2015 Biomedical Development Review

United States

    Brain research has made new achievements, medicine and disease prevention has made a number of major breakthroughs in synthetic biology achievement scene.
    Subject Field (newspaper reporter stationed in the United States) in 2015, American scientists made a major breakthrough in the field of brain research: in August, Ohio State University to breed almost fully formed human brain in the laboratory, although it has only a pencil eraser then large, the degree of development and a 5-week-old fetal brain quite, yet there is no awareness, but with the vast majority of cell types and brain function, and can be like the human brain gene expression, using it can help scientists to test new drugs and more more understanding of the disease mechanisms of the brain; in September, the University of Washington research team completed the most complex human brain directly connected experiments, they used a brain - brain directly connected, so five pairs of subjects brain signals transmitted via the Internet to play Answers game. This trial was the first proof of two brain can be connected directly, and without sound, one can accurately guess the other ideas. In addition, US scientists have drawn a hyperfine 3D mouse brain atlas, the map by a series of high-definition image mosaic, individual nerve cells in the nanometer scale never before visible.

    The field of vaccine research and design: a number of research institutions and enterprises involved in the development of Ebola vaccine has been a period or completion of Phase II human clinical trials. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign by "genome mining" technology searched for 10,000 kinds of bacteria, with four years discovered 19 kinds of previously unknown natural phosphates new products, each of which is expected to become a potential new drugs, one of which has been confirmed as antibiotics.

    Cancer research: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first treatment of melanoma and other cancers-viral drugs, and its core is the use of a modified engineering herpes virus, without harming healthy cells to kill destroy cancer cells, and trigger anti-cancer immune response in the human body; the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that whole-genome sequencing can identify cancer risk cancer family background of the crowd, to improve the diagnosis of genetic variation in the ability of cancerous tendency; Harvard University use Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) microscopy techniques, without fluorescently labeled molecular mechanism that is observed in vivo skin cell division process, DNA, cells can interfere with normal development without understanding the extent of the cancer cells.

    AIDS Study: Gene therapy based on "strong" new drug eCD4-Ig can prevent a variety of known strains of HIV infection, rhesus monkey tests showed its effectiveness is much higher than existing best broad-spectrum anti- Ai drugs. The new drug by pretending the virus "shut out" - cause the body to produce two kinds of receptors CD4 and CCR5 "cottage" goods, "spoofing" the AIDS virus binds, thereby losing the opportunity for the virus to enter the body. US researchers have developed a probe called "molecular microscope", it is possible to accurately detect the AIDS virus hides in the land of intracellular ultimately can help clarify the AIDS virus for a long time remaining answers, so as to be completely from the body Clear.

    Basic medical research areas: US researchers have found that a key component of one associated with depression - fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) protein and its content in the brains of patients with depression is much higher than non-depressed patients; Northwestern University Researchers studying nematode found that when the animals reach reproductive maturity, a genetic switch will open the aging process, but also protect the body from aging; Johns Hopkins University found that a magnetic separation column containing magnetic nanoparticles means to accelerate the generation of T cells, whose ultimate goal is to train T cells in the patient's blood sample and to increase their number, and finally put them back in the patient's body, the device helps to knock on the door of immunotherapy; the University of California San Francisco using gene editing technology CRISPR / Cas9 precise modification of human T cells; Harvard Medical School to capture the pigs to become one of the biggest difficulties of human organ donors - sever porcine endogenous retroviruses in vivo re-transplant recipients the possibility of activation, is expected to make the pig organ donor to become human.

    Aspects of synthetic biology: Duke University researchers used biopsy cells, for the first time in the laboratory to produce a can shrink and respond to external stimuli human skeletal muscle, it can be like natural human tissues to external electrical pulses and pharmaceuticals to stimulate the biochemical signals make the same reaction; MGH researchers used acellular technology to create a method of constructing artificial biological limbs and blood vessels and have successfully bred a mouse forelimb muscle tissue; University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University developed An artificial ribosome, they can be as natural as ribosomes in the cell to produce proteins and enzymes for the production of new drugs and the next generation of biological material and understanding the ribosome function provides assistance; Stanford University to create a flexible, can change color The pressure-sensitive material, touching the intensity is different, the color will change with, become the closest date chameleon skin of synthetic material; US scientists first bred with human cells can sound artificial vocal cord tissue, animal experiments show that the organization able to grow normally and did not elicit an immune response, which offers hope to patients who have lost the vocal cords; US researchers extracted stem cells from human skin more genetic recombination, and encouraged a owner of micro-ventricular heart cells, this " little heart "can be as heart beating like a full-size, can replace animal experiments which, screening new drugs or testing drugs affect the baby.