Read the Latest Genesis Nanotech Online: Therapeutic viruses help turbocharge the immune system against cancer

The illustration shows a cancer cell (center) surrounded by immune T-cells augmented with an oncolytic (cancer-fighting) virus. A new study describes how a combination of immunotherapy and virotherapy, using myxoma virus, provides new hope for patients with treatment resistant cancers. Credit: Jason Drees

The immune system has evolved to safeguard the body from a wildly diverse range of potential threats. Among these are bacterial diseases, including plague, cholera, diphtheria and Lyme disease, and viral contagions such as influenza, Ebola virus and SARS CoV-2.

Despite the impressive power of the immune system’s complex defense network, one type of threat is especially challenging to combat. This arises when the body’s own native cells turn rogue, leading to the phenomenon of cancer. Although the immune system often engages to try to rid the body of malignant cells, its efforts are frequently thwarted as the disease progresses unchecked.The illustration shows a cancer cell (center) surrounded by immune T-cells augmented with an oncolytic (cancer-fighting) virus. A new study describes how a combination of immunotherapy and virotherapy, using myxoma virus, provides new hope for patients with treatment resistant cancers. 

In new research appearing in the journal Cancer Cell, corresponding authors Grant McFadden, Masmudur Rahman and their colleagues propose a new line of attack that shows promise for treatment-resistant cancers.

The approach involves a combination of two methods that have each shown considerable success against some cancers. The study describes how oncolytic virotherapy, a technique using cancer-fighting viruses, can act in concert with existing immunotherapy techniques, boosting the immune capacity to effectively target and destroy cancer cells.

Oncolytic viruses represent an exciting new avenue of cancer therapy. Such viruses have the remarkable ability to hunt and terminate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, as well as enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and terminate cancer cells.

One such virus, known as myxoma, is the focus of the current research and an area of expertise for the research group. The study shows that the use of T-cells infected with myxoma virus can induce a form of cancer cell death not previously observed.

Known as autosis, this form of cell destruction may be particularly useful against solid tumors that have proven treatment-resistant to various forms of cancer therapy, including immunotherapy alone.

“This work affirms the enormous potential of combining virotherapy with cell therapy to treat currently intractable cancers,” McFadden says.

McFadden directs the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy at Arizona State University.

Internal sentries

The immune system is composed of a range of specialized cells designed to patrol the body and respond to threats. The system is involved in a ceaseless arms race against pathogens, which evolve sophisticated techniques to attempt to outwit immune defenses, propagate in the body and cause disease. Cancer presents a unique challenge to the immune system as tumor cells often lack the identifying cell features that allow the immune system to attack them by distinguishing self from non-self.

Cancer cells can further short-circuit immune efforts to hunt and destroy them, through a range of evasive strategies. Researchers hope to help the immune system to overcome cancer’s notorious tactics of disguise, developing new experimental techniques belonging to a category known as adoptive cell therapy, or ACT.

Such methods often involve removing a collection of cancer-fighting white blood cells known as T-cells, modifying their seek-and-destroy capacities and reinjecting them in patients. Two forms of ACT immunotherapy are described in the new study: CAR T-cell therapy (CART) and T Cell Receptor Engineering (TCR). The basic idea in each case is the same: treating cancer with activated T lymphocytes extracted from the patient.

New method delivers one-two punch to tumor cells

The development of these therapies has been nothing short of revolutionary, and some cancer patients facing grim prospects have made remarkable recoveries following the use of immunotherapy. But techniques like CART and TCR nevertheless have their limitations and are often ineffective against advanced solid tumors. In such cases, cancer cells often manage to evade destruction by T-cells by downregulating or losing the surface antigens or MHC proteins that T-cells use to identify them. 

The new study highlights the ability of immunotherapy when it is coupled with virotherapy to break through the wall of cancer resistance, specifically using myxoma-equipped T-cells. The myxoma can target and kill cancer cells directly but more usefully can induce an unusual form of T-cell directed cell death known as autosis. This form of cell death augments two other forms of programmed cancer cell death induced by T-cells, known as apoptosis and pyroptosis. 

During myxoma-mediated autosis, cancerous cells in the vicinity of those targeted by the therapy are also destroyed in a process known as bystander killing. This effect can considerably enhance the dual therapy’s aggressive eradication of cancer cells, even in notoriously hard-to-treat solid tumors.

A combined myxoma-immunotherapy approach therefore holds the potential to turn so-called “cold tumors,” which fly under the immune system‘s radar, into “hot tumors” that immune cells can identify and destroy, allowing CAR T-cells or TCR cells to enter the tumor environment, proliferate and activate. 

