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A mouse study shows that select transcription factors to the striatum can effectively and safely convert astrocytes to neurons to treat Huntington's disease.

Delivering two transcription factors to the striatum in a mouse model of Huntington's disease can safely convert astrocytes into neurons with high efficiency, according to a new study in the February 27 issue of Nature Communications.

The neurons grow to and wire up with their targets in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra, and remaining astrocytes proliferate to replace those that have been converted. The treatment extends the lifespan and improves the motor behavior of the mice.

What is exciting about this study is that the authors have clearly made cells that do what they are supposed to do, namely replace dying neurons in existing circuits, said Roger Barker, PhD, professor of clinical neuroscience and honorary consultant in neurology at the University of Cambridge and at Addenbrooke's Hospital, who was not involved in the work. I think the challenge of scaling up this strategy to the human Huntington's disease brain is pretty substantial, but nonetheless, this is an important discovery.

The new study, led by Gong Chen, PhD, builds on discoveries beginning in the mid-2000s showing that a small number of exogenously applied transcription factors could transform skin fibroblasts into stem cells, which could then be further converted to become virtually any cell type. That discovery was quickly followed by advances in direct reprogramming, in which one cell type is directly converted into another, skipping the stem cell intermediate.

Most of that work has taken place in vitro, and most attempts to use the strategy therapeutically have depended on transplantation of stem cells or newly converted cells.

We tried stem cell transplants to the mouse brain 10 years ago, but we couldn't find a lot of functional neurons, said Dr. Chen, professor at Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration of Jinan University in Guangzhou, China.

It was also clear that anything you do in vitro, you eventually have to transplant, and that didn't seem to be a very promising technology, so I said, Let's try this in vivo, and put transcriptions factors directly into the mouse brain.

Dr. Chen initially tried introducing the transcription factor neurogenin 2, but the efficiency of conversion of astrocytes to neurons was very low, so he turned to the transcription factor NeuroD1, which Dr. Chen's group had previously shown could convert astrocytes into excitatory glutamatergic neurons.

In the current study, in order to generate GABAergic neurons, the team combined NeuroD1 with another transcription factor, D1x2, based on previous work showing its importance for generating GABAergic neurons.

The team packed the genes for the transcription factors into a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector (rAAV 2/5) and used an astrocyte-specific promoter to drive the transgene expression so that it preferentially expresses in astrocytes. They first injected the vector into the normal mouse striatum.

Surprisingly, this strategy worked very well at high efficiency, Dr. Chen said. After seven days, all transfected cells expressed astrocyte markers, indicating a high level of specificity in the vector. Of those cells, 81 percent co-expressed the two transcription factors. By 30 days, 73 percent of the cells expressing the transcription factors now expressed neuronal, rather than astrocytic markers, and were primarily GABAergic in character.

Next, Dr. Chen asked whether the remaining astrocytes could repopulate to replace those lost to conversion. Using immunostaining for astrocytes and neurons, as well as other techniques, the team found that the neuron/astrocyte ratio was unchanged, and that some remaining astrocytes could be found at different stages of cell division, suggesting the process facilitated astrocyte proliferation.

Dr. Chen then turned to the R6/2 mouse, the most common mouse model of Huntington's disease. He treated mice at 2 months of age, just as they began to show motor symptoms

As in the wild-type mice, astrocytes were converted to GABAergic neurons at high efficiency without altering the neuron/astrocyte ratio. The researchers observed similar results in a less-severe HD mouse model as well. Treated mice had only about half the degree of striatal atrophy as untreated mice. The converted neurons still contained aggregated huntingtin protein, but less than in native neurons, and similar to the reduced amount found in astrocytes in the mouse brain.

The real test of any cell therapy in neurodegenerative disease is whether the new cells can link into the existing circuits and provide functional benefit, feats that have been hard to achieve with transplanted fetal cells or stem cells.

Examining striatal slices from the treated mice, Dr. Chen found that the converted neurons displayed electrical properties largely identical to those of normal neurons, including resting potential, action potential threshold, firing amplitude, and firing frequency. They integrated into local circuits and behaved similarly to the native neurons around them. By tracking a marker contained in the AAV gene construct, they showed that converted neurons projected axons to the two basal ganglia targets of medium spiny neurons in the striatum, the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra.

Finally, Dr. Chen found that stride length and travel distance were both significantly improved in treated mice, though still falling below those of wild-type mice, and lifespan was significantly extended.

There were no hints of tumors in the mice, Dr. Chen noted. He suggested that in situ conversion is likely intrinsically safer in this regard than using stem cell-derived neurons, since a proliferative astrocyte is being converted into a non-proliferative neuron, with no residual pool of unconverted and potentially tumorigenic stem cells. We are actually reducing the tumor risk, he said.

Why the converted neurons developed appropriate neuronal connections is an important unanswered question, Dr. Chen said. He suggested there were two important factorsfirst, the astrocytes from which they arose are likely developmentally related to neighboring neurons, and thus may express similar position markers that help guide them to the right targets, just like the native neurons. Second, those remaining neurons may also provide guide tracks for the newly growing axons.

This conversion technique is not limited to Huntington's disease, he stressed, noting that his team last year published a paper showing promise in ischemic stroke, and work is underway to test its potential in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, and ALS. He is also moving on to testing in non-human primates, setting the stage for eventual human trials.

I think eventually we will want to correct the Huntington's mutation as well, Dr. Chen said, for instance by using CRISPR, but he pointed out that while that strategy can repair diseased neurons, it cannot make new ones, like astrocyte-to-neuron conversion can.

This study is really elegantly done, commented Veronica Garcia, PhD, who has studied astrocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells from Huntington's disease patients as a postdoctoral scientist working with Clive Svendsen, PhD, in the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The conversion efficiency is similar between wild-type and disease models, suggesting that the disease process is not interfering with the conversion, she said.

Astrocyte depletion does not seem to be a problem, at least in the short term, but Dr. Garcia noted there is a limit on the number of divisions astrocytes appear able to undergo, after which they lose the ability to proliferate. That may be a problem for chronic treatment, she suggested. Nonetheless, these results really look promising for therapeutic development.

The concept of trying to reprogram cells in situ to take on the phenotype of the cells that are lost is not new, commented Dr. Barker, but being able to do it with any degree of efficiency, to make enough cells to make a significant difference, has been problematic. For that reason, and because the cells grow to their target sites and make connections, these results are surprising.

A major hurdle for clinical trials, he noted, will be scaling up to the human striatum, which has approximately 100 times the volume of that in the mouse. Delivering the vector to such a large volume will be a significant challenge, he said, along with determining whether this approach will really work in a disease that affects many different brain structures such as in HD.

Dr. Chen is co-founder of NeuExcell Therapeutics Inc, which will develop clinical trials in the future. Drs. Barker and Garcia disclosed no conflicts.

Original post:
Researchers Convert Astrocytes to Neurons In Vivo to Treat... : Neurology Today - LWW Journals

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The best cleanser for you will depend on your skin type. "It's important to pay attention to what's in your cleanser and what's not in it," says Ciraldo. She recommends avoiding sulfates, which can have a harsh, stripping effect on your face, and looking for actives that suit your needs. "For normal or dry skin, I favor a hydrating cleanser with peptides," she says. "If you're oily or acne-prone, use a mild exfoliating cleanser with salicylic acid, which dislodges the dead cells that can clog pores."

Do this step: Morning and night.

The first product to go on your face? Eye cream. The reason is simplebecause you'll probably forget to do it otherwise. Ciraldo recommends patting eye cream on gently with your ring finger (this way you'll tug less at the delicate skin there) all the way around your eyes, not just underneath them. If you're worried about eye cream causing your concealer or eye makeup to smear, choose a more lightweight option, like a hydrating gel that sinks in quickly and stays put.

For the best results, look for ingredients like peptideswhich help tighten your skin and depuffas well as antioxidants. Rabach recommends formulas that contain hydrating hyaluronic acid, brightening caffeine, and ceramides (these lock in moisture and help strengthen your skin barrier).

Do this step: Morning and night.

Both toners and essences are meant to help further prime your skin to absorb active ingredients, but the one you choose will depend on your skin type. Old-school toners were meant to balance skin pH and counteract alkaline soaps, before soap-free cleansers became popular. Now toner usually refers to liquid formulations geared toward oily skin that's in need of gentle exfoliation and resurfacing. Ciraldo says those with oily or acne-prone skin should look for toners with ingredients like glycolic or salicylic acid.

Essences, on the other hand, tend to be more hydrating. Rabach recommends looking for actives like hyaluronic acid, which will flood your skin with moisture that you can lock in during subsequent steps. To apply, soak a cotton pad in liquid and gently pat it over your face. Alternatively, you can use your hands to do the same thing.

Do this step: Morning and night.

This is the step where you'll deliver the bulk of active ingredients to your toner/essence-primed face, and it's important to do it early on in your routine. "Serums are formulated with smaller molecular-weight actives so they penetrate into deeper skin layers," says Ciraldo. "If you apply your serum after a thicker formulation, the active ingredients may not penetrate as well."

While you should apply serum twice a day, you shouldn't be using the same formulation. "Serum actives differ for day and night," says Rabach. During the day, she likes to choose serums with antioxidants that protect skin from daytime stressors like free radicals (caused by UV rays), pollutants, and blue light. The most popular ingredient for this is vitamin C, which you will have no problem finding in serum form. (Just make sure to choose one that's properly stabilized for maximum effect.) At night, opt for a serum with peptides and growth factors to repair skin.

For both daytime and nighttime serums, Rabach also has a general list of ingredients she likes to look for across both formulations: Niacinamide to reduce redness, hyaluronic acid to pull moisture into your skin, and alpha and beta hydroxy acids (AHAs and BHAs), which help boost collagen and even out skin pigmentation. Ciraldo further splits up her preferred serum ingredients by skin type. "For acne-prone skin, look for stem cells, retinol, and green tea," she says. "For dehydrated skin, look for lipids, hyaluronic acid, and peptides. And for hyperpigmented skin, look for vitamin C."

Do this step: At night only.

See original here:
Best Skin-Care Routine: Order of Products to Use Morning & Night - Glamour

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

World Thalassemia Day is an annual observance day that occurs on May 8th. It is a world-wide campaign to raise awareness about thalassemia and its symptoms. This is done to help the patients living with this genetic disorder. World Thalassemia Day commemorates thalassemia victims and also aims at making thalassemia patients aware about the significance of medical consultation before marriage. This global observance day also tries to debunk myths and misconceptions surrounding the disease. The theme of World Thalassemia Day 2020 is Begin thalassemia prevention from young age, blood test before marriage will make the future generation safe. On this day, here we tell you all about the disease. Also Read - World Thalassemia Day 2019: How to Deal With Thalassemia

It is a genetic blood disorder that significantly reduces your haemoglobin count. Notably, haemoglobin is a protein molecule present in red blood cells. This protein helps RBCs in carrying oxygen and circulating it in the entire body. Also Read - World Thalassemia Day: Risk Factors, Types And Prevention Tips

The signs and symptoms of thalassemia depend on the type of thalassemia you have and its severity. Some common symptoms include fatigue, slow growth, weakness, abdominal swelling, pale skin, dark urine facial bone deformities etc. Usually, either a newborn shows thalassemia symptoms at the time of birth itself or develops it in the first two years of life. Also Read - World Thalassemia Day 2017: Importance of Blood donation and how it helps people with this fatal disease

Thalassemia occurs when the DNA of your body cells responsible for making haemoglobin, undergo mutation. This mutated DNA is passed on to the next generation.

A simple blood test can confirm the disease. Usually, if an expecting mother is known to be suffering from thalassemia, doctors perform a certain tests to find out if the fetus has also inherited the diseases and if yes, what is the severity of the genetic disease. To do that, chorionic villus sampling (testing a tiny sample of placenta) and amniocentesis (examining sample of fluid surrounding foetus) are performed.

In case, you have inherited a minimum number of mutated genes and suffering from mild thalassemia, you do not require treatment. However, in severe case, you may have to go through frequent blood transfusion, chelation therapy, or stem cell transplant.

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World Thalassemia Day 2020: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment of The Disease - India.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Tabrecta (capmatinib) will treat patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that has a mutation leading to MET exon 14 skipping. The drug is the first targeted option for patients with lung cancer and this type of mutation.

Tabrecta is the first therapy approved by the FDA specifically to treat NSCLC with mutations that lead to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is MET exon 14 skipping.

Tabrecta is approved for patients who are new to treatment and also those who have received previous therapies, regardless of prior treatment type.

Along with the drug approval, the FDA gave the green light to a companion diagnostic, the FoundationOne CDx assay, which can identify these mutations in patients.

In epithelialmesenchymal transition(EMT), the cells that line an organ lose their polarity and ability to adhere to other cells, giving them the ability to invade tissues and organs. MET exon 14 skipping means that a segment of RNA that should prompt the production of a specific protein stops sending those messages.

The spread of cancer consists of a sequential series of events and MET exon 14 skipping is recognized as a critical event in this process, the FDA stated in a press release about the approval. Mutations leading to MET exon 14 skipping are found in 3% to 4% of patients with lung cancer, the agency stated.

Lung cancer is increasingly being divided into multiple subsets of molecularly defined populations with drugs being developed to target these specific groups, said Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the FDAs Oncology Center of Excellence and acting director of the Office of Oncologic Diseases in the FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in the release.

Taken orally, Tabrecta works by blocking a key protein that drives metastatic NSCLC in these patients. The FDA approved it based on the results of a clinical trial involving patients with NSCLC who had mutations leading to MET exon 14 skipping; their tumors did not express the proteins EGFR or ALK.

The evaluated study population included 28 patients who had never undergone treatment for NSCLC and 69 previously treated patients. The overall response rate (ORR; the percentage of participants who experienced a prespecified amount of tumor shrinkage) for the 28 participants was 68%, with 4% having a complete response and 64% having a partial response.

The ORR for the 69 participants was 41%, with all having a partial response. Of the responding participants who had never undergone treatment for NSCLC, 47% had a duration of response lasting 12 months or longer compared with 32.1% of the responding participants who had been previously treated.

Common side effects for patients taking Tabrecta included swelling of the legs, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, shortness of breath and decreased appetite.

