Biochemistry

NeuBase Therapeutics Announces Addition of Eriks Rozners, Ph.D. and Randy Davis, MBA to Scientific Advisory Board – BioSpace

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeuBase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBSE) ("NeuBase" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company accelerating the genetic revolution using a new class of synthetic medicines, today announced the addition of Eriks Rozners, Ph.D. and Randy Davis, MBA to its scientific advisory board (SAB). Dr. Rozners, an expert in nucleic acid biochemistry, and Mr. Davis, a biotechnology industry veteran, bring extensive experience to NeuBase.

"We are thrilled to welcome Eriks and Randy to the NeuBase scientific advisory board. Their unique perspectives gained over their distinctive careers will undoubtedly provide valuable insight and complement our team of renowned experts," said Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D., chief executive officer of NeuBase. "We believe that our platform, which relies on elegant peptide nucleic acid chemistry, is first in class and has the potential to change the treatment landscape for a range of genetic conditions, both common and rare. We are honored that Eriks, a leading expert in developing technologies which scan duplex genomic targets without invasion via triplex binding so as to co-localize pharmacophores with their targets, recognizes this, and we are eager to leverage his unparalleled knowledge as we optimize our PATrOL platform. Additionally, Randys extensive experience in semiconductor-based single molecule nucleic acid sequencing perfectly complements the strengths of each member of our SAB and brings atomic-scale measurement capabilities to the company. We look forward to benefiting from his vast knowledge as we continue to advance our PATrOL-enabled therapies under the guidance of our outstanding group of scientific advisors."

Dr. Eriks Rozners is a leading expert in the chemistry and biochemistry of nucleic acids and brings his expertise to NeuBase as the Company is optimizing and developing its PATrOL platform. He is a professor and the chairman of the Department of Chemistry at Binghamton University, where his lab focuses on the use of organic chemistry to develop unique model systems and tools for the studies and practical applications of nucleic acid biochemistry. Dr. Rozners received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and a doctorate in organic chemistry from Riga Technical University.

Mr. Randy Davis is a seasoned industry veteran with expertise in the field of biotechnology and was one of the founding members of Genia Technologies, a company developing a next-generation sequencing platform, which was acquired by Roche in 2014. In addition, he has served as a member or investor in half a dozen biotech companies and has authored or co-authored over 20 patent applications. Mr. Davis graduated from Tokyo Electrical University with a degree in electrical engineering and went on to receive an MBA from San Jose State University. In 2002, he continued his education at California State University East Bay, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree in molecular biology before moving on to various industry roles.

About NeuBase Therapeutics, Inc.NeuBase is accelerating the genetic revolution using a new class of synthetic medicines. NeuBases designer PATrOL therapies are centered around its proprietary drug scaffold to address genetic diseases at the source by combining the highly targeted approach of traditional genetic therapies with the broad organ distribution capabilities of small molecules. With an initial focus on silencing disease-causing mutations in debilitating neurological, neuromuscular and oncologic disorders, NeuBase is committed to redefining medicine for the millions of patients with both common and rare conditions. To learn more, visit http://www.neubasetherapeutics.com.

Use of Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are distinguished by use of words such as "will," "would," "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "designed," "plan," or "intend," the negative of these terms, and similar references to future periods. These views involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, accordingly, our actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. Factors or events that we cannot predict, including those risk factors contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause our actual results to differ from those expressed in forward-looking statements. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on the Company's current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, performance or achievements of the Company could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release, including: the Company's plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates; the timing of initiation of the Company's planned clinical trials; the timing of the availability of data from the Company's clinical trials; the timing of any planned investigational new drug application or new drug application; the Company's plans to research, develop and commercialize its current and future product candidates; the clinical utility, potential benefits and market acceptance of the Company's product candidates; the Company's commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; global health conditions, including the impact of COVID-19; the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property position; and the requirement for additional capital to continue to advance these product candidates, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all, as well as those risk factors contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

NeuBase Investor Contact:Dan FerryManaging DirectorLifeSci Advisors, LLCdaniel@lifesciadvisors.comOP: (617) 430-7576

NeuBase Media Contact:Cait Williamson, Ph.D.LifeSci Communicationscait@lifescicomms.comOP: (646) 751-4366

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NeuBase Therapeutics Announces Addition of Eriks Rozners, Ph.D. and Randy Davis, MBA to Scientific Advisory Board - BioSpace

Biochemistry

Global C-Reactive Protein(Crp) Test Market 2020 with (COVID-19) Impact Analysis | likewise Industry is Booming Globaly with Top Players: Wondfo,…

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Global C-Reactive Protein(Crp) Test Market 2020 with (COVID-19) Impact Analysis | likewise Industry is Booming Globaly with Top Players: Wondfo,...

