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What will be the biggest scientific breakthrough of 2020? – Stuff.co.nz

Cheap, re-purposed cancer drugs, negative carbon-emissions technology, calculating how fast the universe is expandingand huge leaps forward in quantum computing.

Will one of these be the biggest scientific breakthrough of 2020?

We asked a handful of New Zealand's top scientists what "Eureka!" moments might be on the cards next year but even with their formidable combined brain power and expertise, some found it hard to answer and hinted it was difficult to sheet home specific advances to any one year.

And, as one scientist says, 2020's most ground-breaking discovery may come as a total surprise, made accidentally by a student in a lab late one night.

READ MORE:*Scientists are baffled: What's up with the universe?*Medicine already in use may help cancer treatments*Roger Hanson: How you figure out the age of the universe*Doing my part not only to be carbon neutral but carbon negative

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2020's most ground-breaking discovery may come as a total surprise, made accidentally by a student in a lab late one night.

Wellington's Gillies McIndoe Research Institute is carrying out cutting-edge research into ways of treating cancer without radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery.

The institute's founder and executive director, Dr Swee Tan, believes significant steps will be made in 2020 towards "re-purposing" existing drugs for cancer treatment.

Tan, a plastic surgeon and medical researcher who has received international recognition for dealing with life-threatening and disfiguring conditions, saiddrugs licensed and marketed for a particular treatment often had other benefits.

"They can be re-purposed for another condition, for the treatment of cancer. This is usually with drugs that have been around for some time they are off-patent, so they become generic, which means they cost next to nothing.

"Another advantage is their safety profile is well understood."

Wellington's Gillies McIndoe Research Institute's founder and executive director, Dr Swee Tan, believes significant steps will be made in 2020 towards "re-purposing" existing drugs for cancer treatment.

Globally, 18 million new cancer cases are diagnosed each year, resulting in nearly 10 million deaths.

"In New Zealand alone, new cancer cases are about 25,000 a year, and on top of that there are 11,000 non-melanoma skin cancers.

"The incidence of cancer is predicted to increase by 50 per cent by 2035, which is just around the corner. We are completely unprepared for that."

The increased incidence of cancer largely bowel, breast, prostate and lung cancers, and melanoma is mostly because people are living longer and due to lifestyle and diet, Tan says.

"Part of the problem now is the expense of treatment. In New Zealand, we spend $1 billion a year to treat cancer, and that is just the fiscal cost, that doesn't count emotional or personal.

"The cost is escalating because of the novel cancer drugsand, at some point, we are not going to be able to afford treatment for cancer.

"This creates disparity in access to treatment because some of these drugs are not funded and, if you have the means, you can buy it, but I don't think that is a good way to run a society. I think a society should allow people to access healthcare, regardless of personal circumstance."

Royal Society Te Aprangi/VIMEO

New Zealand is as vulnerable as all countries to the global growth in antimicrobial resistance that is making some diseases untreatable. Dr Siouxsie Wiles, a microbiologist from the University of Auckland, a Royal Society Te Aprangi Councillor and an expert adviser on the report on antimicrobial resistance produced by Royal Society Te Aprangi explains why it is such a big issue for us.

The institute has been undertaking a clinical trial based on drug re-purposing to control cancer stem cells, the proposed origin of cancer.

"It consists of a combination of low-cost, off-patent, oral medications to control cancer stem cells. We believe this would be more effective than using a single drug.

"For the cost of the drug itself, it costs about $4000 a year a patient, compared with the average cancer treatment, which is about $50,000 per patient.

"You have to prove it is effective first. The big issue with drug re-purposing is 'big pharma' is not interested because there is no money in it. The only way that we can realise the potential is for philanthropy and government to support initiatives like this."

Propranolol, a beta-blocker, had been added to the treatment for melanoma and angiosarcoma.

During 2020, GMRI would also be working on treatments for disfiguring keloid scars.

"They can cause quite significant issues with quality of life. They affect about 2 per cent of the general population, but in dark-skinned races, especially from the African continent, incidence can be up to 16 per cent.

"Treatment is really quite unsatisfactory, hence the reason why we are researching a solution. If you do surgery to remove it, almost every single one returns. Sometimes surgery is followed by radiotherapy to prevent recurrence. Topical chemotherapy is also used.

"What we have found is stem cells as the underlying problem. We are doing further work, which may allow us to develop a simpler, more effective, low-cost treatment taken by mouth, or by applying to the keloid lesion directly."

University of Auckland molecular biologist Dr Hilary Sheppard, a specialist in developmental and stem-cell biology, thinks there will be more emphasis next year on the gene-editing of adult cells.

University of Auckland microbiologist,associate professor Siouxsie Wiles, a specialist in infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, says there are "desperately" needed breakthroughs in her field next year and beyond, including:

- Rapid "bedside" diagnostic tests that are cheap and can tell the medical practitioner if the patient has a bacterial or viral infection "a bonus if it can tell, if bacterial, what antibiotics would kill the bacterium responsible".

- Effective vaccines for tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, Staphylococcus aureus, Group A and B Streptococci, giardia "I could go on and on".

- Drugs that can kill carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae "a very scary group of organisms that are becoming untreatable".

"The other breakthroughs we need aren't scientific, they are political," she says.

"[We need] a global agreement on tackling antimicrobial resistance, which would include incentives to bring the pharmaceutical industry back in to antimicrobial development.

"Failing that, nationalisation of pharmaceutical companies so that development of drugs isn't a for-profit initiative."

Phil Doyle/Stuff

University of Auckland microbiologist, associate professor Siouxsie Wiles, says a global agreement on tackling antimicrobial resistance is desperately needed.

University of Auckland molecular biologist Dr Hilary Sheppard, a specialist in developmental and stem-cell biology, thinks there will be more emphasis next year on the gene-editing of adult cells.