“We are at the edge of discovering newer aspects of the myxoma virus and oncolytic virotherapy,” Rahman says. “In addition, these findings open the door for testing cancer-killing viruses with other cell-based cancer immunotherapies that can be used in cancer patients.” 

The ability to radically reengineer oncolytic viruses like myxoma to target a range of resistant cancers provides a new frontier for the treatment of this devastating disease

+ Explore further

New review highlights cancer-crushing viruses

More information: Ningbo Zheng et al, Induction of tumor cell autosis by myxoma virus-infected CAR-T and TCR-T cells to overcome primary and acquired resistance, Cancer Cell (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.08.001

Journal information: Cancer Cell 

Loop Energy Grows European Footprint with UK Expansion

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – August 16, 2022 – Loop Energy™ (TSX: LPEN), a designer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells for commercial mobility, will extend its presence in Europe later this month by expanding into the UK.

Loop Energy’s newest facility will be based in Grays, Essex, just east of the centre of London and next to a growing group of manufacturers helping decarbonize road transport, including current customer Tevva Motors, the hydrogen and electric truck OEM which is based in Tilbury.

Loop Energy has already started to recruit for the roles at the new facility, with employees assisting in the areas of production support, customer support and inventory.

The move is in reaction to growing customer demand for Loop Energy’s fuel cells in continental Europe and the UK, where diesel and petrol vehicles will start to be banned from 2030.

Loop Energy, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and has raised $100 million CAD so far, is targeting the commercial vehicle sector, including buses and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

Diesel and petrol HGVs made up 18% of all road emissions in 2019, amounting to 19.5 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), according to UK government data.

The market for zero-emissions commercial vehicles continues to evolve quickly and Loop Energy is well positioned to provide its technology and expertise to help OEMs and others decarbonize the transportation industry.

The announcement comes just a month after Loop Energy signed a multi-year fuel cell supply agreement with UK-based Tevva, which includes delivery commitments in excess of US$12 million through 2023.

Elsewhere, Loop Energy recently entered the Australian bus market as a supplier of fuel cell modules to Aluminium Revolutionary Chassis Company (ARCC) and the company has seen its order book grow substantially for its technology, with 52 purchase orders in the six months to the end of June, up from 13 over the same period last year.

Loop Energy President & CEO, Ben Nyland said:

“We are excited to open a new facility in the UK, where both the private and public sector is quickly growing around decarbonizing commercial vehicles. We were pleased to see the UK government’s recent commitment to the hydrogen sector, with the Business Secretary’s pledge to unlock £9bn investment needed to make hydrogen a cornerstone of the UK’s greener future,”

“Our investment commitment for the UK market is strategic to serve both UK and the rest of Europe. We expect to service a truck and bus market size upwards of US $15 Billion over the next 2 to 3 years, and our UK facility is established as the localized support center for these vehicles. Our investments to the UK will grow in lock-step with the growth of our local OEM customers, and our investment strategy will align with the timing and volume of our ecosystem partners as the industry ramps up supply to this market,”

“We also believe that the UK’s strong pool of manufacturing and design talent will help take Loop to the next level in its growth story.”

UK Business Minister Lord Callanan said:

“Hydrogen is likely to be fundamental to cutting emissions across some of our largest forms of commercial transport – from buses to heavy goods vehicles. As the world shifts to cleaner transport it is critical we embed a UK supply chain that can capture the economic opportunities of hydrogen technology,”

“Loop Energy’s expansion in Essex is fantastic news for the region, bringing green jobs and growth, while adding to the UK’s reputation as a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell research.”

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About Loop Energy Inc.

Loop Energy is a leading designer and manufacturer of fuel cell systems targeted for the electrification of commercial vehicles, including light commercial vehicles, transit buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop’s products feature the company’s proprietary eFlow™ technology in the fuel cell stack’s bipolar plates. eFlow™ is designed to enable commercial customers to achieve performance maximization and cost minimization. Loop works with OEMs and major vehicle sub-system suppliers to enable the production of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. For more information about how Loop is driving towards a zero-emissions future, visit www.loopenergy.com.

Forward Looking Warning

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflect management’s current expectations and projections regarding future events. Particularly, statements regarding the Company’s expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information, including without limitation the ability for Loop to service the truck and bus market and the market’s potential to reach upwards of US $15 billion.

Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions (including without limitation assumptions with respect to the potential growth of the bus and truck market and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control and could cause actual results and events to vary materially from those that are disclosed, or implied, by such forward‐looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the market reaching the TAM of upwards of US $15 billion, the realization of electrification of transportation, the elimination of diesel fuel and ongoing government support of such developments, the expected growth in demand for fuel cells for the commercial transportation market and the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Information Form dated March 23, 2022. Loop disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Source: Loop Energy Inc.

‘Quantum Dot’ Photovoltaic Window Project to receive Funding from U.S. Air force

UbiQD, a nanotechnology company, has revealed that its quantum dot solar technology will be used in a Small Business Innovation Research project with the US Air Force. The contract provides funding for two installations of more than 20 windows and additional scale-up and development funds for the product.

“We are seeing strong fiscal support for sustainability initiatives in the built environment right now,” said CEO Hunter McDaniel. “Our expanded contract with the US Air Force couldn’t come at a better time, right as we are scaling and ahead of the upgraded solar investment tax incentives.”

The company uses luminescent quantum dot tinting to concentrate solar energy and generate electricity while maintaining transparency. Quantum dots are photoluminescent particles so small that it would take 100,000 of them to span one fingernail, said UbiQD. The company said the technology has applications in localized DC microgrids and smart building solutions, including integration with sensors for climate and ambient controls.

Commercial buildings account for 36% of all US electricity consumption at a cost of more than $190 billion annually. Additionally, windows represent 30% of a commercial building’s heating and cooling energy, costing US building owners about $50 billion annually, according to the US Department of Energy.

UbiQD’s quantum-dot tinted window, called WENDOW, has recently been installed in a series of demonstrations projects, including a campus building at the Western Washington University, which the company said is the largest solar window installation to date. The WENDOW can be tinted, allowing for colorful designs. The university installation features vibrant yellow and orange windows. 

“This technology helps Western Washington University get closer to achieving our sustainability goals on campus,” said David Patrick, vice provost for research. “I was impressed by how easily the windows were installed and love how great they look. I’m hoping to see more projects like this on campus in the near future.” 

While the solar windows offer less efficiency than a conventional solar panel, they represent an alternative to blending photovoltaics with the build environment. Read more about solar in uncommon spaces.

UbiQD also builds translucent panels for greenhouses that are integrated with photoluminescent particles that are efficient at converting light into a preferable wavelength. The UbiQD “UbiGro” panels glow a spectrum of color that is optimized for plant growth, absorbing UV and blue light and emitting fruitful orange or red light.

In recent trials, UbiGro led to a 21% boost in flowering in geranium flowers, a 14 to 28% boost in winter strawberry growth, and an 8% yield increase in cannabis production. Increased crop yields are a welcome sign to any grower, and the two companies are set to take that benefit one step further, integrating productive solar PV in the greenhouse-topping modules.

From pv magazine USA **

A New Nanotechnology Application Accelerates the Transition of Stem Cells into Bone – Transforming Regenerative Medicine: Nano Bio-Science from KAUST

A cell cultured on top of the nanowire scaffold. Credit: © 2022 KAUST; Heno Hwang

A nanotechnology platform developed by King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) scientists could lead to new treatments for degenerative bone diseases.

The technique relies on iron nanowires that bend in response to magnetic fields. Bone-forming stem cells grown on a mesh of these tiny wires get a kind of physical workout on the moving substrate. They subsequently grow into adult bone considerably quicker than in conventional culturing settings, with a differentiation protocol that lasts only a few days rather than a few weeks.

“This is a remarkable finding,” says Jasmeen Merzaban, associate Professor of bioscience. “We can achieve efficient bone cell formation in a shorter amount of time,” potentially paving the way for more efficient regeneration of bone. Merzaban co-led the study together with sensor scientist Jürgen Kosel and colleagues from their labs.

The scientists analyzed the bone-producing capability of their nanowire scaffold, both with and without magnetic signals. They patterned the tiny wires in an evenly spaced grid and then layered bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on top. Each of the tiny wires is about the size of the tail-like appendage found on some bacteria.

The researchers discovered that adding a low-frequency magnetic field greatly accelerated the process of bone development. Within two days of incubation under mechanical stimulation, genetic markers of bone development could be detected, while genes linked to stemness and self-renewal quickly became inactive. The scientists could also witness the cells rebuilding themselves to become more bone-like at a rapid rate under a microscope.

Next, the KAUST team plans to test its system in mouse models of degenerative bone disease, with the expectation that stem cell–seeded nanowire scaffolds can be safely implanted at sites of injury and promote tissue repair. An externally applied magnetic field would be used to speed the healing process.

Study author Jose Efrain Perez, a former Ph.D. student in Kosel’s lab, also sees potential applications in other disease settings. As he points out: “Varying the matrix stiffness by increasing or decreasing nanowire length and diameter could promote differential responses with MSCs.” Or they could use other types of stem cells to, for example, promote neuronal growth and brain repair after a stroke.

