This is the hottest life science and health news in the Northwest Pacific this week.
Bill Gates helped open a new vaccine production facility: inventprise, a biotechnology company in the Seattle area, built the facility with the support of the bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “Inventprint is a very important partner for the Gates Foundation,” Gates said. He participated in a ribbon cutting event and tested positive for 2019 coronavirus disease the next day.
Participation of former executive officer of athira Pharma: Xue Hua, the company’s former head of clinical development and research, published a blog post criticizing the company’s handling of the investigation that led to the resignation of long-term CEO leen kawas in October.
SeaGen CEO on leave on domestic violence charges: police records detail the night SeaGen CEO clay Siegel was arrested at home last month and charged with a serious misdemeanor of level 4 domestic violence. Seagan announced on Monday that Siegel was on vacation and that the company had begun its own investigation.
Geekwire award winner: the geekwire award held its first live and face-to-face award ceremony in three years on Thursday. Read more about the winners, including truveta, a health data company that won the annual health innovation award. Other finalists in this category include a-alpha bio, parse Biosciences, Tasso and the Institute of protein design at the University of Washington.
Recognition: Four University of Washington faculty members were elected to the National Academy of Sciences: Elizabeth Buffalo, Joseph mugus, Jay shendur and retired professor Jim Truman.
Ambassador: sister Jenna, who calls herself a “spiritual mentor”, joined Paris Hilton as an ambassador to the Seattl microbial community company viome. After using the company’s “precision supplement”, the host of American meditation radio “began to feel such a big change in my energy and feeling,” she said in a press release.
Research:
After laying eggs and caring for them, female Octopus dies in a known process mediated by glands between the eyes. In this process, animals sometimes even hurt themselves or eat their limbs. A new study led by Z. Yan Wang, an assistant professor of psychology and biology at the University of Washington, outlines the chemical ways to control this event.
According to the research led by the Institute of systems biology, the composition of intestinal microorganisms may affect the human body’s response to statins, which are commonly used to treat cardiovascular diseases. The team found that certain types of bacteria respond more strongly to drugs. This finding may lead to new methods to predict who is likely to respond and more accurate calibration of drug doses.
Scientists have long speculated that individuals may have different susceptibility to DNA mutation accumulation. Kelly Harris, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, and her colleagues have now found a gene in mice that affects the rate at which mutations accumulate in the rest of the genome. This finding has important implications for understanding genetics and cancer susceptibility.
Researchers from Fred hutch and the University of Washington have found some unique immune cells found near human solid tumors, providing potential targets for new therapies.
Activity: the Institute of stem cell and regenerative medicine at the University of Washington will host five speakers at its stem cell Seminar on Thursday, May 19. The event is face-to-face and virtual.