"We have seen some major breakthroughs this year, such as the versatile tool which allows for gene-editing with increased precision over existing tools so the technique is becoming more reliable and safer. Hopefully, next year, we will see these newer techniques being tested in clinically relevant cells.

"As part of that, I hope we will see a community-wide discussion about the ethics of gene-editing with a particular focus on adult cells. Personally, I do not think we should be editing germline cells or embryos at least not for the next five years, while the ethical issues are debated.

"Part of gene-editing is knowing what DNA sequence needs to be edited, so I think I hope this could be the year where personalised medicine and individual genotyping takes off.

"Our research focuses on patients with a fragile skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa (EB). We are pushing to get patients with EB genotyped so that we can perform gene-editing on their skin cells we can't do anything useful without this information.

"Currently, we are paying for the genotyping out of our research budgets. Of course, genotyping raises its own ethical and societal issues, so I hope we will see more discussion about this."

In 2020, results should start rolling in from clinical trials using edited T-cells against melanoma and edited bone-marrow cells to treat patients with sickle-cell anaemia, Sheppard says.

"These are very exciting times. I'm sure we'll see more clinical trials targeting previously untargeted disorders soon perhaps for conditions like Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis."

RNZ

In this podcast, The Detail's Sharon Brettkelly talks to Auckland University physics professor Shaun Hendy about his no-flying mission for the whole of last year.

While Tan, Sheppard and Wiles are looking for discoveries on the tiniest of scales, other scientists are grappling with the biggest question in the universe.

Theoretical cosmologist and University of Auckland professor of physics Richard Easther is among those hoping for a resolution of what has become known as "Hubble tension" a growing disagreement in calculations of how fast the universe is expanding, which has repercussions on its likely age.

The Hubble Constant the number that tells us how fast the universe was expanding has always been hard to measure, he says.

"There was a period of time when a whole different bunch of approaches to measuring it had converged on a single value, which is fascinating. But just over the last couple of years, it seems like there are now two different sets of numbers you get and they've pulled apart a little bit.

"You know, there's this joke that science isn't so much about people saying 'Eureka!' but about someone looking at something and going, 'well, you know, that's funny'.

"This is increasingly resembling one of those moments.

"The numbers are clustering around two values one that would put it in the early to mid-70s [kilometres per second per megaparsec], and one that would put it in the mid- to late 60s, and the uncertainty in the measurements is such that they don't really overlap with each other.

"As the individual measurements get more accurate, the sharpness of the disagreement is growing."

University of Auckland physicist, professor Shaun Hendy, is expecting leaps ahead in clean energy in 2020.

Does it matter? Of course, Easther says.

"There are different physical assumptions that go into the different measurementsandso, if there is a real discrepancy, it would tell us there's something about the expansion of the universe that we don't understand.

"It's hinting at that. The implication seems to be that the story is one step more complicated than current models of the expanding universe might recognise.

"One thought is, that in one set of numbers, there's something that got missed and kind of got away. The other possibility is, there's something kind of physical, that isn't included in our current thinking of the expanding universe.

"The idea that there is something interesting going on is something that cosmologists over the course of the last year have grown substantially more willing to entertain."

Chris Skelton/STUFF

Nicola Gaston is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland and Co-Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.

At the University of Otago, associate professor Mikkel Andersen, a physicist in the university's Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, has been making astounding international discoveries and controlling the movement of individual atoms in a world-first laboratory experiment.

Such control opens up possibilities for a "second quantum technology revolution" and quantum supremacy, something Andersen says will creep closer in 2020.

The first quantum revolution was made possible by the discovery of quantum mechanics in the 1920s, leading to the development of transistors and lasers, the building blocks of all computers.

In the second, he says quantum computers of fewer than 100 atoms will ultimately be able to out-compete "the world's combined conventional computing power".

"Reaching quantum supremacy means that a quantum computer will be able to do calculations that cannot be done on the world's conventional computers. I do not know if it will happen next year, but it will happen eventually.

"In recent years, Google, IBM, Microsoft and a lot of others have invested enormously in development of quantum computers. Quantum supremacy is likely still some years away, but it is one of those things that would clear all the headlines if it happened in 2020."

University of Auckland physicist,professor Shaun Hendy, agrees.

"Google declared quantum supremacy last month they demonstrated that a quantum computer could beat a conventional computer, albeit at a very niche task.

"We'll see more of this next year, as quantum computers start to stretch their legs just don't expect to see one on your phone any time soon."

Ross Giblin

Victoria University of Wellington's professor James Renwick hopes to see breakthroughs in climate change science which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Hendy is also expecting leaps ahead in clean energy in 2020.

"We will continue to see the cost of solar and battery technologies fall, to the extent that they will start to disrupt other energy systems. We have seen this already in Australia, where it has become a defining political issue.

"It will play out differently in New Zealand, because our grid is already more than 80 per cent renewable, while many of our industrial energy systems are not. Expect to see some of our big industrial corporates Fonterra, NZ Steel etc moving to greener industrial processes."

Victoria University of Wellington's Professor James Renwick, head of the school of geography, environment and earth sciences, hopes to see breakthroughs in climate change science which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He points to work being done at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson into the benefits of using the seaweed Asparagopsis armata as cattle feed. Chemicals in the red seaweed reduce microbes in the stomachs of cattle that make them burp when eating grass.

Renwick is also excited about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to help with severe weather prediction.

"Weather forecasters are totally inundated with information these days, volumes of radar data and satellite data coming through every 10 minutes. So, AI can help in making sense of all that, and what is the most important in determining where, for example, a severe storm will happen."

University of Otago associate professor Mikkel Andersen believes a "second quantum technology revolution" and quantum supremacy will creep closer in 2020.

Auckland University of Technology senior lecturer Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh also foresees huge steps forward in AI and its applications next year and beyond.

"In the medical sector, AI is being used to speed up symptom recognition and diagnosis. Early warning signs can be easily detected, allowing fast reaction.

