Tag: DNA

Modifi Bio comes up with a new technology to combat cancer cells with DNA modification

Modifi Biosciences introduced today that the journal Science has posted a essential research validating the company’s novel oncology system centered on new courses of molecules that exploit tumor-connected DNA restore defects through direct most cancers mobile DNA modification.

The business shut a $6.4M seed round, which will help IND-enabling experiments and enlargement of the platform to goal cancers with other DNA maintenance flaws. Crucial traders in this spherical contain HighCape Capital Connecticut Improvements Ironwood Capital the Mind Tumor Investment Fund, an affiliate of the National Brain Tumor Modern society and Yale Ventures.

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This strategy redefines the procedures on how to selectively get rid of most cancers cells by using immediate DNA modification and positions our corporation as a leader in this rising field of oncology drug improvement.”

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Ranjit Bindra MD, PhD, Review Co-Direct Creator and Co-Founder, Modifi Bio

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Bindra is the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale College of Drugs and Scientific Director of the Yale Mind Tumor Middle at Smilow Most cancers Medical center. “As a brain tumor health practitioner treating patients for more than a decade, my colleagues and I have noticed gliomas get the life of also several clients. Our discovery represents a key action ahead in shifting the treatment paradigm for this devastating illness, as nicely as for quite a few other cancers with intrinsic DNA maintenance flaws.”

The engineering bypasses common methods that indirectly focus on proteins in most cancers cells and demonstrates robust anti-tumor action in glioma, one particular of the deadliest types of brain cancer, although sparing usual tissue. In the Science publication, the group’s new class of molecules were found to be exquisitely energetic and selective towards cancer cells that lack expression of a vital DNA fix protein termed MGMT (O6-methylguanine methyl transferase).

Around 50 percent of all glioblastomas and up to 80{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} of gliomas absence MGMT. Rising investigate suggests that MGMT deficiency is found in quite a few other tumor sorts, suggesting broad applicability for this method in managing most cancers.

Modifi Bio is producing a new course of molecules, based on research carried out at Yale, that fragment in cells and induce DNA modifications, which are irreparable in cancer cells with DNA mend defects. Modifi Bio’s compounds are intended to be orally bioavailable and have favorable drug-like qualities, which will allow them to quickly file an Investigative New Drug software with the U.S. Foodstuff and Drug Administration in anticipation of Stage I scientific trials in 2024.

“These molecules are especially promising as therapeutics simply because of their skill to straight modify DNA of most cancers cells, which we imagine will not only be helpful in battling cancer but will also allow us to triumph over critical resistance mechanisms,” explained Seth Herzon, PhD, analyze co-direct author, Modifi Bio co-founder, and the Milton Harris ’29 PhD Professor of Chemistry in Yale’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Novel treatments for these sorts of mind cancer are urgently essential. I am enthusiastic that this paradigm-shifting discovery may guide to the first clinically significant pharmacological developments in the procedure of glioma in more than two decades,” claimed Roger Stupp, MD, a member of the Modifi Bio Scientific Advisory Board, Paul C. Bucy Professor of Neurological surgical procedure, and Main of Neuro-oncology at Northwestern University. Stupp very first printed the pivotal scientific tests more than 20 a long time back, which outline the recent normal of treatment for glioma.

Source:

Journal reference:

Lin, K., et al. (2022) System-based mostly layout of agents that selectively focus on drug-resistant glioma. Science. doi.org/10.1126/science.abn7570

A New Technology Could Help Solve a DNA Mystery

A New Technology Could Help Solve a DNA Mystery

Experts have been equipped to examine tens of tens of millions of a few-dimensional locus groupings with the help of the new know-how which they named Pore-C.

The human genome’s interior workings could be disclosed through new Cornell-designed technology.

Researchers from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Weill Cornell Drugs, and the New York Genome Centre have produced a new system to assess the three-dimensional construction of the human RNA, that allow an organism to function.

Using this technique, the researchers showed that groups of simultaneously interacting regulatory elements in the genome, as opposed to pairs of these elements, may influence cell activity, including gene expression. Their research, which was recently published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, may help clarify the connection between cellular identity and genome structure.

“Knowing the three-dimensional genome structure will help researchers better understand how the genome functions, and particularly how it encodes different cell identities,” said senior author Dr. Marcin Imieliński, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and computational genomics in computational biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a core member of the New York Genome Center. “The ways that we’ve had to study genome structure have given us amazing insights, but there have also been key limitations,” he said.

For example, previous technology to examine the genome’s three-dimensional structure enabled researchers to investigate how often two loci, or physical sites on the genome, interact with one another. Traditionally, pairs of loci known as enhancers and promoters—components in the genome that interact with one another to control gene expression—have been discovered.

Information about these pairings offers incomplete insight into genome structure and function. For instance, linking a folding pattern to how the genome encodes for a specific cell identity—like a liver, lung, or epithelial cell—has been difficult, said Dr. Imieliński, who is also a member of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine and the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. Scientists have theorized that this folding influences gene expression. “But how cell types are encoded, particularly in the structure of DNA, has been a mystery,” he said.

Dr. Imieliski and his research team, which included first author Aditya Deshpande, a recent graduate of the Tri-Institutional Ph.D. Program in Computational Biology & Medicine who worked in Dr. Imieliski’s lab, created a new genome-wide assay and algorithm that allows them to study groups of loci rather than just pairs.

They adapted Hi-C (chromatin conformation capture), a standard approach that evaluates a combination of DNA and protein to assess three-dimensional genome structure, to nanopore sequencing, or the high-throughput sequencing of long, continuous strands of DNA molecules. The new test, named Pore-C, allowed the researchers to examine tens of millions of three-dimensional locus clusters.

