Fabric Refresher Market 2020 Demand Analysis, Production, Revenue and Industry Share of Manufacturer – Fusion Science Academy
By daniellenierenberg
TheFabric Refresher Markethas grown exponentially in the last few years and this trend is projected to continue following the same trend until 2026. Based on the industrial chain, Fabric Refresher Market report mainly elaborates the definition, types, applications and major players of Fabric Refresher market in details. Deep analysis about market status (2014-2020), enterprise competition pattern, advantages and disadvantages of enterprise products, industry development trends (2020-2026), regional industrial layout characteristics and macroeconomic policies, industrial policy has also be included.
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From raw materials to downstream buyers of this industry will be analyzed scientifically, the feature of product circulation and sales channel will be presented as well. In a word, this report will help you to establish a panorama of industrial development and characteristics of the Fabric Refresher market.
Geographically,the global Fabric Refresher market is segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa and South America. This report forecasts revenue growth at a global, regional & country level, and provides an analysis of the market trends in each of the sub-segments from 2020 to 2026.
The information for each competitor includes:* Company Profile* Main Business Information* SWOT Analysis* Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin* Market Share
Global Fabric Refresher Industry 2020 Market Research Report is spread across 114pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector.
The report also includesa discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. Some of the leading players in the global Fabric Refresher market are:
Whirlpool, P&G (Febreze), Astonish, Kao, Duskin, SC Johnson (Deb Group), PDQ Manufacturing, Hunan Taitang Nano Science & Technology,
Order a Copy of Global Fabric Refresher Market Report 2020 @https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/735942
Segment by Type:
CanBottle
Segment by Application
HomeBusiness OfficesRestaurants
This report focuses on Fabric Refresher volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Fabric Refresher market size by analyzing historical data and future prospect. Regionally, this report focuses on several key regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan. At company level, this report focuses on the production capacity, ex-factory price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer covered in this report.
The report is useful in providing answers to several critical questions that are important for the industry stakeholders such as manufacturers and partners, end users, etc., besides allowing them in strategizing investments and capitalizing on market opportunities.
Key Target Audience are: Manufacturers of Fabric Refresher Raw material suppliers Market research and consulting firms Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers Organizations, forums and alliances related to Fabric Refresher
Major Points from Table of Contents1 Report Overview1.1 Study Scope1.2 Key Market Segments1.3 Players Covered1.4 Market Analysis by Type1.4.1 Global Fabric Refresher Market Size Growth Rate by Type (2014-2026)1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Fabric Refresher Market Share by Application (2014-2026)1.5.2 Large Enterprises1.5.3 SMEs1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered
2 Global Growth Trends2.1 Fabric Refresher Market Size2.2 Fabric Refresher Growth Trends by Regions2.2.1 Fabric Refresher Market Size by Regions (2014-2026)2.2.2 Fabric Refresher Market Share by Regions (2014-2020)2.3 Industry Trends2.3.1 Market Top Trends2.3.2 Market Drivers2.3.3 Market Opportunities
3 Market Share by Key Players3.1 Fabric Refresher Market Size by Manufacturers3.1.1 Global Fabric Refresher Revenue by Manufacturers (2014-2020)3.1.2 Global Fabric Refresher Revenue Market Share by Manufacturers (2014-2020)3.1.3 Global Fabric Refresher Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)3.2 Fabric Refresher Key Players Head office and Area Served3.3 Key Players Fabric Refresher Product/Solution/Service3.4 Date of Enter into Fabric Refresher Market3.5 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans
4 Breakdown Data by Type and Application4.1 Global Fabric Refresher Market Size by Type (2014-2020)4.2 Global Fabric Refresher Market Size by Application (2014-2020)
5 United States5.1 United States Fabric Refresher Market Size (2014-2020)5.2 Fabric Refresher Key Players in United States5.3 United States Fabric Refresher Market Size by Type5.4 United States Fabric Refresher Market Size by Application
6 Europe6.1 Europe Fabric Refresher Market Size (2014-2020)6.2 Fabric Refresher Key Players in Europe6.3 Europe Fabric Refresher Market Size by Type6.4 Europe Fabric Refresher Market Size by Application
7 China7.1 China Fabric Refresher Market Size (2014-2020)7.2 Fabric Refresher Key Players in China7.3 China Fabric Refresher Market Size by Type7.4 China Fabric Refresher Market Size by Application
8 Japan
8.1 Japan Fabric Refresher Market Size (2014-2020)8.2 Fabric Refresher Key Players in Japan8.3 Japan Fabric Refresher Market Size by Type8.4 Japan Fabric Refresher Market Size by Application
9 Southeast Asia9.1 Southeast Asia Fabric Refresher Market Size (2014-2020)9.2 Fabric Refresher Key Players in Southeast Asia9.3 Southeast Asia Fabric Refresher Market Size by Type9.4 Southeast Asia Fabric Refresher Market Size by Application
Continued
The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: regional markets, product, and application.
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Fabric Refresher Market 2020 Demand Analysis, Production, Revenue and Industry Share of Manufacturer - Fusion Science Academy
Royal Biologics Announces the Launch of Cryo-Cord, the First Non-DMSO Viable Umbilical Cord Graft – Yahoo Finance
By daniellenierenberg
Debuts at the NY20 Foundation for Podiatric Medicine Meeting
HACKENSACK, N.J., Jan. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Royal Biologics, an ortho-biologics company specializing in the research and advancement of novel ortho-biologics solutions, today announced the launch of Cryo-Cord, the first DMSO-free viable umbilical cord graft. The company will be showcasing Cryo-Cord along with its new portfolio of Autologous Live Cellular (ALC) technologies at the NY20 Foundation for Podiatric Medicine meeting, held January 24-26 in New York, NY for more than 1500 clinical attendees.
The company will feature its full suite of surgical biologic offerings at exhibit booth #322, and on the podium for Innovation Theater presentations at 10:30am on Friday 1/24/20 and 12pm on Saturday 1/25/20. These scientific presentations will feature several products within the Royal Biologics portfolio. At its booth, Royal Biologics will showcase its comprehensive ALC portfolio designed to personalize live regenerative healing for a wide variety of wound types across the orthopedics continuum.
The launch of Cryo-Cord enables providers with the first DMSO-free viable umbilical cord tissue. Cryo-Cord has been obtained with consent from healthy mothers during cesarean section delivery and is intended for use as a soft tissue barrier or wound dressing. Cryo-Cord is processed using aseptic techniques and frozen with a proprietary cryoprotectant.
Cryo-Cord offers a new enhancement to traditional wound care therapies and we are excited to pave the way with the first DMSO-free cryoprotectant graft on the market, said Salvatore Leo, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Biologics.
Other featured products at NY20 will include Maxx-Cell, which was launched as the world's most advanced bone marrow aspiration device. Maxx-Cell offers a new technique to a gold standard approach of aspirating a patients autologous bone marrow cells. Maxx-Cell however does not require centrifugation to deliver a final end product. The Maxx-Cell system maximizes stem and progenitor cell yields by giving the surgeon the ability to efficiently harvest bone marrow from multiple levels within the medullary space, while restricting dilution of peripheral blood. As a result, Maxx-Cell delivers a high, most pure enriched form of bone marrow aspirate without the need for centrifugation.
This month, the company has also announced the launch of MAGNUS, which is a DMSO-free viable cellular bone allograft and demos will be available during the conference. MAGNUS presents a unique solution to traditional viable cellular allograft technology as it utilizes a DMSO-free cryoprotectant. This novel approach to the viable cellular allograft market differentiates MAGNUS from other technologies currently available.
Leo added, We are excited to participate in NY20 and share how our Autologous Live Cellular based therapies give the surgeons an efficient and effective way to enhance surgical outcomes by providing alternatives to conventional therapies for bone and soft tissue related injuries. We also believe that in a cost-conscious industry, we can provide novel viable cellular products that provide value at the point of care.
To watch the latest ALC product videos and learn more about the range of regenerative medical products offered by Royal Biologics, along with a schedule of 2020 conferences, visit http://www.RoyalBiologics.com.
About Royal Biologics
Royal Biologics is an ortho-biologics company specializing in the research and advancement of Regenerative Cellular Therapy. Its primary focus is on using autologous bioactive cells to help promote healing in a wide range of clinical settings, with its portfolio of FDA-approved medical devices. For more information on its line of products, visit http://www.royalbiologics.com.
For more media information, contact:Lisa Hendrickson, LCH Communicationslisa@lchcommunications.com516-767-8390
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee412ed7-d46b-40b7-9322-a65f5cb26430
Advancells Group & IFC Concluded their 3-Day Workshop on Regenerative Medicine – Business Wire India
By daniellenierenberg
The key-note speaker of the workshop was Dr. Rita Bakshi, founder and chairperson of International Fertility Centre, the oldest fertility clinic and one of the most renowned IVF clinics in India, one of the organizers of the event. Participants also had a privilege to listen to Dr. Sachin Kadam, CTO, Advancells and gain hands-on experience in the preparation of PRP; Liposuction method; and Bone Marrow aspiration. All these techniques were talked about at length and demonstrated in the form of manual & kit-based models to help the candidates gain exposure.
