Organic industry anti-pesticide ‘propaganda’ threatens to cripple American agriculture

In The Wealth of Nations, the 18th century economist and philosopher Adam Smith observed about the chicanery of some businessmen, “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” Nowhere is that truer than in today’s organic agriculture and food industries, whose bamboozling of the public relies on chicanery and misrepresentations.

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Spacelabs Healthcare

Founded in 1958, Spacelabs developed the first vital signs monitoring for NASA astronauts culminating in Neil Armstrong wearing Spacelabs telemetry for the moon landing in 1969. Spacelabs delivers continuous innovation in healthcare technology for better clinical and economic outcomes. Our scalable solutions deliver critical patient data across local and remote systems, enable better-informed decisions, increase efficiencies, and create a safer environment for patients.

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MedTech

Next-Gen Genetics Cancer Therapies Creating Investment Prospects

Article | July 16, 2022

Genetic therapeutics such as genetic engineering and gene therapy are increasingly emerging as one of the most influential and transformed biotechnological solutions around the globe in recent times. These genetic solutions are being assessed across various medical domains, including cancer treatment, neurology, oncology, and ophthalmology. Citing the trend, the genetics industry is estimated to experience a tsunami of approvals, with over 1,000 cell and gene therapy clinical trials currently underway and over 900 companies worldwide focusing on these cutting-edge therapies. Growing Cancer Encourages Advancements in Genetic Technologies With the surging cases of cancers such as leukemias, carcinomas, lymphomas, and others, patients worldwide are increasing their spending on adopting novel therapeutic solutions for non-recurring treatment of the disease, such as gene therapy, genetic engineering, T-cell therapy, and gene editing. As per a study by the Fight Cancer Organization, spending on the treatment of cancer increased to $200.7 billion, and the amount is anticipated to exceed $245 billion by the end of 2030. Growing revenue prospects are encouraging biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies to develop novel genetic solutions for cancer treatment. For instance, Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., a Japanese pharmaceutical company, introduced a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy, Abecma, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma in 2022. Amid a New Market: Genetics Will Attract Massive Investments Despite several developments and technological advancements, genetics is still considered to be in a nascent stage, providing significant prospects for growth to the companies that are already operating in the domain. Genetics solutions such as gene therapies, gene editing, and T-cell immunotherapy are emerging as highly active treatments across various medical fields, resulting in increasing research and development activities across the domain, drawing significant attention from investors. Given the potential of genetic treatments and the focus on finding new ways to treat cancer and other related diseases, it's easy to understand why companies are investing in the domain. For instance, Pfizer has recently announced an investment of around $800 million to construct development facilities supporting gene therapy manufacturing from initial preclinical research through final commercial-scale production. Due to these advancements, cell and gene therapies are forecast to grow from $4 billion annually to more than $45 billion, exhibiting growth at a 63% CAGR. The Future of Genetics Though there is a significant rise in advancement in genetic technologies and developments, the number of approved genetic treatments remains extremely small. However, with gene transfer and CRISPR solutions emerging as new modalities for cancer treatment, the start-up companies will attract a growing amount and proportion of private and public investments. This is expected present a tremendous opportunity for biopharma and biotechnology investors to help fund and benefit from the medical industry's shift from traditional treatments to cutting-edge genetic therapeutics in the coming years.

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MedTech

5 Biotech Stocks Winning the Coronavirus Race

Article | July 20, 2022

There are quite a few companies that have found ways to grow their business during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true for a number of biotechs now working on developing a potential treatment for, or vaccine against, the virus; shares of such companies have largely surged over the past couple of months. Although many of these treatments and vaccines are still have quite a way to go before they're widely available, it's still worth taking some time to look through what's going on in the COVID-19 space right now. Here are five biotech stocks that are leading the way when it comes to addressing COVID-19. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) wasn't among the initial wave of companies to announce a potential COVID-19 drug. However, investor excitement quickly sent shares surging when the company announced that its rheumatoid arthritis drug, Kevzara, could help treat COVID-19 patients.

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MedTech

AI and Biotechnology: The Future of Healthcare Industry

Article | July 12, 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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Medical

