If the trials go well, it could become a longevity treatment for civilians too.
The U.S. military is developing an anti-aging pill that is designed to inhibit performance reduction that comes with aging.
Tiny biological computers made of DNA could revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat a slew of diseases, once the technology is fully fleshed out. However, a major stumbling block for these DNA-based devices, which can operate in both cells and liquid solutions, has been how short-lived they are. Just one use and the computers are spent.
Now, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may have developed long-lived biological computers that could potentially persist inside cells. In a paper published in the journal Science Advances, the authors forgo the traditional DNA-based approach, opting instead to use the nucleic acid RNA to build computers. The results demonstrate that the RNA circuits are as dependable and versatile as their DNA-based counterparts. What’s more, living cells may be able to create these RNA circuits continuously, something that is not readily possible with DNA circuits, further positioning RNA as a promising candidate for powerful, long-lasting biological computers.
Much like the computer or smart device you are likely reading this on, biological computers can be programmed to carry out different kinds of tasks.
A new study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that a group of neurons in the brain’s striatum encodes information about the potential outcomes of different decisions. The study was published in the journal, ‘Nature Communications’.
A group of neurons in the brain become particularly active when a behaviour leads to a different outcome than what was expected, which the researchers believed helped the brain adapt to changing circumstances. “A lot of this brain activity deals with surprising outcomes because if an outcome is expected, there’s really nothing to be learned. What we see is that there’s a strong encoding of both unexpected rewards and unexpected negative outcomes,” said Bernard Bloem, a former MIT postdoc and one of the lead authors of the new study.
Impairments in this kind of decision-making are a hallmark of many neuropsychiatric disorders, especially anxiety and depression. The new findings suggested that slight disturbances in the activity of these striatal neurons could swing the brain into making impulsive decisions or becoming paralyzed with indecision, the researchers said. The striatum, located deep within the brain, is known to play a key role in making decisions that require evaluating the outcomes of a particular action. In this study, the researchers wanted to learn more about the neural basis of how the brain makes cost-benefit decisions, in which a behaviour can have a mixture of positive and negative outcomes.
The research has been snapped up by pharmaceutical giant Teva, and according to the lead author could mean an ‘arsenal of new drugs’.
A Korean research team has developed a soft, mechanically deformable, and stretchable lithium battery that can be used in the development of wearable devices, and examined the battery’s feasibility by printing them on clothing surfaces. The research team, led by Dr. Jeong Gon Son from the Soft Hybrid Materials Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST; President: Seok-Jin Yoon), announced that they had developed a lithium battery wherein all of the materials, including the anode, cathode, current collector, electrolytes, and encapsulant, are stretchable and printable. The lithium battery developed by the team possesses high capacity and free-form characteristics suitable for mechanical deformation.
Owing to the rapidly increasing demand for high-performance wearable devices—such as smart bands, implantable electronic devices such as pace-makers, and soft wearable devices for use in the realistic metaverse—the development of a battery that is soft and stretchable like the human skin and organs has been attracting interest.
The hard, inorganic electrode of a conventional battery comprises the majority of the battery’s volume, making it difficult to stretch. Other components, such as the separator and the current collector for drawing and transferring charges, must also be stretchable, and the liquid electrolyte leakage issue must also be resolved.
Boston medical researchers in a new groundbreaking study have discovered a “vicious cycle” between daytime napping and Alzheimer’s dementia.
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers found a link between the two: Excessive daytime napping predicted an increased future risk of Alzheimer’s dementia, and a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia sped up the increase in daytime napping during aging.
Daytime napping is common among older adults, but researchers have not known the relationship between daytime napping and cognitive aging.
The study could provide hope for people who have locked-in syndrome. But the study author’s track record is mired with controversy.
Combining AI and robotics technology, researchers have identified new cellular characteristics of Parkinson’s disease in skin cell samples from patients.
#ai #parkinsons #neuroscience #science #robotics
Summary: Combining AI and robotics technology, researchers have identified new cellular characteristics of Parkinson’s disease in skin cell samples from patients.
Aduhelm maker Biogen has set up a data network to track how neurological disease medicines perform in the real world after clinical trials. | Aduhelm maker Biogen has set up a data network to track how neurological disease medicines perform in the real world after clinical trials.
Technique allows researchers to toggle on individual genes that regulate cell growth, development, and function.
By combining CRISPR technology with a protein designed with artificial intelligence, it is possible to awaken individual dormant genes by disabling the chemical “off switches” that silence them. Researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle describe this finding in the journal Cell Reports.
The approach will allow researchers to understand the role individual genes play in normal cell growth and development, in aging, and in such diseases as cancer, said Shiri Levy, a postdoctoral fellow in UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) and the lead author of the paper.