Tabrecta may cause serious side effects including scarring or inflammation of the lungs. It may also cause damage to liver cells or harm a developing fetus or newborn baby. Patients may be more sensitive to sunlight when they take Tabrecta and should take precautions to cover their skin and use sunscreen.

Tabrecta was approved under theFDAs accelerated approval, breakthrough designation and priority review programs, which provide for a quicker review of drugs that treat serious or life-threatening diseases and represent a meaningful advantage over existing treatments.

Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification of these results in confirmatory clinical trials.

Check back for what you need to know regarding this approval.

Originally posted here:
FDA Approves Tabrecta, the First Targeted Drug for Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and MET exon 14 - Curetoday.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that new data from its oncology program will be presented at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO20) Virtual Scientific Program from May 29-31. More than 80 abstracts in nearly 20 types of solid tumors and blood cancers have been accepted across Mercks broad cancer portfolio and investigational pipeline, including KEYTRUDA, Mercks anti-PD-1 therapy; LENVIMA (in collaboration with Eisai); LYNPARZA (in collaboration with AstraZeneca); and MK-6482 (formerly PT2977), an investigational, oral hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2) inhibitor.

Despite the challenges we all face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Merck remains fully committed to supporting the cancer community and to advancing important scientific research from our clinical program, said Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories. The data to be presented at this years ASCO demonstrate how our deep and diverse oncology portfolio continues to show meaningful outcomes for patients in new tumor types and stages of disease, while long-term survival data for KEYTRUDA in non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma and melanoma further support its important role in these types of cancer.

Key abstracts including late-breakers, oral sessions, and select poster discussions and posters to be presented at ASCO include:

Merck Investor Event

Merck will hold a virtual investor event in conjunction with the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program on Tuesday, June 2 at 2 p.m. ET. Details will be provided at a date closer to the event at http://investors.merck.com/home/default.aspx.

Details on Abstracts Listed Above, Additional Presentations and Key Abstracts with Mercks Collaboration Partners

KEYTRUDA

Breast Cancer

Bladder Cancer

Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Colorectal Cancer

Lung Cancer

Renal Cell Carcinoma

Prostate Cancer

Melanoma

Ovarian Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer

KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA (in collaboration with Eisai)

Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Renal Cell Carcinoma

Endometrial Cancer

LYNPARZA (in collaboration with AstraZeneca)

Ovarian Cancer

MK-6482

Renal Cell Carcinoma

About KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Injection, 100 mg

KEYTRUDA is an anti-PD-1 therapy that works by increasing the ability of the bodys immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. KEYTRUDA is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells.

Merck has the industrys largest immuno-oncology clinical research program. There are currently more than 1,200 trials studying KEYTRUDA across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings. The KEYTRUDA clinical program seeks to understand the role of KEYTRUDA across cancers and the factors that may predict a patient's likelihood of benefitting from treatment with KEYTRUDA, including exploring several different biomarkers.

Selected KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Indications

Melanoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with involvement of lymph node(s) following complete resection.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

KEYTRUDA, in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.

KEYTRUDA, in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or paclitaxel protein-bound, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC.

KEYTRUDA, as a single agent, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with NSCLC expressing PD-L1 [tumor proportion score (TPS) 1%] as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations, and is stage III where patients are not candidates for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation, or metastatic.

KEYTRUDA, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors express PD-L1 (TPS 1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving KEYTRUDA.

Small Cell Lung Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least 1 other prior line of therapy. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer

KEYTRUDA, in combination with platinum and fluorouracil (FU), is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or with unresectable, recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

KEYTRUDA, as a single agent, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or with unresectable, recurrent HNSCC whose tumors express PD-L1 [combined positive score (CPS) 1] as determined by an FDA-approved test.

KEYTRUDA, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), or who have relapsed after 3 or more prior lines of therapy. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), or who have relapsed after 2 or more prior lines of therapy. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. KEYTRUDA is not recommended for treatment of patients with PMBCL who require urgent cytoreductive therapy.

Urothelial Carcinoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who are not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy and whose tumors express PD-L1 [combined positive score (CPS) 10], as determined by an FDA-approved test, or in patients who are not eligible for any platinum-containing chemotherapy regardless of PD-L1 status. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy.

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-unresponsive, high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS) with or without papillary tumors who are ineligible for or have elected not to undergo cystectomy.

Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)

This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. The safety and effectiveness of KEYTRUDA in pediatric patients with MSI-H central nervous system cancers have not been established.

Gastric Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS 1) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with disease progression on or after two or more prior lines of therapy including fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy and if appropriate, HER2/neu-targeted therapy. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Esophageal Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS 10) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with disease progression after one or more prior lines of systemic therapy.

Cervical Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS 1) as determined by an FDA-approved test. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Merkel Cell Carcinoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Renal Cell Carcinoma

KEYTRUDA, in combination with axitinib, is indicated for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Endometrial Carcinoma

KEYTRUDA, in combination with LENVIMA, is indicated for the treatment of patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma that is not MSI-H or dMMR, who have disease progression following prior systemic therapy and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trial.

Selected Important Safety Information for KEYTRUDA

Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis

KEYTRUDA can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis, including fatal cases. Pneumonitis occurred in 3.4% (94/2799) of patients with various cancers receiving KEYTRUDA, including Grade 1 (0.8%), 2 (1.3%), 3 (0.9%), 4 (0.3%), and 5 (0.1%). Pneumonitis occurred in 8.2% (65/790) of NSCLC patients receiving KEYTRUDA as a single agent, including Grades 3-4 in 3.2% of patients, and occurred more frequently in patients with a history of prior thoracic radiation (17%) compared to those without (7.7%). Pneumonitis occurred in 6% (18/300) of HNSCC patients receiving KEYTRUDA as a single agent, including Grades 3-5 in 1.6% of patients, and occurred in 5.4% (15/276) of patients receiving KEYTRUDA in combination with platinum and FU as first-line therapy for advanced disease, including Grades 3-5 in 1.5% of patients.

Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of pneumonitis. Evaluate suspected pneumonitis with radiographic imaging. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater pneumonitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 or recurrent Grade 2 pneumonitis.

Immune-Mediated Colitis

KEYTRUDA can cause immune-mediated colitis. Colitis occurred in 1.7% (48/2799) of patients receiving KEYTRUDA, including Grade 2 (0.4%), 3 (1.1%), and 4 (<0.1%). Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of colitis. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater colitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2 or 3; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 4 colitis.

Immune-Mediated Hepatitis (KEYTRUDA) and Hepatotoxicity (KEYTRUDA in Combination With Axitinib)

Immune-Mediated Hepatitis

KEYTRUDA can cause immune-mediated hepatitis. Hepatitis occurred in 0.7% (19/2799) of patients receiving KEYTRUDA, including Grade 2 (0.1%), 3 (0.4%), and 4 (<0.1%). Monitor patients for changes in liver function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater hepatitis and, based on severity of liver enzyme elevations, withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA.

Hepatotoxicity in Combination With Axitinib

KEYTRUDA in combination with axitinib can cause hepatic toxicity with higher than expected frequencies of Grades 3 and 4 ALT and AST elevations compared to KEYTRUDA alone. With the combination of KEYTRUDA and axitinib, Grades 3 and 4 increased ALT (20%) and increased AST (13%) were seen. Monitor liver enzymes before initiation of and periodically throughout treatment. Consider more frequent monitoring of liver enzymes as compared to when the drugs are administered as single agents. For elevated liver enzymes, interrupt KEYTRUDA and axitinib, and consider administering corticosteroids as needed.

Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies

KEYTRUDA can cause adrenal insufficiency (primary and secondary), hypophysitis, thyroid disorders, and type 1 diabetes mellitus. Adrenal insufficiency occurred in 0.8% (22/2799) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.3%), 3 (0.3%), and 4 (<0.1%). Hypophysitis occurred in 0.6% (17/2799) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%), 3 (0.3%), and 4 (<0.1%). Hypothyroidism occurred in 8.5% (237/2799) of patients, including Grade 2 (6.2%) and 3 (0.1%). The incidence of new or worsening hypothyroidism was higher in 1185 patients with HNSCC (16%) receiving KEYTRUDA, as a single agent or in combination with platinum and FU, including Grade 3 (0.3%) hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism occurred in 3.4% (96/2799) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.8%) and 3 (0.1%), and thyroiditis occurred in 0.6% (16/2799) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.3%). Type 1 diabetes mellitus, including diabetic ketoacidosis, occurred in 0.2% (6/2799) of patients.

Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency, hypophysitis (including hypopituitarism), thyroid function (prior to and periodically during treatment), and hyperglycemia. For adrenal insufficiency or hypophysitis, administer corticosteroids and hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2 adrenal insufficiency or hypophysitis and withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or Grade 4 adrenal insufficiency or hypophysitis. Administer hormone replacement for hypothyroidism and manage hyperthyroidism with thionamides and beta-blockers as appropriate. Withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 hyperthyroidism. Administer insulin for type 1 diabetes, and withhold KEYTRUDA and administer antihyperglycemics in patients with severe hyperglycemia.

Immune-Mediated Nephritis and Renal Dysfunction

KEYTRUDA can cause immune-mediated nephritis. Nephritis occurred in 0.3% (9/2799) of patients receiving KEYTRUDA, including Grade 2 (0.1%), 3 (0.1%), and 4 (<0.1%) nephritis. Nephritis occurred in 1.7% (7/405) of patients receiving KEYTRUDA in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy. Monitor patients for changes in renal function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater nephritis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue for Grade 3 or 4 nephritis.

Immune-Mediated Skin Reactions

Immune-mediated rashes, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) (some cases with fatal outcome), exfoliative dermatitis, and bullous pemphigoid, can occur. Monitor patients for suspected severe skin reactions and based on the severity of the adverse reaction, withhold or permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA and administer corticosteroids. For signs or symptoms of SJS or TEN, withhold KEYTRUDA and refer the patient for specialized care for assessment and treatment. If SJS or TEN is confirmed, permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA.

Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which may be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue in patients receiving KEYTRUDA and may also occur after discontinuation of treatment. For suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, ensure adequate evaluation to confirm etiology or exclude other causes. Based on the severity of the adverse reaction, withhold KEYTRUDA and administer corticosteroids. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Based on limited data from clinical studies in patients whose immune-related adverse reactions could not be controlled with corticosteroid use, administration of other systemic immunosuppressants can be considered. Resume KEYTRUDA when the adverse reaction remains at Grade 1 or less following corticosteroid taper. Permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for any Grade 3 immune-mediated adverse reaction that recurs and for any life-threatening immune-mediated adverse reaction.

The following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred in less than 1% (unless otherwise indicated) of 2799 patients: arthritis (1.5%), uveitis, myositis, Guillain-Barr syndrome, myasthenia gravis, vasculitis, pancreatitis, hemolytic anemia, sarcoidosis, and encephalitis. In addition, myelitis and myocarditis were reported in other clinical trials, including classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and postmarketing use.

Treatment with KEYTRUDA may increase the risk of rejection in solid organ transplant recipients. Consider the benefit of treatment vs the risk of possible organ rejection in these patients.

Infusion-Related Reactions

KEYTRUDA can cause severe or life-threatening infusion-related reactions, including hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis, which have been reported in 0.2% (6/2799) of patients. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infusion-related reactions. For Grade 3 or 4 reactions, stop infusion and permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA.

Complications of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT)

Immune-mediated complications, including fatal events, occurred in patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT after treatment with KEYTRUDA. Of 23 patients with cHL who proceeded to allogeneic HSCT after KEYTRUDA, 6 (26%) developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (1 fatal case) and 2 (9%) developed severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after reduced-intensity conditioning (1 fatal case). Cases of fatal hyperacute GVHD after allogeneic HSCT have also been reported in patients with lymphoma who received a PD-1 receptorblocking antibody before transplantation. Follow patients closely for early evidence of transplant-related complications such as hyperacute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), Grade 3 to 4 acute GVHD, steroid-requiring febrile syndrome, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), and other immune-mediated adverse reactions.

In patients with a history of allogeneic HSCT, acute GVHD (including fatal GVHD) has been reported after treatment with KEYTRUDA. Patients who experienced GVHD after their transplant procedure may be at increased risk for GVHD after KEYTRUDA. Consider the benefit of KEYTRUDA vs the risk of GVHD in these patients.

Increased Mortality in Patients With Multiple Myeloma

In trials in patients with multiple myeloma, the addition of KEYTRUDA to a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone resulted in increased mortality. Treatment of these patients with a PD-1 or PD-L1 blocking antibody in this combination is not recommended outside of controlled trials.

Embryofetal Toxicity

Based on its mechanism of action, KEYTRUDA can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise women of this potential risk. In females of reproductive potential, verify pregnancy status prior to initiating KEYTRUDA and advise them to use effective contraception during treatment and for 4 months after the last dose.

Adverse Reactions

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Merck to Present New Data from its Broad Oncology Portfolio and Pipeline at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program - Business Wire

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Global Stem Cells Market 2020 Global Industry report covers the latest market statistics, industry growth driving factors, size, share, trends, as well as Forecast till 2026. The Global Industrial Stem Cells market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.

Get a Sample Copy of the Report https://www.marketreportsworld.com/enquiry/request-sample/15567294

Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types. Commonly, stem cells come from two main sources: Embryos formed during the blastocyst phase of embryological development (embryonic stem cells) and Adult tissue (adult stem cells).Both types are generally characterized by their potency, or potential to differentiate into different cell types (such as skin, muscle, bone, etc.).Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to almost 100 countries around the globe with the World Health Organization declaring it a public health emergency. The global impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are already starting to be felt, and will significantly affect the Stem Cells market in 2020.COVID-19 can affect the global economy in three main ways: by directly affecting production and demand, by creating supply chain and market disruption, and by its financial impact on firms and financial markets.The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought effects on many aspects, like flight cancellations; travel bans and quarantines; restaurants closed; all indoor events restricted; over forty countries state of emergency declared; massive slowing of the supply chain; stock market volatility; falling business confidence, growing panic among the population, and uncertainty about future.

