One of the interesting projects that will compete in the finals of the Bio-Mix 2022 competition, which deals with innovations and inventions in the fields of biotech and biomedicine, is MilCheck - a home test that diagnoses breast cancer based on a drop of breast milk.
Most breast cancer detection methods are very limited during pregnancy and breastfeeding, while other methods are less effective during this period because of the changes in the breast.
As a result, women during pregnancy and breastfeeding are exposed to the risk of late detection of the disease.
MilCheck tried to solve this problem, and created a pioneering test to detect breast cancer from breast milk.
Soon they won't be needed?
Mammography test to detect breast cancer, photo: none
Maya Lineal, a doctoral student in the Faculty of Biology at the Technion, initiated a home test that diagnoses breast cancer based on a drop of breast milk.
When she was pregnant she felt a small lump in her breast, she went to the doctor who told her that she should wait six months from the end of breastfeeding to know if the lump is cancerous, since it is not possible to diagnose breast cancer during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
That's why she thought of the idea of a rapid test, which could diagnose breast cancer with a drop of breast milk.
How can a drop of breast milk give an indication of a cancer cell?
Academic studies carried out in international research institutes have found evidence that some proteins in breast milk change in the presence of cancer cells.
A test that detects these changes will give an indication of the presence of cancer cells.
In addition to that, other intriguing projects will be presented in the finale:
DopaTag
: a drug for schizophrenia based on the creation of drug carriers, which will target the specific damaged area of the brain in the patients and contain a natural protein that is found in neurons and can regulate their activity.
The approach focuses on reducing the symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions, and on the other hand will not cause the other symptoms of the disease to worsen, such as social withdrawal and anhedonia (loss of the ability to feel pleasure).
Good news for diabetics?, Photo: Gettyimages
ResponSulin
: creation of smart nanoparticles for the controlled release of insulin using microneedles.
The release will be delayed and controlled by the body itself, and will be carried out in accordance with the blood glucose level.
LUSID
: a combination of ultrasound with artificial intelligence that will focus on improving and cleaning the image frequencies in order to produce a clearer and more accurate ultrasound image and speed up its decoding.
Circulate
: a system for the early detection of diseases, based on a hybrid approach to detect the remains of free DNA molecules in body fluids, and biological sensor technology to increase sensitivity based on CRISPR-CAS.
On September 15, the finals of the Bio-Mix 2022 competition will be held, in which the innovative ventures in the fields of biotech and biomedicine that outstanding doctoral students from Tel Aviv University, the Technion, Bar Ilan University, the Hebrew University, the Weizmann Institute of Science and more will compete.
The BioInnovators national student forum, photo: Chen Galili
The competition is part of the national student forum, the BioInnovators, and this is the third year of collaboration between the Teva company, the "DigitalRash" community headed by Prof. Yesha Sion, and the Israeli Academy in the fields of life sciences and medicine.
The purpose of the BioInnovators forum is to connect the laboratory with real life, and to bridge the gap between a promising scientific invention and a product or medicine that goes to the market.
The forum exposes the doctoral students to the worlds of biotech and entrepreneurship and gives them the tools and exposure to promote these ideas.
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