Biochemistry

Nothing ‘pseudo’ about them: Drilling down into the function of pseudophosphatases – William & Mary News

No longer a dead end: Shant D. Hinton placed an early-career bet on the study of pseudophosphatases, a class of enzymes that were long thought to be intracellular layabouts. Her lab and others are revealing intriguing disease-related functionalities of pseudophosphatases. Photo by Stephen Salpukas

by Joseph McClain | November 17, 2020

Shant D. Hinton, in the good, old pre-COVID days, delivered what is possibly the worlds first scientific lecture on proteins to incorporate a call-and-response format.

Hinton, an associate professor in William & Marys Department of Biology, had the audience at the universitys 2017 Tack Faculty Lecture calling out kinases! and phosphatases! It was her introduction to the biochemical assembly of enzymes known as phosphatases to a largely lay audience.

Her lab was a pioneer in the study of a group of enzymes known as pseudophosphatases, particularly one known as MK-STYX. Pseudophosphatases were long considered a research dead-end, but Hinton and a handful of other labs discovered that there was nothing pseudo about these proteins.

Im still preaching the gospel of MK-STYX, she said in a recent interview. I will continue that until the day I die. But I am looking forward to adding more pseudophosphatases to my research program.

The gospel of MK-STYX is spreading. Her labs work on the protein is supported by funding from both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Hinton is the author of Pseudophosphatase MKSTYX: the atypical member of the MAP kinase phosphatases, which was featured prominently in The FEBS Journal, a publication of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

The FEBS Journal piece is a review article, in essence an overview of investigations, discoveries and prospects of pseudophosphatases, MK-STYK in particular. Hinton explains that she first became interested in MK-STYX when she was a Ph.D. student at Howard University. She kept seeing intriguing papers on pseudophosphatases during her postdoc and early career years.

A phosphatases job is to attach to a phosphate group in a protein, then delete it. The action changes the proteins functionality. For years, the common perception was that pseudophosphatases were the lazy brothers-in-law within the cellular world: they would grab on, and hold on, to the phosphate group. But they wouldnt finish the job of deletion.

Hinton said labs such as Jack Dixons at UC San Diego were publishing evidence that pseudophosphatases werent so very pseudo after all. And then, another paper came out that said an MK-STYX variant was implicated in the development of Ewing sarcoma, a pediatric cancer. Hintons lab began drilling down into what MK-STYX actually does.

We began to put the functionality of MK-STYX on the map, she said. My lab gave the scientific community phenotypes to look at MK-STYX and one of those phenotypes is that it can induce neurites.

Neurites, Hinton explained, are the first stages in the development of neurons, those specialized cells that communicate with other cells through connections known as synapses. She added that another contribution of her lab was to discover MK-STYXs role in the cells stress response pathway, as it tends to decrease the number and size of stress granules.

When cells become stressed by any number of environmental factors, they have a protection mechanism, which is stress granules, she said. However, if the activity of the stress granules becomes prolonged, it could lead to neurological disorders.

The discovery of those two functions of MK-STYX opened doors of research possibilities for Hintons lab. They can proceed to more detailed structural studies.

And its great timing, because now we have the funding to look at both projects, she said.

Thanks to Hinton and a few other researchers, pseudophosphatases are no longer seen as a dead end. MK-STYX and its variant STYXL1 are being investigated by some high-throughput research labs for connections to diseases ranging from arthritis to diabetes, and even cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Hintons lab in William & Marys Integrated Science Center has traditionally been staffed largely with undergraduates. Now, she has three masters students and the NSF funding has allowed her to hire Lynn Zavada as a lab technician. She said her lab continues to be productive during COVID times.

The situation is challenging, she said. But my department has been very gracious. If we write certain protocols and complete certain forms, we can be in the lab. Weve been in the lab since August.

Hinton acknowledges that things were very slow in the spring and early summer, when she had limited access to the lab. She pointed out that her work, like that of many biologists, is heavily wet bench, which means they need to be in the lab to work. She took advantage of the slow March to July period by sharpening her own computational skills as well as those of her students.

