Sonia Arrison » Biotech

DNA: The next big hacking frontier

sonia — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:28:33 +0000

Vivek Wadhwa, who has just joined us at Singularity University, wrote this article for the Washington Post on hacking DNA. Much of his argument echos what I say in 100 Plus: “Just as the personal computer revolution brought information technology from corporate data centers to the masses, the biology revolution is personalizing science”

The Man Who Was “Cured” of HIV

sonia — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:34:01 +0000

Here’s a link to my recent interview with ‘Big Think’ where I mentioned Timothy Brown, the only man who has ever been cured of AIDS.

Singularity Summit was Excellent — MSNBC Article

sonia — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:51:46 +0000

Last weekend’s Singularity Summit in NYC was an excellent event. I enjoyed meeting many smart folks interested in future tech issues. Here’s an article from MSNBC about the event, as well as a photo taken by my friend Steve Rosenbaum:

Having healthier people around for longer means that they can remain productive far later in life, Arrison pointed out. Many past innovators accomplished some of their greatest or most creative work relatively late in life — Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa at 51, and Benjamin Franklin conducted his kite experiment at 46.

“Innovation is a late-peak field,” Arrison told the audience gathered at the Singularity Summit.

White House Seeks Ideas for National Bioeconomy Blueprint

sonia — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:58:58 +0000

From GenomeWeb News:

The Obama Administration is asking the biomedical and biotech industries and research communities for their ideas about what steps the country should take to support and advance biological research innovation and business.

The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy wants interested parties to provide comments on ways to address new challenges and opportunities related to biological research innovations, including genomics and high-throughput technologies, as it develops its National Bioeconomy Blueprint.

Scientists turn back the clock on adult stem cells aging

sonia — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:57:33 +0000

This is important news:

Researchers have shown they can reverse the aging process for human adult stem cells, which are responsible for helping old or damaged tissues regenerate. The findings could lead to medical treatments that may repair a host of ailments that occur because of tissue damage as people age. A research group led by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Georgia Institute of Technology conducted the study in cell culture, which appears in the September 1, 2011 edition of the journal Cell Cycle.

Research opens the possibility of temporarily reversing aging in the immune system

sonia — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:25:52 +0000

Researchers funded by the UK-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered a new mechanism controlling ageing in white blood cells. The research, published in the September issue of the Journal of Immunology, opens up the possibility of temporarily reversing the effects of ageing on immunity and could, in the future, allow for the short-term boosting of the immune systems of older people.

Here’s the link to the press release.

Dr. Anthony Atala on the power of regenerative medicine

sonia — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:38:06 +0000

Dr. Atala of Wake Forest University is one of the leaders in the field of regenerative medicine — a true hero. Here’s a recent op-ed he wrote for CNN on the topic.

Health care worker of the future in developing countries

sonia — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:12:43 +0000

This is an amazing article about (70 year old!) Harvard Professor George Whitesides. He’s working to create cheap diagnostics for developing countries and he tells the reporter this:

My view of the health care worker of the future is not a doctor, but an 18-year-old, otherwise unemployed, who has two things. He has a backpack full of these tests, and a lancet to occasionally take a blood sample, and an AK-47. And these are the things that get him through his day.

Wow. (HT to Bryan for re-posting this article to the DIY Bio list).

UCLA Scientists Create Army of Immune Cells to Kill Cancers

sonia — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:46:32 +0000

This is super-interesting and the researchers say they could be testing it in humans within a year.
From the press release:

“Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center created a large, well armed battalion of tumor-seeking immune system cells and watched, in real time using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), as the special forces traveled throughout the body to locate and attack dangerous melanomas.”

First meeting of Obama’s Bioethics Council

sonia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:09:54 +0000

Was a super-interesting discussion. Recordings of the sessions are up on the web already if you missed them.