5G REMOTE KILL VECTOR: Science paper reveals cell phone signals can activate the release of biological PAYLOADS from graphene oxide injected into the body


A science paper published in MaterialsToday Chemistry reveals that cell phone signals can be used to release biological or chemical payloads from graphene oxide that’s introduced into the human body. The paper, published in September of 2022, is entitled, “Remotely controlled electro-responsive on-demand nanotherapy based on amine-modified graphene oxide for synergistic dual drug delivery.”

The study abstract reveals how a cell phone can emit signals to activate a low voltage current that interacts with Graphene Oxide (GO) molecules, causing efficient delivery of drug payloads:

This study aims to determine low-voltage-controlled dual drug (aspirin and doxorubicin) release from GO surface. Here, we have demonstrated how to control the drug release rate remotely with a handy mobile phone, with zero passive release at idle time.

Because of its extremely high surface area and complex structure composition, graphene oxide turns out to be the perfect molecule for delivery of biological or drug payloads inside the body. From the study:

These advantages make GO an extremely potential nanocomposite material as a drug carrier in the field of biomedicine and biotechnology, while being combined with a polymer or inorganic matrix.

Importantly, the presence of a specific frequency of a low voltage current is all that’s necessary to cause graphene oxide to release its payload.

5G cell tower signals create micro currents inside the body

We already know that 5G signals can generate electrical currents inside the human body, even from a significant distance. An important article authored by Dr. Joseph Mercola and published in Childrens Health Defense reveals that 5G cell signal radiation results in measurable biological and chemical changes inside the human body. From his article:

  • 5G relies primarily on the bandwidth of the millimeter wave, known to cause a painful burning sensation. It’s also been linked to eye and heart problems, suppressed immune function, genetic damage and fertility problems.
  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) admits no 5G safety studies have been conducted or funded by the agency or telecom industry, and that none are planned.
  • The FCC has been captured by the telecom industry, which in turn has perfected the disinformation strategies employed by the tobacco industry before it.
  • Persistent exposures to microwave frequencies like those from cellphones can cause mitochondrial dysfunction and nuclear DNA damage from free radicals produced from peroxynitrite.
  • Excessive exposures to cellphones and Wi-Fi networks have been linked to chronic diseases such as cardiac arrhythmias, anxiety, depression, autism, Alzheimer’s and infertility.

The Cellular Phone Task Force website lists numerous warnings from governments and agencies around the world who have sounded the alarm on cell phone radiation and its harmful effects on human biology.

Radiofrequency microwave radiation causes voltage changes inside the body’s cells, altering calcium channels

Additionally, compelling research led by Martin Pall, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of biochemistry and basic medical sciences at Washington State University, reveals that microwave radiation from mobile devices and wireless routers causes voltage changes inside the body’s cells, activating what are called “Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels” (VGCCs), which are located in the outer membrane of your cells. It is this membrane that determines what passes into and out of the cell.

See the full study by Martin Pall, PhD., entitled: Electromagnetic fields act via activation of voltage-gated calcium channels to produce beneficial or adverse effects. That study explains:

Twenty-three studies have shown that voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) produce these and other EMF effects… Furthermore, the voltage-gated properties of these channels may provide biophysically plausible mechanisms for EMF biological effects.

From Dr. Mercola’s article linked above: (emphasis added)

According to Pall’s research radiofrequency microwave radiation such as that from your cellphone and wireless router activates the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) located in the outer membrane of your cells.

According to Pall, VGCCs are 7.2 million times more sensitive to microwave radiation than the charged particles inside and outside our cells, which means the safety standards for this exposure are off by a factor of 7.2 million.

Low-frequency microwave radiation opens your VGCCs, thereby allowing an abnormal influx of calcium ions into the cell, which in turn activates nitric oxide and superoxide which react nearly instantaneously to form peroxynitrite that then causes carbonate free radicals, which are one of the most damaging reactive nitrogen species known and thought to be a root cause for many of today’s chronic diseases.

This means that cell phone radiation (and 5G cell tower radiation) does, indeed, induce voltage changes in the human body, and that these voltage changes have very real biochemical effects, some of which may be dangerous to human health (such as the formation of peroxynitrite molecules).

