Neuroscience

Q&A: Student conducts research on stress in adolescents – The Ithacan

For many students in the Ithaca College School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, conducting their own research is the ultimate goal. Senior Justina Snyder is already well on her way to achieving it.

Snyder is a clinical health studies major, which is part of the sixyear physical therapy program, and she has minors in neuroscience, psychology and honors. Snyder was inspired to start her own research project in the fall of her sophomore year after taking a behavioral neuroscience course taught by Tamara Fitzwater, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.

With Fitzwaters guidance, the two worked together to study how physical stress impacts the brains and behaviors of adolescents. Last spring, Snyder and Fitzwater applied for the Academic Challenge Grant from the Office of the Provost, which provides funding to student-faculty teams involved in collaborative research projects. Synder said she plans to use her findings in her honors thesis, a final project that is required for seniors completing the honors minor in interdisciplinary studies.

Staff writer Ryan Bieber sat down with Snyder to discuss the inspiration for her research and the process of writing her thesis.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ryan Bieber: What made you want to major in physical therapy?

Justina Snyder: I always kind of knew I wanted to be in the medical or health care field, and, when I was looking at different options, I realized PTs actually get to sit down with their patients and develop a rapport. I really like building connections with people, and I thought that was a better way for me to be able to help people meet their goals and get better.

RB: How did you come up with the idea for your honors thesis?

JS: I knew stress was always a really big topic of discussion, and I kind of wanted to tie it into PT. I was kind of thinking about how stress impacts peoples ability to perform tasks and tying that into PT and neuroscience in general to see how stress affects the brain.

RB: How has the honors program played a role in your research?

JS: The whole purpose of the Honors Program is interdisciplinary, so they want you to take classes outside of your given major and explore different themes and topics. I really like this project because its taking my psych and neuroscience background and pairing it with PT and the classes Ive taken within the Honors Program and kind of putting it all together. Its cool to see things from different perspectives both in the neuroscience and psychology realms.

RB: What was your reaction when you found out you received the grant?

JS: We were really happy that we were able to secure the money to do the project. It was kind of nerve-racking because if we didnt get this money, I dont know that our project would have been able to happen. Science research in general is just really expensive, so we knew this was a great way we could get funding for the project.

RB: What phase are you at in your research?

JS: We did all the hands-on work last semester. This semester is really geared toward me writing my thesis. Were exploring the opportunity to present at the Whalen Symposium here on campus, which is kind of a bucket list thing for me.

RB: Whats the most important takeaway from your research?

JS: Research projects are a fluid process, so you have to adjust. Theres going to be challenges and deadlines or something might not go as planned, and you just have to make adjustments to it. Its been a great learning process.

RB: How do you balance all the classes in your major and minors with your research?

JS: It just comes down to organization and having a passion for things. Its about all of the knowledge Ive gained, the experiences Ive had and the people Ive met. Its about having the drive and the passion to do it.

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Q&A: Student conducts research on stress in adolescents - The Ithacan

Neuroscience

Prothena to Report Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Financial Results and Host Webcast Conference Call on February 12 – Yahoo Finance

DUBLIN, Ireland, Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prothena Corporation plc (PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company with expertise in protein misfolding, announced today that it will report its fourth quarter and full year 2019 financial results on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 after the close of the U.S. financial markets. The announcement will be followed by a live audio conference call at 4:30 PM ET.

The conference call will be made available on the Company's website at http://www.prothena.com under the Investors tab in the Events and Presentations section. Following the live audio webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website for at least 90 days.

To access the call via dial-in, please dial(877) 887-5215 (U.S. and Canada toll free) or (315) 625-3069 (international) five minutes prior to the start time and refer to conference ID number 1758808. A replay of the call will be available until February 26, 2020 via dial-in at (855) 859-2056 (U.S. toll free) or (404) 537-3406 (international), Conference ID Number 1758808.

About Prothena Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical-stage neuroscience company with expertise in protein misfolding, focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies with the potential to fundamentally change the course of devastating diseases. Fueled by its deep scientific expertise built over decades of research, Prothena is advancing a pipeline of therapeutic candidates for a number of indications and novel targets for which its ability to integrate scientific insights around neurological dysfunction and the biology of misfolded proteins can be leveraged. Prothenas partnered programs include prasinezumab (PRX002/RG7935), in collaboration with Roche for the potential treatment of Parkinsons disease and other related synucleinopathies, and programs that target tau, TDP-43 and an undisclosed target in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the potential treatment of Alzheimers disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) or other neurodegenerative diseases. Our proprietary programs include PRX004 for the potential treatment of ATTR amyloidosis, and programs that target A (Amyloid beta) for the potential treatment of Alzheimers disease.