"Environment and climate monitoring using AI can assist with weather-cycle predictions, frost warnings, and harvest alerts. Automated irrigation is possible using moisture and temperature sensors."

There are also uses in New Zealand's burgeoning space industry, in traffic management and in the "smart home" of the future, she says.

"New Zealand is a leader and frontrunner in the development of AI and related fields. The next 10 years of technology development are set to be exciting."

David White

Auckland University of Technology senior lecturer Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh foresees huge steps forward in AI and its applications next year.

University of Auckland physicist, associate professor Nicola Gaston, co-director of the Victoria University of Wellington-hosted MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, told Stuff scientific discovery did not happen "one year at a time".

"Discoveries that impact on our lives next year will be built on work that has been going on for decades. The biggest discoveries of next year will be the ones that impact on our lives in a decade or two.

"But there is no competition between this fundamental scientific work of discovery and the development of technologies. The two go in tandemand, perhaps in 2020, we can try to appreciate that."

That may be finding a way of moving to negative emissions technologies, or changing the chemistry of materials so they are recyclable and avoid environmental pollution.

"The most important breakthrough of 2020 will be one that none of us sees.

"It'll be a dedicated student or post-doc in a lab somewhere, or up late at night on a computer, who solves the last remaining piece of one of the puzzles that underpin so much of what we hope technology can do for us in the future."

Excerpt from:
What will be the biggest scientific breakthrough of 2020? - Stuff.co.nz

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market 2020 by Company, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025 – BulletintheNews

ORBIS RESEARCH has recently announced Global Stem Cell Therapy Market report with all the critical analysis on current state of industry, demand for product, environment for investment and existing competition. Global Stem Cell Therapy Market report is a focused study on various market affecting factors and comprehensive survey of industry covering major aspects like product types, various applications, top regions, growth analysis, market potential, challenges for investor, opportunity assessments, major drivers and (The major players covered in Stem Cell Therapy are: Osiris Therapeutics, Molmed, JCR Pharmaceutical, NuVasive, Anterogen, Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, Medi-post, Pharmicell, Takeda (TiGenix), etc. )

Description

The Stem Cell Therapy market report provides a detailed analysis of global market size, regional and country-level market size, segmentation market growth, market share, competitive Landscape, sales analysis, impact of domestic and global market players, value chain optimization, trade regulations, recent developments, opportunities analysis, strategic market growth analysis, product launches, area marketplace expanding, and technological innovations.

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The major players covered in Stem Cell Therapy are: Osiris Therapeutics, Molmed, JCR Pharmaceutical, NuVasive, Anterogen, Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, Medi-post, Pharmicell, Takeda (TiGenix), etc. Among other players domestic and global, Stem Cell Therapy market share data is available for global, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America separately. Global Info Research analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market segmentation

Stem Cell Therapy market is split by Type and by Application. For the period 2015-2025, the growth among segments provide accurate calculations and forecasts for sales by Type and by Application in terms of volume and value. This analysis can help you expand your business by targeting qualified niche markets.

By Type, Stem Cell Therapy market has been segmented into Autologous, Allogeneic, etc.

By Application, Stem Cell Therapy has been segmented into Musculoskeletal Disorder, Wounds & Injuries, Cornea, Cardiovascular Diseases, Others, etc.

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Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Regions and Countries Level Analysis

Regional analysis is another highly comprehensive part of the research and analysis study of the global Stem Cell Therapy market presented in the report. This section sheds light on the sales growth of different regional and country-level Stem Cell Therapy markets. For the historical and forecast period 2015 to 2025, it provides detailed and accurate country-wise volume analysis and region-wise market size analysis of the global Stem Cell Therapy market.

The report offers in-depth assessment of the growth and other aspects of the Stem Cell Therapy market in important countries (regions), including United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, etc. It also throws light on the progress of key regional Stem Cell Therapy markets such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Middle East & Africa.

Stem Cell Therapy competitive landscape provides details by vendors, including company overview, company total revenue (financials), market potential, global presence, Stem Cell Therapy sales and revenue generated, market share, price, production sites and facilities, SWOT analysis, product launch. For the period 2015-2020, this study provides the Stem Cell Therapy sales, revenue and market share for each player covered in this report.

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Table of Contents

1 Stem Cell Therapy Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Stem Cell Therapy1.2 Classification of Stem Cell Therapy by Type1.2.1 Global Stem Cell Therapy Revenue by Type: 2015 VS 2019 VS 20251.2.2 Global Stem Cell Therapy Revenue Market Share by Type in 20191.2.3 OTC Interest Rate Derivatives1.2.4 OTC Forex Derivatives1.2.5 Others1.3 Global Stem Cell Therapy Market by Application1.3.1 Overview: Global Stem Cell Therapy Revenue by Application: 2015 VS 2019 VS 20251.3.2 OTC Options1.3.3 Forward1.3.4 SWAP1.3.5 Others1.4 Global Stem Cell Therapy Market by Regions1.4.1 Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Size by Regions: 2015 VS 2019 VS 20251.4.2 Global Market Size of Stem Cell Therapy (2015-2025)1.4.3 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Stem Cell Therapy Status and Prospect (2015-2025)1.4.4 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Stem Cell Therapy Status and Prospect (2015-2025)1.4.5 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) Stem Cell Therapy Status and Prospect (2015-2025)1.4.6 South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia) Stem Cell Therapy Status and Prospect (2015-2025)1.4.7 Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) Stem Cell Therapy Status and Prospect (2015-2025)

