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Metal nanoclusters, made up of several to one hundred metal atoms (e.g., Au, Ag, Cu, Pt), are a novel class of intermediate between metal atoms and nanoparticles. As their size (<2 nm) borders on the Fermi wavelength of electrons, metal nanoclusters possess strong photoluminescence in comparison with large metal nanoparticles (>2 nm). This, combined with tunable fluorescence emissions, high photostability, good quantum yields and facile synthesis, make them excellent fluorescent labels for biomedical applications.

However, the reduction of metal ions in liquid solution during synthesis usually causes large nanoparticles rather than small metal nanocluster formation because of their tendency to aggregate. In light of this, proteins whose thiol, amino, and carboxyl groups have a strong affinity for metal atoms are typically used to stabilize metal nanoclusters to protect them from aggregationthese proctected clusters are commonly called protein-protected metal nanoclusters.

Protein-protected metal nanoclusters have excellent biocompatibility and have received considerable attention as a luminescent probe in a number of fields such as biosensing, bioimaging, and imaging-guided therapy. However, apart from unique optical properties, protein-protected metal nanoclusters also possess interesting biological properties such as enzyme-like activity similar to that of natural enzymes; until recently, this has been an overlooked quality that is starting to shine in basic research and practical applications.

Nanozymes is a new termed used to refer to nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like activity. Since professor Yan and coworkers first discovered that nanoparticleswhich are traditionally assumed to be inertpossessed intrinsic enzyme-like activity, a substantial amount of work has focused on further developing and harnessing the advantageous properties of nanozymes, which include high catalytic ability, high stability, and low cost. Nowadays, more than 540 kinds of nanomaterials, which possess intrinsic enzymatic activity, have been reported from 350 laboratories in 30 countries and have been used in biological analysis, environmental treatment, as antibacterial agents, cancer therapy, and antioxidation therapy.

In a recent study published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, Professor Xiyun Yan and Kelong Fan explore the newly developing field of biologically active protein-protected metal nanoclusters, namely those that possess peroxidase, oxidase, and catalase activities, and are consequently used for biological analysis and environmental treatment.

An intriguing example of this is bovine serum albumin-protected gold (Au) nanoclusters, which exhibit peroxidase enzymatic activity to catalyze the oxidation of colored organic substrates, which is currently carried out using natural peroxidases. This method showed an advantage over the natural peroxidase-based methods because bovine serum albumin-protected Au nanoclusters exhibited higher robustness and retained enzymatic activity over a wide range of pH and temperatures. In another example, lysozyme-protected platinum (Pt) nanoclusters exhibit oxidase enzymatic activity which has been applied to the oxidative degradation of pollutants, such as methylene blue in lake water.

The proteins themselves not only provide protection and stabilization during synthesis, but can also provide a myriad of other functions to the nanoclusters. Proteins have been shown to enable in vivo applications because of their enhanced biocompatibility. In fact, a protease-responsive sensor for in vivo disease monitoring was designed by utilizing the peroxidase activity of peptide-protected Au nanoclusters and their ultra-small size dependent tumor accumulation and renal clearance properties.

The sensor was developed using peptides which are the substrates/targets of disease related proteases as protective ligands to synthesis the Au nanoclusters nanozymes, which were then conjugated to a carrier. After reaching the site of disease, the sensor was disassembled in response to the dysregulated protease and the liberated Au nanoclusters were filtered through the kidneys and into urine to produce a rapid and sensitive colorimetric readout of diseases state. By employing different enzymatic substrate as protective ligands for Au nanoclusters, this modular approach could enable the rapid detection of a diverse range of diseases with dysregulated protease activities such as cancer, inflammation, and thrombosis.

These findings have extended the horizon of protein-protected metal nanoclusters properties as well as their application in various fields, says Kelong Fan. Furthermore, in the field of nanozymes, protein-protected metal nanoclusters have emerged as an outstanding new addition. Due to their ultra-small size (<2 nm), they usually have higher catalytic activity, more suitable size for in vivo application, better biocompatibility and photoluminescence in comparison with large size nanozymes. We think that ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected MNCs are on the verge of attracting great interest across various disciplines and will stimulate research in the fields of nanotechnology and biology.

Despite the advantages and advancedprogress in the development of protein-protected metal nanoclusters asultra-small nanozymes, there are still some challenges that need to be addressedin future work.

First, most researchers still only rely on bovine serum albumin as both the reducing agent and stabilizer. Since we know that protein-protected metal nanoclusters may retain the bioactivity of the protein ligand, it is necessary to explore methods for synthesizing other new protein-protected metal nanoclusters, which will widen the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of protein-protected metal nanoclusters nanozymes.

Second, there are six types of catalytic reactions in nature: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, isomerases, ligases, and lyases. Thus far, although many protein-protected metal nanoclusters have demonstrated enzyme activities they all are oxidoreductase-like activities such as peroxidase, oxidase, and catalase. Therefore, there is a ample room to develop other types of nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters. In this regard, more understanding of the structures and catalytic mechanisms of protein-protected metal nanoclusters is required in addition to the deeper understanding on natural enzymes themselves.

Third, a considerable number of reports have suggested that ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters are promising tools for biological analysis. However, little is known about the therapeutic function of these ultra-small clusters in vivo despite their advantages of suitable size and good biocompatibility. It is well known that peroxidase, oxidase, and catalase are main enzymes in biological systems involved in the maintenance of redox homeostasis. Thus, more attention should be paid to the usage of these ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters as bio-catalysts in various human diseases involved in redox dysregulation such as cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases. It is also possible to employ the products of redox nanozymes to treat other diseases, for example, use the toxic hydroxyl radicals produced by peroxidase nanozymes to treat bacterial infection.

Overall, there is still much room for future research and application of ultra-small nanozymes based on protein-protected metal nanoclusters. It is expected that the enzyme-like activity of protein-protected metal nanoclusters will certainly attract broader interests across various disciplines and stimulate research in the fields of nanotechnology and biology, making these emerging ultra-small nanozymes become novel multifunctional nanomaterials for a number of biomedical applications.

Kindly contributed by the authors.

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Protein-Protected Metal Nanoclusters That Behave Like Natural Enzymes - Advanced Science News

Fatima Aouidat,1 Sarah Boumati,2 Memona Khan,1 Frederik Tielens,3 Bich-Thuy Doan,2 Jolanda Spadavecchia1

1CNRS, UMR 7244, CSPBAT, Laboratory of Chemistry, Structures and Properties of Biomaterials And Therapeutic Agents University Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cit, Bobigny, France; 2UTCBS Chimie ParisTech University Paris Descartes - CNRS UMR 8258 INSERM U1022 Equipe Synthesis, Electrochemistry, Imaging and Analytical Systems for Diagnostics SEISAD, Paris, France; 3General Chemistry (ALGC), Vrije University of Brussel (Free University Brussels-VUB), Brussel, Belgium

Correspondence: Jolanda Spadavecchia Email jolanda.spadavecchia@univ-paris13.fr

Introduction: The development of biopolymers for the synthesis of Gd(III) nanoparticles, as therapeutics, could play a key role in nanomedicine. Biocompatible polymers are not only used for complex monovalent biomolecules, but also for the realization of multivalent active targeting materials as diagnostic and/or therapeutic hybrid nanoparticles. In this article, it was reported for the first time, a novel synthesis of Gd(III)biopolymerAu(III) complex, acting as a key ingredient of core-shell gold nanoparticles (Gd(@AuNPs).Material and methods: The physical and chemical evaluation was carried out by spectroscopic analytical techniques (Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible and TEM). The theoretical characterization by DFT (density functional theory) analysis was carried out under specific conditions to investigate the interaction between the Au and the Gd precursors, during the first nucleation step. Magnetic features with relaxivity measurements at 7T were also performed as well as cytotoxicity studies on hepatocyte cell lines for biocompatibility studies. The in vivo detailed dynamic biodistribution studies in mice to characterize the potential applications for biology as MRI contrast agents were then achieved.Results: Physicalchemical evaluation confirms the successful design and reaction supposed. Viabilities of TIB-75 (hepatocytes) cells were evaluated using Alamar blue cytotoxic tests with increasing concentrations of nanoparticles. In vivo biodistribution studies were then accomplished to assess the kinetic behavior of the nanoparticles in mice and characterize their stealthiness property after intravenous injection.Conclusion: We demonstrated that Gd@AuNPs have some advantages to display hepatocytes in the liver. Particularly, these nanoconjugates give a good cellular uptake of several quantities of Gd@NPs into cells, while preserving a T1 contrast inside cells that provide a robust in vivo detection using T1-weighted MR images. These results will strengthen the role of gadolinium as complex to gold in order to tune Gd(@AuNPs) as an innovative diagnostic agent in the field of nanomedicine.

Keywords: Gd-gold complex, theoretical study, MRI, relaxivity, biodistribution

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Design and Synthesis of Gold-Gadolinium-Core-Shell Nanoparticles as Co | IJN - Dove Medical Press

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 3, 2019--

The "Biochips - Technologies, Markets & Companies" report from Jain PharmaBiotech has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report is an analysis of biochip/microarray markets based on technologies and applications. The report starts with a description of technologies as a basis for the estimation of markets.

Technologies include array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), copy number variation (CNV), DNA methylation, ChIP-Chip, RNA splice variants, and microRNA. Separate chapters are devoted to protein biochips/microarrays, microfluidics and nanobiotechnology-based nano-arrays.

Various applications of biochips and microarrays are described throughout the report. Areas of application such as point-of-care, genetic screening, cancer, and diagnosis of infections are included. Separate chapters are devoted to applications in drug discovery and development as well as personalized medicine

The report provides current share of each segment: market size in 2018 and projected value for the years 2023 and 2028. Gene expression has the largest share and is an established market. Share of microarray technologies in other areas will grow with the maximum growth in RNA splice variants followed by epigenetics.

The growth in protein microarrays is somewhat less, partly because it is more mature than the other submarkets and has already shown considerable growth in the past. The impact of next generation sequencing on segments of microarray markets is identified. Customer requirements and unmet needs are described. Markets are also analyzed according to geographical areas.