To know How COVID-19 Pandemic Will Impact This Market/Industry Request a sample copy of the report https://www.marketreportsworld.com/enquiry/request-covid19/15567294

COVID-19 can affect the global economy in three main ways: by directly affecting production and demand, by creating supply chain and market disruption, and by its financial impact on firms and financial markets. The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought effects on many aspects, like flight cancellations; travel bans and quarantines; restaurants closed; all indoor events restricted; over forty countries state of emergency declared; massive slowing of the supply chain; stock market volatility; falling business confidence, growing panic among the population, and uncertainty about future.

Global Stem Cells market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including;

For the data information by region, company, type, and application, 2020 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

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The Stem Cells Market report examines competitive scenario by analyzing key players in the market. The company profiling of leading market players is included in this report with Porters five forces analysis and Value Chain analysis. Further, the strategies exercised by the companies for expansion of business through mergers, acquisitions, and other business development measures are discussed in the report. The financial parameters which are assessed include the sales, profits and the overall revenue generated by the key players of Market.

Stem Cells Breakdown Data by Type:

Stem Cells Breakdown Data by Application:

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Stem Cells Market by Regions:

Key questions answered in the report:

Highlights of the report which will influence the Stem Cells market:

Major Points from Table of Contents:

1 Report Overview1.1 Study Scope1.2 Key Market Segments1.3 Players Covered1.4 Market Analysis by Type1.4.1 Global Stem Cells Market Size Growth Rate by Type (2015-2026)1.4.2 Major-Type1.4.3 Independent-Type1.4.4 Administrator-Type1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Stem Cells Market Share by Application (2015-2026)1.5.2 Commercial1.5.3 Commonweal1.5.4 Other1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered

2 Global Growth Trends2.1 Stem Cells Market Size2.2 Stem Cells Growth Trends by Regions2.2.1 Stem Cells Market Size by Regions (2015-2026)2.2.2 Stem Cells Market Share by Regions (2015-2020)2.3 Industry Trends2.3.1 Market Top Trends2.3.2 Market Drivers2.3.3 Market Opportunities

3 Market Share by Key Players3.1 Stem Cells Market Size by Manufacturers3.1.1 Global Stem Cells Revenue by Manufacturers (2015-2020)3.1.2 Global Stem Cells Revenue Market Share by Manufacturers (2015-2020)3.1.3 Global Stem Cells Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)3.2 Stem Cells Key Players Head office and Area Served3.3 Key Players Stem Cells Product/Solution/Service3.4 Date of Enter into Stem Cells Market3.5 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans

4 Breakdown Data by Type and Application4.1 Global Stem Cells Market Size by Type (2015-2020)4.2 Global Stem Cells Market Size by Application (2015-2020)

(5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Central & South AmericaStem Cells Market Size (2015-2020)Key PlayersStem Cells Market Size by TypeStem Cells Market Size by Application

12 International Players ProfilesCompany DetailsCompany Description and Business OverviewStem Cells IntroductionRevenue in Stem Cells Business (2015-2020)Recent Development

13 Market Forecast 2020-202613.1 Market Size Forecast by Regions13.2 United States13.3 Europe13.4 China13.5 Japan13.6 Southeast Asia13.7 India13.8 Central & South America13.9 Market Size Forecast by Product (2020-2026)13.10 Market Size Forecast by Application (2020-2026)

14 Analysts Viewpoints/Conclusions

15 Appendix15.1 Research Methodology15.1.1 Methodology/Research Approach15.1.1.1 Research Programs/Design15.1.1.2 Market Size Estimation12.1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation15.1.2 Data Source15.1.2.1 Secondary Sources15.1.2.2 Primary Sources15.2 Disclaimer15.3 Author Details

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Britain's index of top shares closed on Thursday over 82 points ahead, or 1.4%, at 5,935

FTSE 100 index closed higher on Thursday on investor optimism ahead of the VE Day bank holiday as US benchmarks also surged

Britain's index of top shares closed over 82 points ahead, or 1.4%, at 5,935.

"Lately there has been a lot of optimism that governments are keen to loosen their lockdown restrictions, so that has fuelled the bullish move in equities," said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.

"Dealers have the impression that we are over the worst of it in terms of the lockdowns, so that should the pave the way less stringent restrictions."

Crude prices are also heading north as Saudi Arabia has lifted selling prices for oil, while US producers have curtailed output. In addition, US gas stockpiles have been falling.

Brent crude gained 4.61% to US$31.09 a barrel, while WTI added 8.30% to US$25.98.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones added over 401 points at 24,066, while the S&P 500 gained over 50 points and the Nasdaq surged 140 points.

US indices, as expected, flashed out of the traps on Thursday.

The Dow Jones average was up 283 points (1.2%) at 23,948 and the S&P 500 rose 35 points (1.2%) at 2,884, despite the weekly first-time jobless claims number coming in a bit higher than expected.

US initial jobless claims declined to 3.2mln during the week ending May 2 from 3.8mln in the prior week (consensus: 3.0mln), bringing the total over the last seven weeks to 33.5mln, observed Mickey levy at Berenberg Capital Markets.

Based on the 26m total initial jobless claims between March 15 and April 18, we expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to report that U.S. non-farm payrolls declined by 21m in April and that the unemployment rate increased to 16.2% from 4.4% in its Official Monthly Employment Report, scheduled for release tomorrow,2 he added.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 75 points (1.3%) at 5,930, with little sign of traders closing out positions ahead of the long weekend.

Oil stocks are doing their bit to bolster the index as the price of Brent crude heads US$1.05 higher (3.6%) to US30.78 a barrel; oil prices are firming up despite Saudi Arabia reducing its official selling prices to Asian customers.

Saudi Arabia today (07 May) reduced its official selling prices (OSPs) to Asia in June 2020 and crude oil prices are bouncing 6-9% on the back of that news. It signals that Saudi Arabia sees the June 2020 crude oil market as less of a crowded place and that it will be easier for the producer to place its desired volumes into the market. In a slight parallel to this, we think that it is unlikely to be a wall of surplus oil banging on the door of Cushing Oklahoma in June 2020 comparable to the magnitude of the May 2020 contract, said Bjarne Schieldrop, the chief commodities analyst at SEB, the Nordic investment bank.

The market is concerned that we might get the same kind of end-of-contract disturbances for the June 2020 contract as we got for the May 2020 contract. If so, it is highly unlikely that we would see -$40/bl again since the market now is prepared. It is still possible that the WTI June 2020 contract could come under intense selling pressure over the coming nine trading days as long positions move to exit. The special thing about the WTI contract is of course that it is based and priced inland in Cushing Oklahoma in the US. It is land-locked with flows in and out of the storage hub going by pipelines. If inventories in Cushing are full and pipes out of Cushing are full then prices can crash, he explained.

() was 0.7% higher at 315.8p while PLC () advanced 2.7% to 1,264p.

US indices are tipped to open on the front foot this afternoon despite some slightly iffy jobs numbers.

The Dow Jones average is seen opening its account at around 23,915, up 250 points from last nights close and the S&P 500 is tipped to toddle 35 points higher to 2,883.

First-time weekly jobless claims last week fell to 3.16mln from 3.85mln the week before but were above the consensus forecast of 3mln.

The consensus looked a bit optimistic in light of hard data from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona, and Google searches for 'file for unemployment', but the trend is falling, said Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Claims continue to decay by about 15-to-18% per week and are now at less than half the 6.9mln peak in the week of March 28. If the current rate of decline continues, claims will dip below 1mln in the second ormore likelythird week of June, though they would remain well above the 665K worst single week after the crash of 2008, Shepherdson noted.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 56 points (1.0%) at 5,910.

As the morning drew to a close, the FTSE 100 moved into gains consolidation mode.

Londons index of leading shares was up 41 points (0.7%) at 5,894.

It has been another bad morning for travel-related stocks, however, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines () sharply lower after its first-quarter results and cruise lines owner () slightly lower after it extended the pause period for some of its brands.

IAG shed 4.3% at 188.3p after it warned the second quarter would be significantly worse than the first quarter. The company is considering making a meaningful return to service in July.

Unfortunately the numbers are going to get worse before they start to smooth out, because the sharp drop off in capacity happened when the quarter had already started; however the same can also be said for a number of the groups cost-saving plans, where were yet to see the benefits in the results. The net effect of these delays is yet to be determined, but one thing we do know is that we will be looking at a very different business on the other side of this storm, said Sophie Lund-Yates, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Carnival was 0.9% lower at 901p after its Princess Cruises cancelled selected cruises through to the end of the summer season.

Meanwhile, its Holland America Line has decided to extend its pause of global cruise operations and cancel all Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England cruises for 2020.

After a mid-morning dip, the Footsie has kicked on again, despite being weighed down by ().

The index of leading shares up 48 points (0.8%) at 5,902, even with telecoms giant 9.1% lower at 103.8p as it bowed to the inevitable with its overly generous dividend.

The decision to cancel the final dividend for the year to March 2020, pay nothing at all in the period to March 2021 and then halve the annual payment to 7.7p a share in fiscal 2022 saves BT some 3.3 billion and leaves income-hungry shareholders merely with the hope that there will be some long-term gain after this considerable short-term pain, said AJ Bells investment director, AJ Bell.

Confirmation that s and Telefonicas O2 are to mergewill not have helped sentiment towards BT, either.

Housebuilders are doing fine, though, despite a predictably downbeat Halifax house price index reading for April.

According to the mortgage lender, house prices fell 0.6% in March but were still 2.7% higher than in April 2019.

The impact of measures taken to curtail the spread of coronavirus started to filter through to the housing market in April, said the Halifaxs managing director, Russell Galley.

With market activity currently almost at a complete standstill, the limited number of transactions available means that calculating average house prices has inevitably become more challenging. This will lead to a great deal of volatility until more data becomes available, he explained.

Lucy Pendleton of estate agent James Pendleton not exactly a disinterested observer chose to put a positive spin on numbers that she conceded were not statistically significant.

If this data is worth anything at all, it actually betrays a story of strength. The annual growth rate remains nearly 3% and this is yet more evidence of how well the market was doing before the pandemic struck, she said.

This fact will play a significant role in what prices look like when the market restarts. A bullish picture going into this crisis actually means we are likely to see healthy prices when we return. There will be a period in which vendors test the water but you can expect them to stand behind valuations they were confident of achieving before the lockdown began, she opined.

Investors seemed to be on board with that analysis, and pushed the shares of PLC (), Holdings PLC (), PLC () and PLC () higher.

All were posting gains that surpassed the index;s advance; Barratt was up 2.9% at 532p; Berkeley was 1.6% higher at 4,265p; was 2.0% heavier at 2,295p; and was also up 2.0%, at 152.65p.

Ahead of the long weekend, Londons blue-chips are firmer on balance after trade data from China was not as terrible as feared.

The FTSE 100 was up 20 points (0.3%) at 5,873.

This mornings latest China trade numbers for April showed little evidence of a recovery in economic activity despite the lifting of lockdown back at the beginning of March, grumbled Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

Exports were better than expected, rising 3.5%, probably helped by the shipping of medical products like PPE as the rest of the world wrestled with the virus while in various states of lockdown. In worrying signs that internal demand remains weak imports slid much more than expected, falling sharply, by 14.2%, suggesting that while the economy was reopening activity was far from normal, with consumers behaving more cautiously.

The lack of any signs of a significant rebound in China along with yesterdays ghastly ADP employment report which saw over 20mln people lose their jobs in April is slowly bringing it home to markets the terrible economic toll the coronavirus pandemic is set to inflict on the US economy, as well as the global economy more broadly, Hewson opined, although if markets are getting the message, they are not getting it today.

The s policy makers have estimated that the UK economy will be 30% smaller by the end of the economy, which was a bigger fall than most pointy-headed members of the economic forecasting community were predicting.

Despite that, the Bank has opted not to any major policy changes today in the wake of a conflab between its policy makers.

Of course there is plenty of uncertainty about what will happen later this year and beyond, but we suspect the true path of the recovery will be more gradual. We dont expect the economy to recover its lost ground until at least 2022, and perhaps later, said Kalum Pickering at ING.

Pickering thinks an additional round of quantitative easing will arrive eventually and noted that interestingly two committee members voted for a 100bn extension at this meeting.

The FTSE 100 made a positive start on Thursday in the face of a grim update from the , which has warned that UK GDP could contract by 30% in the second quarter.

The index of UK blue-chips rose 30 points higher to 5,883.54. The London market will be closed tomorrow for the VE Day 75th anniversary bank holiday.

Perhaps acrumb of comfort from the update was the Banks prediction of a rapid recovery from its current dire position.

New BoE governor Andrew Bailey reckoned thus far there is only limited scarring to the economy thanks to financial support such as the Treasurys furlough scheme.

The Bank seems to be in the V-shaped recovery camp, said Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

Of course, the fear is the global economy could be driven into a prolonged and hugely damaging U-shaped recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

More monetary support is inevitable after the BoE also opted not to increase its asset purchase scheme and left interest rates on hold, reckons Wilson.

Two things stand out: Firstly, more QE [quantitative easing] is coming, even if its not today, he explained. Two members of the MPC [the Monetary Policy Committee] voted to increase the stock of asset purchases by 100bn at this meeting.

Turning to the market and corporate news, BT () has opted to forego the dividend for the first time in two decades in order to continue investing in its fibre broadband network. While the news was widely reported over the weekend, the stock still came under pressure early on as it slid 5.8%.

Rolls Royce () fell a further 4.4% after a union official was reported as saying the pandemic would be worse for the aero-engines giant than 9/11, adding it would be difficult to save jobs.

() () said it has reached an agreement with XCD Energy Ltds (LON:ASX:XCD) board for a unanimously recommended merger. The prior unsolicited takeover bid had achieved backing of about 18.5% of XCDs shareholders, and the recommended merger comes with improved terms. In the all-paper deal, 88 Energy will issue 2.4 new 88 Energy shares and 0.7 for every listed share option held -up from 1.67 per share and 0.5 per option. XCDs board now recommend that its shareholders accept the offer, in the absence of any superior proposals. They will hold around 20% of the enlarged company as a result of the transaction.

(), the AIM-listed drug discovery company, has announced plans to raise at least 1mln by placing shares at 15p a throw. C4X shares closed at 15.25p yesterday. The net proceeds from the placing will be used to further strengthen the companys balance sheet as its partnering and strategic collaborations progressand will boost working capital during the progression of its pipeline portfolio.