Fighting these potent free radicals can be achieved in part with nutritional approaches, such as through the use of superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD), which is the foundational nutrient in the Health Ranger Store’s 5G Defense powders. Notably, SOD (which is usually derived from melon fruit) does not block cell tower radiation itself, but it helps the body respond to cellular stresses such as the formation of peroxynitrite molecules.

In related news reported by Reuters, French regulators have issued a warning to Apple to stop selling iPhone 12 phones due to the presence of excessive radiation produced by the devices. Apple’s smartphone exceeds the allowable legal limit of radiation. This phone has been sold since 2020.

5G signals may be used to cause Graphene Oxide to release payloads inside the human body

Connecting the dots on all this, 5G signals can be used to generate low voltage inside the human body, causing Graphene Oxide molecules to release predetermined payloads inside the body. Via the published paper linked above:

Upon application of external stimuli, many materials are able to release drugs. However, most of them need sophisticated instruments except electrical stimulation. Electro-stimulated drug delivery has attracted attention due to the low expense, painless, and portability of the control equipment, making it manageable for customized applications. In this study, we used NGO as an electro-sensitive material to deliver drugs in a controllable manner.

“This is the first time we have used ASP and DOX as a model drug which can be delivered simultaneously by external voltage,” the paper states. The conclusion of the paper adds: (emphasis added)

In conclusion, we have shown here that NGO can be used as a dual drug delivery agent, and the release of drugs can be controlled by an external voltage. To exploit the synergistic effect of ASP and DOX, we modified NGO and attached two drugs to it. Our labmade remote-controlled device efficiently released the anticancer drug. The releasing process can easily be switched on and off with a mobile phone by changing the bias voltage.

Graphene Oxide can carry biological or chemical weapons as payloads

In the scientific paper quoted above, the payload was aspirin plus a common cancer drug. However, payloads can be almost anything of sufficiently small size, including both hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules. From the study, “We have also demonstrated how hydrophilic (ASP) and hydrophobic drugs (DOX) can be delivered by using a single delivery platform.”

This means that potent chemical weapons — theoretically including nerve agents that are fatal at nanograms of exposure — could be loaded into graphene oxide molecules which are surreptitiously delivered into the body via aggressively propagandized medical interventions such as fake vaccines or covid swabs. Theoretically, such weapons might be able to be delivered to the population via food vectors as well. Once in the body, a small amount of payload leakage may generate some level of nerve damage among inoculated victims, but the real payload delivery won’t happen until a proper 5G signal is broadcast across the inoculated population, using the “release frequency” that generates the required voltage to unleash the payload.

In other words, a 5G broadcast signal at the appropriate frequency could instantly cause graphene oxide molecules to release the payloads into the bodies of those who were previously inoculated with those payloads. This would happen simultaneously, across the entire population that is within range of the broadcast frequencies which generate the necessary voltage in the body.

If the payload were a nerve agent, the real world effect would be the sudden dropping dead of large portions of populations across cities where 5G broadcast are able to saturate them. If payloads were virus-like nanoparticles, payload delivery could cause a large portion of the population to suddenly appear to be “infected” with a pandemic virus that is spreading at unimaginable speed.

This technology, in other words, could be used as a “kill switch” to terminate whatever portion of the population was previously inoculated with payload-carrying GO.

“Black ink” printed on pharmaceutical capsules shown to be magnetic and may contain graphene oxide

Some additional information came to my attention during the writing of this article. The black ink printed on the side of pharmaceutical capsules actually consists of mysterious black specks which are magnetic. A contact sent me a video, represented in the following screen shot, showing pharmaceutical capsules soaked in water for several hours, after which the black “ink” from the capsules turned into black specs that displayed startling magnetic properties. In this still photo, you can see the black specs gather at the common magnet held against the glass:

As this article reveals in LiveScience.com, stunning new research finds that graphene can be made magnetic by assembling layers in a specific rotational orientation. This gives rise to magnetism, even though the underlying atomic elements are nothing but carbon. From the article:

The magnetic field isn’t created by the usual spin of electrons within the individual graphene layers, but instead arises from the collective swirling of electrons in all of the three-layers of the stacked graphene structure, researchers reported Oct. 12 in the journal Nature Physics.

