The full inside story of the high-stakes global race for the lifesaving vaccine to end the pandemic.

Heroic science. Chaotic politics. Billionaire entrepreneurs. In The First Shots, award-winning journalist Brendan Borrell brings to life the defining story of our times through absorbing, first-time reporting on those leading the fight against a vicious virus.

Borrell draws on exclusive, high-level access to take us inside the intense competition among brilliant scientists and the epic rivalries among Washington power players. His propulsive narrative depicts key players such as infectious-diseases expert Michael Callahan, who was secretly on the ground in Wuhan to gauge the terrifying ravages of ‘disease X’; Robert Kadlec, one of Operation Warp Speed’s architects, whose audacious plans ran straight into the buzz-saw of the Trump White House factions; and Stéphane Bancel of Moderna Therapeutics, the upstart company that went toe to toe with pharma behemoth Pfizer.

A real-life thriller playing out over eighteen months of fear, resolve and triumph, The First Shots lays bare the stunning story behind the medical-science ‘moonshot’ of our lifetimes.

GMOS and Political Stance: Global GMO Regulation, Certification, Labeling, and Consumer Preferences provides a foundational-to-current challenges resource for those involved in developing and applying regulations to these important resources. Beginning with basics of GMOs, the book first familiarizes the reader with the history, economic status, associated risks, global politics, and socio-economics of GMOs. From exploring the necessity of GMO regulations with the existing GMO technology as well as new gene editing technologies to discussion by GMO regulations experts from different continents and countries, readers will find the information necessary to understand the laws, rules, regulations and policies at domestic and international scale. A last chapter delivers an update and future look on gene-edited food and feed and discusses the possibilities on the future risk assessment, legislation and regulation of gene-edited products. GMOS and Political Stance provides a unique and applicable synchronization of all regulatory information on GMOs to facilitate effective and efficient regulatory development and adherence.

Plant Polysaccharides as Pharmaceutical Excipients explores innovative techniques and applications of plant-derived polysaccharides as pharmaceutical excipients. Plant polysaccharides are sustainable, renewable and abundantly available, offering attractive properties in terms of water solubility, swelling ability, non-toxicity and biodegradability. These qualities have resulted in extensive exploration into their applications as excipients in a variety of pharmaceutical dosage forms. This book takes a comprehensive, application-oriented approach, drawing on the very latest research that includes sources, classification and extraction methods of plant polysaccharides. Subsequent chapters focus on plant polysaccharides for individual pharmaceutical applications, enabling the reader to understand their preparation for specific targeted uses. Throughout the book, information is supported by illustrations, chemical structures, flow charts and data tables, providing a clear understanding. Finally, future perspectives and challenges are reviewed and discussed.

Smart Polymeric Nano-Constructs in Drug Delivery: Concept, Design and Therapeutic Applications provides a thorough discussion of the most state of the art material and polymer exploitations for the delivery of bioactive(s) as well as their current and clinical status. The book enables researchers to prepare a variety of smart drug delivery systems to investigate their properties as well as to discover their uses and applications. The novelty of this approach addresses an existing need of exhaustively understanding the potential of the materials including polymeric drug delivery systems that are smartly designed to deliver bioactive(s) into the body at targeted sites without showing side effects. The book is helpful for those in the health sector, specifically those developing nanomedicine using smart material-based nano-delivery systems. Polymers have unique co-operative properties that are not found with low-molecular-weight compounds along with their appealing physical and chemical properties, constituting the root of their success in drug delivery. Smart Polymeric Nano-Constructs in Drug Delivery: Concept, Design and Therapeutic Applications discusses smart and stimuli responsive polymers applicable in drug delivery, followed detailed information about various concepts and designing of polymeric novel drug delivery systems for treatment of various type of diseases, also discussing patents related to the field. The book helps readers to design and develop novel drug delivery systems based on smart materials for the effective delivery of bioactive that take advantage of recent advances in smart polymer-based strategies. It is useful to those in pharmaceutical sciences and related fields in developing new drug delivery systems.

Novel Platforms for Drug Delivery Applications covers diverse aspects in the design, synthesis and characterization of novel drug delivery platforms and devices. This book comprehensively details the development, application and performance of various novel molecular frameworks as potent drug delivery vehicles. Chapters cover a range of materials and molecular platforms for drug delivery, from hydrogels, nanocarriers and metal-organic-frameworks, to ?-cyclodextrin and polyphosphazene. Each chapter discusses the benefits and limitations of each drug delivery system, as well as toxicological and safety implications. This book offers an interdisciplinary approach to this fast-moving topic, bridging the disciplines of materials science and pharmacology.

Advances in Applied Microbiology, Volume 121 continues the comprehensive reach of this widely read and authoritative review source in microbiology. Users will find invaluable references and information on a variety of areas relating to the topics of microbiology.