Brief profiles of companies involved in biochip/microarray technologies are provided. Currently selected 94 companies are included along with a listing of 121 collaborations between companies. The text is supplemented by 21 tables, 11 figures and 140 references to literature.

Key Topics Covered:

0. Executive Summary

1. Introduction

Definitions of biochips/microarray

Terms used for biochips

Historical aspects of biochip/microarray technology

Relation of microarrays to other technologies

Applications of biochips/microarrays

Advantages of biochips/microarrays

2. Biochip and Microarray Technologies

Introduction

Nucleic acid amplification and microarrays

PCR on a chip

Fast PCR biochip

Multiplex microarray-enhanced PCR for DNA analysis

Universal DNA microarray combining PCR and ligase detection reaction

NASBA combined with microarray

Rolling circle amplification on microarrays

LiquiChip-RCAT

Multiplexed Molecular Profiling

Genomewide association scans

Whole genome microarrays

GeneChip Human Genome Arrays

Arrayit's H25K

Transposon insertion site profiling chip

Standardizing the microarrays

Optical Mapping

Imaging technologies used for detection in biochips/microarray

Fluorescence and chemiluminescence

MALDI-MS imaging and tissue microarrays

Surface plasmon resonance technology for microarrays

Microarray imaging systems

Vidia Microarray Imaging Systems

GenePix 4100A Microarray Scanner

Tecan LS Reloaded

Microarrays based on detection by physico-chemical methods

Electrical biochips

Photoelectrochemical synthesis of DNA microarrays

Microchip capillary electrophoresis

Strand displacement amplification on a biochip

Biosensor technologies for biochips

DNA-based biosensors

Arrayed Imaging Reflectometry

Digital electronic biosensor chips

Phototransistor biochip biosensor

Applications of biosensor biochips

Biosensors in food safety

Cholesterol biosensor

Glucose biosensors

Biochips and microarrays for cytogenetics

Chromosomal microarrays

Comparative genomic hybridization

Array-based CGH

NimbleGen CGH arrays

Single-cell array CGH

Regulatory requirements for array CGH

Combination of FISH and gene chips

Combination of CGH and SNP microarray platforms

Fish-on-chip

SignatureChip

Tissue microarrays

Pathology tissue-ChIP

Carbohydrate microarrays

RNA profiling

RNA splice variants

RIP-Chip

miRNAs

Microarrays for miRNAs

Microarrays vs qPCR for measuring miRNAs

Quantitative analysis of miRNAs in tissue microarrays by ISH

Exon microarrays

Microarrays & DNA sequencing

Microarray-based emerging DNA sequencing technologies

Exome sequencing for study of human variation

High-throughput array-based resequencing

Sequencing by hybridization

SOLiD-System based ChIP-Sequencing

Next generation sequencing vs microarrays for expression profiling

Microarrays for synthetic biology

Arrayit microarray platform for synthetic biology

Microarray-based gene synthesis

Magnetophoretic array-based cell sorting for further studies

3. Microfluidics-based Biochips and Microarrays

Introduction

Use of technologies from other industries in microfluidics

Digital dispensing

Lab-on-a-chip

Amplification of fluorescence signal from lab-on-a-chip

Use of glass in microfluidics

LabChip

LabCD

Lab-on-a-brain

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Biochips Technologies, Companies, Applications & Markets, 2028 - 94 Companies are Included Along with a Listing of 121 Collaborations Between...

Dec. 3, 2019 14:48 UTC

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, InvicroLLC, a Konica Minolta Company, has joined Accentures open partner ecosystemthe INTIENT Networkwhich is designed to help solution providers, software vendors and life sciences companies team more effectively to accelerate drug discovery and improve patient outcomes. Invicro is a global provider of imaging biomarkers, core lab services, advanced analytics and software solutions for drug discovery and development.

The INTIENT Network is an integral part of INTIENT Research, Accentures cloud-based informatics suite that is focused on improving productivity, efficiency and innovation in the drug discovery process. Accenture is currently working with a select number of independent software vendors and organizations, including Invicro, to integrate their technology and content into the INTIENT platform.

Through the INTIENT Network, research scientists can access Invicros industry-leading imaging software platforms, iPACS and VivoQuant, that help transform the way translational medicine research is conducted. Invicro joining the network contributes to a robust ecosystemone that offers the most advanced, cloud-based informatics solutions to help accelerate precision medicine studies across all therapeutic areas.

By providing access to Invicros novel software solutions, researchers will easily gain insights from complex biological data at each drug discovery and development phase, stated Mr. Chris Fuller, Vice President of Software for Invicro. The advanced and collaborative capabilities offered by Invicro and Accenture will improve operational efficiencies and help streamline drug discovery efforts by using a data-driven approach.

Invicros capabilities will be available to life sciences companies within a common informatics framework that handles core infrastructure requirements such as data ingestion and cleansing, security and IP management, request management workflow, enterprise search, data governance, and collaboration environments.

Imaging data is enabling some incredible opportunities in early drug discovery, yet there remain challenges around the effective image management, interpretation, and sharing, said Joe Donahue, managing director, Accenture Life Sciences. I look forward to working closely with Invicro to leverage their capabilities to help address these challenges which will, ultimately, lead to better outcomes for patients.

About Invicro Headquartered in Boston, MA, Invicro was founded in 2008 and today has offices, laboratories and clinics around the world, from coast-to-coast within the United States, to Europe and Asia that support leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and top research universities. Invicros multi-disciplinary team provides solutions to help enhance the discovery and development of life-changing drugs across all stages of the drug development pipeline (Phase 0-IV), leveraging all imaging modalities within a broad scope of therapeutic areas, including neurology, oncology, cardiology, and pulmonary. Invicros quantitative biomarker services, advanced analytics tools, and clinical operational services are backed by their industry-leading software informatics platforms, VivoQuant and iPACS.

Invicro is a Konica Minolta company and part of their precision medicine initiative, which aims to accelerate personalized medicine, discover novel therapeutic targets and develop innovative therapeutic technologies for unmet medical needs. Along with their sister company Ambry Genetics, Invicro develops and leverages the latest approaches in quantitative biomarkers including imaging, quantitative pathology and genomics. Visit http://www.invicro.com for more information

About Konica Minolta Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) is a global digital technology company with core strengths in imaging and data analysis, optics, materials, and nano-fabrication. Through innovation, Konica Minolta creates products and digital solutions for the betterment of business and societytoday and for generations to come. Across its Business Technologies, Healthcare, and Industrial-facing businesses, the company aspires to be an Integral Value Provider that applies the full range of its expertise to offer comprehensive solutions to the customers most pressing problems, works with the partners to ensure the solutions are sustainable, anticipates and addresses tomorrows issues, and tailors each solution to meet the unique and specific needs of its valued customers. Leveraging these capabilities, Konica Minolta contributes to productivity improvement and workflow change for its customers and provides leading-edge service solutions in the IoT era. Headquartered in Tokyo and with operations in more than 50 countries, Konica Minolta has more than 43,000 employees serving approximately two million customers in over 150 countries. Konica Minolta is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, (TSE4902). For further information, visit: https://www.konicaminolta.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005690/en/

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Invicro LLC Joins Accenture's INTIENT Network to Help Advance Innovation in Drug Discovery and Scientific Research - BioSpace

A plant-based diet underpins the health of those who live longest according to experts. Beans, legumes and pulses (such as lentils and chickpeas), compared with any other food, are the most important dietary predictor of longevity. They probably offer the best bang for your nutritional buck than any other food out there. David McLain

Wild greens like purslane, dandelion and arugula are a great source of minerals as well as carotenoids the colorful pigments our body converts to vitamin A. David McLain

Mushrooms, particularly shiitake, contain more than 100 compounds with immune-protecting properties. David McLain

Ginger's golden cousin is a powerful anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. David McLain

Imo is a supercharged purple sweet potato that doesn't cause blood sugar to spike as much as a regular white potato. David McLain

Residents of Nicoya, Costa Rica -- a population more likely to reach a healthy 90 years old than anyone else on the planet -- use small sweet peppers in most of their dishes, and other peppers are also a staple food in longevity-prone Sardinia and Ikaria in Greece. Peppers are rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C. David McLain

Squash, available in several varieties, belongs to the botanical family Cucurbitaceae, known for providing high levels of useful carotenoids. David McLain

Nuts, as well as nut butters, are prominent in the diet of the Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group with a longer than average lifespan when compared to other Americans. One study found that those who ate a handful of nuts at least five times a week lived two to three years longer than those who didn't eat any nuts. David McLain

Ikarians in Greece drink tea brewed from local rosemary, wild sage and dandelion all of which are herbs known to have anti-inflammatory properties. David McLain

Lime-treated ground corn, or nixtamal, is used to make tortillas eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It increases the body's ability to absorb calcium, iron and minerals. David McLain

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The ingredients to longevity - CNN

HERE IT IS just a few days after Thanksgiving, and Im probably not alone in thinking about the poundage I usually put on (then struggle to lose) in just one extremely treat-filled month. There is no doubt from the many studies on this topic about the relationship between weight and longevity in humans. While there are no studies of longevity in dogs that Im aware of, its likely the same relationship exists.

Longevity in dogs is a problem or rather lack of longevity. The American Veterinary Medical Association claims dogs are living longer. Longer than what? A hundred years ago, sanitation and medical improvements saved infants and the young from early death, greatly affecting human longevity. The claim that dogs are living longer might be related to the reduction and elimination of diseases that kill puppies. At the other end of the spectrum, the sad fact is that dogs do not live as long as they used to.

When I was a child, dogs often lived well into their teens. My next-door-neighbors dog, an Irish setter, was the same age as I. She died when I was a freshman in college. We were both 17. They also had a cocker spaniel that lived to be 20!

Nearly 50 years ago, I interviewed for a job at a Newfoundland kennel with more than 40 dogs, many that were 18 to 20 years old. They fully expected their dogs to live well into their mid-to late teens. Now, a mere 45 years later, a Newfie that lives to be 10 is old hardly an increase in longevity.

While genetics plays a role in longevity, there is a profound message for dog owners in this simple statement: Thin creatures live longer than fat ones.

