Yeast Can Now Produce THC, Marijuana’s Infamous Compound,cannabidiol .

Yeast, the sugar-gobbling microorganism that’s filled our bellies with beer and bread for millennia, has a new, increasingly important, role to play in society: serving as a therapeutic drug factory. In August, scientists announced they had genetically engineered yeast to produce the painkiller hydrocodone, and even before that breakthrough, modified yeast churned out the anti-malarial drug artemisinin. Now, scientists have customized yeast to create THC (the marijuana chemical that produces a “high”) and cannabidiol Biochemists from the Technical University in Dortmund, Germany, created a genetically-engineered yeast strain to produce very small amounts of THC or cannabidiol. Unlike normal yeast, however, these custom yeast have to be fed cannabigerolic acid, which is a precursor molecule to THC and cannabidiol. Using a molecular precursor as a starting point is a bit like reading a book from the middle chapters to its conclusion. Ideally, the entire process would start with simple sugars — or chapter 1 — rather than precursors to complete the entire chemical pathway that the marijuana plant does naturally. However, scientists believe they’ll get to that point and scale up production for industrial use in the near future, the New York Times reports. The team published its work with the yeast strain that produces THC in the journal Biotechnology Letters. They also created a separate strain that produces cannabidiol, but those data are yet to be published. Marijuana is chock full of molecular compounds that are fascinating to scientists. Synthetic THC is already available in pill form and it is used to ease nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, or stimulate the appetites of people with H.I.V. or other infections. Cannabidiol, a compound that is not psychoactive, has shown potential to reduce the frequency of seizures in epileptic individuals. Yeast factories could help scale up production of these chemicals not just for therapy, but for research too. Producing marijuana’s constituent compounds in vast quantities would give researchers a supply of marijuana’s myriad chemicals to better understand how, or if, they work as advertised. Still, at the moment, the plant is far more efficient than the yeast — modern marijuana strains can contain more than 30 percent THC by dry weight. So there’s still a long way to go before THC-producing yeast change the landscape of cannabis research. Researchers will likely need to splice many more genes into species of yeast to complete the entire chemical reaction in a single strain. But at the rate that genetically-modified yeast research is advancing, it may not be a long wait. culled from science for the curious Discover.

Dentist aids National Aviary in quest for better fix for broken beaks.

For birds, a beak injury can be catastrophic. The pointed, hard structures are essential for tasks large and small, such as eating, catching food and grooming feathers. In many ways, a beak is another limb.“They use their beaks for everything,” said Pilar Fish, director of veterinary medicine at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh's North Side. “Beaks are their teeth, their hands, and they help birds get their feathers in place to fly. It's devastating to see a fractured beak and to know it could pop off at any moment.” Fish described the injuries — and the challenges of beak and talon repair — to Dr. Mark Pechersky, a pediatric dentist, when he toured the aviary a few months ago with his wife, Debbie. The aviary reports about five such injuries annually. Fish lamented how she couldn't find a quality adhesive agent to fix fractured beaks and talons. She was using horse hoof acrylics that gave off a nasty smell and took a long time to dry. Pechersky, 69, wanted to help.He hadn't visited the aviary since he was 9 or 10 years old and came away from the visit thoroughly impressed with the aviary and its 500 birds from 150 species. Pechersky offered up a potential solution: pediatric dental bonding materials that dry in less than three minutes, are clear and don't smell. First, they'd have to test out his theory. Birds' beaks are mainly composed of keratin, a protein that provides structure and strength. Pechersky and Fish wanted to learn whether Pechersky's dental materials would secure damaged beaks as they do with kids' teeth. "What we learned together is that, even though beaks are smooth and hard, the dental materials work very well,” Fish said. “That was the most exciting discovery for us. It's nice to have all these different levels of technique available for the birds.” Pechersky followed up by donating dental tools and training Fish on how to make the fixes. He traveled to the aviary for a fourth time to work with Fish on an old skull of a red-tailed hawk. He instructed how to drill, bond and use light-activated dental resins, which dry quickly under the bright blue light of tiny flashlight devices. Fish intentionally broke the beak and then adhered it with dental materials.“This is wonderful,” she said. “If you don't repair a beak well enough then, basically, it can't eat and it may not heal at all.” Fish, who trained as a zoo veterinarian and developed a specialty in birds, has worked with everything from sharks to elephants. “The fragility, the beauty of birds is astonishing along with the diversity of them,” she said. “They are the most fragile patients. To work solely in avian medicine, you have these challenges similar to pediatrics with them being so fragile. Collaborating with the professional community to customize these new procedures is the only way we are going to advance avian medicine.” She always tries to avoid anesthesia with birds unless they are undergoing surgery. “When we only had horse hoof acrylics, they can take 15 minutes to adhere,” Fish said. “You have that bird, and the smell is worse than paint fumes. The fact that this is under three minutes to adhere means we can hold the birds and there is no anesthesia and no pain to get the beaks fixed.” Pechersky, who has been a pediatric dentist for 42 years, happily volunteered his time and services. The next step will be a live beak repair when the opportunity arises. “These dental materials continue to get better and faster and less toxic,” said Pechersky, whose office is in Monroeville. “The new generations of materials don't have fumes and are made for children's mouths. They bond hundreds of times better than the older materials.” Fish has Pechersky on speed-dial for the next emergency. He'll be ready. “This place is incredible; I'm amazed at all the changes from my visit as a child,” he said. “I'm not sure the general public is aware of what a local treasure this is.” Culled from Triblive