Media & Investor Contact:

Ellen Rose, Head of Communications650-922-2405, ellen.rose@prothena.com

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Prothena to Report Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Financial Results and Host Webcast Conference Call on February 12 - Yahoo Finance

Neuroscience

Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market 2020 Future Growth by In Depth Industry Analysis, Size, Trends and Forecast by 2026 – Jewish Life News

New Jersey, United StatesThe report titled, Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Size, Status and Forecast 2020-2026 is comprehensively analyzed by the authors of the report to help players and investors to gain deep understanding of important drivers and restraints, segments, regions, and the vendor landscape. The research analysts have shed light on each and every aspect of the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays industry and how it may be influenced in the coming years. The revenue, production, consumption, CAGR, share, and other forecasts for the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays industry are accurate and highly reliable. They have been verified with the help of advanced tools and industry experts. Overall, the report comes out as a useful guide for both leading players and new entrants to obtain growth in the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays industry.

Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market was valued at USD 2.42 Billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 5.14 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2019 to 2026.

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Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market: Regional Analysis :

As part of regional analysis, important regions such as North America, Europe, the MEA, Latin America, and Asia Pacific have been studied. The regional Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays markets are analyzed based on share, growth rate, size, production, consumption, revenue, sales, and other crucial factors. The report also provides country-level analysis of the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays industry.

Table of Contents

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Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market 2020 Future Growth by In Depth Industry Analysis, Size, Trends and Forecast by 2026 - Jewish Life News

Neuroscience

‘It takes a world’: Initiative urges global collaboration to help us understand the human brain – Genetic Literacy Project

First envisioned in 2016 through a series of discussions on the grand challenges in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University,the International Brain Initiative (IBI)came out [January 22] in aforward-looking paperinNeuron.

Rather than each country formulating their own brain projects independently, the project argues, its high time for the world to come together and share their findings, resources, and expertise across borders. By uniting efforts, the IBI can help shape the future ofneuroscienceresearch at a global scalefor promoting brain and mental health, for stimulating international collaboration, for ethical neuroscience practices, and for crafting future generations of scientists.

It takes a world to understand the brain,saidCaroline Montojo ofthe Kavli Foundation, which offered support to the project. When we have the best brains and the best minds working together, sharing information and research that could benefit us all.

The initiative, at the time of writing, includes JapansBrain/Minds,Australian Brain Alliance, theEUs Human Brain Project (HBP),Canadian Brain Research Strategy, theUSBRAIN Initiative(BRAINI), theKorea Brain Initiative, and theChina Brain Project.

Integrating multiple goals of various brain projects together, the IBI serves as meta-middleman to promote coordination, share resources, and help unite different ideas on the future of neuroscience.

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'It takes a world': Initiative urges global collaboration to help us understand the human brain - Genetic Literacy Project

Neuroscience

BioXcel Therapeutics Announces FDA Clearance of IND Application for BXCL501 for the Treatment of Opioid Withdrawal SymptomsCompany is preparing to…

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (BTI or Company) (Nasdaq: BTAI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence approaches to identify and advance the next wave of medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology, today announced that its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BXCL501, the Companys proprietary sublingual thin-film formulation of dexmedetomidine (Dex), has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of opioid withdrawal symptoms.

The FDA clearance of our IND application for opioid withdrawal, a fourth indication, is an important step in our plans to build a neuroscience franchise around the multiple therapeutic opportunities with BXCL501, commented Vimal Mehta, Chief Executive Officer of BTI. Opioid overdose is reported as the number one cause of death for those under 50 years old in the U.S., and the distressing and challenging symptoms that come with opioid withdrawal are a primary reason for relapse. There is an urgent need for better treatment options to help manage the debilitating withdrawal symptoms and aid this underserved population from continued opioid abuse. BXCL501, our investigational non-opioid therapy, may offer key advantages to treating symptoms due to its intrinsic potency and favorable delivery method. We believe this study will build on the encouraging results we observed in our intravenous (IV) Dex trial, which appeared effective in reducing opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Opioid withdrawal is an emotional and physiological medical condition that may be driven by the excessive drive of noradrenergic neurons that originate from the locus coeruleus in the brainstem. BXCL501 selectively activates alpha-2a adrenergic receptors, which decreases excessive neuronal firing, alleviating the physiological symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

The RELEASE trial is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose Phase 1b/2 study designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, tolerability and efficacy of BXCL501 in patients experiencing symptoms of opioid withdrawal. This study will enroll subjects with opioid use disorder who are physically dependent on opioids. Patients will be randomized into multiple dose cohorts of BXCL501, or matching placebo, administered twice daily for five days. The study will assess opioid withdrawal symptoms using both the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale and Short Opiate Withdrawal Scale of Gossop over a 10-day period.

