Food Poisoning Bacteria’s Sugar Coating Could Be It’s Undoing

ANNA MACDONALD | September 19, 2019 | 73 views

Underreporting and the difficulties presented in establishing causal relationships between illness and food contamination mean that the burden of foodborne disease to public health and the economy is frequently underestimated. A 2015 report from the World Health Organization on the global burden of foodborne diseases presented the first-ever estimates of disease burden caused by 31 foodborne agents (bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins and chemicals) at global and regional levels. One of the leading causes of foodborne illness is the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni, highlighting the importance of being able to identify infections caused by this bacterium and reduce its prevalence in the food chain.

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Top 10 biotech IPOs in 2019

Article | July 20, 2022

The big question at the start of 2019 was whether the IPO window would stay open for biotech companies, particularly those seeking to pull off ever-larger IPOs at increasingly earlier stages of development. The short answer is yes—kind of. Here’s the long answer: In the words of Renaissance Capital, the IPO market had “a mostly good year.” The total number of deals fell to 159 from 192 the year before, but technology and healthcare companies were standout performers. The latter—which include biotech, medtech and diagnostics companies—led the pack, making up 43% of all IPOs in 2019. By Renaissance’s count, seven companies went public at valuations exceeding $1 billion, up from five the year before

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MEDTECH

Cell Out? Lysate-Based Expression an Option for Personalized Meds

Article | October 7, 2022

Cell-free expression (CFE) is the practice of making a protein without using a living cell. In contrast with cell line-based methods, production is achieved using a fluid containing biological components extracted from a cell, i.e., a lysate. CFE offers potential advantages for biopharma according to Philip Probert, PhD, a senior scientist at the Centre for Process Innovation in the U.K.

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MEDTECH

Closing bacterial genomes from the human gut microbiome using long-read sequencing

Article | July 16, 2022

In our lab, we focus on the impact of the gut microbiome on human health and disease. To evaluate this relationship, it’s important to understand the particular functions that different bacteria have. As bacteria are able to exchange, duplicate, and rearrange their genes in ways that directly affect their phenotypes, complete bacterial genomes assembled directly from human samples are essential to understand the strain variation and potential functions of the bacteria we host. Advances in the microbiome space have allowed for the de novo assembly of microbial genomes directly from metagenomes via short-read sequencing, assembly of reads into contigs, and binning of contigs into putative genome drafts. This is advantageous because it allows us to discover microbes without culturing them, directly from human samples and without reference databases. In the past year, there have been a number of tour de force efforts to broadly characterize the human gut microbiota through the creation of such metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs)[1–4]. These works have produced hundreds of thousands of microbial genomes that vastly increase our understanding of the human gut. However, challenges in the assembly of short reads has limited our ability to correctly assemble repeated genomic elements and place them into genomic context. Thus, existing MAGs are often fragmented and do not include mobile genetic elements, 16S rRNA sequences, and other elements that are repeated or have high identity within and across bacterial genomes.

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Selexis Cell Line Development Strategies

Article | February 11, 2020

In today’s biotechnology landscape, to be competitive, meet regulations, and achieve market demands, “we must apply Bioprocessing 4.0,” said Igor Fisch, PhD, CEO, Selexis. In fact, in the last decade, “Selexis has evolved from cloning by limiting dilution to automated cell selection to nanofluidic chips and from monoclonality assessment by statistical calculation to proprietary bioinformatic analysis,” he added. Single-use processing systems are an expanding part of the biomanufacturing world; as such, they are a major component of Bioprocessing 4.0. “At Selexis, we use single use throughout our cell line development workflow. Currently, we have incorporated single-use automated bioprocessing systems such as ambr® and the Beacon® optofluidic platform for accelerated cell line development. By using these systems and optimizing our parameters, we were able to achieve high titers in shake flasks. Additionally, the Beacon systems integrate miniaturized cell culture with high-throughput liquid handling automation and cell imaging. This allows us to control, adjust, and monitor programs at the same time,” noted Fisch.

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HighRes Biosolutions

HighRes Biosolutions is the leader in the design and construction of innovative robotic systems and laboratory devices used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies and academic research laboratories.

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Having a Certain Type of Bacteria in Your Guts May Increase Risk of Developing Bowel Cancer

Technology Networks | November 04, 2019

In the first study to use a technique called Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal role played by bacteria in the development of bowel cancer, Dr Kaitlin Wade, from the University of Bristol, told the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference: “We found evidence that the presence of an unclassified type of bacteria from a bacterial group called Bacteroidales increased the risk of bowel cancer by between 2-15%. “This means that, on average, people with this type of bacteria within their gut may have a slightly higher risk of bowel cancer compared to those who don’t. We were able to use Mendelian randomization to understand the causal role that these bacteria may have on the disease. Our findings support previous studies that have shown that Bacteroidales bacteria are more likely to be present, and in larger quantities, in individuals with bowel cancer compared to those without the disease.” The microbiome is a community of microorganisms, bacteria in this case, that occur naturally in the body. There is increasing evidence that the make-up of the microbiome plays a role in the human health and the body’s susceptibility to disease. The human gut microbiome, which contains approximately three trillion bacteria, aids digestion and provides protection against infections. It is determined by a person’s individual genetic makeup and their environment, so is unique to each person. It also remains relatively stable across a person’s life, unless it is affected by antibiotics, an illness or a change of diet, among other things.

