Handling psychological pressure key

Lance Burdett describes his job as helping people as much as he can. A safety, wellness and resilience expert, Mr Burdett has worked with elite international tactical units across police, the military, emergency services, prisons and the FBI. Now he focuses his time on helping people understand the pressures on their brains and how to handle them. Rural Support Trusts are bringing Mr Burdett to the South, where he will be speaking in Oamaru on May 13, Balclutha on May 14, Gore on May 15 and 16, and Winton on May 16. His presentation would cover why we remember and exaggerate negative things, why we worry, how self-talk can lead to negative self-talk and how to beat rural challenges like isolation and change. Originally a builder, Mr Burdett later joined the police, working his way up to becoming a police negotiator. During a rough time in his life, he suffered from depression but stayed with the police. He became the leading crisis negotiator for New Zealand police and was a detective inspector. He qualified as an FBI negotiator and attended the counterterrorist negotiator course in Darwin. He left the police after 22 years to start his own business as a safety, wellness and resilience expert. Everyone had someone in their home had experience with either anxiety, depression or suicide - "it's everywhere", he said. In presentations, he explained why that was happening and how to overcome it, using an applied technique and working using neuroscience.

Spotlight

Xilio Therapeutics, Inc.

Xilio is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on defeating cancer. The company’s proprietary technology enables the explosion of therapeutic activity specifically within the tumor while reducing toxicity throughout the body – a nod to the company name, Xilio, derived from the Latin term, Ex Nihilo, meaning creation or big-bang. Xilio is applying its technology to build a broad pipeline of engineered antibodies, cytokines and chemokines as potential new options for people living with cancer.

OTHER ARTICLES
MedTech

AI and Biotechnology: The Future of Healthcare Industry

Article | July 13, 2022

Artificial intelligence has grasped the foundation in biotech. It can have the most innovative impact on biotechnology. AI has already established its presence in our day-to-day life. AI has made the existence of self-driving cars possible. Likewise, the benefits and quality that it can contribute to biotech can also be felt. With AI, bio technicians will be able to enhance virtual screening, overlook preliminary datasets from clinics, and decipher an enormous amount of information. It can also help in improving the medication process by gathering and analyzing every bit of information. The Significance of AI in Biotechnology In the past few years, the application of artificial intelligence in the biotechnology industry has shifted from being sci-fi to sci-fact. A vast number of biotech companies like Deep Genomics are adopting AI for making data-driven decisions and use analytics tools to work efficiently. Unlike the AI robots in sci-fi that are ready to take over the world. AI designed for biotech has been designed to solve certain problems or complete a bunch of tasks by using automated algorithms. The aim of AI technology for biotech is to collect insights along with hidden patterns from large amounts of data. All the different industries of biotech including agriculture, animal, medical, industrial, and bioinformatics are gradually being affected by artificial intelligence. Moreover, the biotech industry is realizing that AI enables them some of the important strength to their business, including: Expanding accessibility Cost-effectiveness Critical predictions Efficient decision-making Research centers like PwC have also estimated output of $15.7 trillion by 2030 solely with AI contribution in industries. A survey revealed that about 44% of life science experts are using AI for R&D activities, as well. Use of AI in Biotechnology Altering Biomedical and Clinical Data So far the most developed use of AI is its ability to read voluminous data records and interpret them. It can prove to be a life-save for bio technicians who would have to examine that much data from research publications by themselves for the validation of their hypothesis. With the help of AI, clinical studies of patients will also become easier as all the examination reports and prescriptions will be stored in one place for cross-reference. Furthermore, it will also help in blending and fetching data into usable formats for analysis. Test Result Prediction Through trial and error, AI along with machine learning can help in predicting the response of the patient to certain drugs to provide more effective outcomes. Drug Design & Discovery AI plays a vital role whether it’s designing a new molecule or identifying new biological targets. It helps in identifying and validating drugs. It reduces the cost and time spent on the entire drug trial process and reaches the market. Personalized Medications for Rare Diseases With the combination of body scan results, patients’ body and analytics, AI can also help in detecting dangerous diseases at an early stage. Improving Process of Manufacturing To improve the process of manufacturing in biotechnology, AI offers a wide range of opportunities. It controls quality, reduces wastage, improves useability, and minimizes the designing time. Moving Towards AI-Enhanced Biotech Future Ever since the concept of artificial intelligence has arrived, being curious by nature, humans have started working towards achieving this goal. It has been growing at a fast pace while showing unbelievable growth and achievements at times. In comparison to the traditional methods used in the biotechnology industry, AI-based methods seem more reliable and accurate. In the upcoming years, it will show its success by improving the quality of health people have. You can also develop your AI-based application or know more about it by taking IT consultations.