2 Company Profiles2.1 GF Securities2.1.1 GF Securities Details2.1.2 GF Securities Major Business and Total Revenue (Financial Highlights) Analysis2.1.3 GF Securities SWOT Analysis2.1.4 GF Securities Product and Services2.1.5 GF Securities Stem Cell Therapy Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2018-2019)2.2 SHANXI Securities2.2.1 SHANXI Securities Details2.2.2 SHANXI Securities Major Business and Total Revenue (Financial Highlights) Analysis2.2.3 SHANXI Securities SWOT Analysis2.2.4 SHANXI Securities Product and Services2.2.5 SHANXI Securities Stem Cell Therapy Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2018-2019)2.3 GUOTAI JUNAN Securities2.3.1 GUOTAI JUNAN Securities Details2.3.2 GUOTAI JUNAN Securities Major Business and Total Revenue (Financial Highlights) Analysis2.3.3 GUOTAI JUNAN Securities SWOT Analysis2.3.4 GUOTAI JUNAN Securities Product and Services2.3.5 GUOTAI JUNAN Securities Stem Cell Therapy Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2018-2019)2.4 ZHONGTAI Securities2.4.1 ZHONGTAI Securities Details2.4.2 ZHONGTAI Securities Major Business and Total Revenue (Financial Highlights) Analysis2.4.3 ZHONGTAI Securities SWOT Analysis2.4.4 ZHONGTAI Securities Product and Services2.4.5 ZHONGTAI Securities Stem Cell Therapy Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2018-2019)2.5 INDUSTRIAL Securities

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Global Stem Cell Therapy Market 2020 by Company, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025 - BulletintheNews

White blood cells: Function, ranges, types, and more – Medical News Today

White blood cells circulate around the blood and help the immune system fight off infections.

Stem cells in the bone marrow are responsible for producing white blood cells. The bone marrow then stores an estimated 8090% of white blood cells.

When an infection or inflammatory condition occurs, the body releases white blood cells to help fight the infection.

In this article, learn more about white blood cells, including the types and their functions.

Health professionals have identified three main categories of white blood cell: granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes. The sections below discuss these in more detail.

Granulocytes are white blood cells that have small granules containing proteins. There are three types of granulocyte cells:

These white blood cells include the following:

Monocytes are white blood cells that make up around 28% of the total white blood cell count in the body. These are present when the body fights off chronic infections.

They target and destroy cells that cause infections.

According to an article in American Family Physician, the normal range (per cubic millimeter) of white blood cells based on age are:

The normal range for a pregnant women in the 3rd trimester is 5,80013,200 per cubic millimeter.

If a person's body is producing more white blood cells than it should be, doctors call this leukocytosis.

A high white blood cell count may indicate the following medical conditions:

Surgical procedures that cause cells to die can also cause a high white blood cell count.

If a person's body is producing fewer white blood cells than it should be, doctors call this leukopenia.

Conditions that can cause leukopenia include:

Doctors may continually monitor white blood cells to determine if the body is mounting an immune response to an infection.

During a physical examination, a doctor may perform a white blood cell count (WBC) using a blood test. They may order a WBC to test for, or rule out, other conditions that may affect white blood cells.

Although a blood sample is the most common approach to testing for white blood cells, a doctor can also test other body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid, for the presence of white blood cells.

A doctor may order a WBC to:

The following are conditions that may impact how many white blood cells a person has in their body.

This is a condition wherein a person's body destroys stem cells in the bone marrow.

Stem cells are responsible for creating new white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.

This is an autoimmune condition wherein the body's immune system destroys healthy cells, including red and white blood cells.

HIV can decrease the amount of white blood cells called CD4 T cells. When a person's T cell count drops below 200, a doctor might diagnose AIDS.

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. Leukemia occurs when white blood cells rapidly produce and are not able to fight infections.

This condition causes a person's body to overproduce some types of blood cells. It causes scarring in a person's bone marrow.

Whether or not a person needs to alter their white blood cell count will depend on the diagnosis.

If they have a medical condition that affects the number of white blood cells in their body, they should talk to a doctor about the goals for their white blood cell count, depending on their current treatment plan.

A person can lower their white blood cell count by taking medications such as hydroxyurea or undergoing leukapheresis, which is a procedure that uses a machine to filter the blood.

If a person's white blood cell count is low due to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, a doctor may recommend avoiding foods that contain bacteria. This may help prevent infections.

A person can also take colony-stimulating factors. These may help prevent infection and increase the number of white blood cells in the body.

White blood cells are an important part of the body's immune system response. There are different types of white blood cell, and each has a specific function in the body.

Certain conditions can affect the number of white blood cells in the body, causing them to be too high or too low.

If necessary, a person can take medication to alter their white blood cell count.

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White blood cells: Function, ranges, types, and more - Medical News Today

Tacitus Therapeutics Launches in Collaboration with Mount Sinai to Develop Stem Cell Therapies for Life-Threatening Diseases – PRNewswire

NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tacitus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company, has launched in collaboration with the Mount Sinai Health System to develop stem cell therapies initially targeting blood cancers and related clotting disorders. Their first therapy, HSC100, currently is being investigated in a Phase I clinical trial1.

Tacitus is building upon technology developed by and exclusively licensed from Mount Sinai. Based on research by scientific co-founders Ronald Hoffman, M.D., and Camelia Iancu-Rubin, Ph.D., the technology includes proprietary cell expansion, differentiation and engineering methods. Together, these methods manufacture healthy cells that overcome the limitations of traditional allogeneic, or donor, cell transplantations.

Blood cancers comprise about 10% of new cancer cases in the U.S. each year, and almost 60,000 people die from blood cancer complications annually. Most blood cancers start in the bone marrow, where blood is produced. A common therapy for such blood cancers is a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) treatment or, as more commonly referred to, bone marrow transplantation. In this process, doctors infuse healthy HSCs into the patient's bloodstream, where they migrate to the bone marrow to grow or engraft.

HSCs for this process can be collected from bone marrow, circulating blood, or umbilical cord blood (CB) of healthy donors. While HSC transplants are common, significant barriers to success exist, including high levels of graft-versus-host disease, low numbers of healthy cells obtained from CB, and increased risk of bleeding due to delayed megakaryocyte, or platelet, engraftment.

