapeutics company, announced today a research collaboration where Sernova will utilize AgeXs UniverCyteTM gene technology to generate immune-protected universal therapeutic cells for use in combination with Sernovas Cell PouchTM for the treatment of type I diabetes and hemophilia A. The goal is to eliminate the need for immunosuppressive medications following Cell Pouch cell transplantation.

The research collaboration will evaluate whether Sernovas pluripotent stem cell-derived pancreatic islet beta cells engineered with AgeXs UniverCyte technology can evade human immune detection. The complementary combination of technologies could enable the transplantation of therapeutic cells in patients with type I diabetes in an off-the-shelf manner using Sernovas Cell Pouch, without human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue matching or concurrent administration of immunosuppressive medications. With a similar intent, pluripotent stem cell-derived or adult donor-derived human Factor VIII-releasing cells modified with AgeXs UniverCyte will be evaluated in Sernovas hemophilia A program.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sernova has been granted a time-limited, non-exclusive research license by AgeX. A commercial license for Sernova to utilize UniverCyte to engineer cellular products for therapeutic and commercial purposes may be negotiated between the companies pending successful study outcomes.

The UniverCyte technology aims to mask therapeutic cells derived from pluripotent stem cells or adult donors from human immune detection to allow for off-the-shelf cellular products without the need for immunosuppressant medications which may have potent side effects, or HLA-matching between donor and patient. UniverCyte uses a novel, modified form of HLA-G, a potent immunomodulatory molecule, which in nature protects an unborn child from their mothers immune system. In almost all human cells, native HLA-G expression is silenced after birth. AgeXs modified HLA-G shows evidence of being resistant to this silencing, thereby potentially allowing for long-term, stable and high expression of the immunomodulatory effect.

Sernova plans to utilize the universal therapeutic cells generated through this research collaboration with its Cell Pouch System, a proprietary, scalable, implantable macro-encapsulation device, which, upon implantation, incorporates with tissue and forms highly vascularized chambers. These chambers become a natural environment in the body to house and favor long-term survival and function of therapeutic cells. The Cell Pouch System has shown initial safety and efficacy indicators in an ongoing Phase I/II clinical study at the University of Chicago and in a preclinical model of hemophilia A when assessed with human cells corrected to produce Factor VIII.

We are thrilled with our collaboration with Sernova, which is at the forefront of cellular therapies for diabetes and hemophilia and is already in the clinic for the former. The combination of AgeXs UniverCyte to cloak cells from a patients immune system and Sernovas Cell Pouch technologies to permit cells to function long-term upon transplantation would be a landmark for regenerative medicine. This deal marks another important step in AgeXs collaboration and licensing strategy to work with the very best people, companies and institutions in the world of regenerative medicine, said Dr. Nafees Malik, Chief Operating Officer of AgeX.

We look forward to working with AgeX and its outstanding team as we continue to identify and evaluate technologies complementary to Sernovas therapeutic platform and expand our immune protection offerings. AgeXs UniverCyte technology is a significant advancement in the field of cell therapy and a perfect fit with Sernovas Cell Pouch technologies and therapeutic pipeline with its potential benefit over current immunosuppressive strategies for regenerative medicine therapeutics, said Dr. Philip Toleikis, President and CEO of Sernova Corp.

About AgeX Therapeutics

AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AGE) is focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for human aging. Its PureStem and UniverCyte manufacturing and immunotolerance technologies are designed to work together to generate highly defined, universal, allogeneic, off-the-shelf pluripotent stem cell-derived young cells of any type for application in a variety of diseases with a high unmet medical need. AgeX has two preclinical cell therapy programs: AGEX-VASC1 (vascular progenitor cells) for tissue ischemia and AGEX-BAT1 (brown fat cells) for Type II diabetes. AgeXs revolutionary longevity platform induced Tissue Regeneration (iTR) aims to unlock cellular immortality and regenerative capacity to reverse age-related changes within tissues. AGEX-iTR1547 is an iTR-based formulation in preclinical development. HyStem is AgeXs delivery technology to stably engraft PureStem cell therapies in the body. AgeXs core product pipeline is intended to extend human healthspan. AgeX is seeking opportunities to establish licensing and collaboration arrangements around its broad IP estate and proprietary technology platforms and therapy product candidates.

For more information, please visit http://www.agexinc.com or connect with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

About Sernova Corp.

Sernova Corp is developing regenerative medicine therapeutic technologies using the Cell Pouch System, a medical device and immune protected therapeutic cells (i.e., human donor cells, corrected human cells and stem-cell-derived cells) to improve the treatment and quality of life of people with chronic metabolic diseases such as insulin-dependent diabetes, blood disorders including hemophilia, and other diseases treated through replacement of proteins or hormones missing or in short supply within the body. For more information, please visit http://www.sernova.com.

