Science & academia

Model lungs

World-first lung cancer vaccine trials launched across seven countries

| By | -, Change Milestones

Lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer death, accounting for about 1.8 million deaths every year. Now experts are testing a new jab that instructs the body to hunt down and kill cancer cells – then prevents them from ever coming back. Known as BNT116 and made by BioNTech, the vaccine is designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease. The phase 1 clinical trial, the first human study of BNT116, has launched across 34 research sites in seven countries: the U.K., U.S., Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and Turkey.

World-first lung cancer vaccine trials launched across seven countries Read more

Honeycomb

Manuka honey reduces breast cancer cell growth by 84% in preliminary studies

| By | -, Change Milestones

Manuka honey is produced from the nectar collected by honey bees when they pollinate the mānuka, a species of tea tree indigenous to New Zealand and southeast Australia. Now, preliminary studies by researchers at UCLA have found that this nutraceutical might aid in breast cancer prevention and treatment. The honey-treated mice showed significantly suppressed tumor growth compared to controls. Overall, it inhibited the growth and progression of an established human breast cancer tumor by 84% without affecting healthy cells.

Manuka honey reduces breast cancer cell growth by 84% in preliminary studies Read more

MIT naloxone sensor implant

MIT scientists reverse opioid overdoses with ‘Narcan sensor’ implanted under skin

| By | -, Change Milestones

In 2023, more than 100,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. The most effective way to save someone who has overdosed is to administer a drug called naloxone, but help can’t always reach the person in time. Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new device to address this problem. The device, about the size of a stick of gum, can be implanted under the skin. When it determines that an overdose has occurred, it rapidly pumps out a dose of naloxone.

MIT scientists reverse opioid overdoses with ‘Narcan sensor’ implanted under skin Read more

Seastar

Lab-grown starfish released into wild for the first time ever, saving species from extinction

| By | -, Change Milestones

Due to sea star wasting disease, lower oxygen levels in seawater, and rising temperatures, starfish populations are at risk around the globe. Across the last decade, the sunflower star population plummeted by over 90%. Fortunately, in 2019, marine biologist Jason Hodin stepped up to save the sea stars from extinction. At the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs, Hodin has carefully grown and raised several generations of sunflower starfish in a controlled environment, breeding them from a select sample of starfish he rescued from the harbor five years prior.

Lab-grown starfish released into wild for the first time ever, saving species from extinction Read more

Vials of blood

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves blood test to screen for colon cancer

| By | -, Change Milestones

The test, known as Shield, isn’t meant to replace colonoscopies, but is generating enthusiasm among doctors who say it has the potential to boost the dismal rate of screenings for the second-highest cause of cancer death in the United States. Shield has previously been available to doctors as a screening tool, at an out-of-pocket cost of $895. With the FDA approval, Medicare and private insurance companies are much more likely to cover the cost of the blood test, making it more widely accessible for patients.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves blood test to screen for colon cancer Read more

Ocean Energy grid-scale wave energy generator Hawaii

Revolutionary grid-scale wave energy generator deployed in Hawaii

| By | -, Change Milestones

Ocean Energy has deployed its 826-tonne wave energy converter buoy OE-35 at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site off the coast of the island of Oahu ahead of it being hooked up to Hawaii’s electricity grid. With a potential output of 1.25 MW, OE-35 harnesses energy from the waves using a remarkable double-flow air system.

Revolutionary grid-scale wave energy generator deployed in Hawaii Read more

HIV virus

New twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV achieves 100% success rate in late-stage trial

| By | -, Change Milestones

In this double-blind, randomized study of 5,300 cisgender women in South Africa and Uganda, 2,134 got the injection and the others took one of two types of daily PrEP pills. The trial from California-based company Gilead Sciences began on August 2021 and, so far, not a single woman who received the injections has contracted HIV. The participants who received either of the oral PrEP options, Truvada and Descovy, had infection rates of about 2% — consistent with the infection rates of oral PrEP in other clinical trials.

New twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV achieves 100% success rate in late-stage trial Read more

Mouse

Japanese scientists reverse Alzheimer’s synapse damage in mice

| By | -, Change Milestones

Scientists from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology say they have reversed the signs of Alzheimer’s disease in lab mice by restoring the healthy function of synapses, critical parts of neurons that shoot chemical messages to other neurons. If the treatment successfully survives the gauntlet of clinical studies with human participants, it could potentially lead to a groundbreaking new treatment for humans suffering from the deadly disease.

Japanese scientists reverse Alzheimer’s synapse damage in mice Read more

Sick woman, stomach pain and hands on abdomen

U.K. researchers identify and treat major cause of inflammatory bowel disease

| By | -, Change Milestones

For the first time, a major trigger in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related conditions has been identified, and existing drugs can stamp it out, in what scientists call a “massive step” in successfully treating these debilitating chronic conditions. Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London (ICL), have uncovered a problem gene enhancer that stimulates action along a specific biological pathway that causes IBD inflammation.

U.K. researchers identify and treat major cause of inflammatory bowel disease Read more

X-ray image of the intestine

New bowel cancer drug is found to be 100% effective

| By | -, Change Milestones

An immunotherapy drug could spare bowel cancer patients the need for surgery and chemotherapy after results showed it was effective in 100% of cases. Jemperli from British pharmaceutical company GSK showed “unprecedented results”, the firm said, with no evidence of disease in all patients treated. The data showed all 42 patients in a trial led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S. had a complete response to treatment, with no evidence of tumors on scans.

New bowel cancer drug is found to be 100% effective Read more

Start typing and press enter to search