Hoffman and Iancu-Rubin are pioneers of bone marrow cell therapy treatments, and development of this technology was enabled by the New York State Stem Cell Science program, NYSTEM. As a New York State Department of Health initiative, NYSTEM awarded a $1 million grant to Hoffman in 2010 that supported the original research underpinning this platform technology. In 2015, NYSTEM awarded Hoffman and Iancu-Rubin an $8 million grant to translate the technology from the laboratory into the clinic, where it is currently in clinical trial1.

Hoffman also serves as Director of the Myeloproliferative Disorders Research Program and Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) and Iancu-Rubin is Associate Professor of Pathology at the Icahn School of Medicine and Director of the Cellular Therapy Laboratory at Mount Sinai Hospital.

"Promising discoveries by Mount Sinai scientific thought leaders may lead to new, essential cell-based therapies that will broadly benefit patients," said Erik Lium, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Innovation Officer, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners. "We're pleased to be collaborating with Tacitus to launch the next stage of development for these technologies."

"Tacitus is committed in its mission to advance next-generation cell therapies with curative potential," said Carter Cliff, CEO of Tacitus. "Based on our founders' solid foundation of research, we are translating these discoveries into broad clinical practice as we look to dramatically improve the standard of care for patients with life-threatening conditions."

About HSC100

HSC100 is an investigational therapy based on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) expanded from umbilical cord blood. HSC100 is being investigated currently in an open-label Phase I clinical trial1 in the United States for treatment of hematological malignancies. The success of unmanipulated cord blood as a source of stem cells has been hampered by the small number of stem cells present in a single cord, leading to delayed engraftment and frequent graft failure. Our proprietary technology includes the use of an epigenetic modifier, valproic acid, to expand the number and the quality of HSCs found in cord blood collections. For more information on HSC100 clinical trials, please visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

1ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03885947.

About Tacitus Therapeutics

Tacitus Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing advanced medicines for treatment of blood cancers, immune disorders and other intractable disease conditions. Our mission is to pioneer best-in-class therapies using proprietary cell expansion, differentiation and engineering platform technologies that overcome the limitations of traditional cell transplantation. Initial targets include a lead clinical program (HSC100) investigating the treatment of blood cancers, followed by preclinical programs to address clotting disorders and other serious unmet medical needs. For additional information, please visit http://www.tacitustherapeutics.com.

About Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Luke's and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally. For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP)

MSIP is responsible for driving the real-world application and commercialization of Mount Sinai discoveries and inventions and the development of research partnerships with industry. Our aim is to translate discoveries and inventions into health care products and services that benefit patients and society. MSIP is accountable for the full spectrum of commercialization activities required to bring Mount Sinai inventions to life. These activities include evaluating, patenting, marketing and licensing new technologies building research, collaborations and partnerships with commercial and nonprofit entities, material transfer and confidentiality, coaching innovators to advance commercially relevant translational discoveries, and actively fostering an ecosystem of entrepreneurship within the Mount Sinai research and health system communities. For more information, please visit http://www.ip.mountsinai.orgor find MSIP onLinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook,Medium, and YouTube.

Media Contacts:

Mount Sinai Cynthia Cleto Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (646) 605-7359 cynthia.cleto@mmsm.edu

Tacitus TherapeuticsJoleen RauRau Communications(608) 209-0792232130@email4pr.com

SOURCE Tacitus Therapeutics

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Tacitus Therapeutics Launches in Collaboration with Mount Sinai to Develop Stem Cell Therapies for Life-Threatening Diseases - PRNewswire

Tip Sheet: Mesh loaded with T cells shrinks tumors; second dose of CAR-T cells shows potential; and gene-edited cells stay safe as immunotherapy…

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Immunotherapy

Scientists show thin metal mesh loaded with T cells shrinks solid tumors What if a metal thats already used to repair broken bones, straighten teeth and keep arteries from clogging could also be used to stop your cancer from spreading? New findings published Dec. 9 in Nature Biomedical Engineering show for the first time that a piece of small, thin metal mesh loaded with cancer-fighting CAR T cells shrinks tumors in preclinical models of ovarian cancer. The findings take a step toward making cell therapies effective against solid tumors.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org, 206.667.6651

Can a 2nd dose of CAR T cells succeed when the first fails? In a recent study presented at the 2019 American Society of Hematology annual meeting, Fred Hutch scientists show an early step in informing how and whether doctors might give second doses of a CAR T-cell product. They examined 44 blood cancer patients on a clinical trial for a CAR T cells engineered to target CD19 on cancer cells. The researchers found that patients cancers were more likely to shrink or disappear after the second dose when that second dose contained more engineered cells than theyd gotten the first time. Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org, 206.667.6651

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Gene editing

CRISPR hides healthy cells from leukemia drug For years, leukemia doctors have been plagued by a toxic trade-off: A protein marker for certain cancer-killing drugs also appears on some normal blood stem cells. Hitting the mark means harming healthy and diseased cells alike. To work around that, Fred Hutch scientists used CRISPR to snip off the piece of protein called CD33 from healthy blood cells and then used a bispecific antibody to go after the go after the cancer cells. They reported reported initial resultsat the ASH meeting in December.Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org, 206.667.6651

Study links common immune cell to failure of checkpoint inhibitors in lung cancer Results froma new study published in the journal JCI Insightcould help improve treatment options for lung cancer patients. After analyzing tumor samples from 28 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, researchers linked a common immune cell called neutrophils with treatment failure. The study found that the balance between neutrophils and another type of immune cell disease-fighting T cells could accurately predict which patients would respond or not. If more neutrophils than T cells were crowded into a tumor, the drugs did not curb the patients cancers. But if the balance was reversed, checkpoint inhibitors revved up patients immune systems against their disease. Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org, 206.667.6651

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Prevention

A 'historic victory,' say experts, as US raises age to buy tobacco, vaping products to 21 nationwide The federal government has raised the legal age to purchase tobacco or vaping products throughout the U.S. The new age-of-sale provisions are part of the federal 2020 budget, which funds the government through the remainder of the fiscal year. The new nationwide Tobacco 21 measure continues momentum that began with localities and states across the U.S.More than 500 U.S. jurisdictions, including 19 stateshave already enacted their own versions,including Fred Hutchs home state of Washingtonlast April. Fred Hutch researchers are actively researching the impact of tobacco use among young adults. Dr. Jonathan Bricker has found that there is significant tobacco use and relapse between ages 18 21. The new law will help reverse this. Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org, 206.667.7665

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Science on the horizon

Fred Hutch experts make predictions for science trends, advances in 2020Easier to produce cell and gene therapies, new tech to see molecules, more guidelines on vaping, and other trends were watching in the new year.