Forward-Looking Statements for AgeX

Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not historical fact including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as will, believes, plans, anticipates, expects, estimates should also be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in more detail in the Risk Factors section of AgeXs most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commissions (copies of which may be obtained at http://www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. In addition, there can be no assurance that Sernovas planned use of AgeXs UniverCyteTM gene technology will successfully generate immune-protected universal therapeutic cells for use in combination with Sernovas Cell PouchTM for the treatment of type I diabetes and hemophilia A or any other disease, and there can be no assurance that AgeX and Sernova will enter into a commercial license for the use of UniverCyteTM in a therapeutic or other product. AgeX specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

Forward-Looking Statements for Sernova

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Although Sernova believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements including those related to the potential of Univercyte combined with Sernovas technologies are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates, and opinions of Sernovas management on the date such statements were made, which include our beliefs about the effect on company operations of the COVID-19 virus and conduct and outcome of discussions, clinical programs, and our clinical trials. Sernova expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200529005130/en/

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AgeX Therapeutics and Sernova to Collaborate to Engineer Universal Locally Immune Protected Cell Therapies for Type I Diabetes and Hemophilia A -...

26 May 2020

Stem cells derived from fat can lead to hair regrowth for people with a common type of baldness, according to a new study.

The South Korean researchersconducted a clinical trial into androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most common cause of hair loss. The trial showed that the use of extracts of fat tissue termed adipose-derived stem cell constituent extract (ADSC-CE) increasedboth hair thickness and density in patients.

'Recent studies have shown that ADSCs promote hair growth in both men and women with alopecia. However, no randomised, placebo-controlled trial in humans has explored the effects and safety of ADSC-CE in AGA. We aimed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of ADSC-CE in middle-aged patients with AGA in our study, hypothesising that it is an effective and safe treatment agent,' said corresponding author Dr Sang Lee from Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital.

To make their solution, the team disrupted the membrane of stem cells found in fat tissues using a low-frequency ultrasound wave and enriched the secreted stem cell with protein. They recruited 38 patients 29 men and nine women with AGA for the clinical trial. One half applied the ADSC-CE lotion to their scalp with their fingers, and the other applied a placebo solution.

A dot was tattooed on the participants'scalps in order to compare the same spot over time. After 16 weeks, the group that used the ADSC-CE lotion presented a significant increase in hair density with 28.1 percent in comparison to 7.1 percent in the control group, and also hair thickness with 14.2 percent in comparison to 6.3 percent in the control group.

The results from this clinical trial, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, presented no side-effects, and provide an alternative to current hair therapeutic strategies that have been associated with loss of libido and erectile disfunction.

Further research is required to understand the molecular mechanisms by which ADSC-CE can affect hair growth in humans. 'The next step should be to conduct similar studies with large and diverse populations in order to confirm the beneficial effects of ADSC-CE on hair growth and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the action of ADSC-CE in humans,' said Dr Lee.

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Hair regeneration using stem cells to treat baldness - BioNews

AgeX Therapeutics , Inc. ("AgeX": NYSE American: AGE), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for human aging and regeneration, announced today that Andrea Park has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Park replaces Russell Skibsted who served in that role since the Company was organized in 2017.

Andrea Park served as our Vice President of Finance and Controller since October 2019. Her career includes over 24 years of public accounting and finance experience. Before joining AgeX, she served as Vice President of Finance and Controller of Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. While at Lineage from August 2009 to September 2019, Ms. Park was directly involved in the accounting and financial reporting of the public spin-off and eventually the deconsolidation of three of its then subsidiaries including Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., OncoCyte Corporation and AgeX. Earlier in her career she has worked in the audit and assurance practice at Deloitte. Ms. Park has a B.A. in Business Economics with Concentration in Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Mr. Skibsted will continue to provide services to the company as a consultant.

About AgeX Therapeutics

AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AGE) is focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for human aging. Its PureStem and UniverCyte manufacturing and immunotolerance technologies are designed to work together to generate highly defined, universal, allogeneic, off-the-shelf pluripotent stem cell-derived young cells of any type for application in a variety of diseases with a high unmet medical need. AgeX has two preclinical cell therapy programs: AGEX-VASC1 (vascular progenitor cells) for tissue ischemia and AGEX-BAT1 (brown fat cells) for Type II diabetes. AgeXs revolutionary longevity platform induced Tissue Regeneration (iTR) aims to unlock cellular immortality and regenerative capacity to reverse age-related changes within tissues. AGEX-iTR1547 is an iTR-based formulation in preclinical development. HyStem is AgeXs delivery technology to stably engraft PureStem cell therapies in the body. AgeXs core product pipeline is intended to extend human healthspan. AgeX is seeking opportunities to establish licensing and collaboration arrangements around its broad IP estate and proprietary technology platforms and therapy product candidates.

For more information, please visit http://www.agexinc.com or connect with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not historical fact including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" should also be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of AgeXs most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commissions (copies of which may be obtained at http://www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. AgeX specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200521005241/en/

Contacts

Michael D. West, Ph.D.mwest@agexinc.com (510) 671-8370

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AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. Appoints Andrea Park as Chief Financial Officer - Yahoo Finance