() has signed a clinical and commercial agreement with a US life sciences group for its cutting edge gene-editing technology. Caribou Biosciences will use MaxCytes flow electroporation systems and the companys ExPERT platform in its allogeneic t-cell therapy programmes. MaxCyte will receive undisclosed development and approval milestones as well as sales-based payments and other licensing fees. This important agreement represents another key expansion for MaxCyte, emphasising the value of our technology platform to companies developing pioneering gene-editing and cell therapies, MaxCytes chief executive, Doug Doerfler said in a statement.

() has announced the commencement of a three-week field exploration programme from this weekend on the gold-focused Big Bear property in Ontario, Canada. The main market-listed company, which is focused on mineral exploration in Canada and Australia, said the three-week work sampling and mapping programme, which will build its understanding of possible drill and trench targets is commencing on May 10. It noted that the work will target both orogenic gold and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) style mineralisation.

() said new positive data relating to its CTX cell therapy candidate have been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Stem Cells. The developer of cell-based therapeutics said the data was included in a paper entitled "Implantation of the clinical-grade human neural stem cell line, CTX0E03, rescues the behavioural and pathological deficits in the quinolinic acid-lesioned rodent model of Huntington's disease". It said the new data show for the first time that ReNeuron's CTX human neural stem cell line can rescue deficits associated with an accepted animal model of Huntington's disease, a progressive genetic brain disorder.

() has unveiled a new resource statement for the Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania. Total resources rise to 1.454mln tonnes at a grade of 10.3 grams per tonnes (g/t), for 483,000 ounces gold. There are 354,000 ounces in measured and inferred resources, 485,000 tonnes at 11.4 g/t in measured for 177,000 ounces and 492,000 tonnes at 11.2 g/t in indicated for 177,000 ounces. A further 477,000 tonnes at 8.4 g/t remains in the inferred resource category, and, the company told investors that significant additional gold potential is still to be assessed.

() has announced that Penny will become the new chair of its board with effect from February 1, 2021, replacing Richard Eyre who will complete nine years as its chairman on May 11, 2020. Ladkin-Brand, who has chaired the Next 15 Audit Committee since 2017, also becomes the companys Senior Independent Director with immediate effect. The group said its board has asked Eyre to continue in the post to the end of the current financial year, and, consequently, he will seek re-election at the AGM and be available to support a smooth transition. Ladkin-Brand is currently chief financial officer at (), the FTSE 250 global multi-platform media company, and she will be moving into a new role of chief strategy officer on June 1, 2020, and will step down from the groups board.

() said its portfolio firm Exscientia has entered into a collaboration with US research centre SRI International to expedite the discovery of molecules for a high value oncology target. The IP investor said the agreement will see the two firms implement a new approach to drug discovery using SRIs automated synthetic-chemistry system with Exscientia's Centaur Chemist system. Frontier IP owns a 2.3% stake in Exscientia.

Eden ResearchPLC () said it is poised to capitalise on new product and market opportunities in 2020 as it predicted more sales for its Cedroz product. Posting its results for the year endedDecember 31, 2019, the biopesticide specialist said it expected to build on the sales achieved in the territories where it received approvals during 2019 and early 2020, including sales for Cedroz in Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom where the applications for registrations have now been outstanding from the early part of 2019. The firm also said it expected US regulators to approve Cedroz and its Mevalone product during 2020, although the pace of approvals hasbeen slowed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

() has agreed to acquirea further 7% interest in the Otjozondu manganese mining project in Namibia. The transaction sees Premier buy a 7% interest in MN Holdings Limited, the projects owner, for US$700,000 paid in new shares. It will increase Premier Africans stake in MN to 19%. This further proposed increase in our holding in MNH is based on the same valuation formula applied to our initial acquisition, George Roach, Premier African's chief executive said in a statement released after the market close on Wednesday.

() has taken another important step towards the global launch of its phase III treatment for the rare skin condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB) by announcing its brand name. AP101 will be launched commercially as FILSUVEZ. This, alongside our recent completion of recruitment into the EASE study, represents further progress as we endeavour to develop a therapy for patients with EB, a rare and distressing genetic skin disorder affecting young children and adults for which there is currently no approved treatment," Amryt chief executive, Dr Joe Wiley said in a statement.

() said it has noted the recent rise in its share price and confirms that it knows of no reason for this movement. As announced on May 1, 2020, the company has completed the sale of Anglo African Oil & Gas Congo S.A.U to Zenith Energy Limited on the terms set out in the announcement of April 17, 2020.

Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN), a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases, said its annual general meeting will be held on June 9, 2020, at 10.00am at Herons Ghyll, Tilford Road, Tilford, Surrey GU10 2DD. It added that in order to comply with the UK Government's Stay at Home measures, shareholders will not be allowed to attend the meeting in person and are strongly encouraged to, therefore, submit their votes, in respect of all matters of business, via proxy as early as possible. If the situation changes then shareholders will be notified via the company's website at https://www.silence-therapeutics.com and via RNS announcement.

(LON:WBI_, the African focused forestry and timber trading company, has announced that following the release of the audited results for the year ended December 31, 2019 on April 30, the company has made their latest corporate presentation available from the investor centre of the company's website.

() (ASX:BSE), the African mineral sands producer, has announced that the latest investor update presentation is now available from the companys website - http://www.baseresources.com.au - and a pre-recorded webcast of that presentation can be viewed at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/6av8h2ew

After a volatile Wednesday, the London market looks set to start flat for the last session of the short week.

CFD firm IG Markets calls the FTSE 100 up only 4 points, making the price 5,848 to 5851 with just over an hour to go until the start of trading.

With the Friday bank holiday looming and anticipation of the next government decisions on lockdown sentiments are tempered and trading activity may be somewhat muted without other external stimuli.

Thursdays diary will have some important update, not least BTs pending dividend decision, meanwhile, the policy decision is also due later today along with an inflation report.

Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, suggested that the central banks bond-buying campaign is far from done.

Todays inflation report and virtual press conference at 10am, is likely to paint a dark outlook for the UK economy, not only for this year, but also for the next few years as rising unemployment triggers a tsunami of defaults and bankruptcies.

The growth forecasts are likely to be moved into line with assessments from the likes of the OECD and the IMF, which suggests we could see a figure in the region of -7.5%. It was notable that Andrew Bailey didnt demur too much when a figure of -12% was put to him recently, however this was put to him within a range of -5% to -12%.

He added: With Brexit also a clear and present threat to both the UK and other European economies, the road ahead looks an extremely bumpy and potholed one, and as any driver will tell you, a road full of potholes will prevent you from picking up any sort of acceleration to a steady cruising speed.

Last night saw a mixed close for US equities as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up more than 200 points, or 0.91%, to finish at 23,664 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.7% to 2,848 whilst the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 8,854.

In Asia, Japans Nikkei 225 was a sliver higher at 19,624 and Hong Kongs Hang Seng was 0.76% lower at 23,954. The Shanghai Composite, meanwhile, dipped 0.32% to 2,858.

interest rate decision

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FTSE 100 closes up and nearing 6,000 as investor optimism continues - Proactive Investors UK

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In 2014, a sardonic tweet about the differences between mens and womens deodorant descriptors went viral. It read: Women's deodorant scents: rose, cotton, spring, meadow.

Mens: WINTER ICE, SHARKNADO, GLACIER PUNCH, ANTIFREEZE, GUN. The tweet, which was shared more than 24,000 times, inspired scores of similar, fabricated product names poking fun at the gendered way in which skincare and grooming products are typically marketed to men and women.

Read more: Coming Out As Trans Non-Binary To My Boss Taught Me A Lesson About Expecting More

Satire aside, anyone browsing the toiletries aisle cant help but be aware of the invisible barrier and, more often than not, the clearly marked signs separating the droves of baby-pink, pastel and powder-blue womens skincare products from the mostly monochromatic mens grooming choices, reassuring prospective purchasers that they are, in fact, suitable for men. Aside from the potentially harmful psychological effects of gender-specific marketing, the very real pink tax fosters another type of inequity in 2015, a study commissioned by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs uncovered that, on average, personal-care products marketed to women will cost up to 13 per cent more than similar products targeted at men.

As we move towards more inclusive definitions of gender, is gendered skincare simply an antiquated (and sexist) marketing ploy or does it truly cater to the distinct needs of male and female skin compositions?

Read more: These Gender Neutral Salons Are A Pink Tax-Free Zone

Its no secret that industry insiders have known for a while now that gender in consumption is often nothing more than a social construct. Were conditioned from a young age to classify certain colours, toys and products as feminine, while we gradually learn to think of others as specifically masculine. Just think of the toys you giddily unwrapped before tucking into your Happy Meal as a child dolls for the girls, cars for the boys.

This phenomenon continues to inform our thinking well into adulthood, with men tending to be more concerned with maintaining a masculine identity and choosing to buy products that align themselves with that image; its even been shown that men purchase more in the presence of a strong-looking man. Such intelligence is invaluable for marketers determined to bolster their bottom line.

Marketing strategies and social conditioning notwithstanding, is mens skin really different enough to warrant an entirely separate skincare regimen? While its true that mens skin is between 20 and 25 per cent thicker than womens (as it contains more collagen and elastin) and it tends to produce more oil, the American Academy of Dermatology assures us that the basics of our daily skincare regime should be the same, regardless of gender. Instead of thinking of skin as either male or female, the most important factors to look out for when putting together an effective skincare routine are skin type (normal, sensitive, oily, dry or combination) and areas of concern think anti-ageing, blemishes, dark spots, and so on.

With consumers everywhere increasingly casting a critical eye on traditional beauty norms, the past few years have witnessed a sharp rise in gender-neutral skincare. Well-established brands and products that have long positioned themselves as neutral go-tos such as Australian heavyweight Aesop and ubiquitous unisex fragrances, including CK One, are now being joined by up-and-coming newcomers aiming to disrupt the gender-specific market.

Panacea, the K-Beauty-inspired skincare line, continues its hot streak in 2020. The brainchild of Korean-American co-founder Terry Lee, Panacea was conceived with the idea of introducing a gender-agnostic approach to skincare, while reducing the typical (and time-consuming) 10-step, K-Beauty approach to a mere three steps. The newest addition to the ever-expanding roster of universal pampering products is American Eagles in-house wellness and skincare line, Mood. This non-gendered range of hemp-derived CBD products includes everything from face oil and bath bombs to pillow mists.

Also looking to break down gender-specific beauty is Alll, which provides a personalised, DNA-based approach to skincare. Recent studies suggest our genetics account for 50 to 60 per cent of ageing, says Dr Elisabet Hagert, co-founder of Alll. This means how we age really is dependent on our genetic predispositions. Based on an in-depth DNA analysis, a bespoke skincare line is created, targeting individual concerns at a granular level regardless of gender.

As we progress into the new decade, were being spoiled for choice when it comes to skincare and grooming solutions with an emphasis on skin type and areas of concern, rather than gender. The only question that remains is this: with us men being fiercely brand loyal, will we be willing to leave our Sharknado-scented deodorants behind?

More from British Vogue:

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Is The Future Of Beauty Non-Binary? - British Vogue

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Donald Trump has excelled at stand-out advice to head off major disasters. Anyone remember his sage exhortation for avoiding worldwide arboreal conflagrations? Yes, rake your forest floors. Last month he surpassed himself much more dangerously with an astonishing suggestion for curing COVID-19 victims - inject them with disinfectant.

As the world races to find answers to the disease, we are still deep in the realms of speculation. Some theories seem more feasible than others, but by comparison with the above, the smorgasbord of theories explored below should seem far less unlikely than they might otherwise appear.

The main COVID-19 risks

In the previous article to this one, several groups were mentioned as being at higher risk.

It's now become more well established that:

We also know that compared to viral pneumonia, higher levels of co-morbidities are involved amongst ICU COVID-19 patients, with high blood pressure, high BMI and diabetes featuring strongly. However, co-morbidities are not the whole answer to why certain people are worse affected.

A study of 28% of all UK hospitalised COVID-19 patients (16,749) found 47% had no documented comorbidity. Among the rest, the most common noted at admission were chronic cardiac disease (29%), uncomplicated diabetes (19%), chronic pulmonary disease excluding asthma (19%) and asthma (14%). (Hypertension was not one of the criteria searched on, but is often mentioned elsewhere.)

The tricky thing about all these associations with the disease is working out which of them actually tell us anything useful. It's very easy to look at each one in isolation and jump to conclusions. It's also difficult to separate differences between the rates of infection (differentiating exposure vs susceptibility), severe symptoms and mortality, which don't always match between groups.

Why are men harder hit?

Contrary to what their partners might suggest, it's not to do with differences in hand-washing. Men and women are equally likely to contract the virus. That's where equality ends. Men are in the majority to be hospitalised with COVID-19 (60%), and to end up in ICU (72%) and, once there, are less likely to survive (51% of the men died, while only 43% of the women did). In the ONS statistics, this translates to men accounting for nearly two thirds of COVID-19 related deaths in the 45-64 and 65-74 age groups. (The proportion lowers with increasing age, as there are more older women.)

An intriguing fact comes out of the Continuous Mortality Investigation's analysis of excess death rates. In week 17, for over 75s, men and women had pretty much the same percentage increase of death rates (+129% to +138%). But whilst younger men were also dying twice as fast as expected, for women rates were up by relatively lower rates: 73% vs expected amongst 45-64 year-olds and 59% if 65-74.

Thoughts so far about the role of testosterone and oestrogen have proved inconclusive, although the latter is being looked at more closely. Female immune systems certainly give general improved protection, producing higher levels of antibodies and preventing as much viral load and inflammation as suffered by men. One of the explanations offered is to do with the X-chromosome, of which female DNA has two. However, none of this explains why the male disadvantage is so pronounced for this type of infection compared to others.

Smoke and mirrors

One suggested explanation for the gender split has been that men more likely to be smokers than women and tend to smoke more heavily. This is especially true in China. However, conflicting data there makes a link look less likely than you'd guess. Although some smokers fared less well with severe symptoms, smokers were very much under-represented amongst patients.

In the UK, the link is also tenuous, as we have now have low numbers of smokers to start with and the ratio of male smokers to female is only 1.3 vs their ratio of arrival for COVID-19 in ICU, being 2.5.