They also developed statistical methods to determine which locus groupings were important, based on whether they interacted cooperatively to affect gene expression. “Many three-dimensional interactions of the genome are not important,” Dr. Imieliński said. “Our analytic methods help us prioritize the group interactions that are likely to matter for genome function.” As a key finding of the study, the researchers found that the most significant cooperative groupings of DNA elements occurred around genes associated with cell identity.

Future experiments will explore which specific groupings of genomic components are essential for various aspects of cell identity. The new technology may also help researchers to understand how stem cells, the immature, master cells of the body, differentiate into different cell types.

In addition, researchers may be better able to understand abnormalities in cancer cells. “In the future, this technology may be really helpful in understanding how cancer cell genomes are rearranged, and how those rearrangements drive the altered cell identities that enable cancers to grow and spread,” Dr. Imieliński said.

Reference: “Identifying synergistic high-order 3D chromatin conformations from genome-scale nanopore concatemer sequencing” by Aditya S. Deshpande, Netha Ulahannan, Matthew Pendleton, Xiaoguang Dai, Lynn Ly, Julie M. Behr, Stefan Schwenk, Will Liao, Michael A. Augello, Carly Tyer, Priyesh Rughani, Sarah Kudman, Huasong Tian, Hannah G. Otis, Emily Adney, David Wilkes, Juan Miguel Mosquera, Christopher E. Barbieri, Ari Melnick, David Stoddart, Daniel J. Turner, Sissel Juul, Eoghan Harrington and Marcin Imieliński, 30 May 2022, Nature Biotechnology.
DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01289-z

Beyond Expo: Embedding the SDGs in the DNA of Future Technology and Innovation

Climate Action, Climate Change, COVID-19, Development & Aid, Economy & Trade, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Global, Green Economy, Health, Poverty & SDGs, Sustainability

Opinion

Visitors at booth for Beyond Expo. Credit: TechNode

BEIJING, Dec 14 2021 (IPS) –  

A landscape of shared global challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic has moved us farther away from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data shows that the pandemic has pushed a further 124 million people into extreme poverty. Global poverty is now expected to be at 7{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} by 2030 – only marginally below the level in 2015. And with the global temperature increase already at 1.2 degrees, we are on the verge of the abyss. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is deeply concerned about the impact of the pandemic on the SDGs. But there is hope. He believes in the knowledge, science, technology, and resources to turn it around. He also urges further financing for development and climate action.

The SDGs can only be achieved with strong global partnerships and cooperation. Building back better calls for inclusive green growth, including integrated policy choices in governance, social protection, green economy, and digitalization.

The UN in China also recognizes the importance of equipping people with the skills in science, technology, and innovation needed for decent work, entrepreneurship, and the achievement of the SDGs.

What’s Next?

Against this backdrop, it was a pleasure to witness and participate in the Beyond International Technology Innovation Expo, which took place in Macao SAR, China, from 2-4 December 2021. The world can be reassured by the strong will for People-first Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) among the over 300 companies and over 20,000 participants gathered in Macao. Both of us joined the Expo, one physically and one remotely, and we commend Jason Ho and Gang Lu, the two young organizers who have shown their belief in the social, environmental and governance impact of technology, financing, and business, in setting the theme of the first Beyond Expo to be “what’s next?”.

The last day was dedicated to an SDGs Summit to highlight one of the major themes of the Expo, technology, investment, business for impact and the SDGs. The SDGs Summit consisted of three panel discussions: Impact investing, AI and ethics, and business social responsibilities. It was encouraging to hear that young start-ups and impact investors embed the SDGs in the DNA of their operations. Among them, there were initiatives on carbon neutrality, green agriculture, technology to empower rural women, and auto-driving boats to clean ocean garbage.

The co-authors Siddharth Chatterjee (left) and Jingbo Huang (right)

A new frontier for the UN

UNU in Macao, the UN organization in Macao and the focal point of the UN Country Team in China on digital technologies, played host and provided speakers to the second panel of the SDGs Summit. Attendees discovered how the latest technological developments found in China could offer ample solutions to the world’s development issues, especially those in the Global South, such as agriculture, health, and climate change. Seeing the vision of the organizers, panellists, and participants’ who are putting the SDGs at the core of their business rather than as a public relations tool provides hope for our collective future.

Beyond Expo also hosted a virtual panel featuring some UN organizations, entitled “How would the UN leverage technologies for SDGs: Conversations among technology leaders in the UN system”. It included key senior staff from the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, UNDP, and UNOPS. They discussed how their respective organizations are using technologies to accelerate the SDGs, and how the UN can deliver as one, harnessing big data and innovation.

To 2030 and Beyond

Beyond Expo has shown us its potential as a platform where impact investors, companies, government, academia, and the UN can get together to discuss how to co-create a more sustainable future through technology and innovation. It is also a prime example of how emerging generations of entrepreneurs, technologists, and investors realize that sustainability is not just good for humanity but good for business.

The UN in China calls for action from all stakeholders, including governments, individuals, and businesses, and will stand ready to support future collaborations and new partnerships to generate solutions and explore innovations for the SDGs, towards the 2030 Agenda and beyond.

Siddharth Chatterjee
Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee took office as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China on 16 January 2021 and is the designated representative of – and reports to – the UN Secretary-General.

Mr. Chatterjee has more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation, sustainable development, humanitarian coordination and peace and security in the United Nations and the Red Cross movement. Mr. Chatterjee holds a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University in the United States of America.

Jingbo Huang
Dr. Jingbo Huang is the Director of the United Nations University Research Institute in Macau, a UN think tank on digital technology and SDGs. Jingbo has been serving the UN system for the past 20 years across five UN organizations. She holds a Doctor of Education degree from Columbia University and is also an alumna of Peking University.