Microsoft Claims That Its Biological Computation Unit Can Reprogram Diseased Cells

Microsoft says it is going to “solve” cancer in the next 10 years. The company is working at treating the disease like a computer virus that invades and corrupts the body’s cells. Once it is able to do so, it will be able to monitor for them and even potentially reprogram them to be healthy again. The company has built a “biological computation” unit whose ultimate aim is to make cells living computers. As such, they could be programmed to treat any disease, such as cancer. In the short term, the unit is using advanced research to try and set computers to work learning about drugs and diseases and suggesting new treatments to help cancer patients.

The team hopes to be able to use machine learning technologies – computers that can think and learn like humans – to read through the huge amounts of cancer research and come to understand the disease and the drugs that treat it. At the moment, so much cancer research is published that it is impossible for any doctor to read it all. But since computers can read and understand so much more quickly, the systems will be able to read through all of the research and then put that to work on specific situations. It does that by bringing together biology, maths and computing. Those have long been treated as relatively distinct but are coming closer in recent years, and have been spurred on by Microsoft’s investment.

The field of biology and the field of computation might seem like chalk and cheese but the complex processes that happen in cells have some similarity to those that happens in a standard desktop computer. As such, those complex processes can potentially be understood by a desktop computer, too. And those same computers could be used to understand how cells behave and to treat them. If that were possible, then those computers won’t only be able to understand why cells behave as they do and when they might be about to become cancerous, but also trigger a response within a cell, reversing its decision and reprogramming it so that it is healthy again. Microsoft says that solution could be with us within the next five to ten years.

Mobile App, Device Can Prevent Stroke

Scientists have developed a new smartphone app and a thumb size device which can detect irregular heartbeat and may help to prevent strokes at an early stage. The mobile device, developed at VTT technical Research Centre of Finland, has been tested with excellent results for around two years in real life conditions in cooperation with Turku University Central Hospital. An irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia tends to remain undiagnosed, if no symptoms are detected during monitoring of heart activity. With the mobile device, users can register their ECG signal whenever arrhythmia or other heart symptoms occur. The device is also suitable for pre and post surgery monitoring of heart patients at home there is no need for patients to visit a hospital, because the data is sent automatically from a mobile phone to medical staff via a cloud service. It accurately measures user’s heart rate to detect irregular heartbeat and overburdening and prolonged stress.

New Gene Therapy to Check Breast Cancer

MIT scientists have developed a new gene therapy technique that can stop the spread of malignant cells around the body – the leading cause of mortality in women with breast cancer. The treatment uses microRNAs – small non-coding RNA molecules that around the body, known as metastasis. The therapy could be used alongside chemotherapy to treat early-stage breast cancer tumours before they spread. The idea is that if the cancer is diagnosed early enough, then in addition to treating the primary tumour (with chemotherapy), one could also treat with specific microRNAs, in order to prevent the spread of cancer cells that cause metastasis. The regulation of gene expression by microRNAs is known to be important in preventing the spread of cancer cells.

Turning Mill Waste Into Aviation Oil

A company partnered with Virgin Atlantic Ltd has created a green jet fuel made from waste industrial gases released by steel mills. US-based Lanza Tech Inc produced 1,500 gallons of the fuel known as Lanzanol. It’s made from the ethanol created through a fermentation process. It’s estimated to be 65% cleaner than conventional jet fuel. This is a real game changer for aviation and could significantly reduce the industry’s reliance on oil within our lifetime. Aviation is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Low oil prices have largely deterred the development of alternative fuels.