The high rate of severe COVID-19 amongst Asian and Black ethnicities is also a confounder for smoking as a top risk factor. Smoking prevalence in these groups in the UK is about 2/3 of that for whites.

Even more surprisingly, whilst no-one's suggesting taking up smoking, a French study appeared to show that people who smoke are 80% less likely to catch COVID-19 than non-smokers of the same age and sex. This seems counter to other findings that smokers fare less well when it comes to worse symptoms and the fact that smokers have more ACE2 receptors, which are the route in that the virus uses.

A possible explanation is in the difference between incidence and severity. Inhalation of nitric oxide could help prevent infection, whereas once the virus manages to get a grip, the damage already done by smoking makes patients more vulnerable.

Genetics

The King's College Twins study team using the ZOE COVID-19 symptom study app, now with about three million UK users, found from analysing 2,633 twin users of the app that roughly half of the difference in symptoms between people can be explained by underlying variations in their genes, while the rest is due to other factors such as amount of viral exposure (viral load), underlying health conditions, environment and lifestyle.

This lends credence to the idea that genetic differences could explain part of the differences in severity of symptoms and in mortality between the sexes and different races.

The BAME concern

Concerns have been raised about the disproportionately high numbers of people of Black, Asian and mixed ethnicity (BAME) vs White COVID-19 patients. For example, ONS data just out shows Black males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a COVID-19-related death and Black females are 4.3 times more likely than White ethnicity males and females.

As you'd expect, wide differences within ethnic sub-groups exist, making analysis difficult.

Higher levels of diabetes among some groups has been thought to be one potential factor.

Early high level indications had suggested that case fatality rates are no worse than for Whites, after controlling for other factors. This suggested the main problem is exposure in the first place. This can be related to location, occupations in the front line whether in healthcare or service roles, and also factors to do with relative poverty and overcrowded housing.

However, the new ONS data counters that as the whole answer. Controlling for socio-economic background as well as age and sex, all groups, except for Chinese women, showed a higher risk than Whites, with Blacks still being at almost double the risk.

Solutions ruled out or being tested

Apart from those New Yorkers discovering ingestion of disinfectant results in internal burns, many other more plausible things have been tried and don't seem to help much or are being tested but results aren't out yet. Among the don't help list are:

Among the longshots being tested for symptomatic relief or immunity are:

Rays of hope

Despite the horrifying numbers we've been seeing, we can at least be heartened by the falls in case numbers of late and the speed at which researchers of all sorts are throwing light on the facts which will ultimately help us better defend ourselves against this horrible virus.

On a lighter note, we could find that Trump is right for once, when it comes to the benefits of sunlight. Not only is UV light a known disinfectant, but the race is on to determine the correlations between COVID-19 experience and exposure to the sun. It's hypothesized that benefits of sunlight on the skin - vitamin D and nitric oxide production - act to reduce vulnerability due to factors such as hypertension, obesity, blood clotting problems and immune dysfunction.

Release of lockdown into the sunny weather could be just what the doctor ordered.

Ruth Gilbert heads up insuringchange.co.uk

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COVID-19: Rays of hope amid the gloom - COVER

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]]> An oil drilling rig in the North Sea. Credit: Erik Christensen.

While much of the oil and gas industry begins to focus its efforts on decommissioning, and transitioning to a world where oil production, if not oil usage, will form a smaller part of the global energy mix, there are a few companies continuing to invest in and extend the lives of their projects.

Equinors Statfjord field is perhaps the most obvious example, with the company recently announcing that the Statfjord A platform will continue to produce oil into 2027, close to its 50thyear of active operation. The field is estimated to have generated $180bn in income over its lengthy lifespan, and with the drilling of 100 new wells planned, the operators seem to be confident that despite the general trend of the industry, profit and productivity remain in the field.

But its not just majors who are engaging in asset life extension, with this optimistic approach trickling down to smaller players in the North Sea. One such company is Rockrose Energy, a UK-based independent that announced earlier this year that production at its Ross and Blake fields in the North Sea will be extended by five years, pushing the fields expected lifespans into 2029.

With the operators expanding the fields potential production by more than two million barrels of oil equivalent, the project is an identical case study in optimism and a focus on the bottom line to Equinors expansion, but on a more local scale. Yet it remains to be seen if Rockroses project will prove financially viable in the long-term, and how the expansion work will fit into an industry that, despite a few examples, seems committed to decommissioning.

Decommissioning is becoming an increasingly vital aspect of the North Sea oil and gas industry. Oil and Gas UK reported at the end of 2019 that the UK offshore sector is expected to spend over $19bn on decommissioning over the next decade, with well decommissioning in particular accounting for 45% of the forecast expenditure for oil and gas companies over the next ten years.

Yet Rockrose is undeterred, with managing director Peter Mann noting that it is part of the companys strategy to extend field life and push back decommissioning. Plans at Ross and Blake are in line with that.

The firm plans to invest $250m into the two fields, in which it owns a 30.8% stake, to fund new drilling work that will see two additional infill wells constructed

This optimistic investment follows a productive few years for the companythat has encouraged Rockrose to take a more proactive, expansionist approach to its assets, at a time where much of the industry is looking towards decommissioning. Rockrose has seen productivity increase at its operations in recent years, posting an increase in annual production across all of its operations across the North Sea of 117% in 2019 compared to 2018 figures.Furthermore,with over 100 million barrels of oil equivalent beneath its platforms in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) alone, the firm is optimistic that its projects will continue to be productive and profitable.

Mann was also eager to point out Rockroses recent commitment to proactive asset acquisition and ensuring high standards of occupational health and safety, both of which could help stabilise the company and its assets in an industry whose future is increasingly uncertain, creating a coherent identity for the firm to unite its operations across its assets.

Rockrose has established HSE policies in place, which ensure the safety and wellbeing of its employees and contractors, he said. This was reflected at Brae, where in 2019 the total number of HSE incidents fell by 39% to 17, with only seven of these taking place post-completion of the acquisition of the Marathon UK deal, which included the Brae assets.

As a result, Rockrose has aimed to position itself as an active and dynamic actor in a sector often considered backward-looking and resistant to change; last July, for instance, the company completed the $95m acquisition of Marathon Oil, a deal which saw assets worth 28 million barrels of oil equivalent come under the operation of Rockrose, significantly expanding the companys influence in the North Sea.

Rockroses approach appears to have yielded financial dividends, at least in the short term, with dramatic improvements in raw production figures and profits over the last year. The company saw a 311% increase in gas production from 2018 to 2019, alongside a 55% increase in oil production over the same period, and a total increase in revenues of 64% across its oil and gas operations.

In the companys annual report, executive chairman Andrew Austin echoed this sentiment, predicting a 9% increase in production between 2019 and 2020 that would see the firms total output reach around 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day

Yet while these figures are undoubtedly impressive, they are undermined by the companys vast capital expenditure, which has been enough to keep the company producing in the short term, yet it is unclear as to the sustainability of this level of investment; between 2018 and 2019, capital expenditure increased by a dramatic 624% to $76.9m. Perhaps most concerning, however, is the 292% increase in abandonment expenditure, with RockRose spending over $9m on abandonment work in 2019, despite its broad aims to delay decommissioning work where possible.

In 2017, Rockrose commissioned oil and gas evaluation firm ERC Equipoise to assess the companys long-term financial viability, and the companys conclusions could be a concern for Rockrose. ERC Equipoise predicted that cost inflation would increase from 1.02% in 2018 to 1.4% in 2034, which could drive up operational expenses for a company that has already invested a significant sum across its operations.

Yet according to Mann, this ever-increasing spend is simply part of a changing oil and gas landscape in the UK.

The UK North Sea continues to represent a significant opportunity, said Mann. There is a changing of the guard in the UKCS, with some of the larger international companies refocusing elsewhere, which leaves opportunities for smaller, flexible and ambitious companies with strong balance sheets, like Rockrose, to take on the assets and maximise their economic recovery and potential.

Should the oil and gas landscape shift away from major companies with decades-old projects, towards these smaller, more agile firms with fewer assets, Rockroses vision of smaller projects with significant financial margins could be realised. Despite investment of $248m into the Ross and Blake fields as part of the latest round of expansion alone, the firm still posted an end-of-year balance of $203m at the end of 2019, compared to $38m at the end of 2018.

Financial risks certainly remain for those eager to pursue asset expansion at this point in time, but Rockrose is proving that there could be a way forward for independent companies willing to take these kindsof financial risks.

Continued here:
Asset life extension: viable in the long term for oil and gas? - Offshore Technology

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Here's What You Need To Remember:While the Mercury has demonstrated its usefulness as an airborne communication hub for supporting troops in the field, the airborne command post will be considered a success if it never has to execute its primary mission.

In a military that operates Raptor stealth fighters, A-10 tank busters, B-52 bombers and Harrier jump jets, the U.S. Navys placid-looking E-6 Mercury, based on the 707 airliner, seems particularly inoffensive. But dont be deceived by appearances. Though the Mercury doesnt carry any weapons of its own, it may be in a sense the deadliest aircraft operated by the Pentagon, as its job is to command the launch of land-based and sea-based nuclear ballistic missiles.

Of course, the U.S. military has a ground-based strategic Global Operations Center in Nebraska, and land-based transmitters for communicating with the nuclear triad. However, the E-6s sinister purpose is to maintain the communication link between the national command authority (starting with the president and secretary of defense) and U.S. nuclear forces, even if ground-based command centers are destroyed by an enemy first strike. In other words, you can chop off the head of the U.S. nuclear forces, but the body will keep on coming at you, thanks to these doomsday planes.

The E-6s basic mission is known as Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO). Prior to the development of the E-6, theTACAMOmission was undertaken by land-based transmitter and laterEC-130Gand Q Hercules aircraft, which had Very Low Frequency radios for communication with navy submarines. Interestingly, France also operated its ownTACAMOaircraft until 2001, four modifiedTransallC-160HAstarttransports, which maintainedVLFcommunications with French ballistic-missile submarines.

The first of sixteenE-6sentered service between 1989 and 1992. These were the last built in averylong line of military variants of the venerable Boeing 707 airliner, in particular the707-320BAdvanced, also used in theE-3 Sentry. Bristling with thirty-one communication antennas, theE-6Aswere originally tasked solely with communicating with submerged Navy submarines. Retrofitted with more fuel-efficientCFM-56turbojets and benefiting from expanded fuel tanks, theE-6Acould remain in the air up to fifteen hours, or seventy-two with inflight refueling.

To use its Very Low Frequency radios, an E-6 has to fly in a continuous orbit at a high altitude, with its fuselage- and tail-mounted VLF radios trailing one- and five-mile-long wire antennas at a near-vertical attitude! The VLF signals can be received byOhio-class nuclear ballistic-missile submarineshiding deep underwater, thousands of miles away. However, the VLF transmitters limited bandwidth means they can only send raw data at around thirty-five alphanumeric characters per secondmaking them alotslower than even the old 14k internet modems of the 1990s. Still, its enough to transmit Emergency Action Messages, instructing the ballistic-missile subs to execute one of a diverse menu of preplanned nuclear attacks, ranging from limited to full-scale nuclear strikes. The E-6s systems are also hardened to survive the electromagnetic pulse from nuclear weapons detonating below.

Between 1997 and 2006, the Pentagon upgraded the entire E-6A fleet to the dual-role E-6B, which expanded the Mercurys capabilities by allowing it to serve as an Airborne Nuclear Command Post with its own battle staff area for the job. In this role it serves as a backup for four huge E-4 command post aircraft based on the 747 Jumbo jet. The E-6B has ultra-high-frequency radios in its Airborne Launch Control system that enable it to remotely launch land-based ballistic missiles from their underground silos, a task formerly assigned to U.S. Air Force EC-135 Looking Glass aircraftyet another 707 variant. The E-6s crew was expanded from fourteen to twenty-two for the command post mission, usually including an onboard admiral or general. Additional UHF radios give the E-6B access to the survivable MILSTAR satellite communications network, while the cockpit is upgraded up with new avionics and instruments from the 737NG airliner. The E-6B can be distinguished in photos by its additional wing-mounted pods.

The Mercurys abundant communications gear allows it to perform nonnuclear Command, Control and Communications (C3) operations as well. For this reason, E-6s have at times been deployed to Europe and the Middle East to serve as flying C3 hubs. For example, VQ-4 was deployed in Qatar for three years from 2006 to 2009, where it relayed information such as IED blast reports and medical evacuation requests from U.S. troops in Iraq who were out of contact with their headquarters.

Two Navy Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadrons currently operate the E-6: VQ-3 Ironmen and VQ-4 Shadows, both under the Navy Strategic Communications Wing 1. These have their home at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, but also routinely forward deploy out of Travis AFB in California and Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. At least one E-6 is kept airborne at all times. E-6s on the submarine-communication mission often fly in circles over the ocean at the lowest possible speedfor as long as ten hours at a time. Those performing the nuclear command post mission typically remain on alert near Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The E-6s nuclear mission has also made its operations occasional fodder for conspiracy theorists and foreign propaganda outlets.

The E-6 platform should remain in service until 2040 thanks to a service-life extension program and continual tweaks to its systems and radios. While the Mercury has demonstrated its usefulness as an airborne communication hub for supporting troops in the field, the airborne command post will be considered a success if it never has to execute its primary mission. The heart of nuclear deterrence, after all, is convincing potential adversaries that no first strike will be adequate to prevent a devastating riposte. The E-6s are vital component in making that threat a credible one.

Sbastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history forWar Is Boring.

This first appeared in December 2017.

Image: Wikipedia.

See the article here:
America's Looking Glass: How The E-6 Mercury Could Destroy The World - The National Interest

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Yield10 Bioscience develops new technologies to increase crop yield in support of a more sustainable food system.

Founded in 1992, the companys focus is metabolic engineering technologies using predictive models to facilitate gene discovery. The aim is to enhance photosynthesis and improve seed and crop yield. The ultimate goal is to make major food crops more productive.

The company is working with a strong pipeline of genetic traits and has achieved initial encouraging yield improvement results in canola, soybean, rice and corn.

According to CEO Dr Oliver Peoples, the biggest gains to be made through CRISPR genome-editing lie in staple food and feed crops.