I went back and addressed evolutionary questions and other aspects that require a computational approach, Hinton said. I gave a couple of students those types of projects, too. Hopefully, with the next year or really less well be publishing from that aspect.

She picked undergrads who are majoring in computer science or CAMS computational & applied mathematics and statistics for the computational projects. She meets with them weekly.

And I force myself to learn things, she said. So that I can communicate with them and tell them what I want. It also helps me for when I communicate with other labs that have more-computational approaches.

Hinton expanded her renewed interest in the computational side of biochemistry by creating a graduate-level bioinformatics class. The class meets in-person every Wednesday. Each student selects a gene or protein of interest to work on together. Its a learning experience for the professor as well as the students, she says.

Its active learning. Were learning together, she said. We have to struggle through this, because we dont want to sit at home. I didnt think that I would teach this course permanently, but after seeing how well its gone, maybe I will.

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Nothing 'pseudo' about them: Drilling down into the function of pseudophosphatases - William & Mary News

Biochemistry

In conversation: UC’s 2020 Nobel Prize winners on changing the world through scientific discovery – University of California

UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., and UC Board of Regents Chair John A. Prez invite you to a virtual event:

UCs 2020 Nobel Prize winners on changing the world through scientific discoveryThursday, December 3, 20201:00 2:00 PM P.T.

Join us as we celebrate the University of Californias newest Nobel laureates and hear their reflections on the value of scientific discovery and its momentous impact on society. The discussion will highlight the role of research in understanding our world, improving our quality of life, and informing critical public policy decisions.

Learn how UC is cultivating a culture of opportunity and discovery, supporting women in science, and fostering the next generation of innovators.

Michael V. Drake, M.D.President, University of California

John A. PrezChair of the UC Board of Regents

Honoring UCs four 2020 Nobel Prize winners:

Jennifer DoudnaProfessor, biochemistry and molecular biology, UC Berkeley

Reinhard GenzelProfessor emeritus of physics, UC Berkeley, and director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics

Andrea GhezProfessor, physics and astronomy, UCLA

Charles RiceUC Davis alumnus and professor of virology, The Rockefeller University

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In conversation: UC's 2020 Nobel Prize winners on changing the world through scientific discovery - University of California

Biochemistry

Clearing the Course for Glycans in Development of Flu Drugs – UC San Diego Health

Researchers demonstrate molecular binding mechanism that could change approach to designing influenza treatments

There is no hole-in-one drug treatment when it comes to the flu, but that doesnt stop scientists from trying to sink one. Especially since as many as one in five Americans gets the flu. The reported estimated cost of this illness is $10 billion each year in medical expenses and another $16 billion in lost earnings in America alone, according to researchers at UC San Diego.

Rommie Amaro, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego.

Teeing up on the science behind the flu virus is Rommie Amaro and J. Andrew McCammon, both professors of chemistry and biochemistry, and graduate student Christian Seitz. Together with co-workers Lorenzo Casalino, Robert Konecny and Gary Huber, they studied the effect of glycansgroups of sugar moleculeson the binding of antiviral drugs to viral neuraminidase. An enzyme found on the surface of flu viruses, neuraminidase enables the viruses to exit their diseased host cells and infect and replicate in new, previously healthy host cells. The glycans help to prevent large antibody molecules from binding to the enzyme.

The researchers findings, published in Biophysical Journal, likely apply more generallyincluding to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Amaro will soon be releasing new findings about her latest research on the virus spike protein.

According to the scientists, influenza neuraminidase is the target for three FDA-approved influenza drugs in the U.S., but drug resistance and low drug effectiveness merit more drug development. Generally, however, drug developers do not include glycans in their development pipelines. They know glycans exist, but they have ignored glycans when designing new drugs without a basis for doing so and without evidence that glycans do not affect drug binding.

With their focus on glycans, the team thought it would be prudent to test the assumption about glycans in drug design relative to neuraminidase. Their results show that their proposed binding mechanism can help shed light on the complexity of the interplay between glycans and ligand binding.

Traditionally, glycans have been difficult to study experimentally or theoretically due to a number of technological constraints, which are beginning to be lifted, explained Seitz, first author of the study. Because of this recent emergence of glycans, we still have a lot to learn about them.

The superposition of four glycan conformations onto the static neuraminidase structure shows the conformational variability of the glycans, partially blocking binding site access. Metaphorically, the glycans are the rocks on the mini-golf course and the binding sites are the holes. The glycans are in blue, red, green and gray; the binding sites are in purple and orange, and neuraminidase is in teal. This representation is simplified to emphasize the relationship between the glycans and the binding sites, showing half of the neuraminidase structure and less than one-fifth of the glycans present in the full study. Figure by Christian Seitz, Amaro Lab and McCammon Lab, UC San Diego.

To better understand glycans in the context of this particular study, the team created all-atom in silico systems of influenza neuraminidase, consisting of four different glycan configurations and one glycan-free system. They observed a two- to eight-fold decrease in the rate of ligand binding to the primary binding site of neuraminidase After examining neuraminidases binding sites, the scientists noted that drugs prefer the primary binding site over the secondary binding site.

Personally, I found two things to be quite surprising. Glycans are flexible and can reside very close to the drug binding sites, so I thought that the glycans would completely block drug binding. However, we found the glycans acted more like a screen or a curtainthings can get through, it will just take a bit longer, said Seitz. Secondly, there are two binding sites on influenza neuraminidase; one is the primary (catalytic) site needed for the viral replication cycle to continue, and the other, secondary site, is not well understood. Some previous studies had initially concluded that ligands would reach the secondary site significantly faster than the primary site.

Seitz noted that McCammon was the first person to run a molecular dynamics study with a protein, and the Brownian dynamics software used in this study was developed in his lab. Additionally, Amaro is known as a world-leading expert in molecular dynamics virus simulations, and her virus work has recently been covered in The New York Times.

Combining these rich basins of knowledge we are able to gain new insights into a global disease right here in San Diego, said Seitz.

The graduate student likened the study to a mini-golf course. We have the obvious goal of wanting to get the ball in the hole except, in our study, the golf ball is an influenza drug and the hole is the protein receptor the drug must find to kill the virus. One can often find large rocks on the greens acting as gatekeepers to make it more difficult to get the ball in the hole. In our flu analogy, these rocks are the tiny sugars called glycans.

Just as a groundskeeper can change the position of the rocks near the hole, glycans can change position on the protein. So, the researchers wanted to know if changing the position of the glycans would change how easy or difficult it is for the influenza drug to find its target.

To start, we found common positions of these glycans. However, just as you would not change the position of the rocks on a mini-golf course and do one putt before declaring it easier or harder, we knew we would have to repeat this process many times (600 million, actually) to reach a statistically significant conclusion. Each Brownian dynamics trajectory in our study represented one putt on our mini-golf course, and we simply measured if the ball reached the hole, Seitz explained.

The scientists found that changing the positions of the glycans did make it somewhat harder for the drug to reach the target, but not as much as expected. This means that drug developers do not need to account for glycans when designing new small-molecule drugs for influenzasomething that was unclear before.

For a long time, I thought this couldn't be true and ran numerous tests to disprove it, but all these tests consistently said the same thing, that most small ligands are able to evade the glycans and bind to the enzyme, Seitz said. Thus, this work is one small step in helping to ameliorate the yearly human and economic cost in our nation and our world. This is paid for by our own taxes so each of us has made a tiny contribution to this progress.

This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, USA (NIH grant nos. T32EB009380 and GM031749 and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (grant no. DGE-1650112). The researchers used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by National Science Foundation (grant no. ACI-1548562) and the XSEDE Comet at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (allocation csd373).

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Clearing the Course for Glycans in Development of Flu Drugs - UC San Diego Health

Embryology

Embryology: Understanding the science and the scientists behind a successful IVF procedure – The Times of India Blog

In the success rates of IVFs or any assisted reproduction procedure, the role of Embryologists is often underrated. Most of the people are unaware of their very presence behind their journey towards achieving parenthood. Despite this ignorance, we should not overlook the fact that these embryologists are essentially scientists, who play a crucial role in the successful conception of babies through advanced assisted reproductive technologies.

An embryologist is nothing short of a scientist, who helps to create viable embryos to either be used in IVF treatment or while embryo freezing. The responsibilities of embryologist involve prudently managing and maintaining the genetic fabric used in creating embryos. They also take care of the development of the embryos closely. This requires deep understanding of the science behind nurturing eggs, sperm and embryos outside human body clinical methods and technological backup to ensure success rates. With the rising incidents of infertility globally approximately 1 in 7 of reproductive age being diagnosed as infertile the role of embryologist has also been intensified over the years. Globally, every year over five million ART babies are born through ART treatment.

If we talk about India, the IVF industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 per cent, and is assumed to be around USD 775 million (Rs 495 crore) by 2022.

Comprehending the role of embryologist

Before learning about embryologist, its imperative to understand the whole IVF process. It starts from extracting the eggs, retrieving sperm sample, and then fertilizing them manually by injecting sperm into an egg in the laboratory on a dish. The embryo is then transferred into the uterus. After the retrieval of eggs, the eggs are handed over to a team of highly trained embryologists that perform these procedures in a sophisticated and well-controlled environment

Embryologists are the experts of Clinical Embryology, a branch of biology concerned with the study of fertilization of eggs and development of embryos. They are the scientists who help to create embryos outside the womb using sperms and eggs.

Future of embryologists

As more and more couples are now going for IVF when they are unable to conceive naturally, it shows there is an increase in the demand for ART treatments. This also indicates that there will be a demand for trained embryologists. The surplus of embryologist demand will also call for the requirement of intense knowledge in application of emerging technologies in the near future as technology is no doubt ruling the IVF industry.

An embryologist can be employed by assisted reproductive clinics in government as well as private hospitals. Gradually, one can also be given more responsible positions as Lab manager or Lab director. But embryologist is such a job which needs rigorous training in laboratory skills, management and be updated about the latest technologies. Seeing the trend, many educational institutions have introduced embryology courses in their module. One can also join these institutes after completion of their course as faculty of embryologist.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Embryology: Understanding the science and the scientists behind a successful IVF procedure - The Times of India Blog

Embryology

How the IVF lab influences the chance of implantation after embryo transfer – ESHRE

A well attended online Campus meeting in November considered implantation from clinical, embryological and endometrial perspectives, but also focused on the day-to-day working of the IVF lab.

An online Campus meeting in November, with more than 250 remotely registered, reviewed the latest on successful and failed implantation from the perspectives of the meetings three organising SIGs (Embryology, Stem Cells and Implantation & Early Pregnancy). But what was also high on the meetings agenda were the effects which everyday laboratory practices might have on the fate of the embryo after transfer.

Barcelona embryologist Gemma Arroyo noted chromosomal testing and culture conditions as prominent factors but also added quality management systems, lab design and location, ambient conditions (lighting, air quality), biosecurity and culture equipment as important in the optimisation of embryo viability. For example, air conditioning, she said, should have air recycling at least 15 times per hour, with control of circulating particles and air pressure.(1) Similarly, she advised that oxygen concentrations during incubation would affect outcome, noting a Cochrane review supporting embryo culture with low oxygen concentrations for improved success rates in IVF and ICSI.(2) However, a recent study in which oxygen levels were reduced from 5% (low) to 2% (ultra low) found no added benefit.(3) Similarly, fluctuations in pH concentrations have been evident in blastulation rate reduction and alterations in gene expression (raised pH) and in fetal weight (lower pH).

While the introduction of time-lapse systems has allowed labs to maintain consistent and controlled culture environments, no such consistency is yet evident in the culture media single-step or sequential - behind the huge global shift to blastocyst transfer. Arroyo described several studies meta-analyses and RCTs reflecting inconsistent comparative results in blastulation and outcome. For example, a systematic review performed by ESHREs SIG Embryology co-ordinator Ioannis Sfontouris and colleagues found insufficient evidence to identify either one as superior, despite the practical advantages of single-step and higher blastocyst formation rates.(4) Similarly, Ubaldis group in Rome found no differences in cumulative delivery rates between the two approaches.(5)

While acknowledging the no-touch stability which time-lapse systems provide, Arroyo nevertheless recommended that their routine adoption should remain an experimental strategy. She noted that no single morphokinetic parameter has so far been consistently shown to predict implantation - indeed, with considerable disagreement over which parameters are even useful, normal or abnormal. This echoed the conclusions of ESHREs recent recommendations on time-lapse, that a clear clinical benefit of its use, an increase in IVF success rates, remains to be proven.(6) However, as the recommendations also noted, hopes of an outcome advantage are not lost.

So, as Ioannis Sfontouris asked of the lab, are we better than nature? Well, nature is certainly not perfect, as Johannes Ott emphasised before his presentation on routine office hysteroscopy before IVF. Citing a recent meta-analysis, he reported that reproductive failure is more common than success, and that embryo quality is implicated in many of these failures.(7) So is embryo culture, and notably extended culture, responsible for compromising embryo quality, asked Sfontouris. He reviewed the pros and cons of embryo transfer from day 1 to day 7 and concluded that, despite the potential for extended culture to trigger epigenetic changes, blastocyst transfer is associated with a higher pregnancy and live birth in the fresh cycle (though similar rates in cumulative cycles), a shorter time to pregnancy, and a more pronounced benefit in good-prognosis patients (while poor prognosis patients may benefit from cleavage-stage transfer.

