Investing in Regenerative Medicine at the Local Level

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Investors are always looking for that next big thing to put their money into. The medical field is rife with such opportunities, thanks to ongoing advancements that are making it possible for us to treat all sorts of things that were previously out of reach. If you are an orthopedist, aesthetic practitioner or GP, you might want to consider your own local investment in the emerging area of stem cell therapy.

Take 'local investment' to mean investing in your own practice. Put the time and effort into PRP and stem cell training by attending courses that will teach you how PRP and stem cell therapies work and the procedures necessary to implement them. Apex Biologix, a company located in Murray, Utah, is one example of a competent trading provider you could work with. They have already assisted more than 200 clinics in establishing regenerative medicine services.

Worldwide Market Expected to Boom

There would certainly be nothing wrong with investing in a company directly involved in the manufacture and sale of regenerative medicine products. In fact, such investments would be rather wise. Recent numbers suggest the global market for regenerative medicine will reach nearly $39 billion by 2021. The expected rate of growth should be just under 24%.

Those numbers are pretty impressive by any standard. But here's what you need to know as a doctor: a significant portion of that $39 billion will not be realized through investments in the industry's corporate players. Rather, it will be spent by patients looking for regenerative medicine for wound care, orthopedic treatments, and aesthetic medicine. You can get your share of the action by undergoing training and then adding regenerative medicine to your own practice.

Investing in the Future of Medicine

An analysis of the regenerative medicine market suggests that investment is being driven by an expectation that the future of things such as PRP and stem cell therapy looks good. When investors spot something in which they see a lot of potential, they are not afraid to put their money behind it. And wherever the markets go, reality often follows.

With that said, the strong investment in regenerative medicine suggests that anticipated growth will become a reality. Institutional investors will put money into the companies producing products and therapies, companies like Apex Biologix will invest their resources in training doctors and supplying them with equipment, and patients will invest in the actual procedures that will help them live healthier lives.

How to Get Trained

Doctors looking to invest in regenerative medicine can take a series of training courses depending on the kinds of services they want to offer. Continuing with Apex Biologix as the example, they offer training courses for both PRP and stem cell therapy. Their courses cover aesthetic medicine, orthopedics, and marketing regenerative medicine services to clients.

Their longest training course is a two-day affair held at various locations around the country. That two-day course centers around stem cell therapy for orthopedic applications. Apex Biologix also offers a one-day training course in PRP therapy for aesthetic medicine. Both courses include additional training for marketing regenerative medicine procedures.

Conclusion

As much as we don't like to talk about it, medicine is a business that requires a certain level of revenue to keep the lights on and the doors open. It is clear that institutional investors are rather optimistic about the future of regenerative medicine, so much so that they are willing to put their money behind it. Doctors can invest in their own practices by receiving training and then adding regenerative medicine to what they currently offer patients.

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The Latest Updates on Cancer Treatment

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Cancer treatment is considered as one of the highly discussed topics in the medical industry. In light of the above, it is extremely important to figure out the treatment options available for cancer in order to provide the best possible treatment accordingly.

Finding the best possible cancer treatment is essential as it can help healthcare professionals to treat tumors while causing the least damage to the body. In other words, proper cancer treatment can minimize the changes of cancer cell redevelopment within the body as well as side-effects. 

Understanding the Treatment Options Available for Cancer

The treatments available for cancerous infections are severe and need to be handled with extreme attention and with reference to the patient's medical background. As a result, they should be done in the appropriate manner according to individual needs and not be identical for all patients. Taking unreliable or unsuitable treatments for cancer can be risky and has the potential to cause irreversible damages to your body tissues and cells. Healthcare professionals have paid special attention towards this fact in the recent past. 

As a result, they offer the treatments based on growth and character of malignant tumors. It has been empirically found that cancer cells can be treated effectively when they are detected at an early stage. However, it should be noted that the chances of curing cancer cells reduce with age. 

The increasing intensity of cancerous infections has contributed a lot towards the aforementioned fact. Therefore, an appropriate diagnosis of cancer is extremely important to plan out the proper treatment option available. Treatment options are available for almost all types of cancers and it is possible to reverse it and recover from the illness when detected at an early stage and the person is relatively young. 

Cancer treatment rotates around the efforts taken to diagnose cancers as well as the treatment method used to cure abnormal cells. One of the primary objectives of cancer treatment is to restrict the spread of cancer cells. Some harsh medical techniques are being used to restrict it, based on the condition. If the cancer cells are not treated properly, they invade the healthy body tissues and cells as well. Lack of vital resources such as blood and oxygen contribute a lot towards this abnormal behavior. This can cause a tremendous damage to the vital parts of your body in the long run. 

The most convenient option available for patients to stay away from this damage is to control the growth of cancer cells in time. The latest updates on cancer treatment have given more attention towards cancer detection as a result of it. In the meantime, necessary steps are being taken in order to strengthen your immune system. This can help the victim to create a body that is more resistible to future attacks. It will also help to gain maximum benefits out of prescribed medications. 

The Dimensions of Modern World Cancer Treatment

It is extremely important for the patient to take an appropriate treatment as such action can restrict the abnormal growth of cancerous cells. In this regard, more attention is paid towards the origin of cancer cells during the treatment process. Not all types of cancers metastasize at the same speed. Some forms of cancer, such as the ones that develop in your breast, lymph nodes, abdomen, lungs, bloodstream, neck, head and bones develop at a faster rate when compared to those that develop in other parts of your body. A closer look into stats, indicates that the above types of cancers have given rise to cancer deaths that are registered yearly around the world. Therefore, it is considered best that people who suffer from cancers in those areas need to get an aggressive treatment done. 

The treatment options available for cancer depend a lot on the type of tumor and location and size. The tumors are either cancerous or benign. The benign tumors are defined as pre-cancerous or non-cancerous because of their harmless nature to the human body. In other words, they do not have the ability to invade or kill the ordinary cells of your body. The pre-cancerous cells can easily be controlled because they do not have the ability to metastasize. Regular medication or minor surgeries are in a position to control such tumors. They have very little chance of redeveloping as well. 

On the other hand, cancerous tumors are responsible for the development of cancers within your body. They can damage the live tissues and cells in your body. Those cells would get abnormal along with time and accumulate to create a tumor or lump. They are associated with a high chance of reoccurrence as well. Therefore, you will need to opt for a drastic treatment in order to restrict their growth. 

Latest Updates on Cancer Treatments

Different types of cancer can affect human beings and the type of treatment should be based upon it. Surgery can be considered as the most common treatment that is offered to the modern world for cancer patients. It has the potential to treat the cancerous tumors that belong to an initial stage in an effective manner. 

The surgical methods for cancer treatments have gone through some significant developments throughout the past couple of years and they can even be used to treat tumors that are in their second or third stages. However, it would be better to accompany a surgery with other treatment methods such as radiation therapy or chemical therapy in order to receive the best possible results. 

Chemotherapy is another cancer invasive and toxic treatment, which has received a lot of attention in the recent past. People who suffer from cancers that have reached an advance stage are encouraged to go for this treatment. Chemotherapy is also prescribed to patients who have second and third stage cancer. 

Radiotherapy is thought of as the most advanced cancer treatment method available at the moment. In fact, it is known as the last resort of treatment for malignant tumors. Radiotherapy focuses on killing the cancer cells while destroying infected areas. This can cause severe damage to the adjacent tissues however it does attack healthy body cells as well. There have been medical case reported where permanent damage can impact the overall functioning of the body. 

As time passes by, the proliferation of technology leads to significant advances in research and practice around cancer treatment. In this sense, people should not hesitate to visit a healthcare professional if they suspect the existence of tumor or in order to get a treatment done once they are diagnosed. There are less invasive forms of treatment including alternative medicine which has become a growing trend. This type of approach focuses on the use of specific diet and a healthy lifestyle among others as a way to treat cancer. Nevertheless, it has not been extensively proven that such treatment can be more effective in comparison to traditional medicine. 

Summary

Overall, depending on the type and stage of cancer, different treatments are available to eradicate the tumor or slow its development. This could include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or hormone therapy. It is important that above all, appropriate supportive care is available for the patient and the family as they go through this difficult stage in their lives.

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An Overview of the Human Genome Project

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Mapping human genome can be considered as one of the main endeavors of modern world bio scientists. They have been pursuing this for decades and so far have achieved some measurable results. In simple terms, human genome can be defined as a map of how the cells of human beings are made up. If human genome is properly documented and researched, it could deliver answers to a myriad of mysteries.

Human genome is significant as it can provide with answers to questions like why we age, what genetic markers are, what causes and cures illnesses and many more. As a result, finding answers for this scientific puzzle has become part of an interesting competition. Entrepreneurs who start working on this field will be able to learn a lot of new things.

History of the Human Genome Project

The National Institute of Health in United States has established a partnership with the British government in order to solve the mysteries that are associated with the human genome project. They have hired the finest bio-scientists from different parts of the world and have created excellent equipment and facilities to complete their work successfully. A substantial amount of funds were approved generously to contribute to this project by both governments. According to statistical information, the government of United States has spent about $3 billion on this project. The British government has spent even more. 