CRISPR genome-editing can benefit the entire agriculture industry when applied to large acreage of staple food and feed crops such as corn, soybean, canola, rice, wheat, potato and more. Provided the regulatory processes are based on science, genome editing will also be useful in fresh produce crops and for other types of food staples, like cassava and millet, which are important in less developed countries.

CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are the hallmarks of the bacterial defence system, which forms the basis of CRISPR-Cas genome editing technology.

CRISPR can be used as an advanced plant-breeding tool. It facilitates crop breeding by making cuts at specific locations in a plant genome. Subsequent repair of the cut by the cells endogenous repair mechanism can introduce precise changes.Unlike GMOs, the system works with the native characteristics in the crop and does not introduce new genes. Supporters argue that this means that the biotechnology poses fewer risk factors than GMOs and the process is frequently compared to traditional crop breeding techniques.

Dr Peoples believes that CRISPR will need to be used alongside traditional breeding and GMOs to support food system sustainability. We need traditional breeding, CRISPR and GMO technologies to ensure sustainable global food security, he told FoodNavigator.

In order to feed the estimated 10 billion people by 2050 using the existing land and resources we have available; the agriculture industry needs to incorporate CRISPR genome-editing to enhance crop efficiency.

The key to improving crop genetics has been to use genetic diversity available within a plant species through breeding. By crossing two different plants we are transferring DNA or genes from one plant into the other and then screening to see if that creates a beneficial trait. CRISPR is just a new tool for creating targeted genetic diversity in a crop.

Dr Peoples places these developments in the context of the changing global climate, which brings increased extreme weather events, and the growing population. These factors mean that there is a pressing need to develop new crop varieties that can withstand challenging weather and produce a greater yield on the same amount of land.

The challenges with sustainable food production caused by climate change are due to the unpredictable and variable seasonal weather extremes that farmers are now experiencing. These include drought, flooding, heat and late or early frosts, all of which can have different impacts across even a single growing season. As the average temperature increases, farmers crops also face more pressure from disease and insects.

Using CRISPR genome-edited traits can help make crops more resilient to these weather extremes and disease pressures. The types of genetic traits can be grouped into two key categories; yield traits and stress tolerance traits.

Yield traits focus on photosynthetic efficiency of a crop during the growing season to either protect seed yield under poor growing conditions or to increase the seed yield of a crop, the latter being crucially important to meet the needs of the growing global population.

Stress tolerance traits help increase a crops resiliency such that yields are not reduced by environmental stressors often associated with climate change such as heat, cold, drought and flooding. Each of these types of traits have a common goal and that is to protect food production so incorporating both, not just one or the other, will be key to overcoming challenging growing seasons stemming from climate change and meeting food security demands.

Traditional plant breeding techniques have been used for thousands of years in crop cultivation. Gene editing offers two key advantages: speed and precision.

Plant breeding for new or improved traits like drought tolerance requires access to new genetic diversity in the form of different DNA sequences. Breeders have used many techniques to create that genetic diversity including radiation and chemical mutagenesis in their breeding programs.

CRISPR genome-editing is a precise plant breeding technique and accelerates the trait development process by activating and suppressing very specific genes in the plant DNA in a highly precise and targeted way. This means its a faster, more efficient approach to create crops with ideal traits such as increased yield and resilience.

Dr Peoples argued that CRISPR and indeed genetic engineering are more precise and even safer than some traditional plant breeding methods, such as radiation mutagenesis.

GMOs have been poorly received by European regulators and significantly consumers. Unlike CRISPR, genetic modification works by introducing new DNA to plants.

Dr Peoples believes that GMOs are an important piece of the toolbox for delivering food security and, again, he compares the techniques used to more orthodox agricultural methods. Take for example the use of pest resistance genes from bacteria, which were introduced into crops to make them insect resistant. This is basically the equivalent to vaccinating the plant, so it has immunity to the pest. The same genes and resistance proteins are used extensively in organic farming by spraying them onto the plants. GMO is simply a more efficient process for accomplishing the same goal which is to protect the crop from insects.

Nevertheless, European regulators take a relatively tough stance on controlling GMOs, the definition of which includes CRISPR techniques.

Dr Peoples said he believes this stance to be politically and economically driven rather than based on the scientific facts. First, there is not a single crop grown in the EU that has not been developed using some form of genetic engineering. Crossing different varieties of plant is, after all, the basis of plant breeding and the purpose is to take DNA from one variety and introduce it into the other using sexual crossing.

The anti-GMO stance of the EU is driven primarily by misinformation to the public from NGOs and market protectionism to sustain the EUs common agricultural policy. The EU imports large quantities of GMO soybean meal from both North and South America for animal feed, so where they have a need, they adapt and follow the science.

He also took aim at Europes controversial decision to lump CRISPR gene editing into its definition of GMOs. I dont believe theres a clear misunderstanding of what CRISPR genome-editing is and how it differs from genetic modification. The EU regulatory bodies have been educated about these differences. In fact, the EU regulatory body initially took the position that CRISPR genome editing is different from genetic modification before pressures from anti-GMO groups drove a 2019 EU court ruling blocking this position.

Dr Peoples suggested that little can be done to win over these anti-GMO lobbyists. I doubt that it matters to these groups which form of genetic engineering is used. Their business model centers around a firm anti-genetic engineering or GMO stance, so the scientific facts dont matter as much as staying on message.

However, he said that the public mood towards gene editing appears to be shifting: Thanks to new advancements and education around this technology, more everyday consumers are embracing CRISPR genome editing. Since this technique uses a plants existing DNA, it feels closer to the traditional breeding techniques, appears safer and doesnt warrant the same backlash as GM.

In order to support this shift, the scientific community is pushing back against the anti-GMO rhetoric to spotlight the economic, health, social and environmental benefits of CRISPR genome-editing.

In the EU, EASAC, the voice of independent science advice, has called for radical reform of EU legislation around GMOs noting that current regulations are no longer fit for purpose.

Efforts to communicate and educate are vital to gaining support, Dr Peoples suggested. Progress has been made but in order to create a substantial impact, the scientific community needs to continue working with various governments and regulatory bodies to educate consumers and legislators about the benefits these breeding techniques can offer.

Dr Peoples also suggested that attitudes towards the use of science in food are being shaped by external events. Necessity, it would seem, not only proves the mother of invention but also of acceptance.

Minimizing the effects of climate change and creating a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle are two key factors weighing heavily on genetically engineered crop acceptance. For example, the plant-based meat trend has been advertised as a healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional meat, and some of these plant-based substitutes have been developed using GMO products.

For millennials, climate change and sustainability are their key decision drivers and they are more open to technology in general. Many are not vested in the anti-GMO falsehoods which sustained the entire careers of anti GMO activists before evolving into a negative marketing tool. Were living in a time where consumer decisions are driven by their social, economic, environmental and health interests.

The current coronavirus crisis the first global pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu has led to people feeling threatened physically and economically by the COVID-19 virus. This, too, is making people more open to science-based solutions.

Now more than ever we are looking to science for solutions and the specific scientific method or tool for creating that solution simply does not matter. The third-generation vaccine developed by the Canadian Government and Merck for Ebola is a great example of the power of genetic engineering tools and the benefits to humanity of a GMO product. Work is underway at the University of Oxford in the UK and probably elsewhere to develop a COVID-19 vaccine using a similar approach.

However, Dr Peoples added, there are limits: For the first time in many decades the availability of food is once more a question. The availability of an effective vaccine will not change the minds of many anti-vaxers just like the use of new genetic engineering tools wont change the minds of anti-GMO activists.

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CRISPR genome editing to address food security and climate change: 'Now more than ever we are looking to science for solutions' - FoodNavigator.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

ZUG, Switzerland and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases, today announced that Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics, is scheduled to present at the virtual Bank of America Securities 2020 Health Care Conference on Thursday, May 14, 2020, at 11:40 a.m. ET.

A live webcast of the fireside chat will be available on the "Events & Presentations" page in the Investors section of the Company's website at https://crisprtx.com/events. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Company's website for 14 days following the presentation.

About CRISPR TherapeuticsCRISPR Therapeutics is a leading gene editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic partnerships with leading companies including Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ViaCyte, Inc. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and business offices in San Francisco, California and London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit http://www.crisprtx.com.

Investor Contact:Susan Kimsusan.kim@crisprtx.com

Media Contact:Rachel Eides WCG on behalf of CRISPR617-337-4167reides@wcgworld.com

The rest is here:
CRISPR Therapeutics to Present at the Bank of America Securities 2020 Health Care Conference - Yahoo Finance

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Wide-spread testing has long been the Achilles' heel of the U.S. response efforts. Shortages, false negatives, and inaccurate kits have plagued efforts to provide quick and easy results to Americans. But scientists hope a new test can be the answer to that problem. In other testing news: antibody tests, false negatives and states' ongoing efforts to ramp up screenings.

The New York Times:With Crispr, A Possible Quick Test For The CoronavirusA team of scientists has developed an experimental prototype for a fairly quick, cheap test to diagnose the coronavirus that gives results as simply as a pregnancy test does. The test is based on a gene-editing technology known as Crispr, and the researchers estimated that the materials for each test would cost about $6. Were excited that this could be a solution that people wont have to rely on a sophisticated and expensive laboratory to run, said Feng Zhang, a researcher at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass., and one of the pioneers of Crispr technology. (Zimmer, 5/5)

ABC News:Roche CEO Severin Schwan Says Producing New Antibody Test Part Of Busiest Time In His CareerSeverin Schwan, the CEO of Swiss drugmaker Roche, says employees from across the company are coming together to contribute to meeting the aggressive manufacturing targets the company has promised after receiving emergency Food and Drug Administration approval for its COVID-19 antibody test on Sunday. "I mean, even in the packaging lines, we have our employees who come from all over the place, who raised their hand and who say ... 'Can I help out in the warehouse?'" Schwan said in an interview with ABC News. "The engagement is -- and the commitment and the passion is -- really enormous. I can't tell you how proud I am of the organization and how they excel during this difficult, unprecedented time." (Bolton, 5/5)

Boston Globe:Walthams PerkinElmer Gets Emergency Approval For COVID-19 Antibodies TestPerkinElmer, the Waltham-based diagnostics maker, said Tuesday that a subsidiary has obtained an "emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for a test that detects antibodies in the blood of people who fought off COVID-19. The test made by EUROIMMUN, a subsidiary based in Lubeck, Germany, is one of a dozen made by different companies that have won such approvals, according to the FDA website. (Saltzman, 5/5)

Cincinnati Enquirer:COVID-19: Who's At Fault When A Negative Test Is False? Maybe NobodyWhen a Hyde Park woman was tested for COVID-19 and the test came back negative despite her symptoms, she was perplexed, disappointed and anxious. She was clearly sick and doctors ultimately decided to treat her. So who was at fault? Maybe nobody. That's because even a good test can end in a bad or faulty result. Improving test reliability is important, as Ohio, Kentucky and other states start to loosen restrictions on business and rely on tests to find people who need treatment. (Mitchell, 5/5)

Politico:Bubble Bursts On Cuomos Hope Of 'Immunity' TestingAs his state was being ravaged by the worst coronavirus outbreak in the country in early April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered a glimpse of hope to those looking for a quick restart of New Yorks economy: An antibody test, developed in a state laboratory, may be able to confirm immunity for a vast number of New Yorkers. By last week, Cuomo and other officials had retreated from the approach, pointing instead to other metrics that may indicate the best way to avoid future waves of the virus. Cuomo is now describing the immunity idea as little more than a theory. (Gronewold and Young, 5/5)

WBUR:Florida Boosts COVID-19 Testing, Sending New-Case Rate To A Record LowFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis says his state has hit a new record low in the rate of positive test results for COVID-19, as only around 2.5% of nearly 24,000 tests confirmed an infection on Monday. The test results were the most Florida has received in a single day. The governor celebrated the good news, which emerged one day after Florida relaxed shutdown restrictions on restaurants and retail stores in much of the state. (Chappell, 5/5)

Read more:
Utilizing CRISPR, Scientists Develop Prototype For Coronavirus Test That Could Be As Quick, Easy As A Pregnancy One - Kaiser Health News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

New Delhi: Scientists from Delhi based-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) would work together with Tata Sons to develop Indias first paper-strip test for rapid diagnosis of Covid-19.

The premier CSIR laboratory has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Sons for licensing of know-how and scaling up the technology in the form a kit which can be deployed for Covid-19 testing on the ground by the end of May.

The testing approach was developed by a team led by scientists, Dr Souvik Maiti and Dr Debjyoti Chakraborty from CSIR-IGIB in early April and named Feluda - FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay (Feluda), after a famous fictional character that appeared in short stories written by noted filmaker Satyajit Ray.

The test uses cutting-edge, futuristic gene-editing tool- Crispr-Cas9 to target and identify the genomic sequences of the novel coronavirus in the samples of suspected individuals.

The technology was conceived and developed at CSIR IGIB under sickle cell mission and utilizes an indigenously developed cutting edge CRISPR Cas9. A combination of CRISPR biology and paper-strip chemistry leads to a visible signal readout on a paper strip that can be rapidly assessed for confirming the presence of viral infection in a sample," said Dr Anurag Aggarwal, Director, IGIB, New Delhi.

Unlike the real time PCR test currently used for diagnosis of Covid-19 in India, costing about 4500, this test would be affordable, since it does not depend on expensive real-time PCR machines which are already in limited supply.

We are happy to enter into a partnership with IGIB for further development and commercialization of this CRISPR based technology for COVID-19 detection. It uses a test protocol that is simple to administer and easy to interpret enabling results to be made available to the medical fraternity in relatively lesser time, as compared to other test protocols," said Banmali Agrawala, President - Infrastructure and Defence and Aerospace, Tata Sons.

The kit is similar to a portable paper-strip test used to confirm pregnancy and does not require any specialized tools or different skills to operate.

Unlike most rapid tests which require dedicated machinery, it can be performed using simple standard equipments available in any pathological laboratory.

It is also the first such indigeneous testing kit based on Crisper technology to be developed in India.

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Covid-19: CSIR-IGIB partner with TATA Sons to make Indias first paper-strip kit - Livemint

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Within the last decades, new genetic engineering tools for manipulating genetic material in plants, animals and microorganisms are getting large attention from the international community, bringing new challenges and possibilities. While genetically modified organisms (GMO) have been known and used for quite a while now, gene drive organisms (GDO) are yet at the consideration and evaluation stage.