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MedTech

2 Small-Cap Biotech Stocks You Haven't Heard of, But Should Know About

Article | July 11, 2022

With everything that's going on with the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare companies have grabbed plenty of spotlight during these challenging times. At the same time, a number of otherwise promising businesses have slipped under the radar. That's especially true for small-cap biotech stocks that aren't actively involved in developing tests, vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. Vaccine developers, protective equipment producers, and healthcare service providers are all attracting plenty of attention during this pandemic, but there are just as many promising biotech stocks that aren't involved in these areas. Here are two such companies that you might have missed, but they deserve a spot on your watch list.

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Medical

Next-Gen Gene Therapy to Counter Complex Diseases

Article | July 14, 2022

Gene therapy has historically been used to treat disorders with in-depth knowledge caused by a single genetic mutation. Thanks to the introduction of new generation technologies, the potential of gene therapy is expanding tAo treat diseases that were previously untreatable. Evolution of Gene Therapy One of the major success stories of the twenty-first century has been gene therapy. However, it has not been the same in the past. The field's journey to this point has been long and mostly difficult, with both tragedy and triumph along the way. Initially, genetic disorders were thought to be untreatable and permanently carved into the genomes of individuals unfortunate enough to be born with them. But due to the constant technological advancement and research activities, gene therapy now has the potential to treat various genetic mutation-causing diseases with its ability to insert a new copy and replace faulty genes. Gene Therapy is Finding New Roads in the Medical Sector Gene therapy can help researchers treat a variety of conditions that fall under the general heading of epilepsy, instead of only focusing on a particular kind of disorder brought on by a genetic mutation. Following are some of the domains transformed by gene therapy. Neurology – Gene therapy can be used for the treatment of seizures by directly injecting it into the area causing an uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. Furthermore, by using DNA sequences known as promoters, gene therapy can be restricted to specific neurons within that area. Ophthalmology – Genetic conditions such as blindness can be caused due to the mutation of any gene out of over 200 and resulting in progressive vision loss in children. With advanced gene therapies such as optogenetics, lost photoreceptor function can be transferred to the retinal cells, which are responsible for relaying visual information to the brain. This might give patients the ability to navigate in an unknown environment with a certain level of autonomy. The Future of Gene Therapy The news surrounding gene therapy has been largely favorable over the past few years, with treatment after treatment obtaining regulatory approvals, successful clinical trials, and garnering significant funds to begin development. With more than 1,000 clinical trials presently underway, the long-awaited gene therapy revolution might finally be here.

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MedTech

How to Choose a Reliable Biotech Clinical Trial Management System?