Could it be that our pets reduced longevity is in part because we feed them too much? There is a lot we dont know about why so few dogs live into their late teens, but certainly one factor could well be excess weight even just a few too many pounds. A 50-pound dog that is just 10 pounds overweight is carrying 20% more weight than its frame and organs are designed for. This is considered to be obesity in humans, but in dogs its considered show weight or proof that we love and spoil our dogs usually said with an apologetic shrug.

If by spoiling our dogs were shortening their lives, wouldnt it be better to be tough (read kind) and cut out fattening snacks? Consider the greyhound, a large, sleek hound with a life expectancy many years beyond large, heavier hounds. Bloodhounds, a similar size, but much heavier dog, live to 10 or 11, while a greyhound often lives to 14 or 15. Greyhounds are one of the only show dogs for whom show weight is not overweight. You can see the ribs of a healthy greyhound, while it is often hard to even feel the ribs on many pet dogs.

I firmly believe that one of the reasons my English mastiffs lived to 13 or 14 (years beyond the life expectancy of the breed) was in part because I keep my dogs thin anathema for many mastiff people. For many giant breed owners, bigger is better. Theyll proudly exclaim, My Mastiff weighed 250 pounds! He might have died at the age of 6 and could barely walk because he was grossly overweight, but, by golly, he was huge!

Veterinarians we talk to almost universally agree that most pet dogs are too fat. In many cases, they have given up fighting that battle. Despite recommendations that the dog needs to lose weight, many owners seem to have a hard time cutting back on their dogs food and seem to believe theyre punishing their dog if they provide low-fat snacks. Youre not! Youre being kinder to your dog.

So in this holiday season, consider not sharing your turkey skin and leftover gravy with your dog. Or if you do, cut back on your dogs food that day. Your dog wont hate you for it, and you might well have him around a few extra months or years.

Gail Fisher, author of The Thinking Dog and a dog behavior consultant, runs All Dogs Gym & Inn in Manchester. To suggest a topic for this column, which appears every other Sunday, email gail@alldogsgym.com or write c/o All Dogs Gym, 505 Sheffield Road, Manchester, NH 03103. Past columns are on her website.

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Gail Fisher's 'Dog Tracks': Spoiling your dog with extra food could cut short its life - The Union Leader

With the rise of fad diets, so-called superfoods, and a growing range of dietary supplements on the market, it's hard to know what to eat to prevent dementia and increase our lifespan. But there is solid science behind the power of certain foods to protect your brain from oxidative damage and improve cognition and memory.

More and more studies are pointing to lifestyle changes to protect our brains from diseases including Alzheimer's. Noted expert Dr. Gary Small, author of "2 Weeks to a Younger Brain" and editor of The Mind-Body Health Report, tells Newsmax that according to researchers at the University of California at San Francisco, up to half the Alzheimer's cases are potentially attributable to "modifiable risk factors."

"In our book we focus on nutrition as well as stress management, physical exercise, and mental stimulation to keep the brain healthy and potentially delay the symptoms of dementia," says Small. In fact, studies have shown that sticking to the MIND diet is associated with 30 to 35 percent lower risk of cognitive impairment in older adults. The MIND diet, which stands for the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, is a hybrid of both the famous Mediterranean and DASH diets.

As we age, our metabolism becomes less efficient and is less able to get rid of compounds generated from what is termed "oxidative stress." The toxic compounds generated by oxidative stress steadily build up, slowly damaging the brain and eventually leading to symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

"Antioxidant fruits and vegetables protect the brain from oxidative stress, which causes wear and tear on our neurons as we age," notes Small. "Omega-3 fats from fish fight brain inflammation, helping us reduce the risk for age-related cognitive decline. Minimizing consumption of processed foods and refined sugars reduces the risk for diabetes, which further protects brain health throughout life."

Here are the five top foods to boost brain power:

2019 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.

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5 Foods to Boost Brain Health and Longevity - Newsmax

Somewhere in a coffee shop in America, some green-haired millennial is typing away feverishly on their brand new Macbook Air, broadcasting to their Twitter followers about how evil capitalism is. As they pour a dab of pasture-grazed New Zealand cows milk into their freshly roasted cup of Guatemalan organic free-trade coffee, they lament their woes to the world. Whycant society give me more? Why cant I enjoy success without hard work? On the other side of the globe, some hard workers in New Zealand are pulling off some prettymajor feats to put that delicious milk on the table.

It all starts at LIC, a New Zealand cooperative whose core business is dairy genetics. (Theyre responsible for inseminating 80% of New Zealands national dairy herd.) Next to LICs headquarters in Hamilton sit the prized bulls whove sired tens of thousands of calves. When the time comes, the bull is loaded into a custom tractor-trailer and taken to a building thats been there for decades. (The bull is transported this way so it doesnt stub its toe while walking over and consequently produce less sperm.) The bull is led up to an attractive cow who stands waiting while a human handler watches and waits. Once the bull convinces the cow that hes not just another player interested in a one-night stand, he mountsher, and this is where all the fun begins.

Collecting a jump Source: Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC)

The human handler then needs to manipulate the bull with a device that collects the prized semen or a jump as its called in dairy lexicon. Once collected, some of the semen is frozen and shipped to various parts of the world. Its where life starts, and its a fitting place for a longevity company to start as well.

Founded in 2015, Hamilton, New Zealand startup Synthase Biotech has taken in$3.36 millionin funding and contributions to develop a platform technology that seems to have limitless promise. The technology behind the company came about as somewhat of an accident while researchers were looking for an alternative to latex when the Japanese were constraining supply. In an Arizona desert exists a shrub that contains latex that also contains an enzyme that prevents the latex from oxidizing. (Oxidization ishow a substance reacts to oxygen, and in some instances its not good like rust.) Its this plant enzyme that may, eventually, be used to increase longevity in humans.

Turns out that humans dont react well to prolonged exposure to oxygen over time. While oxygen is what you need to live, its also what can ultimately take you out in the end.Youve probably all heard of antioxidants which can prevent oxidative damage to cells and tissues by scavenging unconstrained radicals. Its damage that arises from unconstrained free radicals that can eventually be fatal. Synthase Biotech hasan enzyme that it calls Aloxsyn which has extraordinary specificity and rates of reaction against toxic lipid peroxides. In other words, this enzyme can be used to halt and even repair much of the damage that aspects of oxidization can do to mammalian cells, andthe company has developed a way to produce the enzymeusinga fermentation process.

We sat down to talk with Dr. Andrew West of Synthase Biotech, which has IP protection around the use of this enzyme, Aloxsyn, in their first product applications for frozen bull semen and cattle embryos.

Given how much work happens in Hamilton around frozen bull semen, it was a likely place to start. If a cow isnt fertile, its not producing milk. Consequently, you want to maximize cow fertility in order to maximize milk production. Keeping a cow that doesnt produce milk is uneconomic and produces unnecessary greenhouse emissions from its belching, or whatever it is theyre supposed to be doing thats wrecking the planet.

Ideally, fresh semen works best for artificial insemination, but there are many use cases where frozen semen is needed.You may need to transport the semen long distances, or you may want to preserve some semen from a prized bull to be used next year. When using frozen semen instead of fresh semen, fertility rates can drop as you might expect. However, when adding some Aloxsyn to the mix, you can get a better outcome. Thats based on a major trial that Synthase Biotech recently conducted.

If youre talking cattle, the final customer is always the farmer. Thats who Aloxsyn is helping. But its just one of many potential applications for this technology.

Synthases proprietary bioactive, Aloxsyn, may have a positive impact anywhere inflammationcan be found. Dr. West believes that the number of potential applications for the companys enzyme are very large. One application Synthase is looking at is storage of blood platelets, which will require some trial testing, but which represents a huge potential market. Then, there are more sperm applications.

Once a bull has a jump, that sperm dies almost immediately if it doesnt end up inside the cow where it belongs. Whilst working on frozen sperm, it looks like Aloxsyn also extendsthelife of fresh cattle sperm by five days. (LIC scientistsshowed us a proprietary solution theyre using that increases the life of cattle sperm by three days.) Why stop at cattle sperm? Fertility of pigs and horses could also be of interest as well, not to mention human fertility.

Source: Synthase Biotech

All of these fertility applications are higher margin, but there are also lower margin applications that can be considered such as increasing the shelf life of food. With around 30% of food waste in developed markets attributed to food spoilage, its another way that we may be able to help feed all the billions of mouths coming online. (Seems like a fitting application considering that theyre about increasing human fertility.) In order to address high-volume applications like this, production would need to be scaled and costs would need to be driven down. It all requires investment and partnerships with interested parties who want to collaborate.

No longevity companyis without some grand visions of what the future might hold. In some preliminary experiments, a rats heart was stopped from beating for 30 minutes and then blood applied with the enzyme. The rat heart recovered 100% of its function. A rat with a severe stroke could fully recover if Aloxsyn was applied within 45 minutes of that stroke. The implication here is an interesting one. Perhaps lipid peroxides in all thatbacked up blood behind the clot serve to damage the brain when the clot is overcome, and Aloxsyn cleans up those toxins? Its a promising example of what the future might hold, and if you have about $100,000 to pony up, Dr. West says Synthase Biotech will work to create a mouse that produces its own Aloxsyn, a mouse that just might live longer. Its a drop in the bucket forthe many billionairesout thereseeking the fountain of youth. For New Zealand investors, however, that sort of work is pretty risky.

The New Zealand Herald published a pretty comprehensive articleon Synthase Biotech last year which contains some relevant information about the state of biotech in New Zealand. Its dismal. Investorsdont look favorably on life sciences companies and that could be because the New Zealand stock exchange isnt of a size that would support them. (The entire New Zealand stock exchange has a market cap of just $142 billion. To put that number in perspective, Johnson & Johnson is over twice that size with a market cap of $363 billion.)

On the other hand, Australia is much more accepting towards biotechs with about 200 listings on the ASX. Synthase is not pursuing an ASX listing, but if the company moves into development of a human drug based on Aloxsyn, it will need millions of dollars for clinical trials. Significant investments over time will allow Synthase to add a range of human applications to complement its livestock ones. After a few years of selling animal products, their manufacturing operation will have all the kinks sorted out, andthats half the battle before embarking on some human trials.