The difference between these two technologies, where both are meant to replace certain characters in animals or plants with ones that are more favourable for the human population, is that, even though in GDO there is also foreign "synthetic" DNA being introduced, the inheritance mode differs. In GDO, the genome's original base arrangements are changed, using CRISPR/Cas-9 genome editing. Once the genome is changed, its alterations are carried down the organism's offspring and subsequent generations.

In their study, published in the open-access journal BioRisk, an international group of scientists led by Marion Dolezel from the Environment Agency Austria, discuss the potential risks and impacts on the environment.

The research team also points to current regulations addressing invasive alien species and biocontrol agents, and finds that the GMO regulations are, in principle, also a useful starting point for GDO.

There are three main areas suggested to benefit from gene drive systems: public health (e.g. vector control of human pathogens), agriculture (e.g. weed and pest control), environmental protection and nature conservation (e.g. control of harmful non-native species).

In recent years, a range of studies have shown the feasibility of synthetic CRISPR-based gene drives in different organisms, such as yeast, the common fruit fly, mosquitoes and partly in mammals.

Given the results of previous research, the gene drive approach can even be used as prevention for some zoonotic diseases and, hence, possible future pandemics. For example, laboratory tests showed that the release of genetically modified mosquitoes can drastically reduce the number of malaria vectors. Nevertheless, potential environment and health implications, related to the release of GDO, remain unclear. Only a few potential applications have so far progressed to the research and development stage.

"The potential of GDOs for unlimited spread throughout wild populations, once released, and the apparently inexhaustible possibilities of multiple and rapid modifications of the genome in a vast variety of organisms, including higher organisms such as vertebrates, pose specific challenges for the application of adequate risk assessment methodologies," shares the lead researcher Mrs. Dolezel.

In the sense of genetic engineering being a fastly developing science, every novel feature must be taken into account, while preparing evaluations and guidance, and each of them provides extra challenges.

Today, the scientists present three key differences of gene drives compared to the classical GMO:

1. Introducing novel modifications to wild populations instead of "familiar" crop species, which is a major difference between "classic" GMOs and GDOs.

"The goal of gene drive applications is to introduce a permanent change in the ecosystem, either by introducing a phenotypic change or by drastically reducing or eradicating a local population or a species. This is a fundamental difference to GM crops for which each single generation of hybrid seed is genetically modified, released and removed from the environment after a relatively short period," shares Dolezel.

2. Intentional and potentially unlimited spread of synthetic genes in wild populations and natural ecosystems.

Gene flow of synthetic genes to wild organisms can have adverse ecological impact on the genetic diversity of the targeted population. It could change the weediness or invasiveness of certain plants, but also threaten with extinction the species in the wild.

Possibility for long-term risks to populations and ecosystems.

Key and unique features of GDOs are the potential long-term changes in populations and large-scale spread across generations.

In summary, the research team points out that, most of all, gene drive organisms must be handled extremely carefully, and that the environmental risks related to their release must be assessed under rigorous scrutiny. The standard requirements before the release of GDOs need to also include close post-release monitoring and risk management measures.

It is still hard to assess with certainty the potential risks and impact of gene drive applications on the environment, human and animal health. That's why highly important questions need to be addressed, and the key one is whether genetically driven organisms are to be deliberately released into the environment in the European Union. The High Level Group of the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism highlights that within the current regulatory frameworks those risks may not be covered.

The research group recommends the institutions to evaluate whether the regulatory oversight of GMOs in the EU is accomodate to cover the novel risks and challenges posed by gene drive applications.

"The final decision to release GDOs into the environment will, however, not be a purely scientific question, but will need some form ofbroader stakeholder engagement and the commitment to specific protection goals for human health and the environment", concludes Dolezel.

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The EU not ready for the release of Gene drive organisms into the environment - Science Codex

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The science of changing the traits of plants in order to give rise to a desired trait is called plant breeding. CRISPR refers to clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat and case 9 associated protein system is the plant breeding innovation that uses site-directed nucleases used to target and transform DNA with accuracy. It can be applied in a wide range of uses such as biological research, development od crops & animals and human health.

Increasing importance for sustainable crop production drives the growth of plant breeding and the CRISPR plants market. Besides this, a fall in the cost of genomic solutions also drives the growth. However, high costs involved in modern breeding techniques as compared to conventional breeding techniques restricts the growth. A uprurging investments from seed companies and supportive regulations for molecular breeding is expected to boost the growth of plant breeding and CRISPR plants market.

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Plant Breeding and CRISPR Plants Market Summary Comprises Key Regions, Growth and Segmentation Till 2027 - Jewish Life News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Something's been brewing in the health care sector, the second-largest group in the S&P 500. Since the start of the second quarter, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLV) is one of the top asset-gathering exchange traded funds.

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB), thanks to plenty of help from Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), is up almost 14% over the past month. Much of the recent biotechnology ebullience is attributable to progress on the coronavirus treatment and vaccine front.

IBB is the largest biotechnology ETF by assets, but it's not the only one delivering impressive returns in recent weeks. Here's a trio of biotech ETFs that are knocking the cover off the ball.

Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (BBC)

The Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (NYSE: BBC) tracks the LifeSci Biotechnology Clinical Trials Index. That benchmark is a collection of companies with drugs and therapies in clinical trials, which means BBC is at the right place at the right time in the battle to quash coronavirus.

BBC's holdings are basically equally weighted, but that doesn't distract from the fact that Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) is the fund's top holding. Overall, BBC holds about 90 stocks, most of which dwell at the lower end of large-cap territory or are mid- or small-cap names.

In addition to Moderna, several other BBC components have coronavirus treatment exposure and roughly a dozen are credible takeover targets. That's enough to have BBC up nearly 27% over the past month.

ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG)

In the health care space, the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (CBOE: ARKG) has been one of the best-performing funds for several years, trouncing traditional health care and biotechnology ETFs for several years, speaking to the capabilities of the fund's active managers.

ARKG typically holds 30 to 50 stocks and currently holds 34, several of which are coronavirus plays and that doesn't even begin to underscore the fund's virus detection exposure, which highlights ARKG's deep CRISPR exposure.

As government officials re-open the US, testing for the COVID-19 virus will be a critical step. A new CRISPR-based test called DNA Endonuclease-Targeted CRISPR Trans Reporter (DETECTR) could help speed the process along, ARK analyst Ali Aurman saidin a recent note.

ARKG is higher by nearly 32% over the past month.

Principal Healthcare Innovators Index ETF (BTEC)

The Principal Healthcare Innovators Index ETF (NASDAQ: BTEC) is a departure from the other funds mentioned here because it's not drug/therapy-centric. Rather, BTEC tilts more toward medical device, equipment and life sciences firms.

The fund invests in companies that are leading the charge toward innovative solutions, rather than spending money on marketing and distribution, according to Principal.

BTEC's nearly 210 holdings are considered research and development-intensive companies and the fund's methodology screens out companies with negative or inconsistent earnings. The fund is higher by almost 25% over the past month.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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3 Biotech ETFs Up 10% Or More Over The Last Month - Benzinga

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Korean researchers have found a signal transduction system that modulates the treatment of mesenchymal stem cells and immune control functions, opening the way for treating graft-versus-host disease treatment.

Mesenchymal stem cells divide into various cells, have immunomodulatory functions, and are the primary cell sources for stem cell therapy.

Graft-versus-host disease is a fatal disease that leads to death after an allogeneic blood transfusion or bone marrow transplantation. Although there are many clinical trials underway worldwide to treat the symptom, there are no applicable treatments besides alleviating symptoms with high-dose steroids.

The team, led by Professor Shin Dong-myeong of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Asan Medical Center, discovered that the CREB1 (CAMP responsive element binding protein 1) signaling system activates the treatment and immune control functions of mesenchymal stem cells.

The team administered a therapeutic agent made by upgrading mesenchymal stem cells to graft-versus-host disease mice, and found that it alleviated anorexia symptoms and reduced the weight loss rate by 30 percent while increasing the survival rate by 30 percent.

When developing a cell therapy product, researchers have to cultivate the stem cells in vitro. Thus it is very likely that it will impair stem cell functions due to free radicals generated in the cells. To prevent the deterioration of stem cell function, it is necessary to improve the stem cell function in vitro culture, prevent stem cell oxidation, and increase the antioxidant capacity of the cell itself.

Until now, there was a lack of specific evidence and understanding of how stem cells regulate glutathione, an indicator of antioxidant capacity. Therefore, it was difficult to prevent stem cell dysfunction and oxidation.

Professor Shin's team developed experimental techniques that can monitor and quantify glutathione in real-time and confirmed that the CREB1 signaling system regulated the amount and activity of glutathione.

By activating the CREB1 signaling system, the team found that the process also activated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) protein, which maintains the antioxidant capacity of mesenchymal stem cells and the increase of both the expression levels of peroxiredoxin-1 (PRDX1) and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM) protein, which synthesize glutathione and are antioxidant activity indicators.

As a result, the team confirmed that its method was effective in treating the graft-versus-host disease.

"Based on this study, we have secured a technological foundation to advance stem cell treatment by controlling the antioxidant capacity of stem cells," Professor Shin said.

If this technology makes a high-purity and high-quality stem cell treatment, the team expects that it will be a step toward developing a graft-versus-host disease treatment and overcoming various intractable diseases such as nervous system diseases and inflammatory diseases with high medical demand, Shin added.

The results of the study were published in the journal, Science Advances.

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AMC to use stem cell therapy in treating graft-versus-host disease - Korea Biomedical Review

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

A group of UB researchers have published a paper that clarifies certain cellular mechanisms that could lead to improved outcomes in patients with globoid cell leukodystrophy, commonly known as Krabbe disease.

The paper, titled Macrophages Expressing GALC Improve Peripheral Krabbe Disease by a Mechanism Independent of Cross-Correction, was published May 5 in the journal Neuron.

The research was led by Lawrence Wrabetz and M. Laura Feltri. Wrabetz and Feltri head the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute and both are professors in the departments of Biochemistry and Neurology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

The institute is named for the son of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. Hunter Kelly died at age 8 in 2005 from complications of Krabbe disease.

Krabbe disease is a progressive and fatal neurologic disorder that usually affects newborns and causes death before a child reaches the age of 2 or 3.

Traditionally, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, also known as a bone marrow transplant, has improved the long-term survival and quality of life of patients with Krabbe disease, but it is not a cure.

It has long been assumed that the bone marrow transplant works by a process calledcross-correction, in which an enzyme called GALC is transferred from healthy cells to sick cells.

Using a new Krabbe disease animal model and patient samples, the UB researchers determinedthatin reality cross-correctiondoes not occur. Rather, the bone marrow transplant helps patients through a different mechanism.

The researchers first determined which cells are involved in Krabbe disease and by which mechanism. They discovered that both myelin-forming cells, or Schwann cells, and macrophages require the GALC enzyme, which is missing in Krabbe patients due to genetic mutation.

Schwann cells require GALC to prevent the formation of a toxic lipid called psychosine, which causes myelin destruction and damage to neurons. Macrophages require GALC to aid with the degradation of myelin debris produced by the disease.

The research showed that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation does not work bycross-correction, but by providing healthy macrophages with GALC.

According to Feltri, the data reveal that improvingcross-correctionwould be a way to makebone marrow transplants and other experimental therapies such as gene therapy more effective.

Bone marrow transplantation and other treatments for lysosomal storage disorders, such as enzyme replacement therapy, have historically had encouraging but limited therapeutic benefit, says study first author Nadav I. Weinstock, an MD-PhD student in the Jacobs School. Our work defined the precise cellular and mechanistic benefit of bone marrow transplantation in Krabbe disease, while also shedding light on previously unrecognized limitations of this approach.

Future studies, using genetically engineered bone marrow transplantation or other novelapproaches,may one day build on our findings and eventually bridge the gap for effectively treating patients with lysosomal disease, he continues.

UB investigators included Daesung Shin, research assistant professor at the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute; Nicholas Silvestri, clinical associate professor of neurology, Jacobs School; Narayan Dhimal, PhD student; Chelsey B. Reed, MD-PhD student; and undergraduate student Oliver Sampson.

Also participating in the research were Eric E. Irons, MD-PhD student, and Joseph T.Y. Lau, a distinguished faculty member from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The research was funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health awarded to Weinstock, Shin, Wrabetz and Feltri, and also supported by Hunters Hope.

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UB investigators uncover cellular mechanism involved in Krabbe disease - UB Now: News and views for UB faculty and staff - University at Buffalo...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Developing new stem cell therapies requires more than a solo biologist having a eureka moment alone in the lab. Real progress relies on collaborations between biologists, engineers and physicians. Thats why The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has continued its support of two strategic initiatives: innovation awards bringing together teams of engineers and scientists from USC and Caltech, and clinical research fellowships for physician-scientists.

Engineering new approaches: The Broad Innovation Awards

For the fifth consecutive year, the Broad Innovation Awards are providing critical funding to USC-affiliated faculty members pursuing multi-investigator research collaborations related to stem cells. For the first year, these collaborations are also drawing on the expertise of biomedical engineers from Caltech. Each award provides $200,000 of funding for a one-year project.

Were very excited to be joining our colleagues at USC in pioneering new approaches to advancing stem cell research, said Stephen L. Mayo, chair of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at Caltech. Were thankful to The Broad Foundation for supporting cross-town collaborations between scientists with different expertise but common goals.

With support from a Broad Innovation Award, Andy McMahon, the director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, is collaborating with Caltech biomedical engineer Long Cai to leverage a new technology for understanding chronic kidney disease. The technology, called seqFISH, provides information about genetic activity taking place in intact tissueenabling the study of the interactions between cells in their native environments.

Dr. Cais seqFISH technology will provide an unprecedented insight into the cellular interplay underlying chronic kidney disease caused by a maladaptive response to acute kidney injury, said McMahon, who is the W.M. Keck Provost and University Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and Biological Sciences, as well as the chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at USC. We aim to better understand this maladaptive responsewhich is more common in malesin order to find new targets for preventing the progression to chronic kidney disease.