Health officials announce first Zika-related death in Puerto Rico.

A patient with Zika virus infection in Puerto Rico has died of complications related to severe thrombocytopenia, according to a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). It is the first Zika virus-associated death to be reported in the country. “Although Zika virus-associated deaths are rare, the first identified death in Puerto Rico highlights the possibility of severe cases, as well as the need for continued outreach to raise health care providers’ awareness of complications that might lead to severe disease or death,” Emilio Dirlikov, PhD, of the Puerto Rico Department of Health’s Office of Epidemiology and Research and the CDC’s Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, and colleagues wrote. Zika virus infections continue to rise the researchers reported that weekly case counts of Zika virus infection have gradually increased in the country since late November. As of April 14, health officials from the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and CDC Dengue Branch in San Juan, identified 6,157 patients with suspected arbovirus infections. Among them, 11% of patients, including 65 symptomatic pregnant women, were identified as probable or laboratory-confirmed Zika virus cases. The most common symptoms among these patients included rash (74%), myalgia (68%), headache (63%), fever (63%) and arthralgia (63%). Seventeen patients required hospitalization, including five with suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome. culled from healio.com

DATA, A..I, DOCTORS AND HEALTHCARE.

One of the biggest problems facing doctors isn't patients' injuries or illnesses – it's the sheer quantity data.  Most will spend more time going over medical records than actually dealing with their patients.

It's a problem that "AI doctors" could help address, with supercomputers processing information far faster and more efficiently. IBM's Kyu Rhee tells the crowd at WIRED Health, Rhee sees a "cognitive system" such as IBM's Watson supercomputer having a similar role to play in human healthcare.

This systems will become as ubiquitous as the humble stethoscope. Rhee, who was a physician earlier in his career, recalls struggling with the sheer volume of data involved in treating patients.

Worse, the data was presented, at the time, on reams of paper and charts. Throw in new materials and understanding generated by medical journals and it soon becomes a mountain of information that can hinder, rather than help.