Dr. Punit Prabha, Head of Clinical Research and Dr. Shradha Singh Gautam, Head of Lab Operations at Advancells successfully set the base of stem cell biology for the participants who were experts in gynecology field, stem cell research and pain specialist. With the help of detailed analysis of Application of PRP for Skin rejuvenation; Preparation of Micro-fragmented Adipose Tissue and Nano Fat & SVF (Stromal Vascular Fraction) from Adipose Tissue; and Cell Culturing and Expansion in a Laboratory, applicants understood the application of stem cells in aesthetics, cosmetology, and anti-aging.
Vipul Jain, Founder & CEO of Advancells Group said, Educating young scientists about stem cells is important for us. With this workshop we wanted to discuss and share the challenges and lessons we have learned in our journey of curing our customers. We wanted to establish more concrete knowledge base in the presence of subject matter experts and help our attendees in more possible ways. We are hopeful to have successfully achieved what we claimed with this workshop.
Given the resounding success of the Sub-Specialty Training in Application of Regenerative Medicine (S.T.A.R. 2020), its hoped that the future events shall offer even greater wisdom to the participants by helping them improve and the lead the community into the age of greater awareness.
About Advancells Group
Advancells is leading the field of stem cell therapies in India and abroad, with representative offices in Bangladesh and Australia. The company provides arrangements for stem cell banking and protocols for partner doctors and hospitals which they can use for treating the patients using regenerative medicine. With a GMP compliant research and processing center that works on different cell lines from various sources such as Bone Marrow, Adipose Tissue, Dental Pulp, Blood, Cord Tissue etc. Advancells also intends to file a patent for this processing technology soon.
For more information, visit https://www.advancells.com/
About International Fertility Centre
IFC is Indias leading fertility center under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Rita Bakshi. She along with her solid team of experienced doctors have create a network of 10+ IVF clinics located in India and Nepal. Their services include In-vitro Fertilization (IVF), Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), Intracytoplasmic Injection (ICSI), Egg Donation, Surrogacy, Blastocyst, Assisted Hatching, Hysteroscopy, Laparoscopy and much more.
For more information, visit https://www.internationalfertilitycentre.com/
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Advancells Group & IFC Concluded their 3-Day Workshop on Regenerative Medicine - Business Wire India
Stress Really Does Make Hair Go Gray Faster – The New York Times
By daniellenierenberg
There is some truth to the longstanding anecdote that your locks can lose color when youre stressed.
A team of researchers has found that in mice, stressful events trigger damage the stem cells that are responsible for producing pigment in hair. These stem cells, found near the base of each hair follicle, differentiate to form more specialized cells called melanocytes, which generate the brown, black, red and yellow hues in hair and skin. Stress makes the stem cells differentiate faster, exhausting their number and resulting in strands that are more likely to be transparent gray.
The study, published Wednesday in Nature, also found that the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body to respond to threats, plays an important role in the graying process.
Normally, the sympathetic nervous system is an emergency system for fight or flight, and it is supposed to be very beneficial or, at the very least, its effects are supposed to be transient and reversible, said Ya-Chieh Hsu, a stem cell biologist at Harvard University who led the study.
The sympathetic nervous system helps mobilize many biological responses, including increasing the flow of blood to muscles and sharpening mental focus. But the researchers found that in some cases the same system of nerves permanently depleted the stem cell population in hair follicles.
The findings provide the first scientific link between stress and hair graying, Dr. Hsu said.
Stress affects the whole body, so the researchers had to do some sleuthing to figure out which physiological system was conveying its effects to hair follicles.
At first, the team hypothesized that stress might cause an immune attack on melanocyte stem cells. They exposed mice to acute stress by injecting the animals with an analogue of capsaicin, the chemical in chili peppers that causes irritation. But even mice that lacked immune cells ended up with gray hair.
Next, the scientists looked at the effects of the stress hormone cortisol. Mice that had their adrenal glands removed so they couldnt produce cortisol still had hair that turned gray under stress.
The system responsible for the appearance of silvery strands turns out to be the sympathetic nerves that branch out into each hair follicle in the skin.
The researchers found that the sympathetic nerve cells released a neurotransmitter called noradrenaline that was taken up by nearby melanocyte stem cells. Then a series of events unfolded in quick succession: The melanocyte stem cells proliferated and turned into specialized pigment-producing cells, which abandoned their niche near the base of the follicle and left the hair without a source of pigmentation.
In Dr. Hsus study, acute stress depleted the entire melanocyte stem cell population in mice in just five days. The researchers also found that, in petri dishes, noradrenaline prompted human melanocyte stem cells to proliferate, suggesting that the same acceleration of hair graying occurs in people, too.
I was amazed by how dramatic this change is, said Mayumi Ito, a biologist at the New York University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study. In her own research on aging mice, the graying process was gradual: The depletion of melanocyte stem cells led first to a few salt and pepper strands and then to gray or white fur, much as humans begin to see more white hair as they get older.
Dr. Itos team also found that the graying process in mice could be halted with drugs known as CDK inhibitors, which stop the proliferation of stem cells, or by blocking the release of noradrenaline.
The findings underscore the consequences of triggering a survival mechanism when the situation isnt life-threatening.
Stress is a normal part of life, but there are situations where stress is helpful and situations where it is detrimental, said Subroto Chatterjee, a biologist at Johns Hopkins University who studies the effects of stress on the cells in blood vessels.
Other studies have shown that stress is just one factor affecting how quickly hair goes gray, Dr. Chatterjee said. Genes and diet play a big role as well.
In a 2018 study, Dr. Chatterjee and his colleagues found that mice placed on the equivalent of a Western diet high in fat and cholesterol not only developed inflamed arteries, they also started going gray and experiencing hair loss. (The team also found a way to halt the process.)
But the new study is an important step toward understanding the role of stress on various tissues.
If we can know more about how our tissues and stem cells change under stress, we can eventually create treatments that can halt or reverse its detrimental impact, Dr. Hsu said.
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Stress Really Does Make Hair Go Gray Faster - The New York Times
The GQ team reveals its winter grooming secrets – British GQ
By daniellenierenberg
Luke Jefferson Day, Editor of GQ Style and Fashion Director of GQ
"Sensai's SPF 6 Bronzing Gel is my winter grooming tip. I got it from my mega make-up artist friend Gina Kane, who works with Robbie Williams. It has such a light finish but gives you a little glow during the cold months."
"My winter grooming essential has been the same for the past decade or so. Bioeffect's EGF Serum is the best cold weather skin saver bar none. It contains "epidermal growth factor", sourced from apple stem cells, an ingredient that encourages skins cells to duplicate, instantly reducing dryness and producing that dewy glow we all crave (but can never quite achieve) in the winter months. Following a slick of the serum, a spot or two of Weleda's Skin Food is ultra rich and excellently moisturising."
"My go-to product during the winter months is the exfoliating energy scrub by Tom Ford. As energy is what most of us are lacking during a long dark winter, this product helps to bring you back to life and back to the reality that summer is coming (eventually)."
"In winter I use Eve Lom Intense Hydration Serum daily to maintain skin dexterity and to avoid drying, which my skin is susceptible to, especially with the mix of harsh cold outside and synthetic heat inside. I then use Eve Lom Rescue Mask once a week to try to prevent breakouts, as it utilises ground almond to gently exfoliate, camphor to reduce redness and its clay-like formulation is an excellent de-puffer. Winter sorted."
"One product I cant do without in the winter months is hair cream. My favourite is Bumble And Bumbles BB Grooming Creme. My hairs naturally pretty curly and I look absolutely bonkers when I blow dry it or make any attempt at styling. This, I just in pop once Im out of the shower with a bit of curl cream too if Im feeling dead posh and I can spend a whole day not worrying that I might look like something a bird might nest in whenever I meet a light breeze."
"During the cooler months my skin doesnt necessarily go hard and flaky, but it does get affected by the drop in temperature and definitely feels a little more dry. After having tried quite a lot of creams, I actually bought this absolute miracle worker from Awake Organics, which got rid of not only my bags (anti-ageing vitamin C to thank here), but also provided more than enough hydration to my skin. Ive used it since November (every night) and theres no looking back. Oh and its 100 per cent natural and totally affordable, which is the direction Im moving in when it comes to stocking my bathroom cabinet."
"When it comes to winter grooming I try and keep my routine as organic and natural as possible. One of my main go-to's is Dr Jackson's Everyday Oil. I add a couple of drops three or four times a week to my facial moisturiser when my skin is feeling extra dry. It's lightweight, so it doesn't have that greasy, clogging feeling to it and is infused with baobab oil that promotes elasticity in the skin."
Meet our grooming heroes of the week
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All products featured on the website are independently selected by our Editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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The GQ team reveals its winter grooming secrets - British GQ
The New Facial Aging Solution: Lift and Fill Facelift – The Dallas Morning News
By daniellenierenberg
By Sandy McCarty
Facelifts once had just a single focus: lifting and tightening the skin to reduce wrinkles. This resulted in a tighter but not necessarily more youthful appearance. Today, however, theres a more natural new solution: the lift-and-fill facelift. Using this technique, Dr. John Burns can lift the skin and deeper layer with less bruising, swelling, and scarring while filling areas that need volume replacement. If youre looking to refresh your appearance, you can find everything you need to know about this procedure and whether its right for you here.