About BXCL501BXCL501 is a potential first-in-class, proprietary sublingual thin film of dexmedetomidine, a selective alpha-2a receptor agonist for the treatment of acute agitation. BTI believes that BXCL501 directly targets a causal agitation mechanism and the Company has observed anti-agitation effects in multiple clinical studies across multiple neuropsychiatric indications. BXCL501 has also been granted Fast Track Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the acute treatment of agitation.

A Phase 1b safety and efficacy study of BXCL501 yielded positive dose-response data. BXCL501 is being evaluated in the SERENITY program, consisting of two Phase 3 studies for the acute treatment of agitation in patients with schizophrenia (SERENITY I) and bipolar disorder (SERENITY II). BXCL501 is also being evaluated in a Phase 1b/2 trial for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia, and the Company is preparing to initiate the Phase 1b/2 RELEASE trial of BXCL501 for the treatment of opioid withdrawal symptoms.

About Opioid Drug Withdrawal:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the misuse of and addiction to opioids is a serious national crisis and is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for those under 50 years old. Between 1999-2017, almost 400,000 people died from an overdose involving an opioid, with greater than 47,000 deaths occurring in 2017 alone. The CDC estimates the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the U.S. is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment and criminal justice involvement. Opioid withdrawal is a condition characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, sleep problems, muscle aches, runny nose, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and drug craving that occur after stopping or reducing the use of opioids in anyone with physical dependence on opioids.

About BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence to identify improved therapies in neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BTI's drug re-innovation approach leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically validated product candidates together with big data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic indices. BTI's two most advanced clinical development programs are BXCL501, a sublingual thin film formulation designed for acute treatment of agitation resulting from neuropsychiatric disorders, and BXCL701, an orally administered systemic innate immunity activator designed for treatment of a rare form of prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and advanced solid cancers in combination with other immuno-oncology agents. For more information, please visit http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com/.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to the effects of BXCL501 treatment on opioid withdrawal symptoms and the timing of clinical development initiatives and trials for BXCL501. When used herein, words including anticipate, being, will, plan, may, continue, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based upon BTI's current expectations and various assumptions. BTI believes there is a reasonable basis for its expectations and beliefs, but they are inherently uncertain. BTI may not realize its expectations, and its beliefs may not prove correct. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, without limitation, its limited operating history; its incurrence of significant losses; its need for substantial additional funding and ability to raise capital when needed; its limited experience in drug discovery and drug development; its dependence on the success and commercialization of BXCL501 and BXCL701 and other product candidates; the failure of preliminary data from its clinical studies to predict final study results; failure of its early clinical studies or preclinical studies to predict future clinical studies; its ability to receive regulatory approval for its product candidates; its ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials; its approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on EvolverAI is novel and unproven; its exposure to patent infringement lawsuits; its ability to comply with the extensive regulations applicable to it; its ability to commercialize its product candidates; and the other important factors discussed under the caption Risk Factors in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2019, as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov and on the Companys website at http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.

These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent managements estimates as of the date of this press release. While BTI may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, except as required by law, it disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing BTIs views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.www.bioxceltherapeutics.com

Investor Relations:John Grazianojgraziano@troutgroup.com1.646.378.2942

Media:Julia Deutschjdeutsch@troutgroup.com1.646.378.2967

Source: BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.

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BioXcel Therapeutics Announces FDA Clearance of IND Application for BXCL501 for the Treatment of Opioid Withdrawal SymptomsCompany is preparing to...

Neuroscience

Neuroscience Market Application 2020- Industry Overview, Global Trends, Market Analysis, CAGR Values and Country Level Demand To Forecast by 2026 -…

Neuroscience Market Overview

The Neuroscience Market report released and promoted by CMI draw out historical, existing, and forecast valuation of the Neuroscience industry till 2026. The report highlights the market essentials, opportunities, regional market, Emerging Growth Factors, market challenges, forecast and competitors joined with their market share. The fundamental purpose of Neuroscience Market report is to provide a appropriate and strategic analysis of the Neuroscience industry.

