Lifeboat Foundation

This looks extremely promising:

SAN DIEGO, June 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (Viking) (NASDAQ: VKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, today announced results from the company’s Phase 1 single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) clinical trial of VK0214, a novel, orally available small molecule thyroid receptor beta (TRβ) agonist in development for the potential treatment for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). In this study, VK0214 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability, as well as a predictable pharmacokinetic (PK) profile. The company expects to initiate a Phase 1b study of VK0214 in patients with X-ALD in the coming weeks.

The Phase 1 trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of VK0214 administered orally for up to 14 days. The secondary objective was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of VK0214 following single and multiple oral doses. The first portion of the study evaluated single doses of VK0214; in the second portion of the study subjects received VK0214 once daily for 14 days. Subsequent cohorts in both parts of the study received successively higher VK0214 doses.

VK0214 was shown to be safe and well-tolerated at all doses evaluated in this study. No serious adverse events were reported, and no treatment or dose-related trends were observed for vital signs, gastrointestinal effects, cardiovascular measures, or physical examinations. VK0214 demonstrated dose-dependent exposures, no evidence of accumulation following multiple doses, and a half-life consistent with anticipated once-daily dosing regimens.

Continue reading “Viking Therapeutics Announces Results from Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Novel Oral Thyroid Receptor Beta Agonist VK0214” »

BES/BZR転写因子ファミリー間の競合関係は維管束幹細胞の増殖と分化のバランスを安定化させ幹細胞の永続的な維持に貢献する。

This special issue of Nature shines a spotlight on collaborations in science today, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It reveals that such cooperation, although complex, is thriving in many ways. It is clearly essential, both to the progress of research and for the betterment of society. But, at the same time, international collaboration is under pressure, partly as a result of geopolitical tensions. And science’s historical conventions continue to hinder such team-based working.

The other is the initiative created in Flint. Lewis is a community activist and now principal investigator at the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions. Sadler is a geographer at Michigan State University. They draw lessons from how researchers and members of the community worked together to identify where diseases were concentrated. It’s a frank account that also flags the fact that some scientists discounted and overlooked ideas from communities, and raises the injustice of work that saves lives not necessarily meeting the ‘excellence’ criteria needed to progress in academic institutions.

These are clearly testing times for collaboration. The stories and data show that there is still some way to travel before all parts of the research enterprise recognize the true value of working across borders, cultures and disciplines.

Continue reading “Research collaborations bring big rewards: the world needs more” »

The inner core underwent preferential equatorial growth and translation after nucleation ~0.5–1.5 billion years ago, according to an analysis of its seismic anisotropy and self-consistent geodynamic simulations.

Cosmic-ray particles and γ-rays striking superconducting circuits can generate qubit errors that are spatially correlated across several millimetres, hampering current error-correction approaches.

Measurements on a chiral magnet show that non-symmorphic symmetries enforce topological crossings exactly at the Fermi level in certain materials; these crossings can be controlled by an applied magnetic field.

A new malware evasion technique has been discovered by researchers — ‘Process Ghosting’

A Middle Eastern advanced persistent threat (APT) group has resurfaced after a two-month hiatus to target government institutions in the Middle East and global government entities associated with geopolitics in the region in a rash of new campaigns observed earlier this month.

Sunnyvale-based enterprise security firm Proofpoint attributed the activity to a politically motivated threat actor it tracks as TA402, and known by other monikers such as Molerats and GazaHackerTeam.

The threat actor is believed to be active for a decade, with a history of striking organizations primarily located in Israel and Palestine, and spanning multiple verticals such as technology, telecommunications, finance, academia, military, media, and governments.

A spyware in a 6-year-old Ferocious Kitten covert surveillance campaign now targets Telegram and Psiphon VPN users in Iran.