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Gene therapy - personalized medicine

Cut in a fetal body. Courtesy of the researchers

How - and where - does a disease begin?

Researchers discovered which genes are required for each stage of cell differentiation into neural stem cells and neurons, i.e. for brain development, and which of them are involved in diseases of the nervous system
Genetic correction of deafness problems. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Genetic engineering to eradicate deafness

two drops. That's all it took to cure Aisam Dam from homeland destruction, forever. Two drops that were instilled in his ear and gave the 11-year-old boy the ability to hear - for the first time in his life - human voices
Right: Ella Amitai Sadovsky - cystic fibrosis. On the left, Reut Dafna - Marfan syndrome

A database on the rare genetic diseases in Israel and an artistic project called "Rare" that illustrates each of these diseases

A new site that serves as the first knowledge base of its kind in Hebrew in the field of rare genetic diseases in Israel - was launched on the occasion of the International Day for Rare Diseases, which is noted on a date that returns only once every four years - February 29. The Internet project is a joint initiative of Bar-Ilan University and the Weizmann Institute of Science.  
The cover of the scientific journal shows the 3D structure of a new protein, as predicted by three different artificial intelligence algorithms

Proteins without parents

Collaboration between Israeli researchers, Chinese students and artificial intelligence reveals new wrinkles between the folds of orphan proteins and updates chapters in the theory of evolution
Gene editing using CRISPR. Illustration: depositphotos.com

EIC grant for nanoparticle-based research for cancer therapy

Prof. Rachela Popobzer from the Faculty of Engineering and the Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at Bar Ilan University won a grant of 150 euros, for research aimed at making drug treatment more efficient and targeted
What is needed to prolong life. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A new competition to stop aging with prizes of 101 million dollars

A new competition to stop aging with prizes of 101 million dollars
Milk teeth in children. Illustration: depositphotos.com

An autoimmune disease has been discovered that affects the development of tooth enamel and is common among children with celiac disease

The development of the disease in celiac patients is probably related to sensitivity to the protein common in industrialized dairy products. The findings pave the way for early detection of the disease and its prevention
Immunofluorescence of the mouse inner ear. The spiral structure of the inner ear consists of hair cells and supporting cells, which together allow us to hear. Each cell type is shown in a different color. Image: Dr. Shahar Tiber

The long and winding route of sound

Researchers examined DNA samples of 1,200 deaf Israeli-Jews, in order to understand the damage caused to the structure of the proteins in the hearing system
DNA sequencing. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Proteins in the cancer network

Researchers are trying to find treatments adapted to protein networks that characterize cancer tumors
Illustration: Sally Neve

A breakthrough in the treatment of herniated disc

Tissue engineering offers a solution for the treatment of disc herniations: an implant that combines synthetic hydrogel and living cartilage cells
A "ghost" heart is a pig heart that has been prepared so that it can be transplanted into humans. Provided by Doris Taylor

"Ghost" hearts from a pig and the patient's stem cells will replace the need for heart donations

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Today, patients needing a heart transplant have to join a waiting list, and hearts become available when someone else dies. Because there are not enough hearts, only critically ill patients are put on the waiting list
Smoking rehab. Illustration: depositphotos.com

at the top of their concerns

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Significant progress towards personalized medicine in the field of psychiatry, with the help of a helmet that induces electromagnetic stimulation of the brain.
Human lung cancer cells with the L858R mutation in the EGFR gene. In blue - the cell nuclei. In red - a protein that appears in the cell fluid when EGFR receptors are active and push the cell into uncontrolled division. Courtesy of the Weizmann Institute

A new biomarker may improve the treatment of lung cancer patients

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A study of human cancer tissues grown in mice has suggested that a large group of lung cancer patients may be successfully treated with a drug currently approved for other cancers
The research image as published on the cover of Advanced Science magazine

Researchers have succeeded in eliminating most of the myeloma cells in the bone marrow using an RNA-based drug

Thanks to the nanoparticle system they developed - the cancer cell stops dividing and dies
Personalized Medicine Illustrated: depositphotos.com

The discovery that will advance personalized medicine for infectious diseases

This is the first time that researchers succeed in developing personalized tools for infectious diseases, which until now have only been developed for specific diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's
Personalized medicine. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The "Mosaic" project will promote personalized medicine

The information that will be collected in the project will help in locating risk factors for diseases, which cannot be detected by other research methods
Chuan Ha, 2023 Wolf Prize Winners in Chemistry, photo courtesy of the Prize Committee

Wolf Prize in Chemistry for 2023 to three researchers who studied RNA

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The winners are: Chuan Ha, University of Chicago, USA, Jeffrey Kelly, Scripps Research Institute, USA, Hiroaki Shuga, University of Tokyo, Japan
Monitoring physiological indicators. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A customized method for monitoring physiological indices

Maged Biochip in which researchers from Bar Ilan develop biological chips for continuous monitoring of a large group of biological markers for human diseases
healthy aging. Image: depositphotos.com

to grow old in good health

The goal: identifying genes that can predict healthy aging and help prevent diseases
Image of patient-derived kidney podocyte cells modified using a novel vector-mediated approach by Berger's team. The podocin (in green) is returned to the front of the cell as in healthy podocytes. Courtesy of the researchers

A new DNA repair kit successfully corrects an inherited disease in patient-derived cells

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In this new study, the international team described how they created a DNA repair agent to genetically correct defective podocin, a common genetic cause of steroid-resistant hereditary kidney disease (SRNS).
Extending life expectancy. Photo: depositphotos.com

Using gene therapy to extend life in mice

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Mice that received a gene encoding a telomere-producing enzyme extended their lifespan by forty percent, compared to a control group. Treatment with another gene, one that codes for the follistatin protein, resulted in a thirty-six percent extension of their lifespan
A short fragment of the protein envelope of a filamentous bacteriophage M13 virus. Courtesy of the researchers

atoms in motion

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Identifying the mobility of atoms in biological and chemical systems may help in deciphering the structure of the envelope that protects the genetic material of certain viruses, something that may, in the future, allow harming their reproduction
The authors of the article are holding a double-stranded DNA molecule containing histones with crotonyl (Kcr) molecules on them, in a normal state where gene expression is possible (marked with a green traffic light). From right to left: Firas Mash'or, Prof. Nabia Ayoub, Inas Abu Zahya, Bela Ben - Oz, Alma Bar-Yitzchak and Lila Bashara. Credit: Technion barges

An unknown mechanism that controls the repair of DNA breaks has been discovered

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The researchers showed that this is a result of the defect in the genes encoding the BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins. These proteins are responsible for repairing double-strand breaks and returning the DNA to its original state, and defects in them lead to the development of various types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer
Photo: depositphotos.com

Artificial intelligence in the service of cancer medicine

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A technology based on artificial intelligence may quickly and simply decode genetic and molecular information about cancer tumors. On the horizon: personalized medicine for cancer patients
Prof. Dan Farr (Photo: Yonatan Blum)

Unique RNA technology for personalized cancer medicine

The nanomedicine that attacks cancer twice: both improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy and strengthens the immune system
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