Abha Maheshwari from the Aberdeen Fertility Centre in Scotland also found a distinction between the effect of ovarian stimulation in the fresh and frozen cycle, indicating that supraphysiological estrogen doses may affect implantation via the uterus. Describing ovarian stimulation as the most important thing in ART, and recognising the shift in defined success from pregnancy per cycle to cumulative healthy delivery, she urged the need of a very delicate balance between generating an adequate number of eggs while not impairing uterine receptivity.

1. Mortimer D, Cohen J, Mortimer ST, et al. Cairo consensus on the IVF laboratory environment and air quality: report of an expert meeting. Reprod Biomed Online 2018; 36: 658-674. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.02.005.2. Bontekoe S, Mantikou E, van Wely M, et al. Low oxygen concentrations for embryo culture in assisted reproductive technologies. Cochrane Database Syst Re 2012; CD008950. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008950.pub2.3. De Munck D, Janssens R, Segers I, et al. Influence of ultra-low oxygen (2%) tension on in-vitro human embryo development. Hum Reprod 2019; 34: 228-234. doi:10.1093/humrep/dey370.4. Sfontouris IA, Martins WP, Nastri CO, et al. Blastocyst culture using single versus sequential media in clinical IVF: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Assist Reprod Genet 2016; 33: 12611272. doi:10.1007/s10815-016-0774-5.5. Cimadomo D, Scarica C, Maggiulli R, et al. Continuous embryo culture elicits higher blastulation but similar cumulative delivery rates than sequential: a large prospective study. J Assist Reprod Genet 2018; 35: 1329-1338. doi:10.1007/s10815-018-1195-4.6. ESHRE working group on time-lapse technology. Good practice recommendations for the use of time-lapse technology. Hum Reprod Open 2020; 2: doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoaa0086. Craciunas L, Gallos I, Chu J, et al. Conventional and modern markers of endometrial receptivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update 2019; 25: 202-223. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmy044.

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How the IVF lab influences the chance of implantation after embryo transfer - ESHRE

Embryology

Inception Fertility Expands EMR Partnership with PracticeHwy | Texas | tylerpaper.com – Tyler Morning Telegraph

HOUSTON, Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --In its latest effort to enhance the patient experience, Inception Fertility (Inception), a family of comprehensive fertility practices and companies, announces today it has expanded its strategic partnership with PracticeHwy's electronic medical record (EMR) system, eIVF. The EMR system will be available to every practice within the Inception family of fertility providers nationwide including The Prelude Network (Prelude) and Pathways Fertility (Pathways). Prelude is the clinic network of Inception and is the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics in the country. Pathways provides couples and individuals the chance to build their families through affordable care backed by the latest technologies in assisted reproductive medicine.

The partnership delivers on Inception's mission to better streamline fertility care and combine it with its approach to provide compassionate, individualized fertility treatment that utilizes the latest science. "As the nation's largest provider of fertility services, we are excited to expand our collaboration with eIVF and continue our efforts in strengthening how we streamline patient care," says TJ Farnsworth, CEO and Founder of Inception. "By providing enhanced interoperability throughout the entire Prelude Network and Pathways Fertility, we elevate our commitment to delivering best-in-class standards in patient outcomes and experience."

In addition to Prelude and Pathways, Inception's growing network of national organizations includes MyEggBank, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; andBundl Fertility (Bundl), a multi-cycle fertility service bundling company.

"We are excited to leverage the experience, strength, and national reach of our Inception partnership as we continue to enhance eIVF's suite of offerings," says Jawid Rahimi, Chief Executive Officer at PracticeHwy. "With over 50% of cycles in the US managed on eIVF, we have the most evolved capabilities in the market and are proud to offer Inception practices a solution to maximize operational efficiency and patient care."

A pioneer in the fertility industry, eIVF has been utilized in over one million cycles at practices throughout the world and continues to trailblaze a path of innovation. Its robust approach to practice management includes streamlined scheduling tools, an intelligent fertility-based billing platform that drives financial outcomes as well as the patient experience, and the most comprehensive Embryology and Andrology solution available. This platform also offers revolutionary lab management and electronic witnessing system, and its powerful research portal provides 24/7 access to built-in strategic KPI reports to drive better results.

