SCIENTISTS IN MANY fields have been getting little attention over the last two years or so as the world focused on developing vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. But researchers have recently reported the following major breakthroughs:
1. Transplant promise. A group of scientists reported that they succeeded in reviving cells in the hearts, liver, kidneys, and brains of pigs that had been lying dead in a lab for an hour. The researchers accomplished the feat by using a device much like a heart-lung machine to pump a custom-made solution, dubbed OrganEx, into the pigs’ bodies. The pigs’ hearts started beating and sent the solution through their veins.
The pigs weren’t revived, but their organs started functioning again. The researchers hope their breakthrough eventually will help increase the supply of human organs available for transplant by letting doctors get viable organs from bodies long after death. The technology also might be useful in limiting damage to hearts from heart attacks, and to brains from strokes.
2. Creating life without sperm or eggs. Researchers created mouse embryos inside a bioreactor that were made up of stem cells cultured in a Petri dish — no egg, no sperm. The embryos developed normally, starting to elongate on day three and developing a beating heart by day eight. It was the first time scientists ever managed to grow fully synthetic mouse embryos outside the womb.
The experiment marked a leap in the study of how stem cells form various organs, and how mutations result in developmental diseases. As soon as the science starts to move into a place where it’s feasible to go from a stem cell population in a Petri dish all the way through to organ development — which suggests one day it will be possible to go all the way to creating a living organism.
3. Mice with two male parents. Researchers successfully created live baby mice with two male parents. According to new research, this was done by manipulating the chromosomes of a male stem cell, turning it into a female egg cell. This is the first case of making robust mammal oocytes from male cells.
The genetic manipulation required to create the embryos is a significant advance with significant potential applications. It could be used to treat or prevent genetic disorders, or even help same-sex couples have biological children.
4. Slowing Alzheimer’s. A drug by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly showed signs of slowing the advance of Alzheimer’s disease by approximately one-third. The drug called Donanemab acts as an antibody specifically created to attack and remove “sticky gunk” from the brain called beta-amyloid, which builds up in the spaces between brain cells, forming distinctive plaques that are one of the signs of Alzheimer’s. The drug’s effectiveness added to evidence that removing amyloid from the brain can slow down the disease’s progress. The evidence is really starting to build up that these drugs do work. But one of the side effects of the drug can be fatal swelling in the brain. By Manny Palomar, PhD (EV Mail July 22-28, 2024 issue)