Is graphene being used in the “ink” that’s printed on the side of prescription medications? We don’t know for certain, but the fact that this ink is clearly magnetic is alarming.

Graphene oxide can also transmit gigahertz signals to nearby receivers

Additionally, under certain exotic applications of graphic oxide (GO) materials, those whose bodies are activated by cell tower broadcast could themselves function as electromagnetic “repeaters” due to the ability of GO to function as transmitters.

This capability is well documented in a study entitled, “Radio-frequency characteristics of graphene oxide,” published in Applied Physics Letters in 2010. (https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3506468) That study explains: (emphasis added)

We confirm graphene oxide, a two-dimensional carbon structure at the nanoscale level can be a strong candidate for high-efficient interconnector

in radio-frequency range. In this paper, we investigate high frequency characteristics of graphene oxide in range of 0.5–40 GHz. Radiofrequency transmission properties were extracted as S-parameters to determine the intrinsic ac transmission of graphene sheets, such as the impedance variation dependence on frequency. The impedance and resistance of graphene sheets drastically decrease as frequency increases. This result confirms graphene oxide has high potential for transmitting signals at gigahertz ranges.

Graphene oxide materials, in other words, can both carry payloads which are delivered via remote cell phone signaling, as well as transmit signals to other nearby receivers.

This could theoretically be used to start a “chain reaction” of 5G cell tower signals being re-broadcast from one person to another. In theory, this could extend a “kill switch” signal broadcast far beyond the initial range of 5G cell towers themselves.

From the conclusion of that published paper:

…[W]e expect that GO could be used for transmission lines in next-stage electronics and could be very strong candidate for nanocarbon electronics.

Conclusions

  1. Graphene oxide can carry chemical or biological payloads.
  2. Graphene oxide carrying payloads can be introduced into the body through vaccines or swabs.
  3. The release of those payloads can be controlled by external cell tower signals which cause specific voltage changes in human cells.
  4. Some voltage changes are already known to occur with exposure to cell tower radiation, especially with 5G.
  5. Graphene oxide payloads can include “kill switch” payloads such as nerve agents or infectious agents.
  6. The 5G tower system can therefore function as a chemical weapons payload release infrastructure system to achieve a “mass kill” of populations which were previously inoculated with payload-carrying GO.
  7. Covid vaccines — which are now widely known to have had nothing to do with halting any pandemic (since even the White House and CDC both admit they do not halt transmission or infections) — could have theoretically been used to inoculate people with graphene oxide payloads which have not yet been activated.

Thus, it is plausible — but not proven — that vaccines + 5G cell towers could be exploited as a depopulation weapon system to achieve near-simultaneous mass extermination of a large percentage of the human population, simply by activating GO payload release with a specific broadcast energy intensity and frequency.

Given that the western governments of the world are clearly attempting to exterminate their own populations right now, this conclusion should be concerning to all those who wish to survive the global depopulation agenda.

Does Warm Milk Help You Sleep?


If you struggle to obtain the recommended seven or more hours of sleep each night, you are not alone. One-third Trusted Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. View Source of American adults report not receiving the recommended amount of sleep. Sleep is essential to good health and development, so it is imperative that we get enough each night.

There are a multitude of home remedies people may try to help themselves fall asleep more easily and sleep more soundly. Drinking warm milk at night to feel tired is one such strategy that has been shared for years. Learn what the research says about this habit, and if it helps promote sleep.

Does Warm Milk Help You Sleep?

Scientific evidence suggests that warm milk before bed may help you sleep. In a study of people staying in a hospital’s heart unit, those who drank warm milk and honey for three days noticed improvements in sleep Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . A study of adults over age 60 found that drinking fermented milk over the course of three weeks reduced nighttime wakings Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source .

If you struggle with initiating sleep, milk might be able to help. In a study of people over 65, those who drank more milk and engaged in physical activity reported falling asleep more easily Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source than those who did not.

Why Does Warm Milk Make You Sleepy?

Milk’s sleep-promoting properties might be due to the amino acid tryptophan Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . Tryptophan-enriched foods have been shown to improve sleep and mood Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source in the elderly.