A second Broad Innovation Award brings together USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu and Caltech synthetic biologist Michael Elowitz. Their team will study the spatial organization of blood-forming stem and progenitor cells, also called hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), which reside in the bone marrow. By pinpointing the locations of specific HSPCs, the scientists may find clues to explain why certain HSPCs are so dominantreplenishing the majority of the bodys blood and immune cells after a disruption such as a bone marrow transplantation.

Spatial advantages may be the primary drivers of what we refer to as the clonal dominance of certain HSPCs, said Lu, a Richard N. Merkin Assistant Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, and Gerontology at USC. Understanding the spatial competition between HSPCs could help improve bone marrow transplantation and provide new insights into aging and the development of diseases such as leukemiawhich are associated with clonal dominance.

Elowitz added: Thanks to the Broad Innovation Award and this exciting collaboration with Rong Lu, we will be able to bring a new, synthetic biology approach to record cell histories and read them out in individual cells within their native spatial context, providing new insights into fundamental questions in blood stem cell development.

A third Broad Innovation Award brings together three collaborators at USC: Michael Bonaguidi, an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, and gerontology; Robert Chow, a professor of physiology and neuroscience, and biomedical engineering; and Jonathan Russin, an assistant professor of neurological surgery and associate surgical director for the USC Neurorestoration Center. Their project focuses on finding new approaches to treating epilepsy by studying neural cells called astroglia. These cells perform a variety of key functions that support the health of neurons in the brain, and they may also play a role in modulating epileptic seizures.

Although adults dont tend to generate many new brain cells, humans do produce a limited number of new astroglia, said Bonaguidi. We will examine these newborn astroglia at the single-cell level to better understand their role in epileptic patients, and to lay the groundwork for identifying new treatments.

The doctors are in: The Broad Clinical Research Fellowships

The Broad Clinical Research Fellowships are also entering their fifth consecutive year. These fellowships support stem cell research by physician-scientists and residents who intend to practice medicine in California.

These fellowships provide a very special opportunity for our medical residents to engage deeply in laboratory research, as a complement to their extensive training in patient care, said Laura Mosqueda, Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. This valuable research experience gives them a much more complete perspective on how to meet the challenges of finding the best possible treatments for their patients.

A USC resident physician in general surgery, Kemp Anderson will spend his fellowship studying necrotizing enterocolitis, a very serious intestinal infection that affects nearly 10 percent of premature infants. Specifically, he will explore how a molecule involved in cellular communication, called farnesoid X receptor, or FXR, might contribute to this disease.

If FXR plays a role in compromising intestinal barrier function in these premature infants, then altering the activity of FXR could potentially yield treatment modalities for necrotizing enterocolitis, avoiding the morbidity and mortality associated with surgical intervention, said Anderson, who is performing the research under the mentorship of Christopher Gayer and Mark Frey at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Im deeply appreciative of the benefactors and the selection committee for awarding me the Broad Clinical Fellowship, as it is allowing me devoted time to focus on this important project, and to become a more well-rounded physician through this academic pursuit.

Brittany Rocque, a resident physician in general surgery, will use her fellowship to seek better ways to predict, detect and diagnose immune rejection in patients who have undergone liver transplantation. Nearly 60 percent of pediatric patients and at least 15 percent of adult patients reject their liver transplants, and this can currently only be confirmed through an invasive surgical biopsy. Rocque is utilizing the technology Imaging Mass Cytometry to identify and analyze the types of immune cells involved in rejection.

My project has the potential to provide a noninvasive option to assess rejection in transplanted patients, and to expand our understanding of immune rejection, said Rocque, who is being co-mentored by Juliet Emamaullee and Shahab Asgharzadeh at CHLA. Im greatly looking forward to applying my passion for transplantation surgery in the context of basic science, and enhancing my appreciation for the nuances of research, thanks to the Broad Clinical Research Fellowship.

A hematology-oncology fellow who will be transitioning to a junior faculty position at USC next year, Caitlin ONeill will study a condition known as clonal hematopoiesis or CH, a phenomenon common in the aging population. CH involves genetic mutations that cause the expansion of a particular population of blood cells without leukemia or related malignancies. CH increases risks for certain health conditions including heart disease.

During her Broad Clinical Research Fellowship, ONeill will look at one mutation seen in patients with CH: a mutation to the gene called Tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2, or TET2. ONeill will explore if this mutation promotes blood clots, inflammation and heart disease.

The goal is to inform therapies to prevent heart disease and leukemic progression in aging patients with CH, said ONeill, who is working with co-mentors Casey OConnell and Rong Lu at USC. Im very happy to be working on this project, with support from the Broad Clinical Research Fellowship, during my transition to becoming a faculty member at USC.

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Broad Foundation brings together stem cell scientists, engineers and physicians at University of Southern - Mirage News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Avrobio is working to make conditioning, a necessary step for some gene therapies, safer. But its not stopping at improving current approachesthe company is teaming up with Magenta Therapeutics to see whether an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) can do the job.

Under the deal, the duo will test Magentas lead conditioning program, MGTA-117, alongside at least one of Avrobios gene therapies. Each company will hold onto the rights for their respective programs, but Avrobio will pick up the tab for clinical trials involving MGTA-117.

We believe targeted ADCs represent the next generation of medicines to prepare patients for gene therapy or transplant in a targeted, precise way This partnership will allow Magenta to validate our conditioning platform in lentiviral gene therapy applications, said Magenta CEO Jason Gardner, D.Phil., in a statement.

Maintaining Momentum: Applying Recent Regulatory Guidance in the Midst of the Coronavirus

A panel of CATO SMS experts will review the key issues contained in the emerging Agency Guidance and offer thoughts on what changes and options for sponsors may be seen in the coming months.

Avrobios lead program is a gene therapy for Fabry disease dubbed AVR-RD-01. It is based on CD34+ stem cells that have been modified using a lentiviral vector to carry and express the gene that codes for the enzyme that is missing in Fabry disease. It is also working on treatments for Gaucher disease, Cystinosis and Pompe disease.

RELATED: Avrobio posts encouraging update for Fabry gene therapy phase 1, 2 trials

Patients undergoing lentiviral gene therapies must first take the chemotherapy drug busulfan in a process called conditioning, which helps the gene-modified stem cells take root in their bone marrow. Avrobio uses therapeutic drug monitoring to tailor busulfan dosing to each patient, to improve the odds of success for its gene therapies while tamping down on side effects. Some patients may be more susceptible to infection and bleeding after conditioning, and they may suffer side effects like nausea, hair loss and mouth sores.

MGTA-117 is made up of an anti-CD117 antibody linked to amanitin, a cell-killing toxin. It is designed to target only hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells and progenitor cells. Animal studies suggest it could clear space in bone marrow for gene-modified stem cells to take root, Magenta said in the statement. The company plans to wrap IND-enabling studies for the antibody-drug conjugate this year.

The deal comes on the heels of a busulfan-focused one for Avrobio. The company joined forces with Saladex Biomedical on Monday to develop a rapid blood test that monitors how quickly patients metabolize the drug. The hope is to get results in minutes, rather than the hours that current methods take, so dosing can be adjusted quickly.

Read more here:
Avrobio taps Magenta's ADC in ongoing quest to improve gene therapy conditioning - FierceBiotech

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

"global Stem Cell Therapy market"

A new market study, titled Covid-19 Impact on Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Size, Status and Forecast 2020-2026 has been featured on WiseGuyReports.

The global Stem Cell Therapy market research offers a comprehensive overall market analysis focused on the latest findings. The introduction portion includes a brief overview of the industry, along with the product and service descriptions. This also includes the main applications for all end-user industries. The report also presents market prospects along with the forecast, with the study covering the period 2020-2026. The report includes an in-depth analysis of the major factors that could decide the market's trajectory in the coming years.

Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. Bone marrow transplant is the most widely used stem-cell therapy, but some therapies derived from umbilical cord blood are also in use.

In the last several years, global stem cell therapy market developed fast at a average growth rate of 46.81%.

Competition Analysis

In the competitive analysis section of the report, leading as well as prominent players of the global Stem Cell Therapy market are broadly studied on the basis of key factors. The report offers comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on revenue by the player for the period 2015-2020. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on price and revenue (global level) by player for the period 2015-2020.

The following players are covered in this report:

Osiris Therapeutics

NuVasive

Chiesi Pharmaceuticals

JCR Pharmaceutical

Pharmicell

Medi-post

Anterogen

Molmed

Takeda (TiGenix)

This report also analyses the impact of Coronavirus COVID-19 on the Stem Cell Therapy industry.

Regional and Country-level Analysis

The report offers an exhaustive geographical analysis of the global Stem Cell Therapy market, covering important regions, viz, North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America. It also covers key countries (regions), viz, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc.

The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by each application segment in terms of revenue for the period 2015-2026.

Stem Cell Therapy Breakdown Data by Type

Autologous

Allogeneic

Stem Cell Therapy Breakdown Data by Application

Musculoskeletal Disorder

Wounds & Injuries

Cornea

Cardiovascular Diseases

Others

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Table of Contents

1 Report Overview

2 Global Growth Trends by Regions

3 Competition Landscape by Key Players

4 Breakdown Data by Type (2015-2026)

5 Stem Cell Therapy Breakdown Data by Application (2015-2026)

6 North America

7 Europe

8 China

9 Japan

10 Southeast Asia

11 India

12 Central & South America

13 Key Players Profiles

14 Analyst's Viewpoints/Conclusions

NOTE: Our team is studying Covid-19 and its impact on various industry verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid-19 footprints for a better analysis of markets and industries. Cordially get in touch for more details.

About Us:

Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.

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More here:
Impact of Covid-19 Outbreak on Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Future Opportunities and Forecast Analysis 2020-2026 - Press Release - Digital Journal

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

One of the most talked-about topics today happens to be Mike Tyson appearing in shape and ready to appear in a boxing ring again. The former heavyweight champion of the world is gearing up for charity exhibition bouts thanks to Kings MMA coach Rafael Cordeiro.

Tyson (50-6, 2NC) wants to help those who are going through a tough time, like drug addicts. Relating to their situation, The 53-year-old is looking to make a difference while staying in shape. How exactly did he quickly get into fighting shape?

You know what I had done? I had stem-cell research therapy, Tyson ended up stating to Shaquille ONeal on Instagram Live, via The Sun. I feel like a different person but I cant comprehend why I feel this way. Its really wild what scientists can do.

Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. The process to carry it out is via bone marrow transplantation. Several athletes from all sports have undergone the treatment, including Hines Ward, Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Rafael Nadal. There are specific types of therapy treatments, but it is unknown what Tyson went through.

Tyson made his professional debut in 1985 and quickly climbed up the ranks in the boxing world. In his 28th fight, Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick in the second round to win the WBC Heavyweight Title. He became the youngest world heavyweight champion of all time at 20. Following his last fight in 2005, he ballooned up to 325 pounds.

When Shaq talked about hurting himself while hanging and working out with his kids, Tyson helped explain why. With his new regiment, Tyson is lifting weights constantly and sparring multiple times a day.

Thats just because you havent done it for a while, Tyson went on to say. If you continue to do it consistently youll be back to normal. Its just like me, I havent boxed or hit the bag for 15 years it has been three days so far and I feel incredible.

It is unknown who Tyson will be facing in his return. He has been offered, however, $1 million to fight in Australia to face some of the top stars in rugby and Australian football.

Read this article:
Tyson Reveals What Helped Him Train For Exhibition Bouts | FIGHT SPORTS - FIGHT SPORTS

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Bone marrow is the spongy, greasy tissue present in the bone cavities. The bone marrow transplant procedures are being carried out for various medical conditions.Bone marrow transplantalso known as hematopoietic stem cell helps in curing the critical medical conditions surfaced due to damaged bone marrow cells. The technique replaces the old damaged tissues with new ones and helps in curing many diseases.

The CAGR value Could change due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Request Sample Copy of Strategic Report:https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10075217

More than 75,000 bone marrow transplants were executed around the globe during the year 2015 which are further anticipated to reach a significant valuation by 2021 by expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% over the forecast period.

Market Size and Forecast

Globally, Europe has fairly large market share and it is expected to remain at its top position when compared to other geographies; accounting 60% of global revenue share and anticipated to touch USD 6.05 Billion in the year 2021. At present, North America is the second biggest market after Europe. Factors like increasing cases of chronic diseases like blood cancer in sync with up-surged aged population would help the bone marrow industry to flourish in the region.

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The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry (Global and Regional Market).

Asia pacific bone marrow transplantation market might not be as big as those in Europe and North America but would become an attractive market for medical procedures for medical tourists (due to low cost procedures).

Key Players

Sanofi-Aventis LLC.PromoCell GmbHSTEMCELL TechnologiesLonza Group Ltd.ReachBio LLC.AllCells LLC.ATCC Inc.Lifeline Cell TechnologyConversant BioHemacare Corporation

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Growth Drivers and challenges

Increasing prevalence of anemia and cancers across the globe is the major growth driver for the global bone marrow transplantation market. In addition to that, improvement in technology, development in healthcare infrastructure, increased penetration of medical insurances and expanded personal disposable income around the world are expected to drive the global bone marrow transplantation.

High cost involved in the treatment and lack or less number of bone marrow donors are the major challenges for global bone marrow transplantation market.

Market Segmentation:

Based on transplantation typeBased on the disease indicationBased on the end user typeOn the basis of regions

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The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry (Global and Regional Market).

About Kenneth Research:

Kenneth Research provides market research reports to different individuals, industries, associations and organizations with an aim of helping them to take prominent decisions. Our research library comprises of more than 10,000 research reports provided by more than 15 market research publishers across different industries. Our collection of market research solutions covers both macro level as well as micro level categories with relevant and suitable market research titles. As a global market research reselling firm, Kenneth Research provides significant analysis on various markets with pure business intelligence and consulting services on different industries across the globe. In addition to that, our internal research team always keep a track on the international and domestic market for any economic changes impacting the products demand, growth and opportunities for new and existing players.

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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Wafer MarketSmart Meat Thermometer MarketHigh-End Instant Noodles IndustryWearable Camera MarketAnti-Collision Facilities MarketHerpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Diagnostic Test Industry

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Bone Marrow Transplantation Market 2015-2021 by Technology, Trends, Growth Analysis and Key Players - Latest Herald

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith