Daily Business Report: Monday, Nov. 28, 2022
Sanford Stem Cell Institute launches stem cells into space
The institute’s first space launch will take advantage
of microgravity environment to study aging in stem cells
By Nicole Mlynaryk
When astronaut Scott Kelly returned from a year-long trip aboard the International Space Station (ISS), lab tests revealed telomeric and pre-leukemic changes in his blood cells. These sorts of cellular changes had been observed in blood before, but only after decades of human aging.
Increasing evidence suggests that space and its lack of gravity can simulate and quicken aging in human stem cells, including those that give rise to blood cells. But understanding this process is not only useful for keeping astronauts healthy — it could also teach us how to prevent the effects of aging on Earth.
On Nov. 22, 2022, the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute led its first launch of hematopoietic (blood) stem cells into space. This is the third time stem cells have been launched onto the ISS as part of UC San Diego’s Integrated Space Stem Cell Orbital Research (ISSCOR) Center, established in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
“ISSCOR is teaching us a lot about how space and aging may affect stem cell biology, but if we can’t reproduce the results, we don’t have a scientific advance,” said Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute and Koman Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “This is our third trip sending stem cells into space, so we’re hoping it’s a hat trick.”
Top Photo: Stem cell research will be conducted in a laboratory bay located aboard the International Space Station, pictured here, in low-Earth orbit. (Photo credit: NASA)
California community college enrollment
plummets to 30-year low
Enrollment at the state’s community colleges has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years, new data show, a decline that has educators scrambling to meet students’ changing needs as many question the value of higher education after harsh pandemic years.
Since pre-pandemic 2019, the state’s 115 campuses have collectively lost about 300,000 students, an alarming 18% drop that could lead to significant funding cuts if enrollment does not increase.
That uncertainty has put the financial viability of some colleges at risk. But the losses have also pushed the system to an inflection point, prodding colleges to reimagine themselves.
Nurse practitioner requirements are changing
allowing them to practice without physician supervision
By Ana B. Ibarra | CalMatters
California’s nursing agency approved rules that will allow nurse practitioners to treat patients without physician supervision. It’s a move that aims to expand access to care in the Golden State at a time when workforce shortages plague just about every corner of health care. The Nov. 14 vote is one of the last major steps necessary to fully implement a 2020 law that will allow nurse practitioners to practice more freely. Nurse practitioners, who have advanced degrees and training, currently must enter into a written agreement with a physician who oversees their work with patients.
Despite some earlier concerns about potential delays, nurse practitioners say they are now confident that applications to start the certification process will go live early in the new year as planned.
Melissa Johnson to lead San Diego
County Bar Association in 2023
Worker rights attorney Melissa Johnson has been elected president of the San Diego County Bar Association for 2023. Johnson is a partner at Johnson Heeder LLP, where she represents workers in employment-related matters. Before joining Johnson Heeder LLP, she was a partner at a general business firm where she handled a variety of business-related matters, employment litigation, and wage and hour litigation.
Johnson previously served as the Bar Association’s president-elect, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. She has also previously chaired the association’s Labor and Employment Executive Committee.In addition to her service to the SDCBA, Johnson serves on the executive board of the California Employment Lawyer’s Association (CELA), the pre-eminent bar association for California plaintiffs employment attorneys. She has participated in its Lobby Day, which travels to Sacramento to meet with California legislators and staff to advocate for changes in the law. Johnson and other new board members will be installed on Dec. 9.
$47 million in homeless housing benefits state tribes
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $47 million in new funding for California tribal nations to support their efforts to prevent and end homelessness and meet the housing and services needs of their communities. The awards include $20 million in tribal homeless assistance grants from the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH) to fund projects in 16 tribal communities across the state, and four Homekey awards from the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) totaling $27 million to fund 75 homes for members of four tribes, including homeless youth. An additional $20 million in tribal grants will be awarded in 2023.
New minor addresses influence of sports on society
A new interdisciplinary sports and society minor at San Diego State University helps students explore the interplay of leisure, exercise, and recreation with culture, history, and community identities.
“With this 15-unit minor, students will explore what role gender and racial equality play in sports,” said David Kamper, adviser for the College of Arts and Letters minor. “They will learn about historical roles of sports in the development of national identity, and how the massive influx of money into sports affects the way people experience play and games.”
Sports in American History (HIST-114) serves as a requisite introductory course. “The goal is to look at American history, from Indigenous cultures to the present, through the lens of sports, with a focus on race, gender, and power,” said history professor David Cline. “We also look at many other aspects of American society, including economics, class, access, gambling, (and) community building.”
