Highlights From 2015

Here’s some recent highlights of interest from 2015. I feel that often times, when “The News”  or personal mindset  seems to focus on the predominantly negative doom and gloom, massively transformative breakthroughs are happening just under their noses.
The top four for your consideration:

1. First New Antibiotic in 30 Years Discovered

What happened: A team from Northeastern University has discovered a new way to isolate antibiotic chemical compounds from microbes in soil, using an electronic chip to grow and control the microbes. The team discovered that one compound, Teixobactin, is highly effective against common bacterial infections.
Why it is important: The discovery of Teixobactin, “could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics” because of how the team discovered and processed the drug. As we move closer to a world of abundance, drug resistance will become a surmountable challenge as we develop new ways to fight and resolve these problems. “Teixobactin shows how we can adopt an alternative strategy and develop compounds to which bacteria are not resistant.”

2. Engineered Polio Virus Treats Cancer

What happened: This year, doctors used a genetically re-engineered polio virus, PVS-RIPO, to treat glioblastoma — a brain tumor that carries a life expectancy of less than a year. Unlike other experimental treatments in the past using HIV, measles and smallpox, researchers from Duke found that polio actually seeks out and attaches itself to receptors that can be found on almost every solid tumor. Not only was this reengineered polio virus successful in seeking out and poisoning cancerous cells, but it also steered clear of normal cells.

Why it is important: Advances in exponential technologies like synthetic biology and genomics are reinforcing the notion that previously unresolvable diseases (cancer, heart disease, Altzeimers) are in fact resolvable. We are developing solutions to these problems at an accelerating rate, and as we usher in an era of personalized medicine, we will see a dramatic increase in the healthy human lifespan. At my company Human Longevity Inc, our mission is to make 100 the new 60.

3.Researchers in China use CRISPR-Cas9 to Edit Genomes of Human Embryos

What happened: This year, a research team out of Guangzhou, China reported that they’d been able to edit the genomes of human embryos using CRISPR-Cas9 – a new gene splicing technique. Also this year, scientists from London’s Francis Crick Institute applied for approval to edit genes in human embryos. If approved, it will be the world’s first approval of such research by a national regulatory body.

Why It’s Important: CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. It is a strand of DNA that was found in 1987 to be part of a bacterial defense system. It turns out that we can actually use this same mechanism to target and splice specific strands of our DNA – in other words, the CRISPR/Cas system is a way to **edit** our genome. It is cheap, quick, easy to use, and more accurate than previous methods, and as a result, we will soon have the tools to eliminate diseases, create hardier plants, wipe out pathogens and much, much more.
 

4. Georgian Dental Celebrates 10 years of 3-D printing leadership in dentistry

What happened: The adoption of 3-D printing technology in dentistry 10 years ago, positions Georgian Dental Orillia and Georgian Dental Barrie you need to be able to meet the demands of our patients for high-quality, long-lasting, dentistry in a day. Compared to the vast unfortunate majority patients who only have a choice of conventional crowns, our patient base enjoys single tooth restorations, cosmetic veneers to total tooth replacement in just one visit! Further, dental materials biocompatibility testing with certified Naturalpathic Doctors enable us to identify the most appropriate, well tolerated material to be used in the restorative process.
Why It’s Important: You no longer have to wait for two weeks as is often time required when a crown is fabricated at a dental lab. Neither do you have to contend with uncomfortable temporary crowns and risk  potentially inflammatory dental materials that are incompatible with your biotype. Risk of tooth damage is mitigated, and most importantly, you will  get back on track with life and schedule as quickly as technologically possible!
Georgian Dental Orillia and Georgian Dental Barrie are still excepting patients for the New Year’s resolution rush, however, appointment availability is limited. To avoid disappointment, and for a better tomorrow, call Georgian Dental Orillia at: [705] 325-1765. To reach our team in Barry, call Georgian Dental Barrie: 705.739.6725.