What Is a Lift-and-Fill Facelift?
The lift-and-fill procedure has become increasingly popular in recent years. This procedure involves combining a facelift with the addition of volume in strategic locations, using facial fillers or a fat transfer. This approach offers outstanding outcomes, including a rejuvenated and more youthful face, eyes and neck, as well as longer-lasting results.
As your face ages, several changes take place. Years of facial movements lead to wrinkles, the skin loses elasticity, and the face loses volume due to fat atrophy and bone resorption. The combination of all these factors results in looser skin, deflation, lax tissue, with more wrinkles and lines. When it comes to facial rejuvenation, the best treatment for you depends on the amount of volume loss you have experienced. In some cases, a facelift and/or necklift alone is enough to significantly improve the contour of the face. However, when a patient has loose skin and volume loss, we can achieve much better results by combining the facelift with volume enhancement.
A few of the procedures used in conjunction with a facelift or necklift are:
Is a Lift-and-Fill Facelift Right for You?
Good candidates for facelift surgery include individuals who are in good physical health, do not smoke or use nicotine, and desire correction of facial aging due to gravity or volume loss. The combination of a facelift and/or necklift with facial fillers or fat transfer can provide the stunning results you want. Contact Dr. John Burns today to schedule your consultation to learn more about short-scar facelift and the facial rejuvenation options that are right for you.
Dr. John L. Burns, Jr., MD is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and is President of The Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute; one of the largest plastic surgery group practices in the United States. Dr. Burns specializes in cosmetic surgery of the face, breast, and body.
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The New Facial Aging Solution: Lift and Fill Facelift - The Dallas Morning News
Dior’s greatest discovery the amazing story of Capture Totale CELL Energy – The Moodie Davitt Report – The Moodie Davitt Report
By daniellenierenberg
What if 0.2% of your skin cells determined its future? That was the question posed, and answered, by Dior as it strove for a breakthrough that would ultimately top anything the French beauty house and its scientific partners had achieved in 30 years of research and innovation.
For the first time, Dior used artificial intelligence to go beyond visible signs. It was thus able to measure what, up until now, was considered immeasurable the key to our perception of age: the faces visible health and vitality.
The result is what Dior calls a major discovery about stem cells, one so incredible that it has driven the creation of a new range focused on the restoration of cellular energy to reactivate the skins vital functions and youthful beauty.
The range is called Capture Totale C.E.L.L. Energy [the C.E.L.L. acronym stands for Cutting-Edge Long-Lasting Energy], a launch we reported earlier this month in a global exclusive. This special eZine edition of The Moodie Davitt Spotlight Series tells the story of how the new launch embodies all the values of Dior skincare, while taking the science behind it to a new level.
Its a remarkable story, which we are honoured to tell.
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report Spotlight Series offers bespoke, curated e-publications for major brand launches and campaigns; airport, store or restaurant openings; and other notable corporate or commercial developments, events and anniversaries. Please contact Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com if youre interested in taking advantage of this unrivalled communications and promotional platform.
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Dior's greatest discovery the amazing story of Capture Totale CELL Energy - The Moodie Davitt Report - The Moodie Davitt Report
The only anti-aging skin care guide you’ll ever need – Yahoo Lifestyle
By daniellenierenberg
Point blank: Aging is a part of life. With each passing second, minute, and day, we age a little bit more. While you may not notice the signs of aging right away, there will come a day when you look in the mirror only to notice 11s and crows feet staring back at you. Of course, if you implement a quality anti-aging skincare routine before then, it may be years before you notice such things.
Intrigued? We thought you might be. Thats why we tapped some of the industrys top dermatologists to share their top 10 anti-aging skincare ingredients. By committing these ingredients to memory and adding them into your routine, youll be able to pause the clock of visible aging while making way for your bounciest, most beautiful skin yet. You can thank us later.
While there are many anti-aging ingredients on the market, dermatologists share that the following 10 are the most effective for fast-acting results.
Alpha- and beta-defensins are natural immune proteins that have been shown in in vitro studies to activate stem cells in the hair follicle, which typically helps with wound healing of the skin, says Yunyoung Claire Chang, M.D., a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist. These defensins have been shown to be effective in a new skincare product, called DefenAge. One multi-center, blinded controlled trial published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology in 2018 evaluated 44 patients using this new skincare product, demonstrating that this product improves brown spots and skin evenness, improves the appearance of wrinkles, and reduces visible pores. She adds that the product has retinol-like effects without the inflammation associated with retinol.
Bakuchiol is well-known for being a gentle (yet effective) retinol alternative. These findings were confirmed in a 2014 study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, where researchers found that bakuchiol was able to stimulate collagen production in vivo, and found that 12-week application improved texture, tone, photo-damage, and more. While it has many of the same benefits of retinol, Dr. Chang says the most notable quality is that bakuchiol has less of the drying and irritating side effects of retinol, while still being just as effective.
Youve likely seen ceramides called out on many of the labels on the skincare products already in your routine. Thats because ceramides are intensely hydrating and effective for anti-aging.
Ceramides are a natural lipid that helps protect our skin barrier and seal in moisture. As we mature, the ceramide levels in our skin decrease, leading to drier, more sensitive skin, Dr. Chang explains. Dry skin also worsens the appearance of fine lines and uneven skin texture. Replacing ceramides using topical skincare is important to keep it hydrated, protected, and smooth.
Ginseng might be considered a Korean superfood, but were here to let you in on a little secret: It works wonders topically for your complexion, as well. Panax ginseng and ginsenosides are promising in preventing skin aging, Dr. Chang explains. Ginseng extract has been found in studies to protect against UVB-induced skin aging, reduce wrinkles, and increase moisture in the skin. However, its worth noting that most ginseng skincare studies have been small and need to be corroborated with larger clinical trials.
Take it from someone with sensitive skin who loves a gentle exfoliation: Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) gorgeous skin dreams are made of. Dr. Chang supports this notion, explaining that glycolic acid exfoliates the top layers of the skin to improve texture and tone. Glycolic acid also has additional anti-aging benefits, including fighting UV-induced inflammation, lightening brown spots, and stimulating collagen, she adds. With glycolic acid, the higher the concentration of the product, the stronger its effects (and side effects). As such, its best to leave the higher concentrations of glycolic acid for professional use during in-office facials and treatments.
In some cases, glycolic acid (despite being fairly gentle) can be too irritating for super-sensitive skin. In these cases, you can reach for lactic acid, another AHA thats effective at resurfacing the skin.
Courtesy of First Aid Beauty
Green tea might be a super popular beverage, but its also a stellar choice for reversing the clock on your complexion. According to Dr. Chang, green tea is an abundant source of polyphenols that can help protect the skin against UV-induced skin aging and skin cancer. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-wrinkle properties, she adds.
Courtesy of Innisfree
Niacinamide, also known as vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties, Dr. Chang explains, noting that it helps calm red, inflamed, or irritated skin. Whats more, the hydrating ingredient helps protect the lipid barrier and keep the moisture barrier intact which helps heal dry skin and prevent seasonal flaking. It has also been shown to increase collagen production as well as inhibit melanosome transfer from melanocytes to keratinocytes, allowing lightening of dark spots, Dr. Chang adds. In other words, its a multi-tasker that deserves a spot in your anti-aging routine.
Courtesy of The Ordinary
Retinoids are a derivative of vitamin A and are one of the longest-studied anti-aging ingredients. Retinoids have a long track record and clinical studies since the 1980s to back its evidence for preventing and treating skin aging, Dr. Chang explains. Retinoids increase skin cell turnover, diminish brown spots, and stimulate collagen to prevent fine lines and wrinkles.
While retinoids are undoubtedly effective, its worth noting that some versions can cause dryness and irritation, especially for those with dry or sensitive skin. Therefore, its best to start with a low percentage retinol (like 0.025 percent) before working yourself up to a stronger dose, prescription retinoid or Retin-A (like 0.5 to 2 percent).
Even when starting off with low percentages, Dr. Chang points out that retinoids tend to be drying and irritating, especially with initial use. It is important to start slow, using a small pea-size amount over the face, she says. I recommend starting two or three times per week at nighttime, and increasing the frequency of use slowly as tolerated.
Additionally, Dr. Chang says that retinoids and glycolic acid, especially when used together, may cause excessive dryness and irritation. For that reason, its best to choose between the two instead of trying to use them simultaneously.
Courtesy of Neutrogena
Sun protection is the most critical part of your anti-aging skincare routine, Dr. Chang emphasizes. Sun exposure not only causes skin burning and skin cancer but is the main culprit for accelerated skin aging. Whats more, she adds that UV exposure forms free radicals, increases brown spots, and breaks down collagen to form fine lines, wrinkles, and skin laxity. This process, termed photo-aging, is absolutely preventable with the appropriate use of sun protection and broad-spectrum sunscreen, she explains, noting that she recommends mineral sunscreens with SPF 30 or greater, including zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Mineral sunscreens sit on the surface of the skin and act as a barrier to both UVA and UVB rays rather than being absorbed into the skin, she explains. Because it isnt absorbed into the skin, there is a lower risk of allergic reactions and it is safe in pregnant females.