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The Market structure covers the value chain, player categories, product ranges, key players presence across products and end user segments of the market. The report also provides a snapshot of key competition, market trends with forecast over the next 5 years, anticipated growth rates and the principal factors driving and impacting growth market data and analytics are derived from a combination of primary and secondary sources.

The research process involved the study of various factors affecting the industry, including the government policy, market situation, competitive landscape, historical data, present trends in the market, technological innovation, upcoming technologies and the technical progress in related industry, and market risks, opportunities, market barriers, and challenges.

Top merchant analysis is one of the key component and is exceptionally helpful for each player to comprehend focused scene in the market. Major key companies present in Neuroscience market report are:Alpha Omega, Inc., GE Healthcare, Axion Biosystems, Inc., Siemens Healthineers, Blackrock Microsystems LLC, Femtonics Ltd., Intan Technologies, LaVision Biotec GmbH, Mediso Medical Imaging Systems, Neuralynx Inc., NeuroNexus Technologies, Inc., Newport Corporation, Plexon Inc., Noldus Information Technology, Scientifica Ltd., Sutter Instrument Corporation, Thomas Recording GmbH, and Trifoil Imaging Inc.

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Market Event Factors Analysis

Market driver

Increasing market invasion of new technolgies.

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Market challenge

Stringent regulatory challenges in Neuroscience applications.

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Market trend

Rising demand for Neuroscience in market.

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Neuroscience

New Light on the Genetic Relationship Between Three Mood Disorders – Technology Networks

Researchers shed new light on the genetic relationship between three mood disorders associated with depressionmajor depression and bipolar disorder types 1 and 2, in a newstudyin the journalBiological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.

The clearest findings are a genetic distinction between type 1 bipolar and type 2 bipolar, and the greater similarity of type 2 bipolar to major depressive disorder, said first author Jonathan Coleman, PhD, a statistical geneticist and postdoctoral fellow in the lab of senior author Gerome Breen, PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Psychology at Kings College London, UK.

Both types of bipolar disorder used to be referred to as manic-depressive disorder. Mania is a behavioral state associated with behavioral activation, euphoric or irritable mood, reduced need for sleep, impulsive behavior, impaired judgement, racing disorganized thoughts, impulsive behaviors, and frequently strongly held false beliefs (delusions) or hallucinations. Bipolar disorder type 1 is associated with mania and depression, while bipolar 2 is predominately associated with depression marked by mild symptoms reminiscent of mania, called hypomania.

The insights came from several extremely large datasets analyzed together. For their meta-analysis, Coleman, Breen and their co-authors combined genome-wide association studies from three large datasets of people with major depression and bipolar disorder to evaluate shared and distinct molecular genetic associations. Most of the data came from the large international Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Additional data came from the UK Biobank, a major health resource established by the Wellcome Trust, and the online genetic service platform, 23andMe.

There are significant racial and ethnic differences in the findings from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The findings of this study pertain only to people of European ancestry and findings might be different in other groups.

The authors also report that the genetic risk for these disorders was predictive of other traits as well. For example, the genetic risk for bipolar disorder was correlated with more educational attainment, while the heritable risk for major depressive disorder was associated with less education.

In the mouse brain, the authors also mapped the genetic risk for these disorders on to particular brain cell types using a sophisticated analytic strategy building on the pattern of genes expressed. They implicated serotonin neurons in the risk for both depression and bipolar disorder, while bipolar disorder distinctively involved GABA and glutamate neurons (nerve cell types also implicated in schizophrenia).

We have long known that mood disorders are highly heterogeneous and the boundaries between types of mood disorders are often difficult to define clinically, said John Krystal, MD, editor ofBiological Psychiatry. This new study suggests that there are aspects of genetic risk, and presumably brain function, that link forms of mood disorders, but there are also distinctions that may shed light on subtypes of depression that may have important implications for treatment.

Ultimately, the researchers want to develop clinical tools to help predict if a first episode of depression is likely to persist as a disorder or progress into bipolar disorder. Genetic data wont ever replace clinical insight, but it might be a useful addition to clinical models, said Coleman.

Reference:Coleman et al. (2019). The Genetics of the Mood Disorder Spectrum: Genome-wide Association Analyses of More Than 185,000 Cases and 439,000 Controls. Biological Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.10.015.

