Outlook: The 9 most anticipated life science research fields in 2017
January 04, 2017 Source: Bio Valley
Window._bd_share_config={ "common":{ "bdSnsKey":{ },"bdText":"","bdMini":"2","bdMiniList":false,"bdPic":"","bdStyle":" 0","bdSize":"16"},"share":{ }};with(document)0[(getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||body).appendChild(createElement('script')) .src='http://bdimg.share.baidu.com/static/api/js/share.js?v=89860593.js?cdnversion='+~(-new Date()/36e5)];In 2016, in the life sciences discipline, many major research results have been harvested in various fields. Now that the new 2017 has arrived, what is the most promising research area that is most likely to make significant progress this year? Based on the development trend of research in recent years, Gu Jun has compiled 9 hot areas. Let's take a look at it!
Tumor immunotherapy
In recent years, with the development of biotechnology, tumor immunotherapy has become the most promising means of successfully curing cancer after tumor surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Recently, with the successful elimination of solid tumors by CAR-T therapy, the study of CAR-T therapy is about to enter an exciting new phase.
2017 will be an extraordinary year in the CAR-T field. CAR-T cancer immunotherapy is ready to enter the market, and Kite Pharma and Novartis are currently competing for approval of the therapy.
The combined application of different immunotherapies will be the future trend of cancer treatment. In December 2016, the tumor immunotherapy giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) announced the update data of the Ib phase study CheckMate-012 of the tumor immunotherapy combination Opdivo+Yervoy. The data showed that the objective response rate determined by the combination treatment group was 43%. It is nearly twice as high as the previously reported Opdivo monotherapy group. In addition to combination therapy with immunological checkpoint inhibitors, the combination of tumor immunotherapy with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and large- and small-molecule-targeted therapies is also effective in clinical treatment. As people further understand the research of tumor biology and immune system, more combined program practices may produce safer and more effective clinical effects, and truly achieve clinical cure for cancer.
2. Gene editing
At the moment, there is a constant wave of conflicts about CRISPR patents, and research on the CRISPR-Cas system is also advancing. In 2015, signs of leukemia were not detected in Layla, a small girl who treated leukemia by transfecting genetically edited immune cells. Although this is still only a case, by the end of 2017, gene editing technology will save many lives. China has conducted the first clinical trial of CRISPR. And a clinical trial to be conducted in the United States is even more ambitious. The researchers intend to first embed a tumor chimeric antigen receptor gene into T cells, allowing them to attack tumor cells, and then knock out PD-1 and the other two genes with CRISPR.
In 2017, US courts are likely to rule on the conflict between the University of California and the Bode Institute on CRISPR–Cas9 technology, claiming that the research institute that invented the gene editing technology will collect billions of dollars from patent licensing. At the same time, another gene editing technology, NgAgo, which is difficult to replicate, may continue to "walk away" on the basis of subsequent in-depth research. In the UK, many clinics are now licensed to use a controversial assisted reproductive technology to mix DNA from three people. The goal of this operation is to prevent children from developing hereditary diseases caused by maternal mitochondria.
3. Synthetic genome and regenerative medicine
Jeff Burke, a famous figure in the field of genetic editing, is listed in the list of scientists focused on 2017 by the British magazine Nature. In 2014, he successfully synthesized a chromosome in the yeast genome. In 2017, if Burke can synthesize the entire yeast genome, it will be the first time in the scientific community to artificially synthesize a genome of eukaryotes, which will be a major step forward in the study of artificial living organisms. Based on this, it is possible to achieve a complete “on-demand†gene in the future to create the most satisfying pet.
In 2016, 25 scientists in the United States proposed a plan to synthesize a complete human genome in 10 years, the Human Genome Project-Write, which caused some controversy due to ethical issues. In their plan, the synthetic human genome can be used to develop heterogeneous organs that can be transplanted to humans and accelerate the development of human vaccines and drugs for various diseases.
In the view of Lin Xionghui, a researcher in the field of regenerative medicine at the University of Free University of Brussels in Belgium, regenerative medicine will be the hot research direction in 2017: for example, it is used to treat diabetes, to transform the patient's body cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, and then to grow into insulin-secreting cells. Transplanted into patients; for example, to study it for heart disease, first cultivate heart cells in vitro, then inject or transplant them into heart disease, replacing inactivated cells.