For Inception, it was crucial to find a partner that would be able to support their continued trajectory of growth. "With an ever-growing enterprise, it is important to not only find a partner to handle the needs of our 70 providers, but to also provide scalability as we continue to grow the Inception network," says Farnsworth.

About PracticeHwyPracticeHwy is an international leader in healthcare software that serves approximately 130 practices and clinics worldwide. In 2002, they launched eIVF, one of the first electronic medical record (EMR) platforms focused on Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) practices. Since then, eIVF has been utilized on over a million cycles. Known for its pursuit of excellence in the fertility industry, PracticeHwy.com has seen trajectory growth throughout the years by continuously developing new software solutions that support all aspects of a fertility clinic's operations. http://www.eivf.org

About Inception Fertility Inception Fertility (Inception) is a family of fertility brands committed to helping patients build their own families. Built by patients for patients, Inception's purpose is to achieve the highest bar in experience, science and medicine to enhance each patient's experience and achieve better outcomes.

Through its growing family of national organizations which includesThe Prelude Network, the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in the U.S.;Pathways Fertility, clinics that provide affordable, individualized and high quality care;MyEggBank, one of the largest frozen donor egg banks in North America; andBundl Fertility (Bundl), a multi-cycle fertility service bundling program Inception is working to deliver on its promise to push the envelope of what is possible for exceeding patient expectations.

Media Contact:Mia HumphreysKrupp KommunicationsMHumphreys@kruppnyc.com239-297-6592

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Inception Fertility Expands EMR Partnership with PracticeHwy | Texas | tylerpaper.com - Tyler Morning Telegraph

Embryology

Relationship status does not affect outcome of cumulative donor insemination treatments – BioNews

16 November 2020

A 13-year study of almost 9000 donor insemination treatments in 3333 consecutive patients at the London Women's Clinic, underlines the latest conclusions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The HFEA has reported that fertility treatment in same-sex female couples and single women is a dramatically increasing trend reflecting changing social attitudes and new family formations, also described by Professor Susan Golombok in her recent book We Are Family. Indeed, by the end of our study period December 2016 single, lesbian and female partners from heterosexual relationships comprised 45 percent, 43 percent and 12 percent respectively of our total patient population.

The HFEA data for 2018 showed that donor insemination resulted in an overall live birth rate per treatment cycle of 13 percent, with the lowest per-cycle rate found in single women. This, said the HFEA, was largely explained by patient age: single patients had an average age of 38 years, thus older than women in same-sex (33 years) and heterosexual relationships (34 years).

Our data similarly showed an age-related decline in success rates: from 12.5 percent per cycle in under 35s to 5.4 percent and below in the over 40s. Additionally, unlike the HFEA, we demonstrated the advantageous effects on outcome of cumulative treatments. We assessed our cumulative live birth rates (LBRs) in two ways: as a 'crude' rate over continuing cycles and as an 'expected' rate calculated to correct the analysis for the statistical effect of dropouts.

Again, crude cumulative LBRs declined with advancing patient age, from 29 percent in the under 35 group to 12 percent in the 40-42 years group. And similarly, while the calculation for expected cumulative LBRs revealed even higher rates, they still declined with age, from 66 percent in the under 35 group to 28 percent in the 40-42 year group. However, while the data just reported by the HFEA in their single-cycle results showed a lower LBR among single female patients, we found no difference in our cumulative success rates between the three treatment groups (same-sex and heterosexual couples and single women).

Over the 13 years of our study, overall dropout rates per cycle varied between 28 percent and 50 percent, and were even higher when plotted for age-specific cumulative dropout rate curves. The results thus show, first, that continued intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments in these patient populations can yield results much higher than those reported by the HFEA for single cycles, and second, that dropout over time will have a significant negative effect on overall outcome: with each additional cycle number there are fewer and fewer patients who continue.

The other important result from our follow-up was that in both the crude and expected cumulative calculations, a plateau in success rates was reached after approximately six cycles in young women and three in older women. Thus, while persistence in treatment may well generate real benefits, additional benefits were not evident in more than six cycles. This supports the NICE advice of offering six IUI cycles as an initial course of treatment, but not a further six to those who have not conceived.