Nanostructures: Emerging as Effective Carriers for Drug Delivery

Article | July 14, 2022

Natural remedies have been employed in medicine since antiquity. However, a large number of them fail to go past the clinical trial stages. In vivo instability, poor solubility and bioavailability, a lack of target-specific delivery, poor absorption, and side effects of the medication are only a few of the problems caused by the use of large-sized materials in drug administration. Therefore, adopting novel drug delivery systems with targeted medications may be a solution to address these pressing problems. Nanotechnology has received tremendous attention in recent years and has been demonstrated to help blur the boundaries between the biological and physical sciences. With great success, it plays a vital part in enhanced medication formulations, targeted venues, and controlled drug release and delivery. Limitations of Traditional Delivery Trigger the Adoption of Nanoparticles The field of nanotechnology and the creation of drug formulations based on nanoparticles is one that is expanding and showcasing great potential. It has been thoroughly researched in an effort to develop new methods of diagnosis and treatment and to overcome the limitations of several diseases' current therapies. As a result, nanoparticles are being used to improve the therapeutic effectiveness and boost patient adherence to treatment by increasing medication bioavailability, drug accumulation at a particular spot, and reducing drug adverse effects. The nanoparticles could be transformed into intelligent systems housing therapeutic and imaging agents by manipulating their surface properties, size, correct drug load, and release with targeted drug delivery. Nanostructures facilitate the release of combination medications at the prescribed dose since they remain in the blood circulation system for a long time. Therefore, they result in fewer plasma fluctuations with decreased side effects. Due to their nanoscale, these structures can easily enter the tissue system, promote the absorption of drugs by cells, make medication administration more effective, and ensure that the medicine acts at the targeted location. The Way Ahead Nanomedicine and nano-delivery systems are a comparatively new but fast-evolving science in which nanoscale materials are used as diagnostic tools to deliver drug molecules at precisely targeted sites in a controlled manner. It is finding applications for the treatment of diseases such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, cancer, ocular, AIDS, and diabetes, among others. With more research and technological advancement, these drug delivery solutions will open up huge opportunities for companies that work with them.

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Spotlight

Spacelabs Healthcare

Founded in 1958, Spacelabs developed the first vital signs monitoring for NASA astronauts culminating in Neil Armstrong wearing Spacelabs telemetry for the moon landing in 1969. Spacelabs delivers continuous innovation in healthcare technology for better clinical and economic outcomes. Our scalable solutions deliver critical patient data across local and remote systems, enable better-informed decisions, increase efficiencies, and create a safer environment for patients.

Related News

RNA-protein network may explain why melanoma grows more

Phys.org | October 29, 2018

With five-year survival rates being around 30 percent for patients with distant metastatic disease, cutaneous melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer-related deaths. The major causes of the low survival rate for melanoma patients are the limited number of options for patients lacking the BRAF mutation and the intrinsic and acquired resistance to existing therapies. It is therefore essential to develop new therapeutic strategies to eradicate resistant cells and/or target patients irrespective of their driver mutations. A collaboration led by scientists from KU Leuven, Belgium, with Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Japan, revealed a new way to fight melanoma. They report that a melanoma-specific long non-coding RNA, named SAMMSON, interacts with the protein CARF to properly coordinate protein synthesis in both the cytosol and mitochondria of melanoma cells. This mechanism ensures the maintenance of proteostasis during cell growth, thus avoiding the induction of cell death.

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Study reveals best use of wildflowers to benefit crops on farms

Phys.org | October 16, 2018

With bee pollinators in decline and pesky crop pests lowering yields, sustainable and organic farmers need environmentally friendly solutions. One strategy is to border crops with wildflower plantings to attract pollinators and pest predators. But scientists have suggested that such plantings may only be effective when farms are surrounded by the right mix of natural habitat and agricultural land. For the first time, a Cornell University study of strawberry crops on New York farms tested this theory and found that wildflower strips on farms added pollinators when the farm lay within a "Goldilocks zone," where 25 to 55 percent of the surrounding area contained natural lands. Outside this zone, flower plantings also drew more strawberry pests, while having no effect on wasps that kill those pests.

Read More

The government is going to counter ‘misinformation’ about GMO foods

bioteh | May 03, 2017

The Food and Drug Administration will fund a campaign to promote genetically modified organisms in food under a bipartisan agreement to keep the government funded through the end of September.

Read More

RNA-protein network may explain why melanoma grows more

Phys.org | October 29, 2018

With five-year survival rates being around 30 percent for patients with distant metastatic disease, cutaneous melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer-related deaths. The major causes of the low survival rate for melanoma patients are the limited number of options for patients lacking the BRAF mutation and the intrinsic and acquired resistance to existing therapies. It is therefore essential to develop new therapeutic strategies to eradicate resistant cells and/or target patients irrespective of their driver mutations. A collaboration led by scientists from KU Leuven, Belgium, with Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Japan, revealed a new way to fight melanoma. They report that a melanoma-specific long non-coding RNA, named SAMMSON, interacts with the protein CARF to properly coordinate protein synthesis in both the cytosol and mitochondria of melanoma cells. This mechanism ensures the maintenance of proteostasis during cell growth, thus avoiding the induction of cell death.

Read More

Study reveals best use of wildflowers to benefit crops on farms

Phys.org | October 16, 2018

With bee pollinators in decline and pesky crop pests lowering yields, sustainable and organic farmers need environmentally friendly solutions. One strategy is to border crops with wildflower plantings to attract pollinators and pest predators. But scientists have suggested that such plantings may only be effective when farms are surrounded by the right mix of natural habitat and agricultural land. For the first time, a Cornell University study of strawberry crops on New York farms tested this theory and found that wildflower strips on farms added pollinators when the farm lay within a "Goldilocks zone," where 25 to 55 percent of the surrounding area contained natural lands. Outside this zone, flower plantings also drew more strawberry pests, while having no effect on wasps that kill those pests.

Read More

The government is going to counter ‘misinformation’ about GMO foods

bioteh | May 03, 2017

The Food and Drug Administration will fund a campaign to promote genetically modified organisms in food under a bipartisan agreement to keep the government funded through the end of September.

Read More

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