1998 was an important year for the human genome project. In this year, a scientist named Dr. Craig Ventner was going through some published papers of the project and figured out that a different approach can be followed in order to get quick results. This method also had the ability to deliver more accurate answers for the complex issues and therefore he decided to undertake a project on this area himself. Nevertheless, as Dr. Craig Ventner was in need of financial assistance, he sought to get help from capitalist funding sources. His efforts became successful and was able to make $300 million within a short period of time. This motivated Dr. Craig Ventner to start working on his unique approach in the human genome project. His venture was named as “Celera” and it was charged with mapping the human genome to commercialize the findings. 

The Main Objective of the Human Genome Project

The primary objective of the human genome project is to figure out the consequence of chemical base pairs that are responsible for making up human DNA. It also focuses on mapping the genes of human genome through a functional and physical standpoint. As mentioned earlier, a lot of parties are involved in this project. Therefore, it can be considered as the world’s largest collaborative biological project. It was declared complete during 2003. At the early stage of this project, the main objective was to map the nucleotides in human body to reference genome. The genomes that can be found in human beings differ from one another. Hence, mapping the human genome is an extremely complex process for which scientists involved in this project hoped to succeed to eliminate that complexity.

State of Completion

The human genome project was not focused in sequencing the entire DNA that can be seen in human body cells. It only focused on the euchromatic areas of genome. In fact, euchromatic areas make up about 90 percent of human genome. The remaining area of the genome was called as heterochromatic and they were not considered in this project. 

As mentioned earlier, the human genome project was completed in 2003. The initial draft of the human genome was available by 2000 and a working draft was completed one year later. The final consequence mapping took place in 2003. This project was completed with a success rate of 99.99%. However, further analysis is being carried out at the moment and researches are scheduled to be carried out on HGP. 

Proposed Benefits of the Human Genome Project

The findings of the human genome project can be used for a variety of applications. These applications in turn have the potential to deliver tons of benefits, which range from molecular medicine up to human evolution. For instance, these findings can help people gain a better understanding about diseases. In other words, people will be able to get a clear view of the genotyping process of specific viruses that can be directed to appropriate treatments. It can also be used to identify mutations that are connected to different types of cancers. 

On the other hand, the human genome project is being used to design medication in an appropriate manner while ensuring their accuracy. The effects of medication on different people can also be predicted based on this theory. Commercial development of genomics is another major advantage that is associated with the human genome project. Therefore, it can be considered as a multibillion dollar industry. 

The sequence of DNA figured out from this method is stored in a database. The database is then being uploaded to the Internet, so that anyone can access. This database is well known as GenBank and it is being managed by the United States National Center for Biotechnology Information. Some other organizations are contributing towards it as well. 

Summary

It becomes apparent that the human genome project is one of the most important and useful projects in the biotechnology industry. It is in a position to deliver a variety of benefits for every human being that exists on the planet. From this project, it has been identified that around 20,500 genes can be found in human beings. The same range of genes can be found in mice as well.

On the other hand, the human genome consists of a large amount of segmental duplications. These duplications are nearly identical and can be defined as repeated sections of DNA. Even though the human genome project is completed at the moment, more and more studies are yet to be conducted on the same field to discover additional benefits that can be reaped out of it.

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Chemistry World : 3D Printing of a Soft Network

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

3D Printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. Designers and engineers in the aerospace and automotive sectors have been using the process for decades to build prototypes. Many complex parts manufactured by 3D Printing are now present on aircraft, satellites, medical industry etc. etc.

3D Printing technology is advancing rapidly and its cost is falling dramatically. And this means something that was once restricted to a few elite industries is quickly becoming  more widely available and affordable. It's going to open up so many new possibilities for new businesses, new business models, start-up companies, new products and much more!

Now lets learn about a synthetic material capable of performing some of the functions of living cells : Oxford University scientists have used a specially modified 3D prototype printer to lay down a network of interconnected, electrically conductive droplets. 

This technology could find it's way into tissue engineering applications, helping to support cells that are being grown into healthy new organs - replace damaged human tissue or deliver drugs to specific locations.

"We aren't trying to make materials that faithfully resemble tissues, but rather structures that can carry out the functions of tissues," says Professor Hagan Bayley, who led the research reported in the journal Science.

3D Printing lets you build an object as complex as an organ, layer by layer or droplet by droplet, explains Cameron Ferris a research associate from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at the University of Wollongong.