The more we know about the world, the more we realize how little we know. Thats obvious when you consider how some of the worlds greatest inventions penicillin, X-rays, the microwave, LSD were all discovered by accident. The Peter Thiel types out there who are willing to sink large sums into theburgeoning longevity industrymight find the capital requirements for companies like Synthase Biotech to be more economical. According to a talk by Finistere Ventures a few years back, agtech valuations in the United Statesare half of fintech valuations, while New Zealand agtech valuations are half of that. If the fountain of youth exists inThe Land of the Long White Cloud, its likely to be selling at bargain-basement prices.

We thinkthis AI-powered weight loss app could be a multi-billion dollar business - not because it's backed by the world's most sophisticated investors- but because it works. If you want to lose weight and keep it off for good, check out Noom. People who use Noom lose weight and keep it off for good.

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Increasing Longevity by Decreasing Oxidization - Nanalyze

In a world where the rich always seem to get richer whatever the game, Social Security has always seemed to be one program that was truly progressive it benefited the working class more than the moneyed class. Right?

Sadly, no.

In reality, despite painstaking efforts to ensure that Social Security benefits are distributed fairly, the wealthy are receiving disproportionately large payouts after all. Thats the finding of a new study by Alicia H. Munnell and Anqi Chen of the authoritative Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Munnell and Chen, Boston College

The mismatch lurks within the adjustments made both when workers claim Social Security benefits early that is, before their full retirement age and late. Claim early, and monthly benefits will be reduced; claim late, and theyll be raised. These adjustments aim to make the timing decision actuarially neutral: On average, total lifetime benefits should remain equivalent whether one claims before ones full retirement age or later.

Munnell and Chen calculate that the actuarial adjustments are out of whack and favor late claiming. As a result, they increasingly favor higher earners, they write.

Sigh.

Munnell and Chen identify two culprits in throwing off the math: One is interest rates, which have been lower than experts at the Social Security Administration and on Capitol Hill anticipated when they set the differentials. (The early-retirement option was made available for women in 1956 and for men in 1961. The credit for delaying retirement was introduced in 1972 and recalculated in 1983, according to the authors.)

The second factor may be more significant: Average life expectancy is rising. As a result, retirees are collecting benefits for longer than the designers expected. Longevity is rising faster for wealthier individuals than middle- and lower-income workers, however, which is what makes late claiming more of a boon for the wealthy.

In the six decades since retirement options were broadened, Munnell and Chen write, Much has changed.... Interest rates have declined; life expectancy has increased; and longevity improvements have been much greater for higher earners.

Munnell and Chen assert that because of these two factors the penalty for early retirement is now too high. The bump up for delayed retirement is about right on average, they say, but because of the demographics favoring the wealthy, its too large for those who delay.

Before exploring the ramifications of these findings, lets look at how early and late retirement affect Social Security benefits.

Life expectancy has been rising for the wealthy faster than everyone else and the gap has broadened since the turn of the century.

(Boston College)

A Social Security reform measure in 1983 raised the full retirement age from the traditional 65 in incremental steps. For those born in 1943-54, including those reaching 65 this year, the full retirement age is 66. For those reaching 65 next year, it will be 66 and 2 months. The change tops out at age 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Workers can start claiming benefits as early as 62, though monthly benefits are reduced by about 6.7% for every year prior to their full retirement. At the other end of the spectrum, workers can defer benefits until age 70, for a roughly 8% bump in monthly benefits for every year deferred.

Consider workers reaching 66 this year, when the average retirement benefit is $1,474.77 per month. Early retirement at 62 would reduce the monthly stipend by about 23%, while deferring until 70 would raise it by about 32%. So if those workers had started taking benefits four years ago, at age 62, theyd be entitled to only about $1,135.57 per month. If they hold out until 70, theyll get more than $1,947 a month. That means a reduction of about $4,000 a year for early retirement, and a gain of $5,667 a year for waiting.

For those expecting to collect the maximum benefit of $2,861 a month at full retirement age this year, early retirement at 62 would have reduced that to $2,209 a month, and deferral to 70 will raise it to $3,770.

Those figures explain the common advice to retirees is to wait as long as possible to start claiming. Of course, the advice isnt right for everyone. It does take more than 12 years of the higher maximum payouts after reaching age 70 to make up for the four years of skipped benefits after age 66, so retirees would need to factor their health expectations into the decision to wait.

More to the point, deferring Social Security isnt practical for many working people. Some are in jobs that are too physically taxing to continue too far into their 60s. Some dont have savings, pensions or other sources of income to live on. Indeed, among the top 20% of earners, just over half claim their retirement benefits at or after their full retirement age. Among the bottom 20%, however, nearly two-thirds claim early.

The salient point is that deferring Social Security tends to become a more inviting option the higher ones income and larger the nest egg. That advantage is compounded by such recipients longer average lifespans.

Wealthier workers are able to wait longer after their full retirement age (FRA) to start claiming Social Security benefits.

(Boston College)

As a research team led by economist Raj Chetty of Stanford reported in 2016, among the top 1% of earners (average household income of about $2 million), the average life expectancy is about 89 for women and 87.3 for men. Among the bottom 20% (average household income of about $25,000), the average life expectancy is about 83 for women and 78 for men.

The differential is based not only on income. Average life expectancy is higher for whites than for African Americans and rise with educational attainment.

As weve reported before, the longevity gap between rich and poor has been widening, largely because life expectancy for those in the bottom 20% has stagnated or even moved backward, while it has soared for those at the top.

The National Academy of Sciences calculated in 2015 that for those born in 1930, males in the bottom 20% who reached age 50 had a life expectancy of 76.6; those with the same characteristics born in 1960 could expect to live only to 76.1. Among the top 20% of income earners, males born in 1930 could expect to live to 81.7, while those born in 1960 could expect to live to 88.8. In other words, a longevity gap of just over five years between rich and poor born in 1930 widened to nearly 13 years for those born in 1960. A similar pattern can be found among women.

That trend line in itself made Social Security less progressive less advantageous for lower-income workers than for the better-off. It also undermined the argument that Social Security could be made fiscally healthier by continuing to raise the retirement age. It would, but at the expense of the working class. The National Academy of Sciences reckoned that raising the official retirement age to 70 would reduce the benefits of those in the lowest fifth of income earners by 25%, but by only 20% for those in the top fifth.

Munnell and Chen dont make specific recommendations about what adjustments should be made in the early- and late-retirement differentials, beyond stating that theyre outdated. Curiously this aspect of Social Security benefits is seldom, if ever, addressed by reform proposals from either left or right. (Progressives generally advocate expanding and raising benefits, while conservatives want to cut them or turn the entire program over to the private sector.)

Redressing the imbalance may not be that difficult. The early-retirement penalty should be recalculated -- that is, reduced -- based on the recent history of interest rates and changes in expectations for their future course.

Reducing the late-retirement credit, currently 8% per year of deferral, is somewhat more complicated. For the individual with average life expectancy, the reduction for early claiming is too large and the delayed retirement credit is about right, Munnell and Chen observe. The problem with the credit is that its right on average but too good for those who actually tend to receive it, i.e., the wealthy.

Finding a way to make the credit fair across the entire income spectrum may require some imagination. But the options could include increasing the income tax on Social Security benefits for high-income taxpayers. Currently, up to 85% of benefits are taxable for those with income of more than $34,000 for individuals or $44,000 for couples. (In other words, a taxpayers tax rate is applied to 85% of benefits, not that 85% of benefits is taxed away.) Tweaking that formula, say by making 100% of the benefits claimed by richer retirees subject to tax might help bring the credit effectively back into line.

The report by Munnell and Chen underscores the inequity bequeathed to Social Security by demographics. The wealthy not only live longer than their poorer colleagues, but they also get an additional windfall from outdated math. Thats how the world works, but that doesnt make it right.

Read more here:
Column: The rich are getting a windfall from Social Security - Los Angeles Times

Alistair Overeem has been around for a long, long time. Of the course of a 20-year combat sports career, the Dutchman has picked up titles in Strikeforce, Dream, and K-1 and hes still not done yet.

Ahead of his upcoming showdown with Jairzinho Rozenstruik, which will top the UFCs December 7 return to Washington, D.C., Overeem sat down with UFC.com and opened up on the mindset that has kept him competing at the highest level for so long.

Part of it, he says, is simply being hard-wired with a fighters mentality a mentality hes always had.

I think Ive always been a fighter, Overeem said (via MMA Junkie). Ive always kicked ass even before I was professionally a fighter. Id have fights in the street and it even got me in trouble a couple of times.

Some people will never be fighters, and then some people are born fighters.

Overeem also attributes his longevity to his love for fighting.

I think us fighters go for amazing stories, Overeem said. My career in particular has been a long adventure. I think I was built for it. Ive been all over the world. Ive fought in 89 fights, kickboxing and MMA. Im just doing my thing. Im following my passion. Its been a great adventure and Im still going strong.

If Overeem is able to defeat Rozenstruik an undefeated fighter and one of the hottest prospects in the heavyweight division hell once again be close to a UFC heavyweight title shot. The Dutch legend says winning a UFC title would be the icing on the cake of his incredible career.

I have my own goals of course: UFC gold, Overeem said. To win the title would be a great close on my career.

Do you think Alistair Overeem will come out on top in Washington D.C.?

This article first appeared onBJPENN.comon 11/29/2019.

Continued here:
Alistair Overeem discusses the keys to his longevity - BJPenn.com

A Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says, by extending the longevity of sows in the breeding herd, pork producers can take greater advantage of their increased milk production in later parities.

Mothers milk is the only source of nutrients and energy available to the piglet at birth but, over the years, as the result of increased liter sizes, the amount of milk available to each piglet has decreased.

Improving Sow Lactational Performance was among the topics discussed in Saskatoon as part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2019.

Dr. Chantal Farmer, a Research Scientist in Sow Lactation Biology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Sherbrooke, says the amount of milk a sow will produce will increase in later parities.

The multiparous animal, so parity two and onward will produce 25 percent more milk than primiparous animals and the maximum amount of milk yield is in parities two to four. So really we should keep our sows up till four parities if we want to maximize the milk yield of the sows but, I know in Quebec anyway and Im quite sure its the same here, we dont keep sows for that long.

We have culling problems and longevity problems so thats something we need to work on because keeping the sows in the herd for four parties would maximize the milking capacity of those sows. The peak in milk yield is in parties two to four so what its telling us is that we need to keep our animals in the herd long enough to be able to take advantage of that peak in milk yields. So any management procedure you can have to make sure you extend longevity of these animals, avoid leg problems and anything you can do to have a good body condition, make sure theyre not too thin, its a good thing to keep these animals for the fourth first lactations.

~ Dr. Chantal Farmer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Dr. Farmer says the more milk the piglet consumes the faster it will grow and the less time it will take to reach market weight and the more colostrum, the piglet receives the more resistant it will be to disease.

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Increasing longevity allows maximized sow milk production - mySteinbach.ca

Shekhar Iyer

The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) that supposedly lists out key priorities for the new government opened with a preamble emphasising on secularism rather than propounding a grand political vision for Maharashtra.

Ironically, the Congress spent too much time hammering out the CMP until the early morning shock and awe type of swearing-in of Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister on November 23. This robbed the Opposition of its slumber and forced it to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court, whose intervention for an early floor test saved the alliance.

Soon, strategy managers were busy in herding their numbers and wooing the rebel, NCPs Ajith Pawar who was sworn-in as deputy chief minister under Fadnavis, back to the fold. The political drama ended on November 26, a day before the apex court-ordered floor test was to be conducted. This has left the numbers versus longevity game to be settled for another day.

For grabbing an opportunity of heading the government after 20 years, the Shiv Sena dumped a 30-year-old alliance with the BJP and shed initial disagreements on using the word secular in CMP, where now the word appears twice in the first paragraph itself. Reports were that the Sena was against the word appearing in the coalitions or Maha Vikas Aghadis CMP.

A day after he won the confidence vote, Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtras Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray could not help saying that the Hindutva ideology is indispensable to the Shiv Sena and the party will not leave it. I am still with the ideology of 'Hindutva' and won't ever leave it," he said in the state assembly.

They rely on his averments that he would not allow anything that makes the common man feel terrorised. Therefore, the CMP would serve as a tool that will bridge the ideological and temperamental gulf between the Congress and the Sena by focusing on some pressing issues faced by the commoners, particularly farmers.

Other key focus areas in the CMP were hardly contentions issues as most parties agreed on tackling them on a priority basis: farm distress, unemployment, health, industry, social justice, women, education and urban development. Similarly, a law to ensure 80 per cent reservation in jobs for local/domicile youth (which is seen as the Senas plank) should not bother the ruling partners in terms of their ideologies.

However, observers feel that the sore-spot for the alliance is not in the new-found Shiv Sena-Congress relationship it is the equations within NCP leader Sharad Pawars family where his prodigy Ajit Pawar has returned to the NCP fold and where tension is brewing. It is said that the junior Pawar has still not reconciled to Thackeray being allowed a full five-year term as CM.

On the other side, the Congress is wary of Ajit Pawar after he joined hands with the BJP. That said, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and her aides realise that he is too important for the NCP and cannot be stopped from becoming deputy chief minister. Without him in the government, the NCP may well disintegrate.

Importantly, the Congress decision to nominate a former BJP MP Nana Patole for the assembly Speakers post is not exactly an expression of friendship towards the NCP. Patole, a fourth-term MLA from Sakoli, won Bhandara Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate, defeating former Union minister Praful Patel in 2014. Patole quit the BJP and joined the Congress following his disappointment with the top BJP leaders, citing their friendship with Patel and for refusing to act against his acts of commission and omission during the UPA regime. Patel remains a very influential leader in the NCP as he is close of the Pawars. Patel has never been averse to the NCP doing business with the BJP and wont take kindly to the Congress decision on Patole.

Be as it may, the Thackeray-led Cabinet will be expanded this week. The buzz is that, besides the post of deputy CM, the NCP is all set to emerge as the biggest gainer by getting high-profile portfolios such as revenue, home and the public works department. It is also likely that the NCP may get one more ministry than the Shiv Sena. Given these complexities, the BJPs wait may be longer than it thinks, but are there enough reasons for the Aghadi to come unstuck a year from now?

See the rest here:
Maha Vikas Aghadi | With numbers on its side, longevity is the challenge - Moneycontrol.com

The global longevity and anti-senescence therapies market should grow from $329.8 million in 2018 to $644.4 million by 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3% during 2018-2023.

Report Scope:

The scope of this report is broad and covers various therapies currently under trials in the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market. The market estimation has been performed with consideration for revenue generation in the forecast years 2018-2023 after the expected availability of products in the market by 2023. The global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market has been segmented by the following therapies: Senolytic drug therapy, Gene therapy, Immunotherapy and Other therapies which includes stem cell-based therapies, etc.

Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11698

Revenue forecasts from 2028 to 2023 are given for each therapy and application, with estimated values derived from the expected revenue generation in the first year of launch.

The report also includes a discussion of the major players performing research or the potential players across each regional longevity and anti-senescence therapy market. Further, it explains the major drivers and regional dynamics of the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market and current trends within the industry.

The report concludes with a special focus on the vendor landscape and includes detailed profiles of the major vendors and potential entrants in the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market.

Report Includes:

71 data tables and 40 additional tables An overview of the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2017 and 2018, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023 Country specific data and analysis for the United States, Canada, Japan, China, India, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Middle East and Africa Detailed description of various anti-senescence therapies, such as senolytic drug therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy and other stem cell therapies, and their influence in slowing down aging or reverse aging process Coverage of various therapeutic drugs, devices and technologies and information on compounds used for the development of anti-ageing therapeutics A look at the clinical trials and expected launch of anti-senescence products Detailed profiles of the market leading companies and potential entrants in the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market, including AgeX Therapeutics, CohBar Inc., PowerVision Inc., T.A. Sciences and Unity Biotechnology

Request For Report Discount@https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11698

Summary

Global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market deals in the adoption of different therapies and treatment options used to extend human longevity and lifespan. Human longevity is typically used to describe the length of an individuals lifetime and is sometimes used as a synonym for life expectancy in the demography. Anti-senescence is the process by which cells stop dividing irreversibly and enter a stage of permanent growth arrest, eliminating cell death. Anti-senescence therapy is used in the treatment of senescence induced through unrepaired DNA damage or other cellular stresses.

Global longevity and anti-senescence market will witness rapid growth over the forecast period (2018-2023) owing to an increasing emphasis on Stem Cell Research and an increasing demand for cell-based assays in research and development.

An increasing geriatric population across the globe and a rising awareness of antiaging products among generation Y and later generations are the major factors expected to promote the growth of global longevity and anti-senescence market. Factors such as a surging level of disposable income and increasing advancements in anti-senescence technologies are also providing traction to the global longevity and anti-senescence market growth over the forecast period (2018-2023).

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the total geriatric population across the globe in 2016 was over REDACTED. By 2022, the global geriatric population (65 years and above) is anticipated to reach over REDACTED. An increasing geriatric population across the globe will generate huge growth prospectus to the market.

Senolytics, placenta stem cells and blood transfusions are some of the hot technologies picking up pace in the longevity and anti-anti-senescence market. Companies and start-ups across the globe such as Unity Biotechnology, Human Longevity Inc., Calico Life Sciences, Acorda Therapeutics, etc. are working extensively in this field for the extension of human longevity by focusing on study of genomics, microbiome, bioinformatics and stem cell therapies, etc. These factors are poised to drive market growth over the forecast period.

Global longevity and anti-senescence market is projected to rise at a CAGR of REDACTED during the forecast period of 2018 through 2023. In 2023, total revenues are expected to reach REDACTED, registering REDACTED in growth from REDACTED in 2018.

The report provides analysis based on each market segment including therapies and application. The therapies segment is further sub-segmented into Senolytic drug therapy, Gene therapy, Immunotherapy and Others. Senolytic drug therapy held the largest market revenue share of REDACTED in 2017. By 2023, total revenue from senolytic drug therapy is expected to reach REDACTED. Gene therapy segment is estimated to rise at the highest CAGR of REDACTED till 2023. The fastest growth of the gene therapy segment is due to the Large investments in genomics. For Instance; The National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) had a budget grant of REDACTED for REDACTED research projects in 2015, thus increasing funding to REDACTED for approximately REDACTED projects in 2016.

Report Analysis@https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/analysis/BCC/global-longevity-and-anti-senescence-therapy-market

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Longevity And Anti-Senescence Therap Market Analysis 2023 Leading Manufacturers & Regions, Application & Types - Guru Online News

Andy Murray says he still believes he can compete against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic despite now having to play with a metal hip.

Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have controlled mens tennis, winning 51 of the last 59 Grand Slam titles between them.

Murray, though, was able to break the trios dominance for a spell, winning three Grand Slams and climbing above them all to become world number one a few years ago.

They finished as the worlds top three again this year, as well as sharing 2019s four Slams between them, and Murray believes he can use the example of 38-year-old Federer in particular.

I honestly havent really thought much about [it], he said, when asked at the premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video documentary if the longevity at the top of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic gives him hope he can return to their level.

But I guess seeing guys playing in their late 30s is a positive thing that you can look at and go it is possible to keep doing it and play at that level.

But if I was still playing at 38, Id be very surprised with that.

RELATED:Andy Murray has X Factor to pull off another Grand Slam win

Youd expect Roger to finish first as he is six years older than me and Novak and five years older than Rafa.

Seeing what they are still doing is fantastic and hopefully I can try and get back on the court and have the chance to compete against them again before I finish.

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Andy Murray hopes to be inspired by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal longevity at top - Tennis365

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Creating an object from a scratch: not just an illusion, but a reality. Nowadays, there is a way to turn your ideas into three-dimensional objects and here, the magic word is 3D printing.

This technique, also called additive manufacturing, consistsofn successive layer-by-layer depositions of material which, all together, form the desired object. Contrary to conventional techniques, 3D printing allows the manufacturing of complex shapes using a small amount of material and reduced number of fabrication steps.

With the term 3D printing, we usually refer to technologies which use polymers, resins and molten metals as printing material to produce three-dimensional objects. However, over the last 30 years, this concept has developed toward new horizons, leading to the production of 3D artificial bio tissues which resemble the architecture and function of native ones. In this case, when used to deposit living cells layer-by-layer, we talk more specifically about 3D bioprinting.