MAPPING GENOMES ,DATA AND HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

The human body is basically made up of million of cells that are packed with vital information about a person,their health status,disease tendencies and preferences. Genes have been the basis of existence of living creatures,providing information as regards the entity,much of the potential hidden in each entity were never fully utilized,because the level of information available at that time and what many believe was possible. Today,the story is very different with genome mapping,creating a new approach to disease diagnosis,treatment options and prevention of genetic diseases. This mapping of genomes provides us a wide range of data for health protocols, strategic planning and advanced understanding of what makes a man,who he is,what he feels and loves to do and eat. Beijing Genomics CEO Ye Yin, explains that a huge amount of information is locked in each of us and decoding it all could unlock big secrets. He spoke at Wired health , that there are around 100 trillion cells in the human body, each one containing three billion base pairs of DNA. If stretched in a line, they would cover the distance from Earth to the Moon more than 8,000 times. Despite the information density of the human genome, the actual genetic diversity between species isn't that wide. Yin pointed out that we share 63 per cent of our genes with fish and up to 96 per cent with chimpanzees. Even between two humans, the individual genetic variance is only around 0.5 per cent, yet it can result in pronounced differences. Yin said You can grow tall or short and there are maybe only a few base pairs difference in certain genes but genes determine many variable obvious phenotypes. For example, double or single eyelids, whether you can bend your thumbs back or not, if you can roll your tongue, even how much alcohol you can drink. Yin said if genes can be accurately mapped, then this will be a "big data revolution for healthcare". There is already, non-invasive prenatal tests that tests in-utero babies' DNA for Down's Syndrome, and Yin sees "gene tech" becoming like vaccines – a public health shield. Yin's company ,BGI Genomics is one of the world's leading genomics companies. They have recorded outstanding successes ,among which are decoding the Sars virus and creating the first detection kit; sequencing the first ancient human's genome; and serving as a key sequencing centre in the 1000 Genomes Project. Widespread genetic sequencing also has the potential to reflect population-wide health trends. Ying showed heatmaps generated from sequencing data depicting rates of likelihood of disease-causing mutations across China, contrasted against Europe. If this practice became common, the information could even reveal health differences between towns, potentially highlighting local-scale problems. The wealth of information in our cells is just a tip of the iceberg , Yin points to another genomic factor that can impact our health which is the bacteria in our guts. "There are always two to three kilograms of gut microbials in every person," he said . "It's another genome in our body and its even called a second breed. If you feel hungry, maybe it's your bacteria that feels hungry, not you. They're saying 'you must give us some cultures we want'." Even though it's all coming from the same gene background ,the human body the different microgenomics can have huge effects. Experiments on mice have shown that swapping bacteria can affect weight gain and retention. The results are a brand new way of rethinking various nutritional elements, and how to correct them . The phenomenal amount of data in our bodies can, and eventually will be mapped, right down to the individual and microgenomic levels,but human behavior and choices will remain a major influence on our health. materials from wired

Scientists can now grow billions of blood cells in the lab .

Jo Mountford from the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow, started trying to create blood in the lab in 2007 and is now able to create it on demand.Jo Mountford is making billions of red blood cells in a laboratory in Glasgow, and now wants to scale-up production up big time. The team – funded by the Wellcome Trust and incorporating universities and organisations from around the UK – is now able to produce the cells in 30-31 days. In 2008, her team produced 100,000 red blood cells and by 2014 the output had reached ten billion cells for the year. The ten billion cells were stored in 88 flasks and made up 8.8 litres of blood. "We can choose what blood group we make," Mountford told the audience at WIRED Health,and the key to growing red blood cells is manufacturing stem cells. Novosang, the organisation created by Mountford and her colleagues, aims to create the blood to meet the increasing demand on blood transfusions. With around 90 million transfusions needed worldwide each year, the need for more blood is acute. Mountford said there were both challenges for the developed and undeveloped world, especially where malaria and HIV remain endemic. To tackle the rising demand for blood, and to help bring its ''as nature" product to a level where it can be tested and considered for human trials, Mountford is now trying to industrialize the production. A bioreactor system has been created for the level of production required, this can produce ten litres of blood in one go – but the project is far from a conclusion. Blood production in bioreactors needs to be sped up and it also needs to be done more quickly. There are also the regulatory issues of using lab-grown blood on humans. culled from wired.co.uk

3D-printing dentists are recreating entire jaws.

3D-printing has been used for basic dental procedures for years – and the technology is now advanced enough to reconstruct entire jaws. Andrew Dawood, a dentist with Dawood and Tanner, told the audience at WIRED Health that they have used the lost wax technique which has been around 5,000 years,but 3D-printing has allowed him to do more with patients and do it faster. Dawood explained that he was able to design and print the frameowrk, cutting guides and parts needed to perform complex dental surgery. He said all it required was data collected from 3D scans and patient records. Plaster of Paris parts used for surgery are now 3D-printed and Dawood also uses plastics, rubbers, and metals while printing. He said they are not 3D-printing bone yet,but will one day. A technique to make and 3D-printed human bone hasn't been developed yet, but Dawood and other surgeons are already using bone from other parts of the body to reconstruct entire jaws in the most complex cases. Josh Stephenson, a designer and one of Dawood's patients, had his jaw reconstructed after suffering from a malignant melanoma. After unsuccessful radiotherapy treatment, Stephenson underwent surgery to remove his left eye, upper left jaw and the roof of his mouth. Using a 3D-scanned and printed copy of Stephenson's skull it was possible to recreate the missing parts of his jaw. Stephenson, who is a graphic designer, has since used the same 3D-scanning and printing technique to create new products. Dawood was able to asses the dentistry work needed from the 3D-printed model and then say how surgery to repair it should be carried out. Using "bone taken from [Stephenson's] scapular" the dentist and other surgeons reconstructed his jaw. Using this type of technology, there can be more accurate intervention and quick return of patient to society . culled from wired.co.uk