Tryptophan plays an important role in the production of serotonin and melatonin Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that impacts mood, cognitive reasoning, and memory Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . Melatonin is a hormone released by your body in response to darkness, in order to help you feel like sleeping Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source at night.

Milk collected from cows milked at night Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source contains ample amounts of melatonin in addition to tryptophan. Although only animal studies have been conducted with this night milk so far, it could make humans sleepier than regular milk does.

Is it Bad to Drink Milk Before Bed?

Drinking milk before bed does not appear to have documented negative side effects in most people. Some people, however, might want to avoid milk. For example, people who have a dairy allergy, are lactose intolerant Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , or have irritable bowel syndrome with symptoms that are worsened by dairy Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source   probably should not use milk to promote sleep. If you are avoiding milk, you may want to opt for non-dairy sleep-inducing foods instead.

Some may worry that drinking milk before bed could promote weight gain. However, research suggests a glass of milk at night could help promote fitness. One study found that drinking milk after a workout and before bed Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source helps with muscle recovery. Another study found that drinking milk before bed increases a person’s resting metabolic rate Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , or how quickly they burn calories, the next morning.

Some sleepers may be concerned that drinking milk before bed could lead to snoring. However, contrary to popular belief, growing evidence suggests that drinking milk does not produce more mucus Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source .

Tips for Better Sleep

For better sleep, it may help to try other foods high in tryptophan Trusted Source Medline Plus MedlinePlus is an online health information resource for patients and their families and friends. View Source , such as:

  • Cheese
  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Fish
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Peanuts
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Soy beans

If you have tried drinking milk or consuming other tryptophan-rich foods before bed and still struggle to fall asleep, you may want to take measures to improve your sleep hygiene Trusted Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. View Source .

  • Set a Comfortable Temperature: While everyone’s ideal temperature is different, keep your room cool but not frigid. If you sleep with a partner, talk to them about a temperature you both agree on.
  • Establish a Routine: Create and maintain a , so you wind down at the same time each night, including weekends.
  • Avoid Certain Foods and Drinks: Avoid heavy meals, alcohol, and caffeine before bed.
  • Keep Your Bedroom Dark: Try light-blocking curtains or a sleep mask to ensure you aren’t being exposed to light during the night.
  • Minimize Blue Light Exposure: Avoid watching TV or looking at a smartphone in the hours before bed.
  • Exercise: Exercise regularly, preferably earlier in the day.

Consider talking to your doctor if you still are not getting enough sleep after improving your sleep hygiene. It may be due to an underlying sleep disorder, such as insomnia. Your doctor can help you reach a diagnosis, schedule a sleep study or prescribe medications.

First synthetic yeast chromosome built .


An international team of scientists has synthesised the first working chromosome in yeast, the latest step in the quest to make the world’s first synthetic yeast genome.

The research, reported today the journal Science, could lead to the development of new strains of the organism to help produce industrial chemicals, medicines and biofuels.

An international team of scientists has synthesised the first working chromosome in yeast, the latest step in the quest to make the world’s first synthetic yeast genome.

The research, reported today the journal Science, could lead to the development of new strains of the organism to help produce industrial chemicals, medicines and biofuels.

Instead of just copying nature, the team extensively modified their chromosome, deleting unwanted genes here and there.

It then successfully incorporated the designer chromosome into living yeast cells, endowing them with new capabilities not found in naturally occurring yeast.

“It is the most extensively altered chromosome ever built,” says study leader Jef Boeke of New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

While other teams have synthesised bacterium and viral DNA, Boeke’s project is the first report of a synthetic chromosome in a eukaryote, an organism whose cells contain a nucleus, like human cells.

The achievement, which took seven years, involved the use of computer-aided design to construct one of 16 chromosomes in brewer’s yeast, known scientifically as Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The synthetic version, which the scientists call synIII, is a slimmed-down version of the yeast’s naturally occurring chromosome III, which has 316,667 base pairs. The team picked this chromosome because it is the smallest and controls how yeast cells mate and undergo genetic change.

“We have shown that yeast cells carrying this synthetic chromosome are remarkably normal. They behave almost identically to wild yeast cells, only they now possess new capabilities and can do things that wild yeast cannot,” says Boeke.

