From months to weeks: Gene delivery method improved with new 'one-step' system

Delivered using adenovirus (Ad) vectors, therapeutic genes address the cause of disease—not just the symptoms. However, while advances in the understanding of human diseases and the genome have led to an increasing number of targeted gene therapies, gene delivery remains a significant challenge.

New research encourages harnessing health technology to help cancer patients quit smoking

New research in the May 2022 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network finds the inclusion of the smoking cessation tool Electronic Health Record-Enabled Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment (ELEVATE, from Epic) into electronic health records (EHRs) can increase self-reported patient quit rates by more than 5 percentage points. The study, from researchers at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine—an NCCN Member Institution—was part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Moonshot program through the Cancer Center Cessation Initiative.

Large study in Botswana finds daily micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy reduces complications at birth

A six-year study of nearly 100,000 women in Botswana has provided new evidence that relatively inexpensive daily diet supplementation of iron, folic acid and vitamin supplementation in pregnancy can reduce complications at birth. Researchers found that iron and folic acid supplementation (IFAS), as well as iron and folic acid plus essential vitamins and trace minerals (multiple micronutrient supplementation, or MMS), are associated with significantly lower rates of babies born at low birthweight and other complications at birth, compared to iron or folic acid alone. For example, the rate of low-birthweight birth was under 10.5 percent for women supplementing their diets with multiple micronutrients, the lowest rate of any comparison group.

Disney profit slips but streaming TV subscribers jump

Disney on Wednesday said its profit slipped in the recently ended quarter but its television streaming service and parks were booming.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-technology-news/disney-profit-slips-but-streaming-tv-subscribers-jump

Museum discovers 150-year-old platypus and echidna specimens that proved some mammals lay eggs

Jars of tiny platypus and echidna specimens, collected in the late 1800s by the scientist William Caldwell, have been discovered in the stores of Cambridge's University Museum of Zoology.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/museum-discovers-150-year-old-platypus-and-echidna-specimens-that-proved-some-mammals-lay-eggs

New study reveals that herpesvirus infection may increase risk of developing diabetes

A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) finds that two common herpesviruses may contribute to impaired glucose metabolism and an increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among infected individuals. The research was conducted by Dr. Tim Woelfle at Ludwig-Maximilians University and Helmholtz Munich, Germany, and colleagues.