And remember: Regardless of the sun protection you opt for, reapplication every few hours is key.
Vitamin C renowned for its powerful antioxidant properties and the ability to affect so many aspects of aging. For starters, adding vitamin C into your skincare routine can lead to a brighter complexion. Whats more, Dr. Chang points out that the potent ingredient can act as a free radical scavenger to neutralize oxidative damage to the skin and stimulate collagen for fine line prevention.
The biggest thing to remember when adding vitamin C to your anti-aging routine is that the ingredient is very unstable. As a result, its important to look for stabilized formulations found in opaque, air-tight bottles.
Dr. Chang also notes that some formulations of antioxidant serums containing vitamin C may irritate or cause acne for some people, so it is important to find which products work best for your skin. This may take some trial and error (or, better yet, the advice of a derm), but it will be well worth it in the long run.
Great! So now that you know which skincare ingredients to keep on your radar, heres what else you need to know about how to use them.
The anti-aging skin type debate:
After reading about these anti-aging ingredients, you might be wondering which will be best for your skin type. While some are better tolerated by some specific skin types (as mentioned above), its important to remember that skincare is subjective based on your skin type and the products already in your routine.
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At the end of the day, she says its not so much the skin type as what you are trying to address. For example, retinoids help to rejuvenate at the cellular layer, she begins. Glycolic acids helps to increase cell turnover and exfoliation.
When to add anti-aging ingredients into your skincare routine:
As much as wed like to tell you exact dates down to the day as to when to incorporate these ingredients into your routine, thats simply not realistic given that skin aging is subjective and varies from person to person. However, considering all of these ingredients are preventative, Dr. Chang says that its best to start incorporating them before or shortly after you start to notice signs of skin aging. I recommend starting anti-aging skincare in your 20s or early 30s, she adds. Some of these ingredients can be started even earlier (i.e. retinoids in teenagers with acne).
How to add anti-aging ingredients into your skincare routine:
Now, we know what youre thinking: How hard could it be? Well, if you try to add all 10 of these ingredients into your routine at once, youll seeand it wont be pretty. Since these ingredients are active, its important to ease them into your routine to avoid any sort of adverse effects.
I always recommend starting anti-aging ingredients one by one, to avoid any skin reactions or excessive irritation, Dr. Chang says. Start with a test spot before applying new products over your whole face. If one anti-aging product is tolerated, you can slowly add another one into the regimen. Additionally, she notes that not every person needs to use all of these ingredients, as many of the benefits overlap and using too many products can sometimes do more harm than good. I recommend consulting your board-certified dermatologist to develop a skincare plan tailored to your skin needs, she says.
Head-to-toe anti-aging treatments:
If you, like us, are a big believer in the beauty of cosmetic anti-aging treatments, like lasers and injectables, you might be wondering if you should supplement your anti-aging skincare routine with these in-office offerings. Considering most topicals can only penetrate the top-most layers of skin (unless, of course, its an epigenetic formulation), opting for treatments geared towards underlying causes of expression can lead to more noticeable results. For example, board-certified dermatologistJennifer MacGregor, M.D., says that Botox can smooth crepey texture in addition to lines (on the chest, for example) and can also smooth neck bands (hi, tech neck)something a cream alone may not be able to do.
As we mature, we lose fat and collagen in our face, leading to loose, sagging or hollowed skin, says Chang. Filler injections can help replace this volume and collagen in areas where topical anti-aging products would have little to no efficacy. Additionally, she points out that brown spots and photo-aging are often due to deeper pigment deposits which topicals cannot reach. Laser treatments can more effectively lighten or eliminate brown spots and signs of photo-aging, she explains. Resurfacing laser treatments, like Fraxel dual, and skin tightening treatments, like Ultherapy, can go deeper than any topical can to stimulate collagen, making these treatments essential in the anti-aging process [from head to toe].
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The only anti-aging skin care guide you'll ever need - Yahoo Lifestyle
Illumia Therapeutics, Singapore’s Latest Full-Service Medispa, Lets You Address Your Beauty And Wellness Needs In One Place – Singapore Tatler
By daniellenierenberg
If you havent had the chance to visit Illumia Therapeutics, thelatest hotspot on OrchardRoad for transformative, nextlevel facial and body treatments, then you are missing out on an opportunity that is hard to find anywhere else. Thenewly opened fullservice medispa allows you to address your beauty and wellness needs all in one place, with skilled experts and staff focused on providing a restful escape from your hectic schedule.
Founded by aesthetic doctors and backed by plastic surgeons, Illumia Therapeutics offers clients the star treatment whenever they visit. Thename Illumia was chosen to signify that clients are at the centre of what we do. It all starts with u, the client, says CEOElizabethLeong. All the treatments at IllumiaTherapeutics are non-invasive, safe and clinically proven, andusually done one step at a time. We believe in subtle tweaking, so our clients look fresher and more youthful in phases rather than doing too much at onego,addsLeong.
We find out more about five treatments offered at the medispa.
(Related: What is Face Fitness? Look Out For This Major Beauty Trend in 2020)
Every treatment combines at least two or more highly effective technologies, including stem cell therapy, to provide unparalleled results. Leong explains, This proprietary combination approach is Illumias Hybrid2 Protocol. Different technologies target different skin layerssaving time and doubling results. We believe in visible changes with minimum effort at accessible prices that allow clients to get back to their normal routinesimmediately.
(Related: Biohack Your Way To Beauty And Health Using Your DNA And Stem Cells At These Wellness Retreats Around The World)
One of its signature treatments is the LDMFaceRegen, which is under the llumiaSkinBrite series of skin therapies. It is afavourite of brand ambassador and beauty connoisseur KimLim to maintain her velvety smooth, naturally clear and glowing skin. Thetreatment, which uses German technology based on dual-frequency ultrasound waves, increases elasticity for wrinkle reduction, enhancesrejuvenation, resolves acne issues andsoftens acnescars.
The Illumia FaceLift series, on the other hand, adopts the Korean-styled face design technique that defines the uniqueness of the facial contours. Take the Illumia HyfuUltra treatment, for instance. It is a speedy face-lifting method using ultrasound waves to tighten the skin, minimise wrinkles and eyebags, and fill out sunken cheeks with lastingresults.
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Illumia Therapeutics, Singapore's Latest Full-Service Medispa, Lets You Address Your Beauty And Wellness Needs In One Place - Singapore Tatler
Advancells Group & IFC Concluded their 3-Day Workshop on Regenerative Medicine – APN News
By daniellenierenberg
Published on January 23, 2020
New Delhi:On Saturday, January 18th, 2020, the Advancells Group & the International Fertility Center together ended their first workshop Sub-Specialty Training in Application of Regenerative Medicine (S.T.A.R. 2020). The three-day workshop had specialized doctors, medical practitioners, learned scientists of Advancells, the leaders in cell manufacturing & processes and IFC, one of Indias most prestigious Fertility institute who were joined by candidates with MBBS/BAMS/BHMS/BPharma & Masters degree in Life Sciences.
The key-note speaker of the workshop was Dr. Rita Bakshi, founder and chairperson of International Fertility Centre, the oldest fertility clinic and one of the most renowned IVF clinics in India, one of the organizers of the event. Participants also had a privilege to listen to Dr. Sachin Kadam, CTO, Advancellsand gain hands-on experience in the preparation of PRP; Liposuction method; and Bone Marrow aspiration. All these techniques were talked about at length and demonstrated in the form of manual & kit-based models to help the candidates gain exposure.
Dr. Punit Prabha, Head of Clinical Research and Dr. Shradha Singh Gautam, Head of Lab Operations at Advancells successfully set the base of stem cell biology for the participants who were experts in gynecology field, stem cell research and pain specialist. With the help of detailed analysis of Application of PRP for Skin rejuvenation; Preparation of Micro-fragmented Adipose Tissue and Nano Fat & SVF (Stromal Vascular Fraction) from Adipose Tissue; and Cell Culturing and Expansion in a Laboratory, applicants understood the application of stem cells in aesthetics, cosmetology, and anti-aging.
Vipul Jain, Founder & CEO of Advancells Groupsaid, Educating young scientists about stem cells is important for us. With this workshop we wanted to discuss and share the challenges and lessons we have learned in our journey of curing our customers. We wanted to establish more concrete knowledge base in the presence of subject matter experts and help our attendees in more possible ways. We are hopeful to have successfully achieved what we claimed with this workshop.
Given the resounding success of the Sub-Specialty Training in Application of Regenerative Medicine (S.T.A.R. 2020), its hoped that the future events shall offer even greater wisdom to the participants by helping them improve and the lead the community into the age of greater awareness.
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Advancells Group & IFC Concluded their 3-Day Workshop on Regenerative Medicine - APN News
The Xenobots Have Arrived: Scientists Have Created Living Robots – Parentology
By daniellenierenberg
The day of the robot frog is here. Sort of. Researchers in the United States have taken stem cells from the tissue of African clawed frogs and put them together to build tiny living robots. These are the worlds first living machines, robots made from biological tissue that have advantages your run-of-the-mill plastic and metal robots dont have.