Such methods could be used to improve yeast’s ability to thrive in harsh environments, such as very high concentrations of alcohol.

Tour-de-force in synthetic biology
Jim Collins of Boston University and a pioneer in the field called Boeke’s work a “tour-de-force in synthetic biology,” an emerging field of science which applies the principles of engineering to living systems.

“This development enables new experiments on genome evolution and highlights our ever-expanding ability to modify and engineer DNA,” says Collins, whose lab is engineering a probiotic yogurt bacterium to neutralise cholera infections.

Synthetic biology is best known for work done by genome scientist and entrepreneur Craig Venter, who in 2010 reported he had built the first synthetic genome of a bacterium out of chemicals.

That work generated a lot of hype and considerable worry that scientists were tinkering with nature.

Boeke says the work in his lab and many others is much less like “playing God” and more akin to genetic engineering, but on a broader scale.

Chromosome scrambling
For their designer yeast chromosome, Boeke and his team made more than 500 changes, removing repeating sections of nearly 50,000 base pairs of DNA they deemed unnecessary to chromosome reproduction and growth.

They also removed what has been called “junk DNA” – parts of the genetic code that do not make proteins – and segments known as “jumping genes,” stretches of DNA that randomly hop around the genome and can cause mutations.

Despite all of those changes, Boeke says, “we still have a chromosome that works.”

He is most excited about the ability to selectively delete or rearrange the letters of the chromosome, a process he calls chromosome scrambling. To make this happen, the scientists added in stretches of DNA known as loxP, a gene sequence that works as a genetic switch that can be activated by a protein.

“What’s really exciting is in addition to yeast being healthy and happy, we’ve also endowed this chromosome with this almost magical property of being able to rearrange its structure when we wave our magic wand and generate millions of variant chromosomes,” says Boeke.

Having the ability to produce new synthetic strains of yeast could result in some very useful types of yeast that could be used to make rare medicines, such as artemisinin for malaria, or certain vaccines, including for hepatitis B, which is derived from yeast, says Boeke.

Synthetic yeast could also be used to make more efficient biofuels, such as alcohol, butanol, and biodiesel.

Lei Wang, assistant professor in the Chemical Biology and Proteomics Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, says the work “will enable us to artificially speed up the evolution process in the lab.”

Wang, who was not involved in the research, says he is impressed to see the yeast behaving normally after so many changes, which suggests “you can do very bold things to the organism.”

Labs in United States, Britain, China and India are working toward making synthetic versions of all of the organism’s 16 chromosomes by 2017, and Boeke thinks there could be at least one or two more yeast chromosomes published this year.

Tags: biotechnology, research, genetics

Instead of just copying nature, the team extensively modified their chromosome, deleting unwanted genes here and there.

It then successfully incorporated the designer chromosome into living yeast cells, endowing them with new capabilities not found in naturally occurring yeast.

“It is the most extensively altered chromosome ever built,” says study leader Jef Boeke of New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

While other teams have synthesised bacterium and viral DNA, Boeke’s project is the first report of a synthetic chromosome in a eukaryote, an organism whose cells contain a nucleus, like human cells.

The achievement, which took seven years, involved the use of computer-aided design to construct one of 16 chromosomes in brewer’s yeast, known scientifically as Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The synthetic version, which the scientists call synIII, is a slimmed-down version of the yeast’s naturally occurring chromosome III, which has 316,667 base pairs. The team picked this chromosome because it is the smallest and controls how yeast cells mate and undergo genetic change.

“We have shown that yeast cells carrying this synthetic chromosome are remarkably normal. They behave almost identically to wild yeast cells, only they now possess new capabilities and can do things that wild yeast cannot,” says Boeke.

Such methods could be used to improve yeast’s ability to thrive in harsh environments, such as very high concentrations of alcohol.

Tour-de-force in synthetic biology
Jim Collins of Boston University and a pioneer in the field called Boeke’s work a “tour-de-force in synthetic biology,” an emerging field of science which applies the principles of engineering to living systems.

“This development enables new experiments on genome evolution and highlights our ever-expanding ability to modify and engineer DNA,” says Collins, whose lab is engineering a probiotic yogurt bacterium to neutralise cholera infections.