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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New Light on the Genetic Relationship Between Three Mood Disorders - Technology Networks

Neuroscience

How African ‘feng shui’ can shape the continent’s cities of the future – CNN

Written by Matthew Ponsford, CNN

When architect Mphethi Morojele began designing Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa, a 130-acre (52-hectare) memorial to lives lost in the struggle against the country's Apartheid regime, he took the unconventional step of handing over the plans to a group of spiritual healers.

Work began nearly two decades ago, at which point these healers gathered signals from the natural and supernatural realms to create a sort of "heat map or a spiritual map of the site,'' explained Morojele.

"It's almost like the Chinese would use Feng Shui, where they feel the energies of the site and decide that this element must go here, this element must go there," he continued. "Then you start to lay out your design based on that as a kind of brief."

Freedom Park, Pretoria Credit: Clive Hassall

Alongside Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye and Burkina Faso-born Dibdo Francis Kr, Morojele's name was listed among "a generation poised to take on the ambitious projects that will define the architectural character and identities of rising Africa," in an New York Times article by Chika Okeke-Agulum, professor of art history at Princeton.

Morojele says it is a role he is glad to take on. During a telephone interview from his office in Johannesburg, he called for his peers to break down boundaries that still carve up the continent's architects along colonial lines, into Anglophone, Francophone, and other distinctions.

Mary Sibande re-imagines the story of South Africa's domestic workers

"Nowadays, there's a sufficient cohort of architects who have some relationship to the continent -- either having been trained here, or having lived here, or come from here -- who are beginning to question what it means to do architecture in Africa," he said.

The Hapo Museum Gallery, Freedom Park, Pretoria

For Morojele, the priorities he made when designing Freedom Park -- to respect the full sensory experience of the environment, including its spiritual content, and carefully construct community bonds through inviting diverse voices to input into the design process -- are key to constructing the African buildings and cities of the future.

Born in Lesotho, the mountainous nation enclaved inside South Africa's borders, Morojele has led Johannesburg-based MMA Design Studio since just months after the fall of Apartheid. In addition to Freedom Park, he has spearheaded other emblematic nation-building projects including designing the African Leadership Academy secondary school on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and South African embassies in Berlin and Addis Ababa.

The South African Embassy in Addis Ababa

Not confined to architecture and urban design, Morojele has been sought out for thought-leadership across design disciplines. In 2013 he was asked to help design the funeral of Nelson Mandela, which aimed to create a new tradition for how a leader of democratic South Africa would be laid to rest.

After Freedom Park, he again assembled spiritual leaders for input on another complex project, a market in Johannesburg where herbalists and healers sell "indigenous magic medicine," mostly herbs and plants, explained Morojele.

Long-forgotten family portrait sells at auction for $1.4 million

This complex project formalized the sale of products used by most South Africans, especially recent migrants from rural areas, which are sometimes frowned upon by city-dwellers and pushed to the margins of the city, he said. Creating a formal commercial space for traditional healers -- some are called inyangas or sangomas -- and the accompanying rituals, meant designing a new type of market that recognized which practitioners and which types of magic needed to be kept apart.

"I guess it's like any other client would brief you," he explained. "Only they work in the spiritual realm and then bring it back to brief us."

The process of working with spiritual workers is just one method Morojele has used to include often-excluded voices in the design process. He has also consulted diverse stakeholders -- members of the public, residents of townships and students at schools and academies -- incorporating users input into the design.

The Cradle of Humankind Visitor Centre, Maropeng, South Africa

The goal of greater inclusivity should be at the forefront for architects in South Africa and beyond, Morojele argued.

"I'd like to see architects focus on the way architecture creates social cohesion. In South Africa, architecture has always been used to separate. It had subtle mechanisms in buildings that were used to define who belongs where: which entrance you use, depending on your skin color, and things like that."

Morojele says architects and urban planners can -- and must -- reverse that historical process of division to repair fissures and create more equitable cities.

The African Leadership Academy Learning Commons in Johannesburg Credit: Tristan McLaren/Tristan McLaren

The unexpected art of Ghana's hand-painted movie posters

The African Leadership Academy Learning Commons in Johannesburg Credit: Tristan McLaren/Tristan McLaren

But the architect is distinguished in matching a hard-nosed focus on righting past wrongs of urban planning with a sensitive approach to planning. For example, he favors natural materials for heritage projects that draw on local animistic beliefs -- traditional beliefs that inanimate objects contain spiritual energy.