Article | October 7, 2022

Introduction The medical and life-science industries are experiencing a robust transformation with the increasing prevalence of various types of diseases, including infectious diseases, chronic disorders, and acute conditions around the world. As a result, a significant rise in demand for more effective therapeutic drugs and bionics is being witnessed, leading to a swift increase in the number of clinical trials. For a successful trial, it is important for biotech companies to ensure the data submitted to regulatory bodies regarding clinical trials is accurate, reliable, and definitive from an ethical point of view. A reliable clinical trial management system plays a vital role in collecting, monitoring, and managing clinical data. The availability of high-quality clinical data also helps clinical research institutions make efficient treatment decisions and provide proper patient care. Hence, a number of biotech companies and research organizations are focusing on leveraging innovative clinical trial management solutions to handle a large amount of data, particularly in multi-center trials, and generate reliable, high-quality, and statistically sound data from clinical trials. However, selecting the most appropriate and reliable clinical trial management system is vital for the clinical trial's success. Let's see some of the steps that will assist these firms in choosing the right CTMS. Key Steps for Selecting Right Biotech Clinical Trial Management System Prioritize Study Needs Considering and prioritizing study needs is a crucial step in choosing the most reliable clinical trial management system for biotech companies. Prioritizing helps them to identify a solution that improves the study's quality and removes uncertainty for researchers when faced with difficult choices. Hence, biotech and life-science organizations should choose a clinical trial system that is simple to use, well-organized, and suitably designed to minimize the number of clicks required to complete a task. Select CTMS with Multiple Integrations Integrated clinical trial management systems provide the best value for the companies’ funds as they guarantee the smooth functioning of research protocols. In addition, integrations are necessary to fully understand the importance and advantages of clinical trial management software for ensuring smooth transitions between site management and data collection. Biotech and clinical research should look for CTMS platforms that can integrate with electronic medical record (EMR) platforms and clinical research process content (CRPC) billing grids. This will allow them to use the same billing designations and ensure compliance while minimizing the need for duplicate processes. Ensure System Compliance and Security Clinical research organizations need to adhere to a plethora of complex regulations in order to ensure compliance with one of the most challenging environments of principles, which is information security and privacy. Security and system compliance are vital aspects of choosing the right CTMS solutions for biotech firms as they assist in building trust and form a part of the system’s duties. While selecting CTMS systems, it is essential for companies engaged in clinical research to ensure that these platforms are able to configure both, group and individual permissions, along with having a data backup and recovery plan for hosted systems. This will allow companies to assess the privacy and security implications of research and anticipate complications that may arise in each phase of the project. Assess the Scalability Choosing a scalable CTMS that can accommodate various types of fluctuations and expansions enables biotech and clinical firms to quickly adapt to fast-changing trends and demand spikes while reducing maintenance costs and enhancing user agility. As scalability also means secure and expanded data storage, these businesses should instead use SaaS solutions than manually manage an ever-growing collection of hard drives. The right CTMS ensures accommodating the firm’s availability requirements without incurring the capital costs associated with expanding a physical infrastructure. The Closing Thought A well-executed and successful clinical trial involves multiple stages and processes. Several quality controls and stringent adherence to regulations are essential for the steps, along with efficient cross-departmental processes and procedures. Incorporating the right CTMS paves the way for paperless data collection, regulatory filing, and fiscal management tools for biotech researchers and administrative personnel.

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Spotlight

Xilio Therapeutics, Inc.

Xilio is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on defeating cancer. The company’s proprietary technology enables the explosion of therapeutic activity specifically within the tumor while reducing toxicity throughout the body – a nod to the company name, Xilio, derived from the Latin term, Ex Nihilo, meaning creation or big-bang. Xilio is applying its technology to build a broad pipeline of engineered antibodies, cytokines and chemokines as potential new options for people living with cancer.

Related News

Neurocrine Biosciences and Xenon Launch Up-to-$1.7B Epilepsy, Neuroscience Collaboration

GEN | December 02, 2019

Neurocrine Biosciences has agreed to exclusively license and co-develop Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ Phase I epilepsy candidate XEN901 as a treatment for children—as well as develop three preclinical compounds, the companies said today—through a collaboration that could generate up to $1.7 billion for Xenon. XEN901 is designed as a highly selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor being developed to treat children with SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (SCN8A-DEE) and other potential indications, including adult focal epilepsy. Xenon has completed a Phase I trial of a powder-in-capsule formulation of XEN901 in healthy adults. However, Xenon has also developed a pediatric-specific, granule formulation of XEN901, and has completed juvenile toxicology studies intended to support pediatric development of the drug candidate. “With its proven expertise in developing and commercializing treatments for neurological disorders, we believe Neurocrine Biosciences is an ideal partner to maximize the potential value of XEN901 for patients,” Xenon CEO Simon Pimstone, MD, PhD, FRCPC, said in a statement.

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Using Machine Learning To Reveal How the Brain Encodes Memories

Technology Networks | November 28, 2019

Researchers working in The N.1 Institute for Health at NUS, led by Assistant Professor Camilo Libedinsky from NUS Psychology, and Senior Lecturer Shih-Cheng Yen from the Innovation and Design Programme at NUS Engineering, have discovered that a population of neurons in the brain’s frontal lobe contain stable short-term memory information within dynamically-changing neural activity. This discovery may have far-reaching consequences in understanding how organisms have the ability to perform multiple mental operations simultaneously, such as remembering, paying attention and making a decision, using a brain of limited size. In the human brain, the frontal lobe plays an important role in processing short-term memories. Short-term memory has a low capacity to retain information. “It can usually only hold six to eight items. Think for example about our ability to remember a phone number for a few seconds – that uses short-term memory,” Libendisky explained.