Read the full story at Chemistry World.
Related topics : 3D Printing Technology - Make things by printing them : How it works
Science Nation - Printable Robots Designed to be Consumer friendly, Inexpensive
Hi-Tech & Custom Designed 3D Printed Prosthetics
The Tomorrow Project : Conversations about Synthetic Biology
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Video Animation : All You Need to Know About DNA

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

BBC Knowledge and Learning is exploring a wide variety of topics from social history to science in a series of three-minute online Explainer documentaries, and commissioned Territory Studio to produce an animated film on the subject of DNA. 

It's hard to explain DNA replication, transcription, and protein building in an accessible but non-dumbed-down way. This quick and elegant video does it though : You get the full story with helpful visualizations in the most awesome science video about DNA.

As Will Samuel, lead designer and animator on the project explains, the approach taken wasn’t just to look into a scientific future. “We needed to find a graphic style to communicate the beauty and intricacy of DNA. We wanted to create nostalgia; taking the audience back to the days of textbook diagrams and old science documentaries, such as Carl Sagan's COSMOS and IBM’s POWER OF TEN (1977). Using the double helix circular theme as a core design we focused on form, movement and colour to create a consistent flow to the animation, drawing on references from nature, illustrating how DNA is the core to everything around us.”

Three minutes is a short time to explore a subject where most doctorates only scratch the surface, so writer Andrew S. Walsh teamed up with molecular biologist Dr Matthew Adams to distil the script down to the most fundamental elements required to understand not only DNA’s form and function but how our understanding of these discoveries has affected the wider world. 

While this length may feel restrictive, the team found that this limitation acted as a lens, focusing the piece on the essentials. Enjoy the video!

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TED : Susan Solomon talks about The Promise of Research with Adult Stem Cells

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

Calling them "our bodies' own repair kits," Susan Solomon advocates research using adult stem cells. We can use them to model and study disease, but she hopes for much more. 

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells, they can be found in juvenile as well as adult animals and human bodies. They are pluripotent because they can morph in to any cells in our bodies.

By growing adult stem cells lines in a lab, Susan's team creates testbeds that could accelerate research into curing disease - and perhaps lead to individualized treatment, targeted not just to a particular disease but a particular person.

The above video was recorded at TEDGlobal 2012. Learn more about this topic on TED's Blog.
Feel free to discover also other interesting TED Performances and comment below what you think about our article.

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TED : Mina Bissell - Experiments that point to a new understanding of cancer

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

For decades, researcher Mina Bissell pursued a revolutionary idea - that a cancer cell doesn't automatically become a tumor, but rather, depends on surrounding cells (its microenvironment) for cues on how to develop. 

She shares the two key experiments that proved the prevailing wisdom about cancer growth was wrong.

Check more interesting TED Performances.

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Cloning The First Human (BBC Documentary, 2001) : A Dangerous Invention

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

The word ‘Clone’ derives from the Greek term ‘Klon’ meaning a sprout or a twig. It refers to a method of reproduction apart from the parental, sexual mating process that is characteristic of most organisms. Cloning a human being would involve various processes: The cell nucleus of an adult person would be remixed from an ordinary body cell. Since the nucleus of each cell (red blood cells excepted) contains all the genetic information of the DNA for a complete human being, a nucleus extracted from a donor would be transplanted into an unfertilized host egg cell (the nucleus of which had been removed). Supposedly, then the embryo transplanted into same woman’s rent uterus would develop, ultimately producing an exact copy of the person whose original DNA provided the starter.

In theory one could by this method, Xerox, himself hundreds of times. Real cloning, however, has been around for some time, approximately 40 years. Frogs were first cloned from sexual tadpole cells in 1952. In 1997 there was much notoriety surrounding the cloning of a sheep (Dolly) in Scotland. Scientists may be able to manipulate certain biological laws to evil ends. It is wrong to conceive a child outside the bonds of marriage, but it happens all the time. It is immoral to murder a fellow human being but the technology for so doing is available in abundance.

Doctors Panayiotis Zavos and Severino Antinori claim they are ready to embark on the greatest human experiment of our age. They say they will attempt to clone a human being before the year is out. Most people think the objections to this are ethical - human cloning would create many moral dilemmas.

There is another question that few ever ask : is the science actually ready yet for cloning healthy humans? Horizon follows the latest research, which has led many scientists to believe that Zavos and Antinori's plans to clone the first human could end in tragedy. The programme also meets couples like Matthew and Desire Racquer who think cloning offers them the only way to raise a child who is truly their own.

