BioExpert Network

Direct conversion of skin cells to neurons, skipping intermediary steps; followed by in-situ integration! Research: MIT researchers have developed a novel method to directly convert skin cells into functional motor neurons without the iPSC stage, achieving yields of over 10 neurons per cell (mouse) and up to 30% conversion in human cells. Importance: This new and efficient approach could pave the way for scalable cell therapies to treat spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases, with promising results from engrafted neurons in mouse brains. https://lnkd.in/ezAdz8_q Institutional access needed but here's an overview: https://lnkd.in/erJW485k

Meet the incredible panelists joining us for our upcoming Demo Day: 🎤 Brittany Barreto, Ph.D. - Women’s Health Innovation & FemTech Expert, Geneticist, Investor, Speaker 🎤 Chelsea Ranger -  Investor Relations & Business Development expert and the Founder/Chair of Women in Life Science Norway (WiLD Norway) 🎤 Lorena Toda -  General Manager, C-suite executive, Investor, and Director of Commercial Operations at Fresenius Medical Care Moderator: Daniel Oliver, Director of Capital Cell Key discussion points: - What would the startup investment world look like if more women were investors? - Are female founders getting less funding because there are fewer of them, or because the system is built against them? - Is women’s health underfunded due to market potential or unconscious bias? Join us at FemTech Demo Day as we dive into these important issues, explore practical solutions, and discuss everything from policy changes to supporting female entrepreneurs and increasing investment in women’s health. 📅 Date: Wednesday, February 26 ⏰ Time: 5:00 p.m. (Online) 📍 Register Now: https://lu.ma/wml63j21 Will you be part of the conversation?

Non-planar bioprinting is enhancing our capacity to replicate the intricate architectures found in native tissues. Various techniques are being explored, with some notable approaches including: - **On Top of Surface:** Directly printing on curved or irregular substrates to closely mimic natural tissue contours. - **Embedded:** Creating complex 3D geometries within supportive matrices, ensuring exceptional structural fidelity. - **Embedded Coaxial:** Incorporating coaxial extrusion within an embedded environment to generate core-shell structures that facilitate vascular network formation and layered tissue organization. - **Non-Planar Rotational:** Utilizing rotational dynamics to print on or around moving substrates, enabling the development of dynamic, multi-dimensional structures. These innovative methods are driving the advancement of more biomimetic tissue constructs, enhancing our experimental capabilities in the field of tissue engineering. #Bioprinting #TissueEngineering #3DPrinting #Biomimetics #Cellink

📢 Calling all #FemTech innovators If you're working on innovative solutions for Female health, we want to hear from you! We're looking for the next game-changing FemTech project for our portfolio. 🏆 What’s in it for you if selected? ✅ Pitch to top investors at our FemTech Demo Day on February 26th. ✅ Potential access to funding from Capital Cell ✅ Join a network shaping innovation in the ecosystem. 👉 Key Criteria: Based in Europe Stage: Pre-seed to Series A Focus: Biotech & Healthcare Preference for women-led companies 🌟 Ready to bring your innovation to the spotlight? Submit your startup by February 9th using this form: https://lnkd.in/dVZt6WqF #FemTech #Biotech #Healthcare #Innovation #WomenInHealth

🎯 My 2025 goal: Raising awareness and driving change for breast cancer survivors Hundreds of thousands of women face life-altering challenges after breast cancer surgery, challenges that too often remain unheard. At AKIRA Science, our mission is to transform this silent struggle into a story of hope and healing by addressing this critical unmet clinical need. During my recent vacation, I had the great opportunity to film an interview with #7TVRegiónMurcia, where I shared how the future will look like with our AkiMed™ Breast Implant. I also highlighted our exciting collaboration with Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB) and the Research Hospital #VirgenDeLaArrixaca, where we are advancing the final stages of our preclinical evaluation. 🚀 Join us in making a difference! We are looking to connect with individuals and organizations who are passionate about driving social impact and innovation in women's health. If you are eager to learn more, let's connect and work together to redefine and revolutionize healthcare. By transforming cutting-edge science into a unique product, we have the power to create a lasting global and social impact. 💡 Let’s make magic happen, one life at a time. #BreastCancerSurvivors #Innovation #Healthcare #MedicalDevices #ImpactInvestment #WomenHealth #TissueRegeneration #AkiraScience #AkiMedBreastImplant

