Amazing Medical Research from Around the Country

We’re living in a golden age for medical research and advancement. With the tools and knowledge we now have at our disposal, medical researchers are constantly producing exciting and promising results working towards treatments and cures for some of humanity’s most persistent diseases. At Lifecycle, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of the medical research community because it’s our business to stay up-to-date on what’s going on. Here are a few examples of some great research on our radar recently.

The New Adventures of Old Antibiotics

Drug-resistant bacteria are of great concern to all medical professionals. Once-effective antibiotics have lost their potency after years of use, as bacteria have become resistant to their effects. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute, led by Dr. Dale Boger, modified three functional parts of the antibiotic vancomycin molecule to design several new structures of the antibiotic.

One in particular, compound 18, was 10,000 times more potent than the original vancomycin structure. The new compound still needs to be tested for safety and efficacy in humans, but the research shows promise of one day creating a new antibiotic and it’s a good step forward in addressing a significant problem.

A Step Towards Repairing Aging DNA

Researchers led by Dr. Jun Li at Harvard Medical School and Dr. David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School and the University of New South Wales School of Medicine in Sydney, Australia, have found that a compound known as NAD+ plays a role in DNA repair.

Over time, our DNA will accumulate mutations. This is caused by a variety of factors like radiation, tobacco, and other damaging elements, but it also occurs naturally as cells divide. As we age, our cells begin to lose the ability to repair our DNA.

The researchers found that in mice, NAD+ interferes with an interaction between proteins that inhibits DNA from being repaired. The research shows that boosting NAD+ levels could potentially reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as possibly slowing aging and preventing cancer. Further study in humans is still needed, however.

3D Printing Blood Vessels

Engineers led by Dr. Shaochen Chen of the University of California, San Diego have developed a new 3D printing system to create networks of blood vessels. Recently, there has been a lot of progress in engineering new tissue and even new organs, but one of the problems has been the creation of a system of blood vessels to get blood to the cells in the tissue.

The engineering team created a 3D blood vessel network made with living cells that was able to join with a mouse’s blood vessel network and allow blood to circulate. The research shows that it may soon be possible to create a complex network of blood vessels for use in organs like the heart.

The best medical research comes from the best researchers using the highest quality tools and products. That’s why we work so hard to ensure that our products and lab services are of the utmost quality. Call today to learn more about how Lifecycle helps supports medical research labs.