What’s more, Perez adds, “We could further customize the nanowire scaffold itself or the base material — for instance, by using different metals to exploit their magnetic responses or coating the nanowires with biomolecules for potential delivery upon cellular contact.”

For such a small technology, the possibilities are huge.

Reference: “Modulated nanowire scaffold for highly efficient differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells” by Jose E. Perez, Bashaer Bajaber, Nouf Alsharif, Aldo I. Martínez-Banderas, Niketan Patel, Ainur Sharip, Enzo Di Fabrizio, Jasmeen Merzaban and Jürgen Kosel, 16 June 2022, Journal of Nanobiotechnology.
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01488-5

The U.S. made a breakthrough battery discovery — then gave the technology to China

This is the story of the former UniEnergy Technologies in Mukilteo, Wash. where Taxpayers spent $15 million on research to build a breakthrough battery. Then the U.S. government gave it to China -,yes then gave it away to China.

When a group of engineers and researchers gathered in a warehouse in Mukilteo, Wash., 10 years ago, they knew they were onto something big. They scrounged up tables and chairs, cleared out space in the parking lot for experiments and got to work.

They were building a battery — a vanadium redox flow battery — based on a design created by two dozen U.S. scientists at a government lab. The batteries were about the size of a refrigerator, held enough energy to power a house, and could be used for decades. The engineers pictured people plunking them down next to their air conditioners, attaching solar panels to them, and everyone living happily ever after off the grid.

“It was beyond promise,” said Chris Howard, one of the engineers who worked there for a U.S. company called UniEnergy. “We were seeing it functioning as designed, as expected.”

It all began in the basement of a government lab, three hours southwest of Seattle, called Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. It was 2006, and more than two dozen scientists began to suspect that a special mix of acid and electrolyte could hold unusual amounts of energy without degrading. They turned out to be right.

It took six years and more than 15 million taxpayer dollars for the scientists to uncover what they believed was the perfect vanadium battery recipe. Others had made similar batteries with vanadium, but this mix was twice as powerful and did not appear to degrade the way cellphone batteries or even car batteries do. The researchers found the batteries capable of charging and recharging for as long as 30 years.

An employee looks at a vanadium flow battery in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Battery Reliability Laboratory in 2021. Andrea Starr/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Gary Yang, the lead scientist on the project, said he was excited to see if he could make the batteries outside the lab. The lab encourages scientists to do just that, in an effort to bring critical new technology into the marketplace. The lab and the U.S. government still hold the patents, because U.S. taxpayers paid for the research.

In 2012, Yang applied to the Department of Energy for a license to manufacture and sell the batteries.

The agency issued the license, and Yang launched UniEnergy Technologies. He hired engineers and researchers. But he soon ran into trouble. He said he couldn’t persuade any U.S. investors to come aboard.

“I talked to almost all major investment banks; none of them (wanted to) invest in batteries,” Yang said in an interview, adding that the banks wanted a return on their investments faster than the batteries would turn a profit.

Imre Gyuk (left), director of energy storage research in the Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Gary Yang of UniEnergy Technologies stand together in 2015. Office of Gov. Jay Inslee

He said a fellow scientist connected him with a Chinese businessman named Yanhui Liu and a company called Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd., along with its parent company, and he jumped at the chance to have them invest and even help manufacture the batteries.

At first, UniEnergy Technologies did the bulk of the battery assembly in the warehouse. But over the course of the next few years, more and more of the manufacturing and assembling began to shift to Rongke Power, Chris Howard said. In 2017, Yang formalized the relationship and granted Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd. an official sublicense, allowing the company to make the batteries in China.

Any company can choose to manufacture in China. But in this case, the rules are pretty clear. Yang’s original license requires him to sell a certain number of batteries in the U.S., and it says those batteries must be “substantially manufactured” here.

In an interview, Yang acknowledged that he did not do that. UniEnergy Technologies sold a few batteries in the U.S., but not enough to meet its requirements. The ones it did sell, including in one instance to the U.S. Navy, were made in China. But Yang said in all those years, neither the lab nor the department questioned him or raised any issues.

Chris Howard is now the director of operations at Forever Energy in Bellevue, Wash. Jovelle Tamayo for NPR

Then in 2019, Howard said, UniEnergy Technologies officials gathered all the engineers in a meeting room. He said supervisors told them they would have to work in China at Rongke Power Co. for four months at a time.

“It was unclear, certainly to myself and other engineers, what the plan was,” said Howard, who now works for Forever Energy.

Yang acknowledges that he wanted his U.S. engineers to work in China. But he says it was because he thought Rongke Power could help teach them critical skills.