Vivid portraits shine light on Tahiti's 'third gender'

In Freedom Park, Morojele used natural materials to create a narrative of remembrance and hope. To do this he assembled boulders from South Africa's nine provinces -- having been ritually blessed in interfaith prayer sessions in the name of peace -- and even imported soil from across the world.

Stones in Isivivane, Freedom Park, are blessed in a ceremony

"It started off as a place that would offer symbolic restitution to people who lost their lives in the struggle for liberation," he said.

The Garden of Remembrance, a green belt surrounding the central memorial, contains earth from countries outside of South Africa where people had been stationed in exile and had died during the fight for liberation. "In a sense, the installation is given a certain spiritual energy because of the soil used that has come from different countries, which is now embedded into the monument or memorials," he said.

The Garden of Rememberance at Freedom Park, Pretoria

Morojoele is keen to now connect more analytic and spiritual approaches. As he plans for future commissions, he sees a path forward via neuroscience, and the ideas of "environmental psychology" developed by the likes of Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, which hopes to explain how our natural and built surroundings affect our behavior and emotions.

"The advances in neuroscience nowadays can relate the environment to people's emotions and people's nervous system, how it responds to different environments," Morojoele said. "I'm interested in understanding the Western scientific basis of what indigenous knowledge systems were expounding."

Why being an African artist is so important today

This approach -- combining neuroscience with animism, and layering landmarks and urban infrastructure with emotional nuances -- makes clear Morojele vision.

"We need to go back to understanding ourselves as biological beings, less as intellectual beings, bringing in more senses," he said.

Both forward-facing and grounded in tradition, Morojele hopes that the city of the future is an environment where we can connect with our own nature, and commune with our surroundings. "A more sensual architecture," he explained. "And one that heightens your experience of the environment."

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How African 'feng shui' can shape the continent's cities of the future - CNN

Embryology

GE Healthcare joins CMRI to optimize gene therapy manufacturing – BSA bureau

The collaboration with Childrens Medical Research Institute will boost the efficiency of AAV purification, leading to increased access to the viral vectors needed to manufacture gene therapies.

GE Healthcare Life SciencesandChildrens Medical Research Institutewill jointly drive the development of new affinity ligands for the purification of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors used in gene therapies. The focus of the collaboration is to bring to market-specific ligands for multiple AAV types, enhancing the chromatographic separation of AAV-based vectors. This will improve the manufacturing efficiency and scalability of gene therapies, enabling the availability of viral vectors on a global scale.

With more than 800 gene therapies currently in clinical trials, there is an increasing demand for the raw materials needed in the manufacturing process of viral vectors. AAVs are viral vectors used in more than 70% of the in vivo gene therapy clinical trials. According to GlobalData, the 2025 gene therapy in vivo therapeutic market is expected to reach USD 32 billion with an estimated CAGR of 105% between 2019-2025.

The collaboration combines the expertise from the latest available research on AAVs with application testing, advancing a comprehensive understanding of the clinical functionality and the commercial opportunities of AAV-based gene therapies. Childrens Medical Research Institute will share with GE Healthcare Life Sciences AAV capsid variants targeting different tissues. GE Healthcare Life Sciences will then design and test ligand prototypes, which Childrens Medical Research Institute will assess. Based on the performance results, GE Healthcare Life Sciences will manufacture and commercialize novel improved AAV affinity ligands.

Dr Leszek Lisowski, the lead gene therapy scientist at Childrens Medical Research Institute, says: Bringing the fruits of our work to the patients requires a joint effort between academia and the industry. The collaboration with GE Healthcare Life Sciences will allow us to expedite the development of novel clinical options at a lower cost.

Olivier Loeillot, General Manager, Bioprocess at GE Healthcare Life Sciences, says: The industry needs better and more personalized technologies to speed biopharmaceuticals through clinical trials and bring them to market. Our long biomanufacturing expertise combined with Childrens Medical Research Institutes pioneering research will lead to purification technologies that will streamline the production of gene therapies.

Catarina Flyborg, General Manager, Cell and Gene Therapy at GE Healthcare Life Sciences, says: Collaborations with organizations such as Childrens Medical Research Institute are critical to developing the technologies needed to move the industry forward. By working directly with world-class researchers, GE Healthcare Life Sciences can develop the purification technologies that will contribute to increasing the availability of viral vectors globally.