These lifeforms have never before existed on earth, Michael Levin, director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, which conducted the research alongside scientists from the University of Vermont, said. They are living, programmable organisms.
Researchers are calling these new creatures xenobots, derivedfrom Xenopus laevis, the scientific name for the African clawed frog. The botsare less than a millimeter wide, which is small enough to travel through thehuman body. And they dont look anything like the robots weve all seen before.Xenobots are basically tiny dollops of moving pink flesh.
According to CNN,the researchers took stem cells from frog embryos, left them to incubate, thenused a supercomputer to cut and shape the cells into body forms. For example,you can have a xenobot with a hole in the middle that could possibly be used todeliver medication inside the human body.
Once they were created, the robots operated on their own. Theskin cells bonded to form structure, and the heart cells would actually pulse,allowing the bots to propel themselves.
What else might the xenobots be used for? Scientists say theycould potentially be used to remove plaque from artery walls, locate anddestroy radioactive waste, and even clean up microplastic pollution in theoceans.
And although metal and plastic robots are strong and durable, there are good reasons to create bots from biological tissue. For one thing, the xenobots are self-healing. And once their task is complete, says The Guardian, they fall apart, just as natural organisms decay when they die. That makes them more environmentally friendly than traditional robots, as well.
Creating these xenobots does raise some ethical issues,particularly because future versions of them might actually have nervoussystems and cognitive abilities. And then what will they be, living creaturesor just machines?
Whats important to me, Sam Kriegman, a PhD student on the University of Vermont team, said, is that this is public, so we can have a discussion as a society and policymakers can decide what is the best course of action.
CNNThe GuardianEngadget YouTube
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The Xenobots Have Arrived: Scientists Have Created Living Robots - Parentology
El Paso scientists team up for project that will be sent to the International Space Station – KVIA El Paso
By daniellenierenberg
EL PASO, Texas -- Biomedical research scientists from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and The University of Texas at El Paso are partnering up to send "artificial mini-hearts" to the International Space Station to better understand how microgravity affects the function of the human heart.
The three-year project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the space station's U.S. National Laboratory, brings together TTUHSC El Paso faculty scientist Munmun Chattopadhyay, Ph.D., and UTEP biomedical engineer Binata Joddar, Ph.D. The researchers will collaborate in their Earth-bound labs to create tiny (less than 1 millimeter thick) heart-tissue structures, known as cardiac organoids, using human stem cells and 3D bioprinting technology.
By exposing the organoids to the near-weightless environment of the orbiting space station, the researchers hope to gain a better understanding of a health condition known as cardiac atrophy, which is a reduction and weakening of heart tissue. Cardiac atrophy often affects astronauts who spend long periods of time in microgravity. A weakened heart muscle has difficulty pumping blood to the body, and can lead to problems such as fainting, irregular heartbeat, heart valve problems and even heart failure. Cardiac atrophy is also associated with chronic disease.
The first year of the project, which began in September, will focus on research design. During this phase, Dr. Joddar will use 3D printing to fabricate the cardiac organoids by coupling cardiac cells in physiological ratios to mimic heart tissue. The second year will be centered on preparing the organoid payload for a rocket launch and mission in space. The third and final year of the research will involve analyzing data from the experiment after the organoids are returned to Earth.
The project will also provide an educational opportunity for the El Paso community, with a workshop for K-12 students to learn about tissue engineering projects on the space station. It will also include a seminar for medical students, interns and residents about the benefits and challenges of transitioning research from Earth-based laboratories into space.
The Spinal Cord Organizes Locomotion Like a Three-gear Engine – Technology Networks
By daniellenierenberg
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have revealed a new principle of organisation which explains how locomotion is coordinated in vertebrates akin to an engine with three gears. The results are published in the scientific journal Neuron.
A remarkable feature of locomotion is its capacity for rapid starts and to change speed to match our intentions. However, there is still uncertainty as to how the rhythm-generating circuit - the locomotor engine - in the spinal cord is capable of instantaneously translating brain commands into rhythmic and appropriately paced locomotion.
Using zebrafish as a model organism, researchers at Karolinska Institutet reveal in detail a full reconstruction of the rhythm-generating engine driving locomotion in vertebrates.
"We have uncovered a novel principle of organisation that is crucial to perform an intuitively simple, yet poorly understood function: the initiation of locomotion and the changing of speed," says Abdel El Manira, Professor at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet, who led the study.
The researchers performed a comprehensive and quantitative mapping of connections (synapses) between neurons combined with behavioural analyses in zebrafish. The results revealed that the excitatory neurons in the spinal cord which drive locomotion form three recurrent, rhythm-generating circuit modules acting as gears which can be engaged at slow, intermediate or fast locomotor speeds. These circuits convert signals from the brain into coordinated locomotor movements, with a speed that is aligned to the initial intention.
"The insights gained in our study can be directly applicable to mammals, including humans, given that the organising principle of the brainstem and spinal circuits is shared across vertebrate species," says Abdel El Manira. "Understanding how circuits in the brainstem and spinal cord initiate movements and how speed is controlled will open up for new research avenues aimed at developing therapeutic strategies for human neurological disorders, including traumatic spinal cord injury, and motoneuron degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)."
Reference: Song, J., Pallucchi, I., Ausborn, J., Ampatzis, K., Bertuzzi, M., Fontanel, P., Picton, L. D., & Manira, A. E. (2020). Multiple Rhythm-Generating Circuits Act in Tandem with Pacemaker Properties to Control the Start and Speed of Locomotion. Neuron, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.12.030
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.
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The Spinal Cord Organizes Locomotion Like a Three-gear Engine - Technology Networks
New Nerve-Growing Method Could Help Injured Soldiers and Others – Scientific American
By daniellenierenberg
A small injury to a nerve outside the brain and spinal cord is relatively easy to repair just by stretching it, but a major gap in such a peripheral nerve poses problems. Usually, another nerve is taken from elsewhere in the body, and it causes an extra injury and returns only limited movement.
Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have found an effective way to bridge such a gapat least in mice and monkeysby inserting a biodegradable tube that releases a protein called a growth factor for several months. In a study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, the team showed that the tube works as a guide for the nerve to grow along the proper path, and the naturally occurring protein induces the nerve to grow faster.
Kacey Marra, a professor at the universitys departments of plastic surgery and bioengineering, says shes been working for a dozen years on the device, which she particularly hopes will help soldiers injured in combat. More than half of injured soldiers suffer nerve injuries, she says. And as the daughter and granddaughter of military men, she considers it her mission to help their successors. Combat gear does a good job of protecting a soldiers chest and head, but arms and legs are often exposed, which is why peripheral nerve injuries are so common, Marra says. Car crashes and accidents involving machinery such as snowblowers can also damage nerves involved in hand, arm, leg and foot control.
In the U.S., there are about 600,000 nerve injuries every year, she says, though she is unsure how many are severe enough to require the relocation of a second nerve because that information is not tracked yet. When the injuries are severe, the only current treatment is to take a nerve from somewhere else on the body, Marra says. But patients recover just about 50 to 60 percent of function in the damaged nerve.
Longer nerve grafts are always more challenging, says Christine Schmidt, a professor and chair of the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Florida, who was not involved with the research. It would be great to be able to tackle long-term nerve damage. She notes that the nerve the Pittsburgh team tested is relatively small in macaques. It will still be a challenge to scale up to larger nerves, she says. It would be nice to see a little bit larger nerve, which would be more relevant to patients.
The new device restored nearly 80 percent of function, the study showed. It uses glial-cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a protein that promotes nerve cell survival. Marra chose GDNF, she says, because if you get a nerve injury like a paper cut, the cells in your nerves are going to express this protein at high levels. And that recruits other cells to come in and repair the nerve. The tube is made of the same polymer as dissolvable stitches, which has already been federally approved for surgical use.
Other researchers are exploring the use of stem cells or other cells to help bridge the gap in the nerve, but Marra and her colleagues approach is likely to have an easier time receiving federal approval because it does not involve cells. If they were to go adding stem cells or too many complexities, it would be harder to win a regulatory green light, Schmidt says. It is better to make advances with small steps, as the Pittsburgh researchers have, she says. Theyre doing it in a very realistic way that can lead to a clinical outcome, and thats really what you want, Schmidt adds.
Nerves can regenerate at a rate of about one millimeter per day, and there are three months worth of GDNF in the tube, allowing for closing injuries of about 12 centimetersor 4.7 inches.
In the eight-year-long study, the researchers trained rhesus macaques to eat with their forefinger and thumbwhich they could only do if a repaired nerve was working properly. They used this finger maneuver rather than grabbing food with their fist, as they usually do when they eat. If they pinched the banana pellet, they got a second treat, Marra says. We were able to see the recovery, she adds. At that point, we knew we were ready to test in humans.