Synthetic biology is best known for work done by genome scientist and entrepreneur Craig Venter, who in 2010 reported he had built the first synthetic genome of a bacterium out of chemicals.

That work generated a lot of hype and considerable worry that scientists were tinkering with nature.

Boeke says the work in his lab and many others is much less like “playing God” and more akin to genetic engineering, but on a broader scale.

Chromosome scrambling
For their designer yeast chromosome, Boeke and his team made more than 500 changes, removing repeating sections of nearly 50,000 base pairs of DNA they deemed unnecessary to chromosome reproduction and growth.

They also removed what has been called “junk DNA” – parts of the genetic code that do not make proteins – and segments known as “jumping genes,” stretches of DNA that randomly hop around the genome and can cause mutations.

Despite all of those changes, Boeke says, “we still have a chromosome that works.”

He is most excited about the ability to selectively delete or rearrange the letters of the chromosome, a process he calls chromosome scrambling. To make this happen, the scientists added in stretches of DNA known as loxP, a gene sequence that works as a genetic switch that can be activated by a protein.

“What’s really exciting is in addition to yeast being healthy and happy, we’ve also endowed this chromosome with this almost magical property of being able to rearrange its structure when we wave our magic wand and generate millions of variant chromosomes,” says Boeke.

Bakers yeast

Having the ability to produce new synthetic strains of yeast could result in some very useful types of yeast that could be used to make rare medicines, such as artemisinin for malaria, or certain vaccines, including for hepatitis B, which is derived from yeast, says Boeke.

Synthetic yeast could also be used to make more efficient biofuels, such as alcohol, butanol, and biodiesel.

Lei Wang, assistant professor in the Chemical Biology and Proteomics Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, says the work “will enable us to artificially speed up the evolution process in the lab.”

Wang, who was not involved in the research, says he is impressed to see the yeast behaving normally after so many changes, which suggests “you can do very bold things to the organism.”

Labs in United States, Britain, China and India are working toward making synthetic versions of all of the organism’s 16 chromosomes by 2017, and Boeke thinks there could be at least one or two more yeast chromosomes published this year.

 

Is the STEM skills shortage overblown or even non-existent?


With the rising emphasis on tech across the business landscape, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills appear to be in high demand. Yet, one analysis finds the alleged shortfall of these skills isn’t all it appears to be.

Robert Charette, writing in IEEE Spectrum,  says that despite the handwringing, “there are more STEM workers than suitable jobs.” He points to a study by the Economic Policy Institute that found that wages for U.S. IT and mathematics-related professionals have not grown appreciably over the past decade, and that they, too, have had difficulty finding jobs in the past five years. He lists a number of studies that refute the presence of a global STEM skills shortage. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for one, estimates that there was a net loss of  370 000 science and engineering jobs in the U.S. in 2011.

There isn’t even agreement on what STEM jobs are, Charette points out. Even agencies of the U.S. government don’t agree. The U.S. Department of Commerce puts the number of STEM jobs at7.6 million, which “includes professional and technical support occupations in the fields of computer science and mathematics, engineering, and life and physical sciences as well as management,” he relates. The National Science Foundation, on the other hand, estimates there are 12.4 million STEM jobs, taking in health-care workers,  psychologists and social scientists. Other data from Georgetown University finds that a majority of STEM graduates actually leave the STEM field altogether after ten years.

Perhaps what is needed is more polymath skills — blending STEM with other disciplines such as business, law, or even the arts — to drive innovation and entrepreneurship. Building a software company takes more than programming abilities — it takes business savvy and vision.

STEM skills do have an important role in economic growth, Charette opines. “There is indeed a shortage — a STEM knowledge shortage.” While a STEM-based university degree isn’t necessary, “improving everyone’s STEM skills would clearly be good for the workforce and for people’s employment prospects, for public policy debates, and for everyday tasks like balancing checkbooks and calculating risks.”

Ironically, while many non-STEM jobs require some level of STEM skills, many STEM jobs themselves are being displaced. Many of the skills needed in today’s marketplace — from auto repair to graphic arts to accounting — call for computer proficiency, as they now entail work built on software. At the same time, many functions that may have required engineers and mathematicians are being automated — algorithms have replaced many high-level mental tasks and processes. Even computer programmers and operators are finding their jobs are being automated. Perhaps non-STEM professionals need more STEM, but STEM professionals need more liberal arts.