Nowadays, the most common technologies for 3D bioprinting are based on approaches such as extrusion printing, stereolithography, laser-based methods, and melt electrowriting. These technologies have the ability to accurately control the spatial orchestration of multiple cell types and biomaterials in an automated patterning process. However, they also present some disadvantages, e.g., the difficulties in reproducing convoluted geometries, which in fact are typical of native tissues. Moreover, a severe restriction is represented by long printing times when large, physiological-sized constructs need to be fabricated. This characteristic also affects the large-scale production of artificial tissues, thus limiting the adoption of 3D bioprinting at an industrial level.

In order to overcome these limitations, Prof. Riccardo Levato of the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and Prof. Christophe Moser of cole Polytechnique Fdral Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, have proposed a new strategy for the 3D bioprinting. In their recently published article they present a Volumetric Bioprinting (VBP) approach to create any convoluted free-form geometry with unprecedented speed of fabrication.

This method takes inspiration from the principle of computed tomographycommonly used in medical imagingalthough in reverse. In VBP, a cell-friendly visible laser light is used to cast multiple tomographic projections onto a light-sensitive hydrogel embedding stem cells.Although the whole volume is photo-exposed, the composition of these projections creates a 3D light field that provides enough energy to crosslink the hydrogel only in correspondence to the desired design. This results in a 3D construct, floating in the host hydrogel, which can be realized in the time frame of a few tens of seconds.

Contrary to other bioprinting technologies, e.g., stereolithography, which works in the time scale of hours to produce clinically-relevant sized (> cm3) structures, VBP thus permits the fabrication of living tissue constructs with analogous dimensions and complex 3D architectures by strongly reducing the fabrication times. As a consequence, VBP not only leads to high mimicry of the architecture of human tissues, but it preserves cells by minimizing the time outside of their optimal culture environment.

Given the freedom to print any complex geometry, anatomical, patient-specific grafts with unprecedented precision and short fabrications times, VBP lends itself to be the new paradigm of regenerative medicine, also paving the way for the scaling-up of tissue production. Thanks to these characteristics, Prof. Levato and Prof. Moser expect this approach will find application in many fields also outside tissue engineering, even including soft robotics. As they claimed, We expect Volumetric Bioprinting technology to be part of the bioprinting toolkit that will one day create fully functional organs.

In the future, the authors aim to further improve VBP technology by addressing the structural function of load bearing tissues, developing new materials and fully matching the function between their biofabricated tissues and the native ones. This sounds promising to us: we are looking forward to seeing new developments!

Original post:
Volumetric Bioprinting: The New Paradigm in Regenerative Medicine - Advanced Science News

No longer just for professional athletes, these are the stem cell and regenerative medicine options DCs need to know about

The health care landscape continues to evolve at a dizzying pace. Insurance deductibles are increasing, and this has placed a financial burden on patients who are required to self-pay for necessary and yet uncovered services.

The opioid crisis has left physicians with limited clinical options to treat chronic pain and dysfunction. At the same time, pressure has been placed on health care providers to provide affordable alternatives to invasive procedures that provide limited clinical options with high failure rates. This confluence of supply and demand has resulted in the growth of emerging therapies in the field of stem cell and regenerative medicine. These therapies are bringing hope to patients and new opportunities to health care providers who deliver them.

Regenerative medicine is the process of replacing or regenerating cells and tissues to restore normal function. Initially popularized by professional athletes, these therapies have become mainstream. More than 27 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis today, and in 2030 25% of U.S. adults will be diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The global regenerative medicine market is predicted to reach more than $100 billion by 2022.

These moderately-invasive regenerative procedures are eclipsing traditional highly-invasive procedures, such as hip and knee implantation, which will have a global market of $35 million over the same period.

There are four primary regenerative medicine options:

Irritant therapies include prolotherapy, ozone and prolozone. Theyincludeadding multipleirritatingsubstances along with numbing agents into degenerated or injured joints, and areas of pain.

These therapies cause inflammation to kick-start regeneration by stimulating the body to send in macrophages, which are cells that ingest and destroy theirritantsolution and trigger the healing response. Irritant therapies are an excellenttreatmentfor all forms of musculoskeletal and joint pain includingchronic neck and back pain, and rotator cuff injuries.

The effect of irritant therapies is analogous to jump-starting the battery in a tractor to get the engine to turn over.

Protease inhibition therapy eliminates the factors causing cartilage degradation, tissue breakdown, inflammation and pain. It cleans and protects joints. It is most commonly used for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative disc disease (DDD).

It includes therapies such as alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IRAP). A2M and IRAP are proteins found naturally in our blood. They act as protease inhibitors by binding to and inactivating damaging proteases in the body. Proteases are catabolic enzymes that break larger molecules into smaller units. Proteases trapped in the joints catabolize cartilage and break it down, causing arthritis. A2M is a large protein made in the liver. It blocks activity for all known molecules that cause cartilage breakdown. It works like a Venus flytrap by having a bait-and-trap mechanism on two sides.

Once the proteases are bound on both sides, the molecule initiates a suicide cascade and dies, allowing it to be flushed out of the area by the body.

The binding effect of protease inhibition therapy is analogous to de-weeding a garden and tilling the soil before planting.

A fibronectin-aggrecan complex test (FACT) may be used to determine the presence of FAC, which is a biomarker or indicator of cartilage breakdown caused by proteases. FAC is a unique molecular complex that is specific for painful inflammation of the spine and cartilage.

A small sample of fluid is taken from the joint or disc and sent to a lab for testing. The test looks for the presence of FAC in the fluid sample and determines where you are: FAC+ or FAC-. FAC+ patients are identified as ideal candidates for A2M injections and have a 90% rate of responding to the A2M therapy.

Stem cell therapy is focused on concentrating the workhorses of regeneration and restoration of tissues: stem cells. This results in greater cell signaling and cell recruitment than other regenerative therapies. Stem cells are known as mesenchymal signaling cells. They are considered pluripotent, which means they are undifferentiated and can replicate into various cell and tissue types.

Stem cells are found in bone marrow, the soft spongy tissue found at the center of large bones. Introducing stem cells into an injured area initiates the healing response, repairing damaged tissue by growing new, healthy tissue. The most common stem cell therapies include bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMA), nanofat and stromal vascular fraction.

Injecting stem cells into an injured area is analogous to planting seeds in a garden.

Growth factor therapies are focused on cell signaling and cell recruitment. Blood is made up of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets that are suspended in plasma. Platelets are most widely known for their ability to clot blood. Platelets are also highly rich in growth factors that are proteins that stimulate healing. When an injury occurs, platelets become activated, migrate to the site of injury and release growth factors.

Growth factor therapies are the most popular provider choice for the low-cost regeneration of tissues and include platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin matrix (PRFM). The therapy includes drawing the patients blood followed by centrifugation to concentrate the platelets and exclude other unwanted blood products.

Another type of growth factor therapy is amniotic fluid growth factor (GF) injection therapy. Amniotic fluid surrounds the fetus during pregnancy and provides protection and nourishment. Human amniotic fluid is sourced from consenting mothers during full-term C-sections. It contains over 200 growth factors, cytokines and proteins. The therapeutic use of amniotic fluid is regulated by the FDA. It must be tested for disease and may not include any viable cells. Amniotic fluid GF therapy has both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties and includes naturally-occurring hyaluronic acid for lubrication. It is most commonly used to promote the repair and reconstruction of soft tissues including cartilage and tendons.

Exosomes are being heralded as the next frontier of growth factor therapies. While they are not cells, exosomes play a vital role in the communication and rejuvenation of all the cells in the body. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles, or small bubbles, released from cells, especially from stem cells. These culture-expanded cell secretions are derived from human placental tissue. They allow for cell-to-cell communication, transporting molecules that are important regulators of intracellular information. Exosomes act as a food source for stem cells and prolong their activity. Exosomes are anti-inflammatory and include more than 300 growth factors, cytokines and proteins.

Patients with Lyme disease, burns, chronic inflammation, autoimmune disease and other chronic degenerative diseases may benefit from including exosomes in their treatment regimen. The application of growth factor therapies is analogous to applying fertilizer to a garden to help the crop grow and flourish.

Moving stem cell and regenerative medicine forward in the treatment algorithm may eliminate the need for other ineffective or potentially harmful therapies. These therapies provide new hope for patients whose only alternatives have been long-term medication, steroid injections, and costly and time-consuming surgery and rehab.

Stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies may only be provided by licensed medical professionals following all appropriate rules and regulations. An understanding of these emerging therapies and the benefits they may provide is essential as the collaboration between doctors of medicine and chiropractic increases and we join forces to combat chronic pain, dysfunction and disease.

MARK SANNA, DC, ACRB LEVEL II, FICC, is a member of the Chiropractic Summit and a board member of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. He is the president and CEO of BreakthroughCoaching, and can be reached at mybreakthrough.com or800-723-8423.

Originally posted here:
A primer: stem cell and regenerative medicine as 'the' emerging therapy - Chiropractic Economics

AVITA Medical (ASX: AVH, NASDAQ: RCEL), a regenerative medicine company with a technology platform positioned to address unmet medical needs in therapeutic skin restoration, and scientists at the Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have announced a preclinical research collaboration to establish proof-of-concept and explore further development of a spray-on treatment of genetically modified cells for patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), with potential applicability to other genetic skin disorders.

The partnership will pair AVITA Medicals patented and proprietary Spray-On Skin Cells technology and expertise with the Gates Centers innovative, patent pending combined reprogramming and gene editing technology to allow cells to function properly. Under the terms of the Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA), AVITA Medical retains the option to exclusively license technologies emerging from the partnership for further development and commercialization. The Gates Center team is further supported by the EB Research Partnership in New York, the Los Angeles-based EB Medical Research Foundation, the London-based Cure EB Charity and government grants, in a collaborative effort to rapidly develop and translate this technology to the clinic for meaningful impact on patient lives.

The Gates Center is a leader in developing therapeutic approaches for genetic skin diseases. Researchers at the Gates Center have developed a powerful new approach for treating genetic skin disorders and improving the lives of patients with epidermolysis bullosa, said Mike Perry, PhD, chief executive officer of AVITA Medical and adjunct professor at the Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine. We look forward to collaborating with the team at the Gates Center on the expanded use of our technology. This agreement marks an important milestone in AVITAs mission to harness the potential of regenerative medicine to address unmet medical needs across a broad range of dermatological indications, including genetic disorders of the skin.

