Aspect Biosystems, a Vancouver life sciences company that uses 3D bioprinting to grow human cells into specialized tissue, has inked a collaboration deal with a Danish stem cell therapy company that could be worth more than $3 billion. Aspect Biosystems and Novo Nordisk A/S have struck a collaboration agreement to use their respective expertise to develop bioprinted tissue therapeutics to treat diabetes…
A polygenic risk score (PRS) is derived from a genome-wide association study and represents an aggregate of thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms that provide a baseline estimate of an individual’s genetic risk for a specific disease or trait at birth. However, it remains unclear how PRSs can be used in clinical practice. We provide an overview of the PRSs related to…
Between 5-50% of COVID-19 survivors are estimated to develop long-COVID (LC), which includes diverse symptoms that can last months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. These symptoms can involve the entire body, including the respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems, and can be debilitating, greatly affecting the quality of life of individuals with LC and their families. Although the symptoms are…
Stem cells typically reside in a specialized physical and biochemical environment that facilitates regulation of their behavior. For this reason, stem cells are ideally studied in contexts that maintain this precisely constructed microenvironment while still allowing for live imaging. Here, we describe a long-term organ culture and imaging strategy for hematopoiesis in flies that takes advantage of powerful genetic and…
The musculoskeletal system relies on the integration of multiple components with diverse physical properties, such as striated muscle, tendon, and bone, that enable locomotion and structural stability. This relies on the emergence of specialized, but poorly characterized, interfaces between these various elements during embryonic development. Within the appendicular skeleton, we show that a subset of mesenchymal progenitors (MPs), identified by Hic1,…
Researchers at Simon Fraser University are studying the genes of superbugs to aid the development of new and effective treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections. Superbugs are characterized as infection-causing bacteria resistant to treatment with antibiotics. “Antimicrobial resistance occurs when the disease-causing bacteria has ways to overcome the antibiotics that we use in treatment for infections,” says assistant professor Amy Lee,…
Researchers have found a link between the reduced activity of a mood-regulating neurotransmitter in the brain and bipolar mania. In a breakthrough study, researchers have identified a potential root cause of acute manic symptoms among people with bipolar disorder. Characterized by periods of extreme highs followed by long-lasting depression, bipolar disorder can have harmful effects on patients and their loved…
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a major cause of severe bloody diarrhea, with potentially lethal complications, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome. In humans, EHEC colonizes the colon, which is also home to a diverse community of trillions of microbes known as the gut microbiota. Although these microbes and the metabolites that they produce represent an important component of EHEC’s ecological niche, little…
What if we could test for and treat a disease before noticing symptoms? Researchers at Simon Fraser University (SFU) are working on ultrasensitive, rapid sensors that can signal disease at an early stage using cytokine biomarkers. Biomarkers are measurable molecular indicators in the body commonly used to
New University of British Columbia research is challenging a longstanding assumption that a baby’s gut microbiome is primarily shaped by their mother’s vaginal microbiome, while shedding new light on the factors that do influence its development. When babies are born, their gut is a nearly sterile environment. But that quickly changes as the infant’s digestive tract becomes home to trillions…