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December Recognitions

Researchers at Fred Hutch are often recognized for their work. Were proud to celebrate their achievements and grateful to the awarding organizations.

'Big, brave ideas': 44th annual Hutch Holiday Gala raises over $13 million

2 Fred Hutch leaders receive PSBJ Health Care Leadership Awards

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AtFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutchs pioneering work inbone marrow transplantationled to the development ofimmunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nations first National Cancer Institute-funded cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Womens Health Initiative and the international headquarters of theHIV Vaccine Trials Network.

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3D-printed Organs Give Hope to Transplant Patients Now. Powered by – Now. Powered by Northrop Grumman.

The 3D printer has won the hearts of manufacturers for its ability to create detailed products without the need for expensive and time-consuming prototyping. Everything from prosthetics to engines to football cleats have spun out of the technology.

But it couldnt create human organs, could it? Well, yes, it can. Scientists claim to have recently enhanced the performance and stability of 3D-printed organs, including a heart a development that would excite the Tin Man of The Wizard of Oz.

The real-life implications of organs created by 3D printing are vast and revolutionary. The printer could quickly produce organs to those in need of a transplant, and it could enhance the skills of surgeons by letting them practice on copied organs innovations many would say are worth copying on a large scale.

To be clear, the organs arent entirely the products of additive manufacturing, the term to describe 3D printing, but a recent development with the technology signals it will probably have a large role in advancing copied organs.

Creating organs through additive manufacturing had until now been largely unsuccessful. As described by Cosmos, laboratories have grown so-called organoids for the past decade. These miniaturized versions of the brain, heart and kidney help scientists study cancer, dementia and heart attacks. But with the models unable to expand beyond the size of a lentil, they couldnt incorporate the tubes that mimic blood vessels. Without those tubes, oxygen and nutrients struggle to reach the core of the organ.

It seemed as if the dream to produce ready-made full-sized organs in a lab would have to remain just that, a dream. But a recent breakthrough that combines human stem cells with a 3D-printed vascular channel could overcome the structural issues.

A new method of replication solves the size challenge by integrating 3D-printed vascular channels into living matrices of stem cells that form organ building blocks, according to the scientists who devised the technique SWIFT (sacrificial writing into functional tissue). The 3D printer infuses ink and gelatin into a matrix and the mix is then heated, melting the ink and leaving a channel that is then lined with cells found in human vessels. Stir in oxygen and nutrients and you have an organ. The researchers kept one such organ, a 1.5-centimeter mini-heart, beating on its own for more than a week.

The researchers from Harvard Universitys Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) say SWIFT produces organ-specific tissues that have high cell density and functionality, a critical step toward large-scale and safe organ replacement and other uses.

This is an entirely new paradigm for tissue fabrication, Mark Skylar-Scott, a research associate at the Wyss Institute and one of the studys co-authors, told ScienceDaily. Rather than trying to 3D-print an entire organs worth of cells, SWIFT focuses on only printing the vessels necessary to support a living tissue construct that contains large quantities of (organ building blocks), which may ultimately be used therapeutically to repair and replace human organs with lab-grown versions containing patients own cells.

As ScienceDaily noted, 20 people die daily while waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S. More than 30,000 transplants are performed each year but its still not enough to whittle down the long waiting lists of those in need of a suitable organ. More than 113,000 people are currently awaiting word that their wait has ended. Artificial organs could lessen or eliminate the shortage.

Replicated organs could also give doctors an opportunity to practice difficult surgical procedures, a chance to enhance their skills without fear of doing harm to human patients. Similarly, 3D-printed organs could remove the need to try out new pharmaceutical drugs on human or even animal test subjects.

The ink is barely dry on the Harvard researchers test, but the scientific world is hoping their discovery can be replicated for years to come.

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3D-printed Organs Give Hope to Transplant Patients Now. Powered by - Now. Powered by Northrop Grumman.

Seattle Childrens faces widening array of lawsuits over fatal mold infections – Seattle Times

Beth Hutt is 5 months old and has never been home since her birth in August. She was born with a heart condition and rushed from Tacoma General Hospital to Seattle Childrens, where she has undergone three surgeries, beginning when she was 5 days old.

At some point during her stayat Seattle Childrens, Beth contracted an infection in her heart from the Aspergillus mold, a recurring problem that has sickened patients at the hospital as far back as 2001.

Beths parents, Katie and Micah Hutt, knew about the problems Seattle Childrens was having with Aspergillus but said it was a no-brainer to take her to Childrens.

We went into this situation believing that an issue had been found and it was fixed, Katie Hutt said.

On Wednesday, attorneys pursuing a class-action lawsuit against Childrens on behalf of the families of patients who have been sickened from the mold sought toadd Beth Hutt to the case.

The lawsuit, filed in December in King County Superior Court on behalf of four children or their estates, seeks class-action status for patients who were sickened by Aspergillus at Childrens between 2005 and 2017. A fifth patientwas added to the complaint before Beth Hutt.

In an emailed response, Seattle Childrens didnt answer questions about Beth Hutt.

We are working diligently to resolve these issues, including the claims that have been brought against Seattle Childrens related to past surgical site infections, the statement read. We are incredibly sorry for the impact this situation has had on our patients and families.