General Atomics awarded
funding for Tokamak Research
Five researchers at General Atomics (GA) have been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct experimental research in fusion energy, which will be performed at tokamak facilities in the U.S. and around the world. The awards were made as part of a $47 million funding announcement for research to close scientific and technological gaps in support of a fusion energy pilot plant (FPP).
“This funding will enable important collaborative research as the world looks to fusion energy,” said Dr. Wayne Solomon, Vice President of Magnetic Fusion Energy at General Atomics. “DOE’s support of the fusion community and emphasis on research to address gaps in fusion science and technology will help deliver fusion energy faster.”
Fusion is the process that powers the stars and offers the potential for nearly limitless clean, safe energy. It occurs when two light nuclei combine to form a new one, releasing vast amounts of energy that can be used to generate electricity and power key industrial processes.
Sempra announces strategic
partnership with ConocoPhillips
Sempra subsidiary Sempra Infrastructure and ConocoPhillips have executed a 20-year sale and purchase agreemen for 5 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Phase 1 of the proposed Port Arthur LNG project under development in Jefferson County, Texas. The parties have also entered into an equity sale and purchase agreement whereby ConocoPhillips will acquire 30 percent of the equity in Phase 1 of Port Arthur LNG, and a natural gas supply management agreement whereby ConocoPhillips will manage the feedgas supply requirements for Phase 1 of the proposed liquefaction facility.
DefenAge Skincare issued patent for new skin care product
Carlsbad-based DefenAge Skincare, manufacturer and distributor of anti-aging products, announces the new Defensin Master Anti-Aging Patentissued by the US Patent Office (Patent #11,491,096). Seven years in the making, the new patent recognizes DefenAge’s ground-breaking cell stimulating compositions and methods to create fresh, new skin. The patent concludes the international family of DefenAge’s patents for the use of Defensin-molecules to reverse signs of skin aging on a global scale, including a decrease in visible fine and coarse wrinkles, pore size, and pigmentation.
Cajon Valley School District
recognized as District of the Year
Cajon Valley Union School District has been recognized as District of the Year in the annual K-12 Dive Awards. The K-12 Dive editorial team selected its district superintendent and principal of the year based on reporting from the past year and the suggestions of other education leaders. This year’s honorees highlight innovation in overcoming the many obstacles facing schools — and in expanding opportunities for students to succeed, despite challenges including ongoing pandemic fallout, teacher shortages and natural disasters.
Biological Dynamics collaborates
on pancreatic cancer detection assay
Biological Dynamics, an early disease detection diagnostic company in San Diego, has partnered with both QURE Healthcare and Curta to explore how the company’s assay for early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) can improve patient outcomes, demonstrate the greatest value to clinicians, and enhance health care economics.Biological Dynamics will help conduct independent studies on how providers will use its early PDAC detection assay and how the test performance and cost may impact downstream patient care and curative interventions that payors review for reimbursement coverage decisions.
Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering
celebrates national and regional awards
Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering has received two awards from the Design-Build Institute of America for the County of San Diego Youth Transition Campus (YTC), Phase 1. The DBIA honored the project with a National Award of Merit in the Federal, State, County, Municipal category. The DBIA-Western Pacific Region also recognized the YTC with an Award of Merit in the Outstanding Urban or Land Development Projectcategory. Lauded at both a national and regional level, the success of the County of San Diego YTC demonstrates Latitude 33’s collaborative approach and excellent outcomes as part of a design-build team.
UCSD awarded $8 million to expand
stem cell therapy clinical trials
As part of a state-wide effort to advance stem cell therapies, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded $8 million to the UC San Diego Alpha Stem Cell Clinic, part of the new UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute. The funding will support the clinic’s mission of bringing new stem cell-based therapies to patients with difficult-to-treat diseases. Read more…
Scientists use ocean current data to create
new way to infer cyclone intensity
Climate scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and colleagues used ocean current data gathered over several decades to create a new way to infer cyclone intensity. With that method, they observe that the intensity of tropical cyclones–known as hurricanes in the North Atlantic and central-eastern North Pacific– increased from 1991 to 2020. Key to the finding were the instruments developed at Scripps in NOAA’s Global Drifter Program that can record near-surface ocean conditions even through the most intense cyclones to understand how the top layers of the ocean move during storms. Read more…
