Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness

(Worthy Watch) – Retinal cells grown from stem cells can reach out and connect with neighbors, according to a new study, completing a “handshake” that may show the cells are ready for trials in humans with degenerative eye disorders.

Over a decade ago, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a way to grow organized clusters of cells, called organoids, that resemble the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. They coaxed human skin cells reprogrammed to act as stem cells to develop into layers of several types of retinal cells that sense light and ultimately transmit what we see to the brain.

“We wanted to use the cells from those organoids as replacement parts for the same types of cells that have been lost in the course of retinal diseases,” says David Gamm, the UW-Madison ophthalmology professor and director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute whose lab developed the organoids. “But after being grown in a laboratory dish for months as compact clusters, the question remained—will the cells behave appropriately after we tease them apart? Because that is key to introducing them into a patient’s eye.” [ Source: MedicalXpress (Read More…) ]

‘Died Suddenly’? More Than 1-in-4 Think Someone They Know Died From COVID-19 Vaccines

(Worthy Watch) – Nearly half of Americans think COVID-19 vaccines may be to blame for many unexplained deaths, and more than a quarter say someone they know could be among the victims.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that (49%) of American Adults believe it is likely that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths, including 28% who think it’s Very Likely. Thirty-seven percent (37%) don’t say a significant number of deaths have been caused by vaccine side effects, including 17% who believe it’s Not At All Likely. Another 14% are not sure.

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of adults say they personally know someone whose death they think may have been caused by side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, while 61% don’t and another 10% are not sure. [ Source: Rasmussen Reports (Read More…) ]

Making pig livers humanlike in quest to ease organ shortage

(Worthy Watch) – The ghostly form floating in a large jar had been the robust reddish-brown of a healthy organ just hours before. Now it’s semitranslucent, white tubes like branches on a tree showing through.

This is a pig liver that’s gradually being transformed to look and act like a human one, part of scientists’ long quest to ease the nation’s transplant shortage by bioengineering replacement organs.

The first step for workers in this suburban Minneapolis lab is to shampoo away the pig cells that made the organ do its work, its color gradually fading as the cells dissolve and are flushed out. What’s left is a rubbery scaffolding, a honeycomb structure of the liver, its blood vessels now empty. [ Source: AP (Read More…) ]

‘Twitter Files’ expose coordination with CIA, State Department, Pentagon

(Worthy Watch) – The latest installment of the “Twitter Files” revealed that the FBI acted “as a doorman” for the social media giant to other government agencies, including the CIA, the State Department and the Pentagon.

“Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track,” journalist Matt Taibbi wrote as he released the ninth batch of internal Twitter files on Saturday evening. “Is today the DOD, and tomorrow the FBI? Is it the weekly call, or the monthly meeting? It was dizzying.”

“The files show the FBI acting as doorman to a vast program of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government — from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA.” [ Source: Just the News (Read More…) ]

“Catastrophic Contagion” Exercise

Nearly three years to the day of Event 201, which highlighted a worldwide training response to a Coronavirus outbreak, a new pandemic exercise “Catastrophic Cantagion” revealed a SEERS [Severe Epidemic Enterovirus Respiratory Syndrome] exercise held on October 23, 2022 hosted by John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Catastrophic Contagion”

“The exercise simulated a series of WHO emergency health advisory board meetings addressing a fictional pandemic set in the near future. Participants grappled with how to respond to an epidemic located in one part of the world that then spread rapidly, becoming a pandemic with a higher fatality rate than COVID-19 and disproportionately affecting children and young people.”

Be sure to watch: Highlights of Event 201, a theoretical “Coronavirus” Outbreak

On October 18, 2019, Event 201 was held as a 3.5 hour pandemic exercise that simulated a coronavirus outbreak and the effective response to the “theoretical” outbreak hosted by Johns Hopkins, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Also related was a MonkeyPox exercise — Monkeypox Was a Table-Top Simulation Only Last Year

Former Navy SEAL Trans Poster Boy Announces DeTransition: ‘Transgender Ideology Is Cultish’

(Worthy News) – A former Navy SEAL who spent almost a decade living as a transgender woman is warning Americans of the dangers of the transgender movement after recently announcing he is detransitioning back to a man.

Chris Beck served in the Navy SEALs for 20 years on special operations teams and also served on the famed SEAL Team Six. Through 13 deployments, he received over 50 awards and medals for his service, including the Bronze Star with valor and the Purple Heart.

But Beck became a prominent national figure after announcing on CNN’s Anderson Cooper in 2013 that he had become a transgender woman named Kristan Beck. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

Kari Lake Officially Files 70-Page Lawsuit Challenging the 2022 Election

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County officials for their alleged “misconduct” in relation to problems experienced on election day.

The 70-page lawsuit, obtained through KSAZ-TV, was filed Friday, only a few days after the 2022 midterm election results were certified — in which her Democratic challenger Katie Hobbs won by 17,000 votes.

Lake believes Hobbs was only able to win because of election day problems, which may have tilted the results to be in Hobbs’ favor. Source: Western Journal

New CRISPR-based tool inserts large DNA sequences at desired sites in cells

Building on the CRISPR gene-editing system, MIT researchers have designed a new tool that can snip out faulty genes and replace them with new ones, in a safer and more efficient way.

Using this system, the researchers showed that they could deliver genes as long as 36,000 DNA base pairs to several types of human cells, as well as to liver cells in mice. The new technique, known as PASTE, could hold promise for treating diseases that are caused by defective genes with a large number of mutations, such as cystic fibrosis. Source: MIT News