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- 🧬 ISSUE No. 11 – Oct 9, 2024
🧬 ISSUE No. 11 – Oct 9, 2024
👩🔬 Stem Cells Reverse Type 1 Diabetes in Groundbreaking First | 😭 What I learned from posting every day on LinkedIn for 30 days (June 1-31, 2024)
Anthony Ao
October 09, 2024
ISSUE No. 11 – Oct 9, 2024
Hey there,
I still find it unreal that I’m still writing this newsletter, and this is the eleventh issue. Writing this newsletter gives me an anchor to reflect what is going on in the world, as well as what we can learn from it.
In this issue, we will talk about this very first successful case of reversing Type 1 Diabetes through stem cell engineering and transplantation. In Section II, even though it is not something as big as timeless wisdom, I’d like to share a small experiment I did earlier this year - I posted every day on LinkedIn in June and wanted to see if I would get famous.
Don’t forget - the Nobel Prize 2024 winners are currently being announced in this week!
Gif by kelcripe on Giphy
Not sure what this newsletter is about? Read the very first post here.
I. What changes - news to watch this week
Source: National Cancer Institute
👩🔬 Stem Cells Reverse Type 1 Diabetes in Groundbreaking First
China – In a world-first medical breakthrough published on Nature, a 25-year-old woman from Tianjin, China, has reversed her type 1 diabetes after receiving a stem cell transplant.
The stem cells were reprogrammed from her own body, allowing her to produce insulin naturally just three months post-procedure. This pioneering treatment, led by cell biologist Deng Hongkui of Peking University, offers new hope for the millions living with type 1 diabetes. Remarkably, the woman has been insulin-free for over a year.
Deng Hongkui (Chinese: 邓宏魁) is a Chinese immunologist and stem cell researcher.
During a biotech startup conference I attended, a VC investment presentation offered a revealing insight: pharmaceutical giants are exceptionally cash-rich, possessing the financial capacity to acquire the entire landscape of biotech startups - they are just loaded with cash.
The Stem Cell Techniques
The procedure involves transforming cells back into a pluripotent state using a modified technique first developed by Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka.
Deng’s team used small molecules to control this reprogramming, creating insulin-producing islet clusters. These were transplanted into the woman’s abdominal muscles, a new site for islet transplants that allows for better monitoring and potential removal if needed. The success of this transplant opens doors for more personalized diabetes treatments using patients’ own stem cells.
Shinya Yamanaka
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012; Born: 4 September 1962, Osaka, Japan
Read more about the technique in the original study published in Cell.
The Future of Diabetes Treatment
While the results are promising, they need to be replicated in larger trials—this one involved 3 patients, and they aim to have a future trial with 10-20 patients.
Meanwhile, other research groups, such as Vertex Pharmaceuticals, are exploring donor stem cells as an alternative approach, aiming to make these therapies more scalable and accessible. With further development, these stem cell treatments could revolutionize the way diabetes is managed. Follow the updates on ongoing trials here.
Read more about the exit strategy of biotech companies here.
II. What never changes - timeless wisdom
😭 What I learned from posting every day on LinkedIn for 30 days (June 1-31, 2024)
On a sunny day in May 2024, I wondered how people get famous on LinkedIn and what would happen to my LinkedIn account if I posted every day for a month.
I’m writing this review in August 2024 to have a month to ‘reset’ the algorithm, and I recently hit all-time-high impressions on LinkedIn. So, I will cover these two questions in the following order.
Table of Contents
I. How do people get ‘famous’ on LinkedIn?
Internet fame is a lucrative topic because who doesn’t want to get famous behind their desk, chilling in their room?
In my opinion, fundamentally, there are three kinds of internet fame:
A. Fame parallel to the actual world
B. Fame exclusive to the online world
C. Viral fame
A. Fame parallel to the actual world
If I were the Chinese son that Elon Musk had with his affairs in Shanghai, or the grandchildren of Einstein, or the Foreign Trade officer in France, or the president of BMW, then I for sure would have been well known to the world. This publicity will, of course, transit nicely to LinkedIn because almost everyone knows about Bill Gates, so Anthony Gates or Anthony Musk would surely gain a portion of the fame nicely. In fact, the person most followed on LinkedIn is Bill Gates, a guy who was actually famous in the world way before the existence of LinkedIn.
B. Fame exclusive to the online world
Here, I’m talking more about people famous in the online world only and you probably can’t find them in the actual world. These people are online celebrities that has built a strong followers and community on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Patrons, OnlyFans, etc. Some of them make the transition into getting famous in the actual world by going to TV shows or attending sponsored events. What they all have in common is that, before the online platform existed, nobody in the actual world knew them.
Continue reading here…
Gif by dritanalsela on Giphy
Let’s have a break…
Bruce Levin is the scientist behind YESCARTA, the first FDA-approved CAR-T Cell Therapy product in 2017. If you have him on the scientific advisory board (SAB) of your biotech startup, you will surely raise millions of dollars.
To praise and glorify him, let’s see one of his posts on X this week.
👇h/t @paras_biotech Anyone have a YOY QALY comparison of CART vs BiTE?
— Bruce Levine, Ph.D. 🇺🇦 (@BLLPHD)
8:06 PM • Oct 8, 2024
If you are an AI enthusiast, you better know the father of it, Yann LeCun.
RLEF. 'E' stands for execution.
— Yann LeCun (@ylecun)
4:46 AM • Oct 4, 2024
III. Book Quotes
Here are some book quotes for you to ponder over the weekend.
Thanks for reading,
— Anthony
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