Epidermolysis bullosa is a group of rare and incurable skin disorders caused by mutations in genes encoding structural proteins resulting in skin fragility and blistering, leading to chronic wounds and, in some sub-types, an increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma or death. There are no approved curative therapies, and current treatment is palliative - focused primarily on pain and nutritional management, itching relief, wound care, and bandaging.

Its very exciting to partner with AVITA Medical to help advance our epidermolysis bullosa program, said Director of the Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine Dennis Roop, PhD. Were looking forward to exploring a novel approach to delivering gene-edited skin cells to patients that addresses current treatment challenges.

We believe that Spray-On Skin Cells technology combined with our genetically corrected cells has the potential to be game changing in the treatment of this disease. This combination could reduce time to treatment, lower manufacturing complexity, reduce costs and improve patient outcomes, said Ganna Bilousova, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology, who is a co-principal investigator on this research program.

ABOUT THE CHARLES C. GATES CENTER FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

The Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine was established in 2006 with a gift in memory of Denver industrialist and philanthropist, Charles C. Gates, who was captivated by the hope and benefit stem cell research promised for so many people in the world. The Gates Center aspires to honor what he envisionedby doing everything possible to support the collaboration between basic scientific researchers and clinical faculty to transition scientific breakthroughs into clinical practice as quickly as possible.

Led by Founding Director Dennis Roop, PhD, the Gates Center is located at the University of Colorados Anschutz Medical Campus, the largest new biomedical and clinical campus in the United States. Operating as the only comprehensive Stem Cell Center within a 500-mile radius, the Gates Center shares its services and resources with an ever-enlarging membership of researchers and clinicians at the Anschutz Medical Campus, which includes University of Colorado Hospital, Childrens Hospital Colorado and the Veterans Administration Medical Center, as well as the Boulder campus, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines, and business startups. This collaboration is designed to draw on the widest possible array of scientific exploration relevant to stem cell technology focused on the delivery of innovative therapies in Colorado and beyond.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine work to advance science and improve care. These faculty members include physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, Childrens Hospital Colorado, Denver Health, National Jewish Health, and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The school is located on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, one of four campuses in the University of Colorado system. To learn more about the medical schools care, education, research and community engagement, visit its web site.

ABOUT AVITA MEDICAL LIMITED

AVITA Medical is a regenerative medicine company with a technology platform positioned to address unmet medical needs in burns, chronic wounds, and aesthetics indications. AVITA Medicals patented and proprietary collection and application technology provides innovative treatment solutions derived from the regenerative properties of a patients own skin. The medical devices work by preparing a REGENERATIVE EPIDERMAL SUSPENSION (RES), an autologous suspension comprised of the patients skin cells necessary to regenerate natural healthy epidermis. This autologous suspension is then sprayed onto the areas of the patient requiring treatment.

AVITA Medicals first U.S. product, the RECELL System, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2018. The RECELL System is indicated for use in the treatment of acute thermal burns in patients 18 years and older. The RECELL System is used to prepare Spray-On Skin Cells using a small amount of a patients own skin, providing a new way to treat severe burns, while significantly reducing the amount of donor skin required. The RECELL System is designed to be used at the point of care alone or in combination with autografts depending on the depth of the burn injury. Compelling data from randomized, controlled clinical trials conducted at major U.S. Burn Centers and real-world use in more than 8,000 patients globally, reinforce that the RECELL System is a significant advancement over the current standard of care for burn patients and offers benefits in clinical outcomes and cost savings. Healthcare professionals should read the INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE - RECELL Autologous Cell Harvesting Device (https://recellsystem.com/) for a full description of indications for use and important safety information including contraindications, warnings and precautions.

In international markets, our products are marketed under the RECELL System brand to promote skin healing in a wide range of applications including burns, chronic wounds and aesthetics. The RECELL System is TGA-registered in Australia and received CE-mark approval in Europe.

To learn more, visit http://www.avitamedical.com.

Photo at top: From left, Igor Kogut, PhD, Ganna Bilousova, PhD, and Dennis Roop, PhD.

Guest contributor: Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine/ASX

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AVITA Medical Teams With Gates Center to Advance Therapeutic Skin Restoration - CU Anschutz Today

I recently had an experience that highlights, for me, some of what is wrong with our medical insurance system.

I love playing tennis, but my knees have been deteriorating. The cushioning material is wearing away, and there is arthritis. The increasing pain and swelling I was experiencing led me to consider knee replacement surgery, or the end of my tennis career. Neither choice was appealing.

My naturopathic doctor suggested I consider PRP therapy. Platelet-rich plasma treatment has been growing in popularity because it often provides an alternative to knee- and hip-replacement surgery. It can also help tennis tendinitis and rotator cuff injuries. Professional athletes, including Tiger Woods, use PRP therapy. Despite its successful track record, it is not covered by insurance, Medicare or otherwise.

PRP therapy involves removing a small amount of ones blood and separating out its components in a centrifuge. The concentrate is then injected into the area that needs help. The platelet-rich blood attracts stem cells, the bodys repairmen, to the area to rebuild tissue, muscles and tendons.

I love this concept because it uses the bodys own healing ability to rebuild worn-out parts. As a lifelong proponent of homeopathy and other natural healing modalities, I decided to give PRP a try. On Sept. 10, I drove to the office of Dr. John Herzog in Falmouth, Maine, to check it out, despite the fact that Medicare would not cover the cost.

Dr. Herzog is an osteopathic orthopedic surgeon who has performed thousands of surgeries to replace knees and hips over his 30-year career. In 2009 he decided to stop doing surgery and focus on PRP, after finding how much it helped his own knee condition. He has treated more than 3,000 patients since then, with an 80% success rate.

After a basic physical exam to see how well my knees flexed, we looked at them with ultrasound. It was fascinating to watch as Dr. Herzog explained the state of each knee cavity. Fortunately, I was not in a complete bone-on-bone condition; both knees were good candidates for PRP treatment.

I initially thought I would test the treatment on one knee, but opted to have both done. The cost was $600 for one knee, $1,000 for both. Despite paying for this out-of-pocket, it seemed a reasonable cost given the much more expensive alternatives. Knee and hip replacements average $30,000.

Dr. Herzog drew a cup of blood from my arm, put it in a centrifuge and injected the platelet-rich concentrate into both knees. I was out of the office on my way home in a little over an hour. I was told results were normally felt within 4 to 6 weeks, and could last up to a year or more. Every person responds differently, some return for tune-ups after a year.

The following day both knees were quite sore and swollen as blood and oxygen rushed to the area. The next day the swelling began to subside, and five days after the treatment I played tennis. Now, some two months later, the results have been remarkable. Both knees are stronger. Recovery after tennis is greatly reduced. I stopped wearing knee braces, and my movement on the court is now the best its been in years. Im considering playing three times a week instead of two. I feel a little bit like Forrest Gump!

Given the significant success rate of this treatment, the low cost, low risk and absence of side effects, why is it not covered by medical insurance? When I posed this question to a spokesperson at Concord Orthopedics, where one doctor now offers the treatment, their guess was the lack of clinical data on PRP therapy. Its clear this therapy is rapidly gaining in popularity because it is effective and inexpensive.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock offers PRP treatments. Vermont Regenerative Medicine, located in Burlington, recently ran a series of full-page ads in the Monitor advertising their services.

You would think insurance companies and the medical establishment would jump on embracing such benign treatment. I was able to afford the $1,000 fee to have both knees treated, but how about all the people who cannot?

For many years, acupuncture and chiropractic care were not covered by medical insurance. Now they are. Similar to PRP therapy, they are effective, non-invasive and low cost. All therapies that employ our bodys healing ability to recover from injury should be put at the top of the list of treatments covered by insurance. Especially when they offer a true alternative option to more expensive and invasive surgery.

(Sol Solomon lives in Sutton.)

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My Turn: The malaise of medical care - Concord Monitor

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Dec. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., (NASDAQ: IOVA), a late-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell-based cancer immunotherapies, today announced that the company plans to present at the following conferences in December:

Live and archived webcasts of the presentations will be available in the Investors section of the Iovance website at http://ir.iovance.com.

AboutIovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Iovance Biotherapeutics aims to improve patient care by making T cell-based immunotherapies broadly accessible for the treatment of patients with solid tumors and blood cancers. Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy uses a patients own immune cells to attack cancer. TIL cells are extracted from a patients own tumor tissue, expanded through a proprietary process, and infused back into the patient. After infusion, TIL reach tumor tissue, where they attack tumor cells. The company is currently conducting pivotal studies in patients with metastatic melanoma and advanced cervical cancer. In addition, the companys TIL therapies are being investigated for the treatment of patients with locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic cancers including head and neck and non-small cell lung cancer. A clinical study to investigate Iovances T cell therapy for blood cancers called peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) therapy is being initiated. For more information, please visit http://www.iovance.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the Company, we, us, or our). We may, in some cases, use terms such as predicts, believes, potential, continue, estimates, anticipates, expects, plans, intends, may, could, might, will, should or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the success, timing, projected enrollment, manufacturing and production capabilities, and cost of our ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for our current product candidates (including both Company-sponsored and collaborator-sponsored trials in both the U.S. and Europe), such as statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of these trials; the timing of and our ability to successfully submit, obtain and maintain FDA or other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, our product candidates, including those product candidates that have been granted breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) or regenerative medicine advanced therapy designation (RMAT) by the FDA and new product candidates in both solid tumor and blood cancers; the strength of the Companys product pipeline; the successful implementation of the Companys research and development programs and collaborations; the Companys ability to obtain tax incentives and credits; the guidance provided for the Companys future cash, cash equivalent, and short term investment positions; the success of the Companys manufacturing, license or development agreements; the acceptance by the market of the Companys product candidates, if approved; and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments, not within the Companys control. The factors discussed herein could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Companys business, including, without limitation: the preliminary clinical results, which may include efficacy and safety results, from ongoing Phase 2 studies may not be reflected in the final analyses of these trials or subgroups within these trials; a slower rate of enrollment may impact the Companys clinical trial timelines; enrollment may need to be adjusted for the Companys trials and cohorts within those trials based on FDA and other regulatory agency input; the new version of the protocol which further defines the patient population to include more advanced patients in the Companys cervical cancer trial may have an adverse effect on the results reported to date; the data within these trials may not be supportive of product approval; changes in patient populations may result in changes in preliminary clinical results; the Companys ability or inability to address FDA or other regulatory authority requirements relating to its clinical programs and registrational plans, such requirements including, but not limited to, clinical, safety, manufacturing and control requirements; the Companys interpretation of communications with the FDA may differ from the interpretation of such communications by the FDA; risks related to the Companys ability to maintain and benefit from accelerated FDA review designations, including BTD and RMAT, which may not result in a faster development process or review of the Companys product candidates (and which may later be rescinded by the FDA), and does not assure approval of such product candidates by the FDA or the ability of the Company to obtain FDA approval in time to benefit from commercial opportunities; the ability or inability of the Company to manufacture its therapies using third party manufacturers or its own facility may adversely affect the Companys potential commercial launch; and additional expenses may decrease our estimated cash balances and increase our estimated capital requirements. A further list and description of the Companys risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Companys subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at http://www.sec.gov or http://www.iovance.com. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Investor Relations Contacts:Annie ChangSolebury Trout646-378-2972achang@troutgroup.com