Principles of Biomaterials Encapsulation: Volume One, provides an expansive and in-depth resource covering the key principles, biomaterials, strategies and techniques for encapsulation. Volume One begins with an introduction to encapsulation, with subsequent chapters dedicated to a broad range of encapsulation principles and techniques, including spray chilling and cooling, microemulsion, polymerization, extrusion, cell microencapsulation and much more. This book methodically details each technique, assessing the advantages and disadvantages of each, allowing the reader to make an informed decision when using encapsulation in their research. Principles of Biomaterials Encapsulation: Volume One enables readers to learn about the various strategies and techniques available for encapsulation of a wide selection of biomedical substrates, such as drugs, cells, hormones, growth factors and so on. Written and edited by well-versed materials scientists with extensive clinical, biomedical and regenerative medicine experience, this book offers a deeply interdisciplinary look at encapsulation in translational medicine. As such, this book will provide a useful resource to a broad readership, including those working in the fields of materials science, biomedical engineering, regenerative and translational medicine, pharmacology, chemical engineering and nutritional science.

Applications of Next Generation Biosurfactants in the Food Sector provides detailed information on the sustainable approach to the utilization of biosurfactants as a next-generational green biotechnology to mitigate various problems encountered in the food industry. These biosurfactants help to reduce risks such as food spoilage, food poisoning, and post-harvest losses of fruits, vegetable, grains, tubers, cereals and pulses. This book will benefit academics, R&D professionals, and postgrad students in the food science and related fields as they explore recent trends in the application of these green biosurfactants and the many uses they can provide.

New Trends in Smart Nanostructured Biomaterials in Health Sciences provides guidance on the design and synthesis of nanostructured smart biomaterials, as well as the resultant therapeutic effects and associated biomedical applications of these novel materials. The book provides readers with a deeper understanding of these novel biomaterials and aids them in making informed decisions when selecting appropriate materials for tissue engineering and cancer therapy applications. It will be of specific interest to materials scientists, biomedical engineers, oncological scientists, tissue engineers and those working in regenerative medicine. Nanostructured smart materials have the special ability to respond to changes in the cell microenvironment, allowing for robust, biocompatible and rapidly adaptable, therapeutic and restorative action against a range of ailments. These materials are thus ideal candidates for use in tissue engineering and cancer therapy due to the varying nature of the cell microenvironment between persons, tissues and cancers. This book covers the design, synthesis, unique properties and application of smart biomaterials in these two key topic areas of tissue engineering and cancer therapeutics.

Novel Materials for Environmental Remediation Applications: Adsorption and Beyond presents detailed, comprehensive coverage of novel and advanced materials that can be applied to address the growing global concern of the pollution of natural resources in water, the air, and in soil. The book provides up-to-date knowledge of state-of-the-art materials and treatment processes, as well as details of applications, including adsorptive remediation and catalytic remediation. Chapters include the characteristics of materials, basic and important physicochemical features for environmental remediation applications, routes of synthesis, recent advances as remediation medias and future perspectives. This book offers an interdisciplinary and practical examination of novel materials and processes for environmental remediation that will be valuable to environmental scientists, materials scientists, environmental chemists, and environmental engineers alike.

Polymeric materials offer a high level of versatility due to the range of applications possible within the biomedical and clinical fields - including wound closure - particularly in comparison to metals or ceramics. These specialised materials also allow for a diverse array of therapeutic effects. Although there have been advances in improving polymeric materials for surgical sutures, there is little information available regarding improving the therapeutic value of sutures, and advanced technologies used to implement this improvement. Advanced Technologies and Polymer Materials for Surgical Sutures provides thorough coverage on suture materials with improved mechanical and therapeutic properties that can improve quality of life; chapter topics include drug-releasing kinetics of sutures, shape memory polymer sutures and future trends. This book is a useful resource for academics and researchers in the materials science and biomedical engineering fields, as well as professionals in biomaterials and biotextiles development and clinicians looking to learn more about suture material properties and suture/body interactions.

Aptamers Engineered Nanocarriers for Cancer Therapy details the selection technologies, biological characteristics, and clinical uses of aptamer-based nano agents for cancer therapeutics. The book helps facilitate speedy solutions for some of the problems pertaining to the manufacture of nano-aptamers - such as toxicity, thermal stability, cost efficiency, tumor penetration and blood stability. Key chapters cover cell-SELEX technology for aptamer selection, mechanisms of multi-drug resistance of cancer, the relevance of aptamers as anticancer therapies, as well as the broad range of aptamer-functionalized nanostructures available. This book provides exciting insights into this relatively new approach to cancer therapeutics, and will be of interest to materials scientists, biomedical engineers, molecular biologists, biochemists and clinical scientists, with a focus on cancer therapy.