4. Break through the limitations of human embryo development time
In 2016, scientists in the laboratory allowed human embryos to develop for nearly two weeks, breaking the previous nine-day record. The results of this research may bring new research, but also set off a new round of ethical debate. For decades, the ethical limitations of studying embryo development for less than 14 days have been widely accepted. However, within two weeks, the embryo has not yet formed a nervous system, and thus it is not considered "human life" by many people. Should we break this limit and allow scientists to study embryos from 14 days to 28 days old? There may be new developments in 2017 on this issue.
5. Zika vaccine test
The effect of Zika vaccine will be verified in 2017. To date, almost every candidate Zika vaccine tested has provided complete protection for monkeys, and at least three of them have begun small-scale human trials to assess their safety and ability to stimulate immune responses. If these vaccines pass the test, then a clinical trial of effectiveness will be conducted next year. But there are two concerns that may delay the development of vaccine development. First, in theory, Zika virus antibodies may cross-react with close relatives of dengue virus, which makes people susceptible to highly lethal dengue fever; second, Zika epidemic spreads very rapidly in Latin America, many Latin Americans may have immunity This will mask the effect of the vaccine.
6. Human microbiome
In the new year, scientists will be able to study more about the molecular mechanisms by which human microbiomes affect human health. The human microbiome is a "big collection" of viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms along with their genes; The impact of the microbiome on human brain development and cancer, and two US human microbiome research programs will also provide some research results, which focus on human microbial flora with neonatal premature delivery, inflammatory bowel disease and The association between type 2 diabetes was studied.
7. Cell autophagy
In 2016, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the Japanese scientist Daisuke for his contribution to the field of autophagy.
The molecular regulation mechanism of autophagy, especially mitochondrial autophagy, is currently the focus of attention in the field of mitochondrial and autophagy research. Autophagy associated gene (ATG) is another hot topic in current research. The transformation relationship between autophagy, apoptosis and programmed necrosis is also a field with more research progress in recent years. All three are involved in the process of neuronal death, which can be mutually transformed and mutually restricted. In translational medicine research, many drugs that regulate autophagy are used in clinical tumor treatment research, such as "Blue-print autopagy" found in marine medicine.
However, there are still many problems related to the function of autophagy-related genes and the mechanism of autophagy, such as the source of autophagosome membrane, the recognition of degradation substrates, and the fusion mechanism of autophagosomes and lysosomes. In 2017, we look forward to seeing more new breakthroughs in the field of autophagy.
8. Non-invasive genetic screening
In 2016, Professor Lu Yuming of the Chinese University of Hong Kong won the “Citation Award†for his pioneering contribution to non-invasive prenatal fetal genetic testing and became the first recipient of the Future Science Award. In addition, the “FamilyCODEâ€, a non-invasive pre-pregnancy genetic screening product released by the WuXi PharmaTech Group on December 3, can detect high-grade severe recessive genetic diseases in 135 Asian populations at one time.
On October 27, 2016, the Health Planning Commission issued the important document No. [45]: "Notice on Regulating the Blood Screening and Diagnosis of Fetal Free DNA Production in Pregnant Women's Peripheral Blood", abolishing the previous non-invasive prenatal screening and diagnosis pilot Relevant institutional regulations officially abolished the non-invasive prenatal screening and diagnosis pilot, aiming to promote the implementation of a comprehensive two-child policy to meet the needs of pregnant women for prenatal screening and diagnosis of molecular genetic new technology services.
Through the eastward policy, this technology will surely usher in new opportunities in 2017.
9. Artificial Intelligence and Medical
In recent years, artificial intelligence has been increasingly used in the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. Previously, scientists from the United States combined machine learning with big data to determine the distribution of rodents that carry disease, and Hotspots that are easily infected by newborn parasites and pathogens. According to foreign media reports, many companies, including Google Inc., are committed to researching how to extend human life for decades, but a company in Los Angeles has proposed a new concept - using artificial intelligence technology to bring humans back to life, and this Technology is expected to be realized by 2040.
Zhang Dalei, founder of Airdoc, an artificial intelligence enterprise in the medical field, believes that there are seven major opportunities for artificial intelligence in the field of medical and health: medical services such as clinical diagnostic aids, institutional informationization, medical image recognition, medical big data, and drug research and development. Health management, gene sequencing, etc.
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