Turning human stem cells into brain cells sheds light on neural development.


Medical researchers have manipulated human stem cells into producing types of brain cells known to play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. The new model cell system allows neuroscientists to investigate normal brain development, as well as to identify specific disruptions in biological signals that may contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases.

brainsondema

Scientists from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research led a study team that described their research in the journal Cell Stem Cell, published online today.

The research harnesses human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), which differentiate into a broad range of different cell types. In the current study, the scientists directed the stem cells into becoming cortical interneurons—a class of brain cells that, by releasing theneurotransmitter GABA, controls electrical firing in brain circuits.

“Interneurons act like an orchestra conductor, directing other excitatory brain cells to fire in synchrony,” said study co-leader Stewart A. Anderson, M.D., a research psychiatrist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “However, when interneurons malfunction, the synchrony is disrupted, and seizures or mental disorders can result.”

Anderson and study co-leader Lorenz Studer, M.D., of the Center for Stem Cell Biologyat Sloan-Kettering, derived interneurons in a laboratory model that simulates how neurons normally develop in the human forebrain.

“Unlike, say, liver diseases, in which researchers can biopsy a section of a patient’s liver, neuroscientists cannot biopsy a living patient’s brain tissue,” said Anderson. Hence it is important to produce a cell culture model of brain tissue for studying neurological diseases. Significantly, the human-derived cells in the current study also “wire up” in circuits with other types of brain cells taken from mice, when cultured together. Those interactions, Anderson added, allowed the study team to observe cell-to-cell signaling that occurs during forebrain development.

In ongoing studies, Anderson explained, he and colleagues are using their cell model to better define molecular events that occur during brain development. By selectively manipulating genes in the interneurons, the researchers seek to better understand how gene abnormalities may disrupt brain circuitry and give rise to particular diseases. Ultimately, those studies could help inform drug development by identifying molecules that could offer therapeutic targets for more effective treatments of neuropsychiatric diseases.

In addition, Anderson’s laboratory is studying interneurons derived from stem cells made from skin samples of patients with chromosome 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome, a genetic disease which has long been studied at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In this multisystem disorder, about one third of patients have autistic spectrum disorders, and a partially overlapping third of patients develop schizophrenia. Investigating the roles of genes and signaling pathways in their model cells may reveal specific genes that are crucial in those patients with this syndrome who have neurodevelopmental problems.

 

Source:Nature

 

 

 

Mesenchymal stem cells.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent adult stem cells that have regenerative capability and exert paracrine actions on damaged tissues. Since peritoneal fibrosis is a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis, we tested whether MSCs suppress this using a chlorhexidine gluconate model in rats. Although MSCs isolated from green fluorescent protein–positive rats were detected for only 3 days following their injection, immunohistochemical staining showed that MSCs suppressed the expression of mesenchymal cells, their effects on the deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, and the infiltration of macrophages for 14 days. Moreover, MSCs reduced the functional impairment of the peritoneal membrane. Cocultures of MSCs and human peritoneal mesothelial cells using a Transwell system indicated that the beneficial effects of MSCs on the glucose-induced upregulation of transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1) and fibronectin mRNA expression in the human cells were likely due to paracrine actions. Preincubation in MSC-conditioned medium suppressed TGF-β1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, α-smooth muscle actin, and the decrease in zonula occludens-1 in cultured human peritoneal mesothelial cells. Although bone morphogenic protein 7 was not detected, MSCs secreted hepatocyte growth factor and a neutralizing antibody to this inhibited TGF-β1 signaling. Thus, our findings imply that MSCs ameliorate experimental peritoneal fibrosis by suppressing inflammation and TGF-β1 signaling in a paracrine manner.

Source: Nature.

Hans-Peter Kiem genetically manipulates stem cells to treat HIV, genetic diseases and cancers.