However, our real-life experience also challenges the HFEA recommendation that IUI is only a first-line option for women in same-sex relationships and not recommended for couples with unexplained infertility, mild endometriosis or mild male factor infertility. Our results were comparable over 13 years in all patient groups. The factors affecting outcome in our series were patient age, cumulative treatments and ovarian stimulation ahead of IUI, but not relationship status as reflected, albeit controversially, in the NICE guidance.

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Relationship status does not affect outcome of cumulative donor insemination treatments - BioNews

Genetics

Major new study unveils complexity and vast diversity of Africa’s genetic variation – The Conversation CA

Africa is the cradle of humankind. All humans are descendants from this common pool of ancestors. Africa and its multitude of ethnolinguistic groups are therefore fundamental to learning more about humankind and our origins.

A human genome refers to the complete set of genetic information found in a human cell. We inherit our genomes from our parents. Studying the variations in different peoples genomes gives important clues to how genetic information influences peoples appearance and health. It can also tell us about our ancestry. To date, very few African individuals have been included in studies looking at genetic variation. Studying African genomes not only fills a gap in the current understanding of human genetic variation, but also reveals new insights into the history of African populations.

My colleagues and I, who are all members of the Human Heredity and Health (H3Africa) consortium, contributed to a landmark genetics study. This study focused on 426 individuals from 13 African countries. More than 50 different ethnolinguistic groups were represented in the study one of the most diverse groups of Africans ever to be included in such an investigation. We sequenced the whole genome of each of these individuals this means we could read every part of the genome to look for variation.

This study contributes a major, new source of African genomic data, which showcases the complex and vast diversity of African genetic variation. And it will support research for decades to come.

Our findings have broad relevance, from learning more about African history and migration, to clinical research into the impact of specific variants on health outcomes.

One of the key outcomes was the discovery of more than three million new genetic variants. This is significant because we are learning more about human genetic diversity in general, and discovering more differences that could be linked to disease or traits in the future.

This study also adds details to what is known about the migration and expansion of groups across the continent. We were able to show that Zambia was most probably an intermediate site on the likely route of migration from west Africa to east and south Africa. Evidence supporting movement from east Africa to central Nigeria between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago was also revealed, through the identification of a substantial amount of east African ancestry in a central Nigerian ethnolinguistic group, the Berom.

The study also enabled us to reclassify certain variants that were previously suspected to cause disease. Variants that cause serious genetic diseases are often rare in the general population, mostly because their effect is so severe that a person with such a variant often does not reach adulthood. But we observed many of these variants at quite common levels in the studied populations. One wouldnt expect that these types of disease-causing variants would be this common in healthy adults. This finding helps to reclassify these variants for clinical interpretation.

Finally, we found a surprising number of regions with signatures of natural selection that have not been previously reported. Selection means that when individuals are exposed to environmental factors like a viral infection, or a drastic new dietary component, some gene variants may confer an added adaptive advantage to the humans that bear them in their genome.

Our best interpretation of these findings is that as humans across Africa were exposed to different environments sometimes as a result of migration these variants were likely important to surviving in those new conditions. This has left an imprint on the genome and contributes to genomic diversity across the continent.

Our data has shown that we have not yet found all the variation in the human genome. There is more to learn by adding new, unstudied population groups. We know that less than a quarter of participants in genomics research are of non-European ancestry. Most available genetic data come from just three countries the UK (40%), the US (19%) and Iceland (12%).

It is essential to keep adding more genomic data from all global populations including Africa. This will ensure that everyone can benefit from the advances in health that precision medicine offers. Precision medicine refers to the customisation of healthcare to fit the individual. Including personal genetic information could radically change the nature and scope of healthcare options that would work best for that individual.

The Human Heredity and Health consortium is now in its eighth year of existence, and supports more than 51 diverse projects. These include studies focusing on diseases like diabetes, HIV and tuberculosis. The reference data generated through our study are already being put to use by many of the consortiums studies.

Read more: What we've learnt from building Africa's biggest genome library

Next, we are planning to take an even deeper look at the data to better understand what other types of genetic variation exist. We are also hoping to add further unstudied populations to grow and enrich this data set.

Building capacity for genomics research on the African continent is a key goal of Human Heredity and Health. An important aspect of this study is that it was driven and conducted by researchers and scientists from the African continent. Researchers from 24 institutions across Africa participated and led this investigation. This study showcases the availability of both infrastructure and skills for large-scale genomics research on the continent. It also highlights the prospect of future world-class research on this topic from Africa.

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Major new study unveils complexity and vast diversity of Africa's genetic variation - The Conversation CA