Marra says she and her colleagues have several pending proposals for the first clinical trials in humans, which are likely to start in 2021 and take at least three years. A start-up she launched, AxoMax Technologies, licensed the technology from the University of Pittsburgh to begin the experiments. Marra believes her device can be competitively priced, compared with moving a nerve from elsewhere in the bodyand, potentially, even compared with existing repair approaches for small nerve gaps.
Her team is also beginning to study whether its method will work for facial nerves, but she thinks it is unlikely to be effective for spinal cord injuries, which are far more complex and involve more nerves. The researchers are looking at regenerating the muscles affected by injured nerves as well. I think [this approach] really could revolutionize thinking about nerve repair and the different options a patient will have, Marra says.
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New Nerve-Growing Method Could Help Injured Soldiers and Others - Scientific American
Ncardia and BlueRock Therapeutics Announce Collaboration Agreement and Licensing of Process Development Technologies for the Manufacture of…
By daniellenierenberg
Ncardia and BlueRock Therapeutics today announced an agreement covering process development technologies for the manufacture of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes. Under the terms of the agreement, Bluerock gains access to Ncardias large-scale production processes and intellectual property for the production of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes for therapeutic use.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200121005200/en/
"BlueRock is a leader in the field of cell therapy and our collaboration is a perfect match of mission and capabilities. This relationship allows us to utilize our experience in iPSC process development to help advance potential cell therapies for cardiac diseases," said Stefan Braam, CEO of Ncardia.
"There are hundreds of millions of people worldwide that suffer from degenerative cardiovascular disease where the root cause is the loss of healthy heart muscle cells, and where medical treatment options are limited. BlueRocks authentic cellular therapy is a novel approach that has the potential to transform the lives of patients, but will require the manufacture of our cell therapies at unprecedented scale. The Ncardia team has developed key technologies related to this scale-up challenge, and we are pleased to work with them as we advance BlueRocks novel CELL+GENE platform towards the clinic and those patients in need," said Emile Nuwaysir, President and CEO, BlueRock Therapeutics.
About BlueRock Therapeutics
BlueRock Therapeutics, a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, is a leading engineered cell therapy company with a mission to develop regenerative medicines for intractable diseases. BlueRock Therapeutics CELL+GENE platform harnesses the power of cells for new medicines across neurology, cardiology and immunology indications. BlueRock Therapeutics cell differentiation technology recapitulates the cells developmental biology to produce authentic cell therapies, which are further engineered for additional function. Utilizing these cell therapies to replace damaged or degenerated tissue brings the potential to restore or regenerate lost function. BlueRocks culture is defined by scientific innovation, highest ethical standards and an urgency to bring transformative treatments to all who would benefit. For more information, visit http://www.bluerocktx.com.
About Ncardia
Ncardia believes that stem cell technology can deliver better therapies to patients faster. We bring cell manufacturing and process development expertise to cell therapy by designing and delivering human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) solutions to specification. Our offerings extend from concept development to pre-clinical studies, including custom manufacturing of a range of cell types, as well as discovery services such as disease modelling, screening, and safety assays. For more information, visit http://www.ncardia.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200121005200/en/
Contacts
BlueRock:media@bluerocktx.com
Ncardia:Steven Dublinmedia@ncardia.com
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Ncardia and BlueRock Therapeutics Announce Collaboration Agreement and Licensing of Process Development Technologies for the Manufacture of...
The Living Robots Made With Frog Cells Could Boost Our Health – Dual Dove
By daniellenierenberg
Theres a team of scientists who basically discovered live robots. You read that right. They found a new purpose for living cells, which they took from frog embryos, and they constructed new life forms. These life forms were named Xenobots, and they can move in small places and carry stuff, too. They also want to try to see if they are useful in medicine.
Apparently, they can heal themselves after theyre cut, which gives them a longer life span. They are not a species of animals, and they are not robots in a real way. As Joshua Bongard states, Its a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism. He is a computer scientist at the University of Vermont.
A supercomputer developed these live robots at UVM. The idea behind this creation is not a new one. But it is the first time they actually improved it from scratch. The team was led by doctoral student Sam Kriegman, who used an evolutionary algorithm to develop thousands of designs for these new life forms.
They gave the program the basic rules about biophysics about the frog skin and the cardiac cells. They tested about a hundred algorithms to find the best design. Then, the team worked with microsurgeons to transfer the silicon designs into life. They took the stem cells from Xenopus lavevis, an African frog. Then the embryos were assembled in body forms, so the cells began to work.
Almost everything we see today is made out of steel, silicon, or plastic. While its true that the material is durable, it also creates human health problems. Bongard stated that the living tissues degrade quickly. Also, these living robots made with frog cells could help us live a healthier life. More research will be conducted.
Tanya is an expert in reddit and health subjects. She finds good stories where no one ever thinks to look.
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The Living Robots Made With Frog Cells Could Boost Our Health - Dual Dove
National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) versus US Stem Cell (NASDAQ:USRM) Head-To-Head Review – Riverton Roll
By daniellenierenberg
US Stem Cell (OTCMKTS:USRM) and National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
39.7% of National Research shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.7% of US Stem Cell shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of National Research shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for US Stem Cell and National Research, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
Volatility & Risk
US Stem Cell has a beta of 4.87, meaning that its stock price is 387% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Research has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares US Stem Cell and National Researchs gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
National Research has higher revenue and earnings than US Stem Cell.
Profitability
This table compares US Stem Cell and National Researchs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Summary
National Research beats US Stem Cell on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.
US Stem Cell Company Profile
U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage, and vascular and autoimmune diseases in the United States and internationally. Its lead product candidates include MyoCell, a clinical therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with autologous muscle cells or cells from a patient's body for enhancing cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients; and AdipoCell, a patient-derived cell therapy for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, chronic heart ischemia, and lower limb ischemia. The company's product development pipeline includes MyoCell SDF-1, an autologous muscle-derived cellular therapy for improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. It is also developing MyoCath, a deflecting tip needle injection catheter that is used to inject cells into cardiac tissue in therapeutic procedures to treat chronic heart ischemia and congestive heart failure. In addition, the company provides physician and patient based regenerative medicine/cell therapy training, cell collection, and cell storage services; and cell collection and treatment kits for humans and animals, as well operates a cell therapy clinic. The company was formerly known as Bioheart, Inc. and changed its name to U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. in October 2015. U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida.
National Research Company Profile
National Research Corporation (NRC) is a provider of analytics and insights that facilitate revenue growth, patient, employee and customer retention and patient engagement for healthcare providers, payers and other healthcare organizations. The Companys portfolio of subscription-based solutions provides information and analysis to healthcare organizations and payers across a range of mission-critical, constituent-related elements, including patient experience and satisfaction, community population health risks, workforce engagement, community perceptions, and physician engagement. The Companys clients range from acute care hospitals and post-acute providers, such as home health, long term care and hospice, to numerous payer organizations. The Company derives its revenue from its annually renewable services, which include performance measurement and improvement services, healthcare analytics and governance education services.
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National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) versus US Stem Cell (NASDAQ:USRM) Head-To-Head Review - Riverton Roll
These robots made of living frog cells are meant to revolutionize treatment methods – International Business Times, Singapore Edition
By daniellenierenberg
5 Ways To Stay Healthy If You Sit All Day At Work
Ever since the 1966 film 'Fantastic Voyage', an American science-fiction about a submarine crew who are shrunk to microscopic size and venture into the body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain, it remained a possible conception for robotic engineers too.
Now, a team of scientists from the University of Vermont has succeeded by repurposing living cells of frog embryos into entirely new millimeter-long life-forms, called "xenobots", which can move toward a target, carry a payload, say, a medicine and reache a specific body part of a patient.
"These are novel living machines," says Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont, part of the research team. "They're neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It's a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism."
Bongard says they tried to slice the robot almost in half and found it stitching itself back up and moving ahead. This is "somtheing you can't do with typical machines. These xenobots are fully biodegradable. When they're done with their job after seven days, they're just dead skin cells," explained Bongard.
Initially designed on a supercomputer and then assembled and tested by biologists at Tufts University, these robots can have many useful applications as first batch of living robots that other machines cannot become, said Michael Levin, team member and director of Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology at Tufts.
Some of the applications include searching out nasty compounds or radioactive contamination, gathering microplastic in the oceans, traveling in arteries to scrape out plaque. The results of the new research were published January 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team used an evolutionary algorithm to create thousands of candidate designs for the new life-forms, which can carry out a task like locomotion in one direction. First they gathered stem cells, harvested from the embryos of African frogs, the species Xenopus laevis, which led to its name "xenobots."
Assembled into body forms never seen in nature, the cells formed a more passive architecture, while the once-random contractions of heart muscle cells were put to work creating ordered forward motion and aided by spontaneous self-organizing patterns -- allowing the robots to move on their own.
Later, tests showed that groups of xenobots would move around in circles, pushing pellets into a central location -- spontaneously and collectively. "It's a step toward using computer-designed organisms for intelligent drug delivery," says Bongard.