Beths second surgery was Nov. 7, three days before Childrens administrators closed three of the hospitals operating rooms,after the hospital announced it had found two possible cases of Aspergillus infections.Childrens closed the remaining operating rooms on Nov. 13 to sanitize them and inspect the air-handling system that serves the rooms.

The state Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday that it had finished an investigation of the hospital, which it began in November after the hospital self-reported a case of Aspergillus to us. The agency said it did discover mold, but found the hospital to be following the states rules and found no evidence of deficient practices.

Last years problems with Aspergillus werent the first for Childrens. In October 2017, inspectors with the DOH cited the hospital for a serious violation over its failure to implement and monitor an effective infection prevention program.

In June 2018, Childrens closed two operating rooms and an equipment-storage room for three days after Aspergillus was detected and attributed to small gaps in the walls of the operating rooms.

Childrens problems with Aspergillus came to light again on May 18 last year, forcing it to close four operating rooms for more than six weeksbecause of the mold.

This time, the Aspergillus was attributed to a gap in the array of air filters in an air-handling unit serving the operating rooms, prompting the hospital to shut down, clean and install new units.Hospital officials wouldnt say Wednesday if those units were now installed.

Childrens chief executive, Dr. Jeff Sperring, has acknowledged 14 patients had been sickened by Aspergillus since 2001, six of whom died. He said the hospital had failed and blamed the hospital for not recognizing a connection between the infections and the air-handling units attached to its operating rooms.

One of the reasons Hutt was added to the lawsuit is because she is one of the most recent patients to be infected by the mold, which gives the complaint representation during a wider time frame, said attorney Karen Koehler, one of the lawyers handling the lawsuit.

Childrens, the regions premier pediatric hospital, faces a series of lawsuits related to the Aspergillus infections, including a suit filed in December by the family of an 11-year-old boy claiming he was infected during surgery in March 2019, and another that alleges a 4-year-old boy needed a second brain surgery in May related to his risk for Aspergillus exposure during surgery.

Aspergillus is a common mold that most people breathe daily without getting sick, but its risk to hospital patients has been known for decades. Patients with lung diseaseor weakened immune systems especially organ- or stem-cell transplant patients are at higher risk of developing Aspergillosis. In the most serious cases, symptoms range from a fever to coughing up blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The family of another patient, a teenager who played football, filed suit in late October. That suit alleges the hospital failed to take reasonably prudent measures to prevent Aspergillus from infecting their son, leaving him disabled.

Despite the Hutts frustration and anger with the hospitals administration and building services, they dont hold it against the nurses and doctors who have been working with their daughter.

We would not trade the level of care we have received for anything, said Beths father, Micah Hutt.

Beth Hutt is still at Seattle Childrens and had another surgery on Jan. 2.

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Seattle Childrens faces widening array of lawsuits over fatal mold infections - Seattle Times

Landisa: My cancer can relapse but here’s why I am not afraid of it any longer – News24

I was diagnosed with cancer in January 2018 when, as I prepared for the year ahead, I underwent my annual medical examination and the doctor saw a lump in my groin. It turned out be lymphoma.

From walking into his office as a healthy person showing no symptoms and motivated to start the new years working schedule, the cancer diagnosis brought my life to a sudden standstill. It felt unreal.

At first, I could not share the news with family and friends, because I could not believe that this was really happening to me. For weeks I could not say the word "cancer"; I refused to read up about the disease on the internet as I was scared to stumble over statistics of survival rates which would show what my chances were.

So many questions came up (and mostly out of anger and disbelief, I must admit): "Why me? What could be the cause of this? Was the healthy lifestyle I was living in reality flawed? Should I consult more doctors in the hope of a different diagnosis?"

It was something I had to work out for myself in private. After a few months, I had to accept that these questions will change nothing. The reality was that I had lymphoma, that medical research could not yet determine a cause for my type, and that there is no such thing as some magic guarantee of eternal health so that even after 58 years of near-perfect health, cancer can also cross my path.

With the encouragement and support of family and friends, I became rocksteady with a positive outlook towards the future; with my mind and heart set on hope and faith of a full recovery so that, God willing, I will become fit enough again for regular exercise and to return to work. That this diagnosis would be not the end of the road, but only a bend in the road. That the unknown treatment and medical procedures laying ahead will not scare me but rather be an "adventure" to take head-on and endure. Little did I know then that it would involve a marathon treatment programme spanning 18 months and comprising 13 sessions of chemotherapy, 20 sessions of radiation therapy and a stem cell transplant.

Hardly could we as a family have foreseen that our lifestyle would change so dramatically: the doctors put me on a strict neutropenic diet as well as effectively confine me to my home (my weakened immune system needed protection from the risk posed by potential infection transmitted via food or people).

Add on top of that a new routine involving things such as endless blood tests, doctor's appointments, days in hospital and in the chemo-room, blood transfusions, hands full of tablets, various biopsies and scans, very painful veins and arteries, weakness and extremely low energy levels, and even the impact of a transplant procedure.

For me these tough times quickly changed into a mere memory on June 20, 2019 when the doctors declared me cancer-free. The gratefulness and relief when you hear the words "the tests show that all signs of cancer disappeared" is hard, if not impossible, to express in words.

It immediately puts the endurance into perspective.

Looking back at the past two years: what a learning curve and what an experience for me!

It made me realise the fragility of our health and the suddenness in which it can be lost; that cancer indiscriminately affects young and old alike; and that there is hope, because cancer can be cured!

Cancer fundamentally changed the way I look at life. It taught me that life is a gift handed to us one day at a time, wrapped in 24-hour packages.

It is up to us to take that gift each morning, open it up and make the best of what it holds for us on that day.

Yesterday's gift is gone forever, and tomorrow might bring something worse than today, or maybe today's gift is the last one in this life. Cancer taught me that it is not about tomorrow, it's all about today - I only have today.