Read More

Researchers Uncovered a New Mechanism of Neurodegeneration

Technology Networks | November 22, 2019

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited neurodegenerative condition that affects 1 in 2500 individuals. Currently, however, it is still lacking effective treatment options. New research has demonstrated that a class of cytoplasmic enzymes called tRNA synthetases can cause CMT by interfering with the gene transcription in the nucleus. This breakthrough is the result of an international academic collaboration, where scientists from the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology and the Scripps Research Institute were the driving force. The study was published in the leading journal Nature Communications. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a condition that affects the peripheral nervous system. It leads to progressive muscle weakness and loss of sensation in the lower and - later on - upper limbs. It is the most commonly inheritable neuromuscular disorder and, at the moment, remains incurable. The first symptoms can appear both in early childhood or during adult life. Over 90 genes are implicated in the pathology so far and these are involved in a variety of processes. This complexity makes it a difficult condition to study and find a treatment for.

Read More

Neurocrine Biosciences and Xenon Launch Up-to-$1.7B Epilepsy, Neuroscience Collaboration

GEN | December 02, 2019

Neurocrine Biosciences has agreed to exclusively license and co-develop Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ Phase I epilepsy candidate XEN901 as a treatment for children—as well as develop three preclinical compounds, the companies said today—through a collaboration that could generate up to $1.7 billion for Xenon. XEN901 is designed as a highly selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor being developed to treat children with SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (SCN8A-DEE) and other potential indications, including adult focal epilepsy. Xenon has completed a Phase I trial of a powder-in-capsule formulation of XEN901 in healthy adults. However, Xenon has also developed a pediatric-specific, granule formulation of XEN901, and has completed juvenile toxicology studies intended to support pediatric development of the drug candidate. “With its proven expertise in developing and commercializing treatments for neurological disorders, we believe Neurocrine Biosciences is an ideal partner to maximize the potential value of XEN901 for patients,” Xenon CEO Simon Pimstone, MD, PhD, FRCPC, said in a statement.

Read More

Using Machine Learning To Reveal How the Brain Encodes Memories

Technology Networks | November 28, 2019

Researchers working in The N.1 Institute for Health at NUS, led by Assistant Professor Camilo Libedinsky from NUS Psychology, and Senior Lecturer Shih-Cheng Yen from the Innovation and Design Programme at NUS Engineering, have discovered that a population of neurons in the brain’s frontal lobe contain stable short-term memory information within dynamically-changing neural activity. This discovery may have far-reaching consequences in understanding how organisms have the ability to perform multiple mental operations simultaneously, such as remembering, paying attention and making a decision, using a brain of limited size. In the human brain, the frontal lobe plays an important role in processing short-term memories. Short-term memory has a low capacity to retain information. “It can usually only hold six to eight items. Think for example about our ability to remember a phone number for a few seconds – that uses short-term memory,” Libendisky explained.

Read More

Researchers Uncovered a New Mechanism of Neurodegeneration

Technology Networks | November 22, 2019

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited neurodegenerative condition that affects 1 in 2500 individuals. Currently, however, it is still lacking effective treatment options. New research has demonstrated that a class of cytoplasmic enzymes called tRNA synthetases can cause CMT by interfering with the gene transcription in the nucleus. This breakthrough is the result of an international academic collaboration, where scientists from the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology and the Scripps Research Institute were the driving force. The study was published in the leading journal Nature Communications. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a condition that affects the peripheral nervous system. It leads to progressive muscle weakness and loss of sensation in the lower and - later on - upper limbs. It is the most commonly inheritable neuromuscular disorder and, at the moment, remains incurable. The first symptoms can appear both in early childhood or during adult life. Over 90 genes are implicated in the pathology so far and these are involved in a variety of processes. This complexity makes it a difficult condition to study and find a treatment for.

Read More

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