Yang was born in China but is a U.S. citizen and got his Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut. He said he wanted to manufacture the entire battery in the U.S., but that the U.S. does not have the supply chain he required. He said China is more advanced when it comes to manufacturing and engineering utility-scale batteries.

“In this field — manufacturing, engineering — China is ahead of the U.S.,” Yang said. “Many wouldn’t believe [it].”

He said he didn’t send the battery and his engineers abroad to help China. He said the engineers in that country were helping his UniEnergy Technologies employees and helping him get his batteries built.

But news reports at the time show the moves were helping China. The Chinese government launched several large demonstration projects and announced millions of dollars in funding for large-scale vanadium batteries.

As battery work took off in China, Yang was facing more financial trouble in the U.S. So he made a decision that would again keep the technology from staying in the U.S.

The EU has strict rules about where companies manufacture products

In 2021, Yang transferred the battery license to a European company based in the Netherlands. The company, Vanadis Power, told NPR it initially planned to continue making the batteries in China and then would set up a factory in Germany, eventually hoping to manufacture in the U.S., said Roelof Platenkamp, the company’s founding partner.

Vanadis Power needed to manufacture batteries in Europe because the European Union has strict rules about where companies manufacture products, Platenkamp said.

“I have to be a European company, certainly a non-Chinese company, in Europe,” Platenkamp said in an interview with NPR.

Gary Yang launched UniEnergy Technologies after the Department of Energy issued him a license to manufacture and sell the vanadium batteries. Jovelle Tamayo for NPR

But the U.S. has these types of rules, too. Any transfer of a U.S. government license requires U.S. government approval so that manufacturing doesn’t move overseas. The U.S. has lost significant jobs in recent years in areas where it first forged ahead, such as solar panels, drones and telecom equipment. Still, when UniEnergy requested approval, it apparently had no trouble getting it.

On July 7, 2021, a top official at UniEnergy Technologies emailed a government manager at the lab where the battery was created. The UniEnergy official said they were making a deal with Vanadis, according to emails reviewed by NPR, and were going to transfer the license to Vanadis.

“We’re working to finalize a deal with Vanadis Power and believe they have the right blend of technical expertise,” the email from UniEnergy Technologies said. “Our transaction with Vanadis is ready to go pending your approval …”

The government manager responded that he needed confirmation before transferring the license and emailed a second employee at UniEnergy. The second employee responded an hour and a half later, and the license was transferred to Vanadis Power.

Whether the manager or anyone else at the lab or Department of Energy thought to check during that hour and a half or thereafter whether Vanadis Power was an American company, or whether it intended to manufacture in the U.S., is unclear. Vanadis’ own website said it planned to make the batteries in China.

In response, department officials said they review each transfer for compliance and said that new rules put in place last summer by the Biden administration will close loopholes and keep more manufacturing here.

But agency officials acknowledged that its reviews often rely on “good faith disclosures” by the companies, which means if companies such as UniEnergy Technologies don’t say anything, the U.S. government may never know.

Joanne Skievaski said she and others from the company repeatedly warned Department of Energy officials that the UniEnergy license was not in compliance. Jovelle Tamayo for NPR

That’s a problem that has plagued the department for years, according to government investigators.

In 2018, the Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Energy lacked resources to properly monitor its licenses, relied on antiquated computer systems, and didn’t have consistent policies across its labs.

In this case, it was an American company, Forever Energy, that raised concerns about the license with UniEnergy more than a year ago. Joanne Skievaski said she and others from the company repeatedly warned department officials that the UniEnergy license was not in compliance. In emails NPR has reviewed, department officials told them it was.

“How is it that the national lab did not require U.S. manufacturing?” Skievaski asked. “Not only is it a violation of the license, it’s a violation to our country.”

Now that the Department of Energy has revoked the license, Skievaski said she hopes Forever Energy will be able to acquire it or obtain a similar license. The company plans to open a factory in Louisiana next year and begin manufacturing. She bristles at the idea that U.S. engineers aren’t up to the challenge.

“That’s hogwash,” she said. “We are ready to go with this technology.”

Still, she says it will be difficult for any American company at this point to catch up. Industry trade reports currently list Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd. as the top manufacturer of vanadium redox flow batteries worldwide. Skievaski also worries about whether China will stop making the batteries once an American company is granted the right to start making them.

That may be unlikely. Chinese news reports say the country is about to bring online one of the largest battery farms the world has ever seen. The reports say the entire farm is made up of vanadium redux flow batteries.

This story is a partnership with NPR’s Station Investigations Team, which supports local investigative journalism, and the Northwest News Network, a collaboration of public radio stations that broadcast in Oregon and Washington state.