Protein-Based Biopolymers: From Source to Biomedical Applications provides an overview on the development and application of protein biopolymers in biomedicine. Protein polymers have garnered increasing focus in the development of biomedical materials, devices and therapeutics due to their intrinsic bioactivity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. This book comprehensively reviews the latest advances on the synthesis, characterization, properties and applications of protein-based biopolymers. Each chapter is dedicated to a single protein class, covering a broad range of proteins including silk, collagen, keratin, fibrin, and more. In addition, the book explores the biomedical potential of these polymers, from tissue engineering, to drug delivery and wound healing. This book offers a valuable resource for academics and researchers in the fields of materials science, biomedical engineering and R&D groups working in pharmaceutical and biomedical industries.

A systematic overview of the quickly developing field of bioengineering--with state-of-the-art modeling software! Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering provides a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field of bioengineering. It provides the theoretical background necessary to simulating pathological conditions in the bones, muscles, cardiovascular tissue, and cancers, as well as lung and vertigo disease. The methodological approaches used for simulations include the finite element, dissipative particle dynamics, and lattice Boltzman. The text includes access to a state-of-the-art software package for simulating the theoretical problems. In this way, the book enhances the reader's learning capabilities in the field of biomedical engineering. The aim of this book is to provide concrete examples of applied modeling in biomedical engineering. Examples in a wide range of areas equip the reader with a foundation of knowledge regarding which problems can be modeled with which numerical methods. With more practical examples and more online software support than any competing text, this book organizes the field of computational bioengineering into an accessible and thorough introduction. Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering: Includes a state-of-the-art software package enabling readers to engage in hands-on modeling of the examples in the book Provides a background on continuum and discrete modeling, along with equations and derivations for three key numerical methods Considers examples in the modeling of bones, skeletal muscles, cartilage, tissue engineering, blood flow, plaque, and more Explores stent deployment modeling as well as stent design and optimization techniques Generates different examples of fracture fixation with respect to the advantages in medical practice applications Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering is an excellent textbook for students of bioengineering, as well as a support for basic and clinical research. Medical doctors and other clinical professionals will also benefit from this resource and guide to the latest modeling techniques.

Advances in Biomedical Polymers and Composites: Materials and Applications is a comprehensive guide to polymers and polymer composites for biomedical applications, bringing together detailed information on their preparation, properties, cutting-edge technologies, innovative materials and key application areas. Sections introduce polymers and composites in biomedical applications and cover characterization techniques, preparation and properties of composites and gel-based systems. Innovative technologies and instruments used in the fabrication of polymer composites for biomedical applications are then presented in detail, including 3D bioprinting, 4D printing, electrospinning, stimuli-responsive polymers and quantum dots. This is a valuable resource for anyone looking to gain a broader understanding of polymers and composites for biomedical applications. In addition, it is ideal for readers who want to conduct interdisciplinary research or explore new avenues for research and development.

Design and Applications of Theranostic Nanomedicines reviews the composition and design of various nanomedicines for theranostic applications, helping readers to make informed decisions when exploring novel treatments for disease. This book introduces readers to theranostic nanostructures as nanomedicines, beginning with a balanced look at the associated challenges, costs and benefits. The next section goes on to detail a range of different theranostic nanomedicines and their design, from nanodispersions and nanogels to exosomes and polymeric micelles. A variety of applications is covered, including in the treatment of pulmonary diseases, neurological disorders, cancers and more. The book also takes a look at the toxicological implications of nanotheranostics, an important aspect of any therapy or treatment. Design and Applications of Theranostic Nanomedicines provides a snapshot of the state-of-the-art, and will be of use to materials scientists, biomedical engineers and pharmaceutical scientists with an interest in nanotechnology and theranostics.

Engineered Nanostructures for Therapeutics and Biomedical Applications offers a single reference for a diverse biomedical readership to learn about the application of nanotechnology in biomedicine and biomedical engineering, from past developments to current research and future prospects. This book sets out a broad selection of biomedical and therapeutic applications for nanostructures, including bioimaging, nanorobotics, orthopedics, and tissue engineering, offering a useful, multidisciplinary approach. Each chapter discusses challenges faced in each discipline, including limiting factors, biocompatibility, and toxicity, thus enabling the reader to make informed decisions in their research. This book is a comprehensive, broad overview of the role and significance of nanomaterials and their composites that also includes discussions of key aspects in the field of biomedicine. It will be of significant interest to academics and researchers in materials science and engineering, biomedicine and biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, pharmaceutics, bioimaging, and nanorobotics.

Advances in Food Engineering, the latest release in the Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering series, is a unique source of state-of-art information about scientific and technological advances in food engineering. The book gives specific understanding of the engineering properties of food materials such as the morphological, physic-chemical, nutritional, thermal and organoleptic characteristics of food products. It covers food processing and preservation methods such as pressure, light, electromagnetic, sound and heat based and also the use of artificial intelligence-based machineries, intelligent control systems, Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain for food security traceability.