4 E NEWS MOGRIFY

Mogrify secures IP foundational to its cell conversion technology

UK-based Mogrify has secured the assignment of the foundational intellectual property (IP) underpinning its core direct cell conversion technology (Mogrify V1) and extended the method to allow for the inclusion of new sources of data and more accurate transcription factor predictions (Mogrify V2). The expansion of rights allows the Company to bring the latest version […]

Novigenix-led consortium secures Eurostars funding to develop predictive immune checkpoint inhibitor test

Novigenix SA Switzerland, a pioneer in immuno-transcriptomics for precision medicine, will lead a consortium, including PamGene International and Radboud University (The Netherlands), to develop a blood based multi-omics test to predict response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer. The consortium has been awarded a grant up to €1 million under the Eurostars programme.

5 E NEWS PEPSCOPE

Pepscope secures investment to boost development kinase inhibitor therapies

Dutch biotech company Pepscope, offering endogenous protein kinase activity profiling technologies, has secured €4.3 million funding to further develop and commercialize their lead product QuantaKinome.

6 E NEWS RETINAI

RetinAI to provide AI solutions for Novartis ophthalmology research

Switzerland-based RetinAI Medical will collaborate with Novartis Pharma in a multi-year agreement which will see RetinAI’s artificial intelligence tools employed to support multiple projects in ophthalmology. Both companies have previously worked successfully on pilot projects in this disease area.

SYNLAB sells Analytics & Services unit

SYNLAB, the leading medical diagnostic services provider in Europe, has agreed to sell its Analytics & Services (A&S) unit to SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. The proceeds of the sale will remain in the group for future use.

7 E NEWS FLUORESCENE MICROSCOPY

Comb of a lifetime: a new method for fluorescence microscopy

Fluorescence microscopy is widely used in biochemistry and life sciences because it allows scientists to directly observe cells and certain compounds in and around them. Fluorescent molecules absorb light within a specific wavelength range and then re-emit it at the longer wavelength range. However, the major limitation of conventional fluorescence microscopy techniques is that the […]

8 E NEWS COVID 19

New virtual screening strategy identifies existing drug that inhibits COVID-19 virus

A novel computational drug screening strategy combined with lab experiments suggest that pralatrexate, a chemotherapy medication originally developed to treat lymphoma, could potentially be repurposed to treat Covid-19. Haiping Zhang of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in Shenzhen, China, and colleagues present these findings.

9 E NEWS SCIENTISTS

Scientists develop highthroughput mitochondria transfer device

Dr. Michael Teitell is director of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Scientists from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a simple, high-throughput method for transferring isolated mitochondria and their associated mitochondrial DNA into mammalian cells. This approach enables researchers to tailor a key genetic component of cells, to study and potentially treat […]

10 E NEWS HYPOXEMIA

Researchers offer explanation for ‘silent hypoxemia’ detected in many COVID-19 patients

One of the physiopathological characteristics of COVID-19 that has most baffled the scientific and medical community is what is known as “silent hypoxemia” or “happy hypoxia”. Patients suffering this phenomenon, the causes of which are still unknown, have severe pneumonia with markedly decreased arterial blood oxygen levels (known as hypoxemia). However, they do not report […]

11 E NEWS NEAR INFRARED

Near-infrared probe decodes telomere dynamics

A new synthetic probe offers a safe and straightforward approach for visualizing chromosome tips in living cells. The probe was designed by scientists at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Science (iCeMS) and colleagues at Kyoto University, and could advance research into aging and a wide range of diseases, including cancers.