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These robots made of living frog cells are meant to revolutionize treatment methods - International Business Times, Singapore Edition
Scientists Combine AI With Biology to Create Xenobots, the World’s First ‘Living Robots’ – EcoWatch
By daniellenierenberg
Formosa's plastics plant is seen dominating the landscape in Point Comfort, Texas. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Diane Wilson is seen with volunteers before their meeting across the street from Formosa's Point Comfort manufacturing plant. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Within 10 minutes she collected an estimated 300 of the little plastic pellets. Wilson says she will save them as evidence, along with any additional material the group collects, to present to the official and yet-to-be-selected monitor.
Wilson received the waiver forms from Formosa a day after the deadline. The group planned to set out by foot on Jan. 18, which would allow them to cover more ground on their next monitoring trip. They hope to check all of the facility's 14 outtakes where nurdles could be still be escaping. Any nurdles discharged on or after Jan. 15 in the area immediately surrounding the plant would be in violation of the court settlement.
Ronnie Hamrick picks up a mixture of new and legacy nurdles near Formosa's Point Comfort plant. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Ronnie Hamrick holds a few of the countless nurdles that litter the banks of Cox Creek near Formosa's Point Comfort facility. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Lawsuit Against Formosas Planned Louisiana Plant
On that same afternoon, Wilson learned that conservation and community groups in Louisiana had sued the Trump administration, challenging federal environmental permits for Formosa's planned $9.4 billion plastics complex in St. James Parish.
The news made Wilson smile. "I hope they win. The best way to stop the company from polluting is not to let them build another plant," she told me.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court against the Army Corps of Engineers, accusing the Corps of failing to disclose environmental damage and public health risks and failing to adequately consider environmental damage from the proposed plastics plant. Wilson had met some of the Louisiana-based activists last year when a group of them had traveled to Point Comfort and protested with her outside Formosa's plastics plant that had begun operations in 1983. Among them was Sharon Lavigne, founder of the community group Rise St. James, who lives just over a mile and a half from the proposed plastics complex in Louisiana.
Back then, Wilson offered them encouragement in their fight. A few months after winning her own case last June, she gave them boxes of nurdles she had used in her case against Formosa. The Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environmental groups in the Louisiana lawsuit, transported the nurdles to St. James. The hope was that these plastic pellets would help environmental advocates there convince Louisiana regulators to deny Formosa's request for air permits required for building its proposed St. James plastics complex that would also produce nurdles. On Jan. 6, Formosa received those permits, but it still has a few more steps before receiving full approval for the plant.
Anne Rolfes, founder of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, holding up a bag of nurdles discharged from Formosa's Point Comfort, Texas plant, at a protest against the company's proposed St. James plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Dec. 10, 2019. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Construction underway to expand Formosa's Point Comfort plant. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Silhouette of Formosa's Point Comfort Plant looming over the rural landscape. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
From the Gulf Coast toEurope
Just a day after Wilson found apparently new nurdles in Point Comfort, the Plastic Soup Foundation, an advocacy group based in Amsterdam, took legal steps to stop plastic pellet pollution in Europe. On behalf of the group, environmental lawyers submitted an enforcement request to a Dutch environmental protection agency, which is responsible for regulating the cleanup of nurdles polluting waterways in the Netherlands.
The foundation is the first organization in Europe to take legal steps to stop plastic pellet pollution. It cites in its enforcement request to regulators Wilson's victory in obtaining a "zero discharge" promise from Formosa and is seeking a similar result against Ducor Petrochemicals, the Rotterdam plastic producer. Its goal is to prod regulators into forcing Ducor to remove tens of millions of plastic pellets from the banks immediately surrounding its petrochemical plant.
Detail of a warning sign near the Point Comfort Formosa plant. The waterways near the plant are polluted by numerous industrial facilities in the area. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
Nurdles on Cox Creek's bank on Jan. 15. Wilson hopes her and her colleagues' work of the past four years will help prevent the building of more plastics plants, including the proposed Formosa plant in St. James Parish. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
A sign noting the entrance to the Formosa Wetlands Walkway at Port Lavaca Beach. The San Antonio Estuary Waterkeeper describes the messaging as an example of greenwashing. Julie Dermansky / DeSmogBlog
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1000 Entrepreneurs: Ken Aldrich on 30 Years of Venture Capital and 50 Successful Businesses – GuruFocus.com
By daniellenierenberg
Over the last three decades, Ken Aldrich has successfully invested in over 50 businesses and has personally co-founded almost a dozen himself. He considers himself a jack of all trades, having been involved in everything from biomedicine to real estate. Some of his most successful investments include helping start one of the first wind parks in Palm Springs and Green Dot Corp. (NYSE:GDOT), which has become the worlds largest prepaid debit card company. In May, Aldrich published his book, "Dream Toolbox," which aims to guide readers toward establishing an entrepreneurial mind and gaining control over their financial world.
Before the business
Prior to entrenching himself as an entrepreneur, Aldrich started his career as a wage earner practicing law. He spent a great deal of time and effort to earn his law degree and land a spot in a well-established firm. With a clear career path ahead of him, Aldrich got to work earning his keep and establishing his position in the firm. However, one definitive moment stands out as the time when he became dissatisfied with his work.
This moment would revolve around sandwiches of all things. Working alongside one of the senior partners at the firm, Aldrich was helping to create a registration statement for a public company. At the end of the session that fateful day, the underwriters and the people from the company headed out to get dinner:
At the end of the day the company and the firm that was doing the underwriting turned to us, the lawyers, and said Well that was really good. Can we have a new draft of the work in the morning at nine and we will start again? Off they went to have dinner at Chasens and we ordered sandwiches, Aldrich said.
To provide context for those who do not know the Los Angeles restaurant history, Chasens was a well-known restaurant that was often frequented by famous celebrities until its closing in 1995. Based upon the prestige of the restaurant's chili, it is easy to conceive a distaste for sandwiches after a long day at work.
While in his 20s Aldrich did not have an issue eating sandwiches, yet he was thinking toward his future. My partner, that I was working for, was in his 30s or 40s. I do not want to be the guy eating sandwiches in his 30s or 40s, and I do not care how much they pay me for it, Aldrich said. It was in this moment that he decided that he would much prefer to be the guy going out for a nice dinner after work.
With clear motivation, Aldrich set out to find himself a new career path. He landed himself a contractual position at an investment banking firm. This provided him with some needed experience and training, alongside a foot in the door with a name behind him. This new venture would come with an inherent risk, one that Aldrich would feel almost immediately.
Working at the law firm, he had earned himself a paycheck and a solidified position. Upon leaving, that paycheck disappeared. To compound the pressure, Aldrich was working on a contract for the investment banking firm, meaning that if he were to no longer be productive in their eyes, he would be cut from their team. In essence, the already large pay cut he had taken could go away in an instant. He went on to say:
Wide World of Sports had a sports program on Saturday and their opening montage was a skier, it might have been a tobogganer, coming down a ski run and losing control and flying head over heels into a snowbank. The tagline was Wide World of Sports, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I realized that with conventional jobs you are either working for a paycheck or in the case of a lawyer you are measuring your life out in coffee spoons as Eliot once said in a poem. There is never the chance of a real thrill of victory. The expectation is do not screw up and I wanted something more than that.
Finding success
With a drive to succeed and find that thrill of victory, Aldrich set out on his journey to become a successful entrepreneur. By nature of the business, he would find himself in the world of seed stage venture capital, investing and co-founding businesses from the ground up. Through both luck and skill, he was able to grow many of these businesses to success, yet there is seemingly no connection between them. However, Aldrich considers himself a jack of all trades and finds that his curiosity has led him to such diverse portfolio.
While he has found himself invested in many different fields, there is one key factor that ties them all together. If there is technology involved, I want to make sure that if it is successful, often it is not completely developed when we start, but that if it is successful it will make a fundamental change in some business, or industry, or science, Aldrich said. Having this significant change in the way things are done makes either the business or the product stand out in a way that the market cannot deny. For Aldrich, this is key for these types of ventures to be a success.
It is very hard to be successful starting a new business if you are just doing it a little bit better because, you know, everybody is looking for perfect, but perfect is the enemy of the good. If there is an existing process that is serving the market adequately it is usually just a fools errand to try to make something else that is just a little bit better, he continued.
As with many lessons, Aldrich had to learn to make fundamental changes first hand. One of the first businesses he found himself involved in was working to develop a new device for LASIK procedures. This device would allow for the surgeon to be more accurate when applying the procedure. Initially, the company found success in that the device did improve the accuracy of the procedure. However, it was not a big enough difference and nobody cared according to Aldrich.
Going back to the drawing board, the company went about redesigning the product so that it could be an aid to curing amblyopia in children, yet the market there was too small. With the aid of an ocular physician, the company found its true purpose. The new design would allow a surgeon in the process of doing cataract surgery to take an accurate measurement of the eye.
Prior to this new design, the surgeon would attempt to measure the eye through the clouded portion as best as possible before removing the affected area. As the measurement had to be taken through the affected area, it was generally not overly accurate and that is how people ended up with those coke bottle glasses, Aldrich said.
With their newly pioneered technology, the surgeon had a new device that would attach to the microscope that they used during the procedure. This would allow for them to take an accurate measurement of the lens of the eye prior to the surgery. This technology resulted in vision on par with a LASIK procedure as a byproduct of conventional cataract surgery. It was very gratifying for me because I have, over my life, had enough eye problems to realize just how life changing that small procedure can be, Aldrich said. This business would eventually go on to sell for $350 million.