Childrens Medical Research Institute in Australia is globally recognized for its work on microsurgery, cancer research, neurobiology, embryology and gene therapy. The AAV affinity ligands resulting from this collaboration will be compatible with GE Healthcare Life Sciences resin-based chromatography portfolio used in the purification of most FDA-approved biopharmaceuticals.

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GE Healthcare joins CMRI to optimize gene therapy manufacturing - BSA bureau

Embryology

The case for Catholicism a response to Oliver Kamm – TheArticle

First things first Im one of those pesky Catholics. I believe that the teachings of the Catholic Church, which affirm a reverence for life at every moment, from conception to natural death, are a profound humanitarian teaching.

These teachings have far-reaching applications for a civilised society, from the rejection of war in global governance and, also, capital punishment to domestic and international outreach to the marginalised and deprived. The point is that the dignity of every human life, little and big born and unborn from the delivery room to death row, is seamless.

That said, the weakness of Oliver Kamms argument is twofold. It fails to make the case that Rebecca Long-Bailey was not discriminated against because of her Catholic beliefs on abortion. Second, his argument points to an anti-liberal mind-set far more effectively than any statement made by the MP for Salford. Consider the pejorative language Mr Kamn used to caricature the position of those who take a different view to himdespotic, moral authoritarians asserting inhumane and reactionary doctrine born of religious obscurantism.

Come, come, Mr Kamm these are intelligent and decent people, informed by medical as well as moral sensibilites, and every bit as familiar as yourself with the principles of representative democracy. Indignation at those whose views differ from yours is no substitute for respectful and reasoned debate. Reference to Jefferson and the Enlightenment doesnt give legitimacy.

Indeed, evoking the Enlightenment in an era where ideological colonisation has led to an anti-scientific and truly oppressive political environment is not without irony.

Nonetheless, the debate that it evokes is important precisely because it is happening against the backdrop of a fight for the heart and soul of a Labour Party thats bruised by electoral defeat and allegations of discrimination.

I lived in the UK when the Abortion Act 1967 was enacted. It envisaged a (very) limited application of the Act, with extensive protocols and procedures. The provisions which Mr Kamm cites no longer apply. The numbers themselves some 200,000 abortions annually demonstrate this reality. Contrary to the intent and expectations of the liberals who were behind the Act, it now amounts to abortion on demand. This raises serious social and healthcare issues that cannot be commandeered by the Labour Party or any political party as ano go domain for reflective analysis.

In his criticism of the Catholic perspective on non-medical abortion which explicitly encompasses Catholic politicians Mr Kamm fails to mention, even in passing, advances in embryology and imaging which allow MPs to see what was simply not possible back in 1967: the nature and scale of the assault on life and the impact on the infant in the womb.

Surely it is a sound and sensible proposition to review and reflect on any piece of legislation in the light of advances in science.Mr Kamm would have it otherwise. But that simply wont do it is not a defensible position.

This takes us to what appears to be the core of his argument. Religious and moral sensibilities should have, it seems, zero place in politics. Really? Does that include the likes of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks? Is it defensible to insist that all his wisdom be left in the cloakrooms of the House of Lords. The early writings ofSt Thomas More especially Utopia and the accounts of his trial for not bending the knee to the self-serving assertions of Henry VIII show how much politics is in need of normative values and moral courage.

To adapt Mores Defense as he faced execution: The Kings or the Labour Party Excutives good servant: but Gods first. Mr Kamm cites, and rightly so, appalling institutional and human failings in the Church in recent times, but makes no reference whatever to the incalculable good which individual men and womenhavedone for the distressed and marginalised over the centuries, precisely because they were inspired by Gospel values.This lack of balance undermines his case.

But what does the real damage is the implication, at least as I read it, that Ms Long-Bailey, or any Catholic who takes their religious convictions regarding the unique and unrepeatable value of human life seriously, are by definitionilliberal and disqualified from public office. Why stop there? In such a secularist paradigm, why allow Catholics to vote at all dont dismiss the thought. We in Ireland were impacted by such thinking and, in historical terms, not so very long ago either.

Catholics should have the same right as secularists to a place in the public square. They should be allowed to argue their case in a Parliamentary democracy and to affirm their convictions regarding that most basic of all rights the right to life. That right is not, and cannot be, sequestered by a flawed definition of what it means to be liberal.

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The case for Catholicism a response to Oliver Kamm - TheArticle