Read More

Researchers grow citrus disease bacteria in the lab

Phys.org | September 12, 2019

Washington State University researchers have for the first time grown the bacteria in a laboratory that causes Citrus Greening Disease, considered the world's most harmful citrus disease. Being able to grow the elusive and poorly understood bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), will make it easier for researchers to find treatments for the disease that has destroyed millions of acres of orange, grapefruit and lemon groves around the world and has devastated the citrus industry in Florida. The researchers, including Phuc Ha, postdoctoral research associate, Haluk Beyenal, Paul Hohenschuh Professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, David Gang and Ruifeng He, from WSU's Institute of Biological Chemistry, Anders Omsland, from the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, and researchers from the University of Florida and University of Arizona, report on their work in the journal, Biofilm.

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Are Phages the Wave of the Future? Using Viruses to Treat Bacterial Diseases

biospace | May 16, 2018

Researchers with the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania used a genetically modified bacteriophage—a type of virus that infects bacteria—to successfully treat 15-year-old Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway, a British girl with cystic fibrosis who had been fighting a drug-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus infection half her life. Her physician, Helen Spencer, with London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, was out of options and reached out to Graham Hatfull at U of P. Their approach appeared to work, although they caution that because it was outside a controlled clinical trial, there may be other factors to their patient-specific cocktail. She continues to receive the treatments, which haven’t cured the infection, but appears to have it under control. The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine. Earlier this year, Ella Balasa, a 26-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, made the news when she was apparently successfully treated for a lung infection using a bacteriophage. Balasa has cystic fibrosis, which she was diagnosed with at the age of one year.

Read More

Having a Certain Type of Bacteria in Your Guts May Increase Risk of Developing Bowel Cancer

Technology Networks | November 04, 2019

In the first study to use a technique called Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal role played by bacteria in the development of bowel cancer, Dr Kaitlin Wade, from the University of Bristol, told the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference: “We found evidence that the presence of an unclassified type of bacteria from a bacterial group called Bacteroidales increased the risk of bowel cancer by between 2-15%. “This means that, on average, people with this type of bacteria within their gut may have a slightly higher risk of bowel cancer compared to those who don’t. We were able to use Mendelian randomization to understand the causal role that these bacteria may have on the disease. Our findings support previous studies that have shown that Bacteroidales bacteria are more likely to be present, and in larger quantities, in individuals with bowel cancer compared to those without the disease.” The microbiome is a community of microorganisms, bacteria in this case, that occur naturally in the body. There is increasing evidence that the make-up of the microbiome plays a role in the human health and the body’s susceptibility to disease. The human gut microbiome, which contains approximately three trillion bacteria, aids digestion and provides protection against infections. It is determined by a person’s individual genetic makeup and their environment, so is unique to each person. It also remains relatively stable across a person’s life, unless it is affected by antibiotics, an illness or a change of diet, among other things.

Read More

Researchers grow citrus disease bacteria in the lab

Phys.org | September 12, 2019

Washington State University researchers have for the first time grown the bacteria in a laboratory that causes Citrus Greening Disease, considered the world's most harmful citrus disease. Being able to grow the elusive and poorly understood bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), will make it easier for researchers to find treatments for the disease that has destroyed millions of acres of orange, grapefruit and lemon groves around the world and has devastated the citrus industry in Florida. The researchers, including Phuc Ha, postdoctoral research associate, Haluk Beyenal, Paul Hohenschuh Professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, David Gang and Ruifeng He, from WSU's Institute of Biological Chemistry, Anders Omsland, from the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, and researchers from the University of Florida and University of Arizona, report on their work in the journal, Biofilm.

Read More

Are Phages the Wave of the Future? Using Viruses to Treat Bacterial Diseases

biospace | May 16, 2018

Researchers with the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania used a genetically modified bacteriophage—a type of virus that infects bacteria—to successfully treat 15-year-old Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway, a British girl with cystic fibrosis who had been fighting a drug-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus infection half her life. Her physician, Helen Spencer, with London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, was out of options and reached out to Graham Hatfull at U of P. Their approach appeared to work, although they caution that because it was outside a controlled clinical trial, there may be other factors to their patient-specific cocktail. She continues to receive the treatments, which haven’t cured the infection, but appears to have it under control. The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine. Earlier this year, Ella Balasa, a 26-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, made the news when she was apparently successfully treated for a lung infection using a bacteriophage. Balasa has cystic fibrosis, which she was diagnosed with at the age of one year.

Read More

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