Managing risk
With the prospect of millions, if not billions, on the horizon, there is constant risk involved with starting these businesses. For Aldrich, the key to success comes in managing this risk, although it can never be entirely eliminated. Once he has established that the technology or the business will make a fundamental change in the industry it operates in, he looks toward the people involved. First and foremost, he questions if they have enthusiasm and skin in the game as he calls it. Now that does not necessarily mean that they have written big checks, but they have put some portion of their life on hold to pursue this, he said.
Finding a person who fits these qualities allows for Aldrich to be confident that if things get difficult with the company, nobody is going to give up. In many cases, things do go wrong when starting a business. Very rarely does a business make its way to success without encountering a road bump. At some point everyone has to take some genuine risk. I have never known a startup that did not involve that, Aldrich said.
Over the course of 30 years in business, Aldrich has experienced his fair share of risk and road bumps. One of the most egregious cases that he recalled involved a biotechnology company. The company in question was working to develop new stem cells similar in nature to embryonic stem cells. The winning factor was that the company had found a way to access these cells without needing a fertilized embryo. So we took all, or we thought we took all of them, some people still managed to find objections, but we took basically all the real objections away from those who were concerned, for religious or for other reasons, with whether or not using embryonic stem cells was in effect killing a human being in utero, Aldrich said.
While they had overcome a major roadblock to progress their research, they still had not reached calm seas. The company would go public and found itself in the midst of the economic downturn of 2008. Almost overnight, funding that had been promised had disappeared and the company was left stranded with no backing.
To further compound issues, the CEO of the company died of a heart attack shortly after. Aldrich found himself running the company and as an investor himself. He put forth a check for $500,000, one that would have been very painful to have lost in his own words. In a stroke of luck, he was able to find an investor for the company. However, the man was in Paris, was Russian and spoke no English. Not a man to be stopped, Aldrich flew to Paris, dug up a translator on the eve of a French holiday and made a deal with the new investor.
With the help of this new partner and his own investment, Aldrich would pull the company out of the hole it found itself in. The company would continue to make progress on its stem cell research. Eventually, the majority shareholder of the company would push Aldrich out of a leadership position and he decided it would be best to pull himself out of the company entirely. During his time there, Aldrich would grow the stock from 15 cents per share to over $2 per share.
The biggest perks
While Aldrich has undoubtedly seen rough times working with companies, he has found himself, more often than not, in the position of successfully creating a business. The thrill of just saying, I did that, claimed Aldrich, is one of the best parts of what he does. Continuously, he has had the ability to take the vision that someone brings him and help them turn it into a reality. For him that has been extremely gratifying, yet he has been able to take it one step further.
Many of the companies that he has been involved in have changed people's lives for the better. The first LASIK company aided many people in having better vision, which Aldrich considers life changing. The stem cell company has the potential to change the way stem cells are used, and he believes they ultimately will. Even present day he is working with a company that is working to make chemotherapy drastically more effective to the point that it can cure certain types of cancers.
Without a doubt Aldrich has found the thrill of victory and helped people in the process. Now it is still a whole lot of fun to make money from a deal and see it take off, he said. One of his most ludicrous investments was Green Dot Corp., in which he was an early investor. Since throwing his hat in the ring, the company has not only reached a billion-dollar market cap, it has created an entirely new industry of prepaid debit cards.
Even the wind park in Palm Springs that Aldrich helped start has seen him cashing monthly checks from land rights for the last 20 years. Having both built companies and earned money for decades, it is easy to understand how he has no desire to change anything, yet Aldrich believes that he has no regrets for a different reason.
I think in each case we did the most we could do with what we had available, Aldrich said. In his opinion, there will always be something that could have gone differently or a potential to have found greater success. The reality is I had gone everywhere I could think of and took the option that was available, he continued.
In the end, worrying becomes unproductive. It creates a situation in which you are cautious about your current ventures and begin to question every decision. Aldrich believes this type of fear, the fear of failure, is one that is extremely detrimental to an entrepreneur. Overcoming this fear has been key to his success.
No end in sight
In his most recent ventures, Aldrich has found himself seeking to inspire both youth and entrepreneurs alike. He has spent time working with at-risk teenagers to provide them with financial lessons as well as the skills to develop their dreams into reality. From these lessons, Aldrich developed a podcast series that would eventually become his first book, titled "Dream Toolbox," for anyone frustrated by unfulfilled dreams.
Although Aldrich has had a career outlasting many other entrepreneurs, he does not believe he will ever be able to stop. While he has made a promise to himself to not start any new companies, he will continue to fund and advise them as much as he can:
I can not see stopping because, frankly, it is so darn much fun. I have flunked retirement several times in the sense of really trying to turn it off. What I have discovered is just about the time I am getting all excited to go play a round of golf, or go play tennis or something like that, somebody will call me up with a new idea, or a new concept, and I will cancel the golf or cancel the tennis because nothing is more exciting than dealing with a new idea that has great promise.
Question and answer
GuruFocus: As an entrepreneur, and a serial entrepreneur at that, is there anything in the future coming up or already starting to reach the market that you are really excited about and would love to get your hands on?
Aldrich: My experience has been that the things that are already visible to me, out there in the market, somebody else has already started and is way ahead of me. So what I am looking for are the things that are not yet obvious and those can come in many ways. I recently became an investor in a company. It is not a startup anymore. I invested through some friends, but it is very exciting. They have, I believe, a way to, I will not say cure, but to take any of the existing chemotherapies that are used in cancer and make them way, way more effective, and the reality is, based upon the data we have, in many cases cure cancers that the physicians had given them up as incurable and a death sentence. That is enormously exciting to me and I think that we will see that.
I have also invested, although I am not a principle, in three or four other companies that have varying ways of approaching, particularly cancer, but other disease forms. That to me is an exciting area and I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what can be done medically. There are things going on with AI that will affect the medical world. I read in this mornings newspaper about a new AI technique that I think was developed by Google that has greatly improved the accuracy, or looks like it has greatly improved the accuracy of mammograms. That could be life-saving.
GuruFocus: Where do you look for inspiration?
Aldrich: One of the great books and it is overlooked, but I think everybody should read it right after they finish mine, actually before, is "Think and Grow Rich." Which has been around for almost a century, I guess. It is absolutely a brilliant set of ideas and structures for entrepreneurship. There are certainly more modern books. I happen to like Peter Thiels book, which I think he calls "Zero to One." It talks about entrepreneurship and finding a niche that you can fill and expand into making something big. Of course, if you just start looking and get specific, there are tons and tons of books on how to structure a business, how to handle the accounting, finance and so on. Again, I think it starts with changing the belief systems so that you believe you can do it and for that there probably is no better book that I have read than "Think and Grow Rich."
GuruFocus: What are you most grateful for at this point in your life?
Aldrich: Oh wow. I am most grateful that I have had the incredible good fortune to have the love of not one, but two wonderful women in my life. First my wife, who died a few years ago, and second, the woman who is now sharing my life. That has been remarkable. I have also had the good fortune through most of my life of having good health. I have had plenty of health issues that I have had to deal with, but they have all been like the puzzles I talked about. OK, I have a problem. I had a vision problem. I have had other things. How can we solve them? So far, they have all been soluble. I have been very fortunate. As you can see from this ugly photograph on your screen, I am not a young man anymore. I wake up in the morning thinking I am at least 20 or 30 years younger than I am until I look in the mirror. And that is a good thing because age ultimately matters as none of us live forever. In terms of our capacity to do things, it is how we view ourselves, so that is important.
Aldrichs advice for entrepreneurs
Have a vision both personally and in business:
Try to visualize what life would look like if you were to find the success that you have. Once you have this vision, there is something for you to strive for. In Aldrichs opinion, this is one of the most powerful tools an entrepreneur can utilize. Visualize yourself being successful while standing in front of the mirror. It may feel stupid at first, as it did for Aldrich, but you will eventually make that vision a reality by translating it into the present. Use your vision to tell yourself that you are successful now and, before you realize it, you will have reached many of your early milestones.
Put some skin in the game:
It can be simplified to one word: commit. You need to absolutely dedicate yourself to what you are doing if you want to succeed. This will require personal sacrifice. Your life will not continue to exist in the same way that it had previously and you have to be OK with that. Once you have committed your life to achieving your goals and truly put some skin in the game, you will find success. If you do not do this, you are going to give up when things get tough.
Determine if the worst outcome is survivable:
Another of Aldrichs most powerful tools is determining if the worst possible outcome is survivable. Look at the worst thing that could happen in the course of starting this business. Are you looking at bankruptcy? Or could it be something personal that ends life as you know it? Once you have determined what could happen, you need to decide if you have the ability to keep going on after that. If you can survive the worst outcome, than there is nothing that can stop you on your journey. All your problems become puzzles that have a solution. You simply need to find it.
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1000 Entrepreneurs: Ken Aldrich on 30 Years of Venture Capital and 50 Successful Businesses - GuruFocus.com