Fred Hutch oncologist, stem cell and gene therapy researcher

Imagine if we could treat deadly diseases by generating healthier versions of the very building blocks of our bodies—blood stem cells. That’s the vision of Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem, whose Hutchinson Center laboratory is working to make such therapies a reality.

“Not long ago, this was science fiction,” he said.

Kiem’s cutting edge research reflects his longstanding interest in blood stem cell transplantation, now one of the standard treatments for many blood cancers, in which the patient receives an infusion of blood stem cells, either from a donor or from the patient’s own multiplied cells. The idea is that the new stem cells will grow into disease-free blood cells—a concept that Kiem’s research takes a step further.

“Stem cells can do everything,” said Kiem, who first came to the Hutchinson Center as a fellow in 1992 and joined the faculty five years later. “If we can correct defective stem cells, we can cure diseases.”

Kiem and his colleagues investigate how stem cells can be extracted from sick patients, manipulated at a genetic level and then delivered back to them to treat a range of diseases, from infections like HIV to genetic diseases to aggressive cancers.

One ongoing research effort confronts a major challenge in cancer treatment: Patients can receive only so much chemotherapy at a time, or else their blood cell counts may drop to a level that invites infections, anemia, excessive bleeding and other serious health complications. In such a scenario, the patient must stop receiving chemotherapy until the cell counts recover to healthy levels—but meanwhile, the cancer can worsen.

Kiem’s lab has developed a way to extract a patient’s blood stem cells and insert a special “resistance” gene that is designed to protect the cells from damage by common chemotherapy drugs such as temozolomide and BCNU. An infusion of these enhanced cells could give new hope to patients with the most aggressive form of brain cancer—glioblastoma—which is very difficult to treat. A small study for glioblastoma patients that Kiem started in fall 2009 is showing promising initial results and continuing to expand.

Kiem is also planning a study of patients with AIDS and lymphoma, who would receive blood stem cells with two inserted genes: one that counteracts the HIV infection and one that protects the patient from chemotherapy’s effects.

More recently Kiem has extended his work to derive blood stem cells from a new class of stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells. What makes pluripotent stem cells promising for new treatments is that they can be derived from readily accessible adult tissues, such as skin cells, and can mature into many other types of tissues and cells, including blood stem cells. These blood stem cells could in turn be expanded and used for blood stem cell transplantations, offering a new treatment option for patients with defective marrow or immune function.

Kiem’s groundbreaking work led to his selection in 2009 as the recipient of the first José Carreras/E. Donnall Thomas Endowed Chair for Cancer Research. The award is named for internationally known tenor and leukemia survivor Carreras and Thomas, who developed bone marrow transplantation.

Don Thomas was pursuing something that was at that time viewed as very difficult,” Kiem said. “It’s a bit of the same thing right now for gene therapy in stem cells. I hope that in 10 or 20 years it will be like what Don has achieved.”

Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

 

 

 

Highly potent human haemopoietic stem cells first emerge in the intraembryonic aorta-gonad-mesonephros region.


Abstract

Background

Haemopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are used in the clinic to treat various haematological disorders. These cells emerge during early embryogenesis and maintain haemopoiesis in the adult organism. In the vertebrate embryo, HSCs develop in multiple locations. Little is known about the embryonic development of human HSCs.

Methods

Human embryonic and fetal tissues were obtained after elective termination of pregnancy. Preconditioned immunodeficient mice were used as recipients for human HSCs. Transplanted mice were bled every 1—2 months to assess human HSC contribution.

Findings

We have found that human HSCs emerge first in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region and only later appear in the yolk sac, liver, and placenta. Transplantation of human AGM region cells into immunodeficient mice provides long-term high-level multilineage haemopoietic repopulation. We have shown that, despite the low number of HSCs in the human AGM region, their self-renewal potential is enormous. A single HSC derived from the AGM region generates around 600 daughter HSCs in primary recipients, which disseminate throughout the entire recipient bone marrow and are retransplantable.

Interpretation

We provide a systematic spatiotemporal analysis of HSC emergence in the early human embryo and identify the AGM region as the primary source of powerful HSCs with enormous self-renewal capacity. This high potency of the first HSCs sets a new standard for in-vitro generation of HSCs from pluripotent stem cells for the purpose of regenerative medicine.

Source: Lancet