And an inner peace fills me now with the realisation that I had the privilege to receive the prized and valuable gift of life.

"And once the storm is over, you wont remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You wont even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you wont be the same person who walked in. Thats what this storms all about." - Haruki Murakam

Do you have a story to share? Send it tolandisa@news24.comand include your contact details and a photo. VisitLandisafor more stories.

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Landisa: My cancer can relapse but here's why I am not afraid of it any longer - News24

‘You wouldn’t give it to your worst enemy’: what it’s like to live with Lyme disease – Telegraph.co.uk

When Sarah Hook was rushed to hospital in 2015, she was struggling to breathe,her heart was racing and she was experiencing an intense rush of adrenaline.I felt like I had drunk 100 coffees, she remembers.

Initially, doctors identified her symptoms as a panic attack but Hook,had never had one before. A month later, she realised theterrifying episode could in fact have been linked to a tick bite that had occurred 10 years previously.I didn't do anything about the tick bite," she says. "I left it, (but) looking back I can see that my health has been deteriorating since then. Id left it so long my body crashed.

Six months after her hospitalisation, a blood test at a private clinic confirmed that Hook had Lyme disease,a tick-borne infectious disease which can cause extreme fatigue, nerve damage, and neurological issues. Ever since, she has been unable to work and has had to move back in with her parents in Berkshire.

Its such a systemic illness, the symptoms morph and change," she says. "You can just feel like youve got rid of one and it can just pop up somewhere else. I think that's why it feels so exhausting.

This week, US singer Justin Bieber announced on Instagram that he is battling the disease.While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s***, on meth etc. they failed to realise I've been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, the 25-year-old wrote, referencing speculation about his health afterpictures showed him looking exhausted, with blotchy skin.

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'You wouldn't give it to your worst enemy': what it's like to live with Lyme disease - Telegraph.co.uk

The ‘supercells’ that cured an infant’s grave genetic illness – Japan Today

When a person's immune system is impaired by a genetic disease, a bone-marrow transplant can be a powerful therapeutic tool, but with a major downside: during the first few months the recipient's defenses against viruses are severely weakened. The slightest infection can lead to a hospital trip.

A still-experimental type of treatment known as T-cell therapy aims to assist during this vulnerable period -- the months during which the body is rebuilding its natural defenses. After two decades of clinical trials, the technology has been refined, and is being used to treat more and more patients, many of them children.

A boy named Johan is one of them.

Today he is a mischievous, smiling toddler with a thick shock of light-brown hair, who never tires, playfully tormenting the family's puppy, Henry. There is no sign of the three-year-long medical and emotional roller-coaster ride he and his family, who live in an affluent Washington suburb, have been on.

The first traumatic surprise came with the results of a pregnancy test: Johan was not planned.

"That was a huge shock. I cried," said his mother, 39-year-old Maren Chamorro.

She had known since childhood that she carried a gene that can be fatal in a child's first 10 years, chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Her brother died of it at the age of seven. The inexorable laws of genetics meant that Maren had a one in four chance of transmitting it to her child.

For their first children, she and her husband Ricardo had chosen in-vitro fertilization, allowing the embryos to be genetically tested before implantation.

Their twins Thomas and Joanna were born -- both disease-free -- seven and a half years ago. But in Johan's case, a post-birth genetic test quickly confirmed the worst: he had CGD.

After conferring with experts at Children's National Hospital in Washington, the couple took one of the most important decisions of their lives: Johan would receive a bone-marrow transplant, a risky procedure but one that would give him a chance of a cure.

"Obviously, the fact that Maren had lost a sibling at a young age from the disease played a big role," Ricardo confided.

Bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside bones, serves as the body's "factory" for the production of blood cells -- both red and white.

Johan's white blood cells were incapable of fighting off bacteria and fungal infections. A simple bacterial infection, of negligible concern in a healthy child, could spread out of control in his young body.

Luckily, Johan's brother Thomas, six years old at the time, was a perfect match. In April 2018, doctors first "cleansed" Johan's marrow using chemotherapy. They then took a small amount of marrow from Thomas's hip bones using a long, thin needle.

From that sample they extracted "supercells," as Thomas calls them -- stem cells, which they reinjected into Johan's veins. Those cells would eventually settle in his bone marrow -- and begin producing normal white blood cells.

The second step was preventive cell therapy, under an experimental program led by immunologist Michael Keller at Children's National Hospital.

The part of the immune system that protects against bacteria can be rebuilt in only a matter of weeks; but for viruses, the natural process takes at least three months.

From Thomas's blood, doctors extracted specialized white blood cells -- T-cells -- that had already encountered six viruses.

Keller grew them for 10 days in an incubator, creating an army of hundreds of millions of those specialized T-cells. The result: a fluffy white substance contained in a small glass vial.

Those T-cells were then injected into Johan's veins, immediately conferring protection against the six viruses.

"He has his brother's immune system," said Keller, an assistant professor at Children's National.

Johan's mother confirmed as much: today, when Thomas and Johan catch a cold, they have the same symptoms, and for nearly the same amount of time.

"I think it's pretty cool to have immunity from your big brother," Maren Chamorro said.

This therapeutic approach -- boosting the body's immune system using cells from a donor or one's own genetically modified cells -- is known as immunotherapy.

Its main use so far has been against cancer, but Keller hopes it will soon become available against viruses for patients, like Johan, who suffer from depressed immune systems.

The chief obstacles to that happening are the complexity of the process and the costs, which can run to many thousands of dollars. These factors currently restrict the procedure to some 30 medical centers in the United States.

For Johan, a year and a half after his bone marrow transplant, everything points to a complete success.

"It's neat to see him processing things, and especially play outside in the mud," his mother said. "You know, what a gift!"

Her only concern now is the same as any mother would have -- that when her son does fall ill, others in the family might catch the same bug.

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The 'supercells' that cured an infant's grave genetic illness - Japan Today