Breakthrough Dementia Drug Looks to Stop Disease in its Tracks: • Filamon Limited's ALPHA-003 is a novel dementia treatment designed to prevent microtubule destruction in brain cells, a key factor in various tauopathies. • Unlike existing treatments focusing on damage consequences, ALPHA-003 aims to halt disease progression by protecting microtubules through tau and neurofilament stabilization. • Developed using deep-learning technology, ALPHA-003 initially targeted general inflammation before its potential for treating neuroinflammation was discovered. • Pre-clinical studies show ALPHA-003 effectively crosses the blood-brain barrier and prevents tau from forming harmful tangles, with results prompting early announcement before journal publication. • Filamon plans to seek clinical trial approval for ALPHA-003 in 2026, aiming to treat various tauopathies including Alzheimer's, frontotemporal dementia, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. #medicine #drugsiscovery #neurodegenerative #innovation #drugdevelopment #drugdelivery #Alzheimer Filamon Limited

Miniature #robots have the potential to transform #drugdelivery, by actively delivering drugs to the target site with minimal side effects. However, the challenge so far has been to carry more than one type of drug, and where this has been possible, adjusting the dispensing sequence and dosage has remained a challenge. Now, researchers have developed a grain-sized soft robot made up of non-toxic smart magnetic #compositematerials, capable of dispensing four different drugs in a specific and reprogrammable order and dosage by applying variable magnetic fields. It can negotiate obstacles by rolling and crawling like a mini army recruit, and like any good recruit, it has been tested in challenging environments, releasing its precious cargo over eight hours with minimal drug leakage. Long term, the idea would be to leave the robot in the body for extended periods of time, steadily releasing medication at targeted sites.

Tardigrade enjoying volvox algae. The tardigrade, also known as the water bear, has the most foreign genes among animals studied. About one-sixth of its genes are borrowed from various sources like bacteria, plants, fungi, and Archaea. This genetic diversity is believed to be key to the water bear's ability to survive in extreme conditions. It also likes to eat volvox algae by piercing the cells and sucking out the contents though it’s tube-shaped mouths.

Hot on the heels of my previous post on developing #CARTtherapies with #donorcells, comes this study on the use of #grapheneoxide – a wonder material with applications in everything from nanomedicine to the environment – to improve the efficiency and potency of CAR-T cell therapies. The new method involves anchoring #antibodies onto a flexible graphene oxide antigen-presenting platform to mimic an immunological synapse. That's quite a mouthful, I know, but what it basically does is stimulate the creation of T cells during the manufacturing process. More specifically, engineering the CAR-T cells was 5x more efficient, while T cell proliferation increase by 100x. This last result is due to the fact that the platform triggers the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a protein that stimulates the division and expansion of T cells. Since IL-2 has to be added in current manufacturing methods, and doesn't come cheap, this advance could positively impact manufacturing costs. Between this and other recent innovations, the future of CAR-T is looking bright.

Autoimmune diseases affect 5-10% of the population, and the prevalence is on the rise, especially in first-world countries. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells — engineered immune cells that are now routinely used in the treatment of #bloodcancers — have shown potential in treating #autoimmunediseases like #lupus and #multiplesclerosis. Up till now, however, the patient's own #immunecells were engineered, a personalized process that makes it expensive and time-consuming. Now, for the first time, researchers have managed to overcome this hurdle by using #CART cells from donors, rather than the patients themselves. The new therapy was tested on three patients with severe autoimmune diseases, and the clinical outcomes were phenomenal, with one of the patients reporting major improvements only three days after the treatment. As always with early stage research, there is a lot still to be done. But if it is successful, the use of donor cells would allow for the industrial scale-up of manufacture, significantly lowering the costs and making the treatments accessible on a large scale.