Aurora magazine

A research at Ulm University has revealed that diamond slides help sperm to live longer. Discovery could help many couples who resort to in vitro fertilization or IVF. Diamond slides and the use of red light make spermatozoa more active and increase the chances of success.

One of the most critical stages of IVF occurs in polystyrene slides of laboratories. Doctors combine sperm and oocytes. If fertilization succeeds, implant the zygote obtained in the uterus. The problem is that spermatozoa exudes harmful cell molecules, known as free radicals. In the human body free radicals survive very little, but polystyrene creates a film that allows them to survive. Consequently, the sperm suffers the damage of their own free radicals.

Many spermatozoa exposed to polystyrene lose mobility and are unable to fertilize the oocyte. If the sample contains many moving sperm, the damage is contained. If that is not the case, the chances that IVF will drop significantly.

The diamond creates a layer that does not hold free radicals, protecting spermatozoa. The researchers used a thin sheet to cover the inside of the slides. They put human sperm inside and measured mobility, comparing it to that of sperm placed on normal slides. After an hour, diamond slides contained 300% more active spermatozoa than polystyrene ones.

The researchers combined diamond slides with the use of a red light. Previous studies have shown that a particular light increases the energy produced by mitochondria. With the combination, the likelihood of success has further increased.
Additional tests will be required. For the time being, one of the biggest obstacles is the price of diamond slides. It will also be necessary to explore any side effects.

Source: sciencemag.org

The "Sergio Bonelli Center for Congenital Renal and Urinary Malformations" was inaugurated: prevention and care of kidney damage from the fetus to the baby ". The center has opened at the Policlinico di Milano and aims to study kidney damage caused by congenital malformations. In this way it is hoped to develop new strategies to fight certain pathologies already from the uterus.

Congenital renal damage is the first cause of dialysis and kidney transplantation in pediatric age. It develops in the early months of pregnancy, during the formation of the organs. Causes can be genetic abnormalities or urinary flow obstructions that result in damage to kidney development. Many of these obstacles are evident in normal prenatal screening. To reduce permanent damage, however, is necessary. Beyond health repercussions, this kind of harm has heavy psychological and social implications on children.

Among the projects of the center is the Studio PROFET, a multicentric European study aimed at identifying possible kidney damage from obstruction in the fetus. The aim is to develop new prenatal screening tests to carry out a diagnosis of fetal urine. This way you will know when to resort to new technology, designed to remove the obstruction. In addition to PROFET there is PREDICT, which aims to evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis on infants with renal abnormalities. The study has already involved 153 children.

Source: observatoriomalattierare.it

The University of Miami is about to launch the first trial for the Zika virus vaccine. It is one of the first DNA vaccines against the virus promoted by the National Institutes of Health. Since Miami is a high-risk area of ​​pandemic, experimentation in the area will be crucial. The first goals are to determine the safety and dosage of the vaccine.

The first phase involves recruiting individuals from Miami who will receive several vaccine doses to test their safety. The participants will be 90 men and women between the ages of 18 and 35. Women should not be pregnant. The second phase of trials will serve to determine the efficacy of the vaccine. It will involve 2,400 individuals never infected with the Zika virus, who live in areas with high risk of contagion. Half of them will receive the vaccine, half the placebo.

NIAID's Vaccine Research Center (VRC) researchers have developed a DNA vaccine. The strategy is the same as that used for the West Nile fever vaccine. The vaccine contains a double-helix DNA molecule, within which there are genes encoding two viral proteins. Once injected into the muscle, the proteins create false Zika viruses, which trigger the immune response of the body. As the infectious material is completely missing, the risk of infection is null and total protection should be obtained.

The trials have a wide-ranging study on animal models that the vaccine would be safe and able to neutralize the virus. However, it is necessary to ascertain whether this also applies to humans. Phase Two participants will be followed for almost 2 years, so as to check for any possible infection or adverse reactions.

Source: miami.edu

Zebrafish is a fish often quoted in studies of genetic diseases and human DNA. How can a tropical fish help to understand the functioning of the human body? Why is it used in research?

A female zebrafish produces about 200 eggs a week, making it one of the most prolific species. In addition, embryos develop in about 3 months, shortening some of the timing of the research. They are all elements that make fish an appetizing model, but what matters most is the resemblance to the human being.
The biological mechanisms of embryonic development of zebrafish are similar to human ones, at least in some respects. Being a much simpler human being, it is easy to induce mutations in his DNA and study its consequences. For this reason, zebrafish is the genetic model for excellence in disease and abnormalities. Analysis of how zebra fish genes interact has allowed to clarify many regulatory mechanisms of human DNA.

An example of the importance of zebrafish for research is the ZF-Models project, launched by the Planck Institute in Tubingen. In addition to Germany, the project involves research organizations in France, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland. The aim is to create anatomical and genetic atlas of zebrafish, to be made available to the international scientific community.