Chad RubinSolebury Trout646-378-2947crubin@troutgroup.com

Media Relations Contact: Rich AllanSolebury Trout646-378-2958rallan@troutgroup.com

Excerpt from:
Iovance Biotherapeutics to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences in December - BioSpace

Ever since we began covering them as the first Russian bioprinting company,3D Bioprinting Solutions, or 3dbio for short, came across as more focused on raising awareness on bioprinting by conducting high profile experiments than on exploring commercial applications for the future of bioprinting. Visiting the companys lab in Moscow, and speaking with Co-founder Yusef Khesuani, we learned that it may be exactly the opposite: maybe we are not talking about 3dbio nearly as much as we should.

In fact, that may all be changing now with some more announcements coming up in the next few weeks. One of the main issues limiting 3dbios visibility in Western Europe and North America may be related to the fact that they are based in Russia. Due to generalized lack of awareness of Russian matters in the West, the way for 3dbio to get some well-deserved recognition has been to do things that are quite literally out of this world: building Russias first bioprinter (Fabion) in 2014, bioprinting and implanting a rodent thyroid gland in 2015, developing a bioprinter based on magnetic levitation and finally sending (not once but twice) said bioprinter, aptly named Organ.aut, to print in space on the ISS. That was in 2018.

Now the time has come for the bioprinting company to come back down to Earth and leverage its space-faring experience to venture into more short-term commercially viable businesses, such as bioprinting meat or in-situ bioprinting of tissue grafts. We spoke about these and the bioprinting markets status in general with Dr. Khesuani.

3D Bioprinting Solutions was founded by INVITRO, the largest private medical company in Russia, which is why the laboratory is located on one floor of the INVITRO facility in Moscow. The companys other Co-founders include INVITRO founder Alexander Ostrovsky and VIVAX BIO CEO & CFO (also INVITRO Advisory Committee Member) Yakov Balakhovsky. New York-based VIVAX BIO is actually 3D Bioprinting Solutions mother company through a complex structure that sees 3dbio as the core research lab used to fuel ideas for new, bioprinting based, commercial startups.

We hope that our R&D efforts will serve to create new spinoffs that will work as business startups, Dr. Khesuani begins. 3dbio is not a classical startup. We are here to set the foundations for science and give direction. Now we are going to launch a new startup next January, focusing on bioprinting artificial (bioficial) meat and based on the successful experiment we conducted printing meat on the ISS, together with Aleph Farms. In this case, we used the muscle cell sources supplied by Aleph Farms and combined them with our bioprinting technologies.

While artificial (or bioficial) meat may be closer to commercialization, the ultimate goal of 3dbio has been to produce human organs from the very beginning. Khesuani points out how bioprinters today are made primarily to print scientific papers rather than organs or implantable tissues. They basically combine different cells, different hydrogels and different geometries. Every different combination of one of these three factors is a basis for a new scientific paper, he says. Bioprinters are also used for drug discovery by companies like Organovo, another firm that started with the goal to print organs then moved to drug research. Khesuani believes that the drug discovery analysis process for bioprinted tissues is still too incomplete to attract big pharma companies.

One key difference between 3dbio and other bioprinting companies is that, after the Fabion and Fabion 2 systems, which are based on different types of extrusion, deposition and curing processes, they have now been working on a morevolumetric approach for bioprinting in spaces microgravity environment. While extrusion and deposition systems are considered ideal for flat, layered organs, such as cartilage and skin, more complex, tubular organs, such as, for example, a urethra, need a more tridimensional approach.

Using the Organ.aut magnetic system and further developing new acoustic means of controlling cellular materials in microgravity, 3dbios volumetric technique is able to produce more complex constructs without requiring a scaffold. The bioprinter now on the ISS uses magnetic fields to control the cellular materials. Using microgravity as a co-factor, it implements a scaffold-free, nozzle-free and label-free (no magnetic nanoparticles involved) formative approach. 3dbio researchers also showed off an early version of the acoustic system (in the video above). In theory, one could be used to distribute the material on the X and Y axes while the other could be used to control them along the Z-axis.

What feels particularly amazing is that, while visiting the 3dbio lab and speaking with Dr. Khesuani, Earths orbit, all of a sudden, seems a lot closer. Supplies from 3dbio regularly go up to (and down from) the ISS, in special containers that even have a stamp showing they transited on the ISS (seen in the photo above). In general, all of Moscow seems to have a particularly close relationship with space. When 3dbio approached Roscosmos about bioprinting in space in 2014 their proposal was met with enthusiasm. The project was conducted very rapidly, in spite of the first launch failing. Now laughing about it, Khesuani revealed that the bioprinter that fell back to Earth from a height of about 80,000 meters was actually still functional and will be exhibited at the Space Museum in Moscow in March.

Another approach to bioprinting that 3dbio is exploring is that of using a multi-axis robot for in-situ contour 3D bioprinting also considered a type of volumetric 3D printing. We have also been working with Kuka on using one of their robots to 3D printing tissue grafts directly on the body and we are soon going to announce another startup focusing on this technique, Khesuani reveals. We implemented our nozzles on the robotic arm to print directly on skin defects. One key issue that we are approaching is that our system will be able to use computer vision and machine learning algorithms in order to compensate for a living organisms body movements while breathing.

Along with the software, 3dbio developed a number of innovations for material handling in order to make the skin graft truly effective These will be officially presented next December 6th, in a joint release with Kuka. The first experiments will be conducted on small size pigs. Some experiments were already successfully conducted on rats, however, Khesuani explained that there is a significant gap between experimenting on small and large animals and an even bigger gap between large animals and humans. We expect to have the results of the tests for in-situ bioprinting on the pigs sometime next year, he said.

If bioprinting may still take years to bring real commercial applications, is bioprinted meat any closer? The answer lies in what we mean by meat. Just like industrial applications, to fully leverage the benefits of digital, additive manufacturing we need to completely reinvent food products. Thats one of the reasons why there is so much interest for bioprinting in space, where astronauts and cosmonauts already need to eat very different paste-like food products.

A lot of people think the goal is to bioprint a steak, Khesuani explains. If that is the final objective, then regenerative medicine may actually be closer. What we need to do is imagine new food products based on cellular agriculture. Even snacks such as Mars or Snickers were invented for military purposes in the 50s and 60s. We need to think of food products that do not exist today.

One of the biggest limits, in food as in medical bioprinting, is the lack of adequate cellular materials. Its almost like having Google without having the Internet, Khesuani says. We have the bioprinters to surf but we lack the materials to surf on. For in-situ medical applications, 3dbio developed the Viscoll line of collagen materials, which are suitable for any 3D bioprinter. It is aconcentrated sterile solution of highly purified Type 1 collagen which can be used to print three-dimensional scaffolds directly, or blended with cell suspensions to print cell-laden hydrogels. It was designed for the engineering of biocompatible and non-toxic, three-dimensional tissue constructs ideal for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. A unique feature of the Viscoll hydrogel range is the use of a viscous solution of collagen with a physiological pH value, enabling the addition of living cells or spheroids without neutralization prior to 3D bioprinting. This significantly reduces the time and effort spent on conducting experiments and increases the viability of biological material.

The wide range of collagen concentration allows researches to produce designs with different mechanical densities and rates of bioresorption, depending on their biomedical purpose and the type of cells being used fibroblasts, multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, pancreatic islet cells, and so on. The presence of any collagen Types I-V or other ECM proteins (Vitronectin, Fibronectin, Laminin) in the hydrogel determines the specific tissue type of the constructs: skin, bone or cartilage tissue, blood vessels, and parenchyma of internal organs.

Selling bioprinters is also a possible commercial business, and several FABION systems are now installed worldwide. Khesuani does not expect this to ever become a core business for 3dbio as operating these machines require engineering experience that is not often found in a scientific laboratory. The systems are generally installed in institutes that partner directly with 3dbio on developing new applications.

We have to be optimistic Khesuani says -. When we started there were maybe six bioprinting companies all over the world, now there are over 80 including companies, like CELLINK that have a great business model, although different from ours. Our goal was always to print human organs. We need to focus on that, rather than on selling more machines. He believes that other possible areas of expansion could be the development of medical devices and a new B2S business to science segment, where 3dbio could provide scientific results from experiments and help to commercialize them, as they are doing with the bioprinter in space.

One such result, also achieved in space, was growing of protein crystals, another was the development of new materials in space to use in regenerative medicine. Yet another was the production of 3D structures using bacteria, also in space, to study antibiotic resistance. 3dbio continuous to build networks with some of the most prestigious universities in the world and is entering talks with other space agencies such as ESA and JAXA. Next up will be the next generation of magnetic and acoustic bioprinters for volumetric bioassembly, as 3dbio continues to go where no other bioprinting company has ever gone before while building the bioprinting application market here on Earth.

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The future of bioprinting is out of this world at 3D Bioprinting Solutions in Moscow - 3DPMN