For decades, cloning remained within the realms of science fiction. The idea that instead of combining a sperm and an egg, a new human could be made from a single cell taken from an adult, seemed completely absurd. But that all changed in February 1997, when the Roslin Institute introduced the world to Dolly the sheep - the first animal cloned from an adult. Ever since Dolly, scientists have been continuing to experiment with cloning animals. So far, they have succeeded in cloning sheep, cattle, pigs, goats and mice, fuelling the belief that humans could be next.

An Unreliable Procedure

But even Dolly's creator, Professor Ian Wilmut, is concerned that beneath the veneer of success lies a disturbing reality. Most cloning attempts on animals so far have resulted in failed implantation or abnormal foetuses. Of the animals born alive, some soon die of catastrophic organ failure. Others appear to be healthy for weeks or even months, then die suddenly, sometimes from bizarre new illnesses which do not occur in nature.

Years of painstaking work are only now revealing some vital clues to what is going wrong. Horizon talks to the scientists who have uncovered new evidence, suggesting that the process of cloning itself causes subtle errors in the way genes function. These random errors may be like a timebomb inside every clone, causing some of the strange - often fatal - problems. There's no reason to think cloned human babies would fare any better. According to embryologist Dr Susan Avery, death might be the best outcome for many human clones. If they survived, they would suffer from catastrophic illnesses that modern medicine is powerless to prevent or cure.

Test Tube Troubles

Dr Zavos claims that these problems are the result of the still unsophisticated methods being used by animal researchers. Using advanced in vitro fertilisation ('test tube baby') techniques, he claims that he will strive to make human cloning safer than natural reproduction. Now though, it seems that some IVF procedures themselves are being investigated for possible harmful effects on the long term health of children. Professor Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh reveals evidence of these risks, which could be magnified in cloning.

Most reproductive specialists believe that the danger to any human born by cloning is enormous. But the would-be human cloners are determined to clone a human baby. If they proceed, they may be courting tragedy.

Find out more on Human Cloning Foundation website and Twitter account.
What do you think? Let us know below.

*by andreascy*

Scientists developed a technique which laser can be produced from human cells.

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Cyclops, a superhero from the famous comics “X men” has been the favorite of many people across the world. In the story, the character produces powerful laser beams by optical blast from his eyes. This fiction has become a reality by the joint efforts of Seok-Hyun Yun and Malte Gather, two physicists at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

They were able to develop a technique by which laser can be produced from human cells. The device used to produce this laser consists of the same components that are used to produce a real time laser. That is, a pump source, an optical cavity and a gain medium. The pump source is used to produce the initial energy, the optical cavity to concentrate the energy, and the gain medium is a substance in which the electrons are exited until they go from a lower energy level to a higher energy level.

The researchers began experimenting on human kidney cells to produce green florescent proteins (GFP). This substance is known to produce luminance in jellyfish. Many steps were carried out to produce the laser. They began by placing the modified cell between two mirrors there by creating an optical cavity (a cell sandwich as called by researchers). Then a blue light pulse was passed through the cell and the light bounced between the mirrors, causing the cell to glow. When the cell was observed through a microscope, they saw that the cell was glowing with a spot of laser (below image). 

Researchers suggest that this laser is suitable for many medical applications. For the diagnosis of diseases, nowadays a laser beam is passed into the body to get images or to attack the disease causing cells. There might also be a time when the human cells can be illuminated as laser. The illuminated cells can gather more information about the interior of the human body by penetrating the damaged tissues more deeply. More research has to be done to realize this as laser needs an external light source to illuminate. Some say that this technology will be more useful in gaining information about individual cell characteristics than medical applications as the laser needs an external light source and it is difficult to produce it inside human body. Yen suggests that by integrating a nano scale cavity to laser cell we can produce a cell that will illuminate itself without any external source. Let’s hope that this technology will come into reality in the near future itself – who doesn’t want to shoot a laser from our own body!!

*by andreascy*

Animations of Unseeable Biology : TED Talk by Drew Berry

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

We have no ways to directly observe molecules and what they do -- Drew Berry wants to change that. 

At TEDxSydney he shows his scientifically accurate (and entertaining!) animations that help researchers see unseeable processes within our own cells.

It is so great to see this beautiful joining of where Science meets Art and Art meets Science. I believe this is a pretty close representation to the real process.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

After seen this video I look at everyone more like machines than human beings. A reason to wonder about. Absolutely positively undeniably awesome video presentation. Beautifully composed and well said! To see the precision of biological functions at this level, to see the complex and mechaniquesue processes is amazing to me. I feel glad to be alive. 

*by andreascy*