Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 2173
Sep 1, 2018
66% of Cancers Are Caused by DNA Error, Not Environment or Lifestyle, Finds Johns Hopkins Study
Posted by Nicholi Avery in category: biotech/medical
Two-thirds of all cancers are caused by DNA replication errors, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. But don’t light a celebratory cigarette just yet.
Sep 1, 2018
Artificial intelligence spots obesity from space
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, health, robotics/AI, space
Sep 1, 2018
Ageing in Human Cells Successfully Reversed in the Lab
Posted by Manuel Canovas Lechuga in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, neuroscience
The ability to reverse ageing is something many people would hope to see in their lifetime. This is still a long way from reality, but in our latest experiment, we have reversed the ageing of human cells, which could provide the basis for future anti-degeneration drugs.
Ageing can be viewed as the progressive decline in bodily function and is linked with most of the common chronic diseases that humans suffer from, such as cancer, diabetes and dementia. There are many reasons why our cells and tissues stop functioning, but a new focus in the biology of ageing is the accumulation of “senescent” cells in the tissues and organs.
Senescent cells are older deteriorated cells that do not function as they should, but also compromise the function of cells around them. Removal of these old dysfunctional cells has been shown to improve many features of ageing in animals such as the delayed onset of cataracts.
Continue reading “Ageing in Human Cells Successfully Reversed in the Lab” »
Sep 1, 2018
Scientists clone virus to help stop overwhelming grape disease
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: biotech/medical
A new discovery by Washington State University scientists could help grape growers roll back a devastating virus that withers vines and shrivels harvests.
Named for how it curls the leaves of infected plants, grapevine leafroll disease costs growers millions of dollars in lost vines and productivity. Until now, no one has been able to replicate one of the main culprits behind the disease, a virus called grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3—leafroll 3, for short.
For the first time, researchers in WSU’s Department of Plant Pathology have found a way to clone leafroll 3, opening the door for experiments and treatments to protect valuable Washington vineyards.
Continue reading “Scientists clone virus to help stop overwhelming grape disease” »
Sep 1, 2018
Why Technology Favors Tyranny
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI
The revolutions in information technology and biotechnology are still in their infancy, and the extent to which they are responsible for the current crisis of liberalism is debatable. Most people in Birmingham, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, and Mumbai are only dimly aware, if they are aware at all, of the rise of AI and its potential impact on their lives. It is undoubtable, however, that the technological revolutions now gathering momentum will in the next few decades confront humankind with the hardest trials it has yet encountered.
Artificial intelligence could erase many practical advantages of democracy, and erode the ideals of liberty and equality. It will further concentrate the power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it.
Aug 31, 2018
Liver disease drug could help restore cells damaged
Posted by Manuel Canovas Lechuga in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
A drug which has been used to treat liver disease for decades could help to restore cells damaged by Alzheimer’s, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.
The pioneering study, funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK, discovered the drug ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) improves mitochondrial dysfunction – which is known to be a causative factor for both sporadic and familial Alzheimer’s disease.
Mitochondria play a pivotal role in both neuronal cell survival and death as they regulate energy metabolism and cell death pathways acting as a cell’s battery.
Continue reading “Liver disease drug could help restore cells damaged” »
Aug 31, 2018
15 Years Ago, We Sequenced the Human Genome. Now We Can 3D Map It
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: biotech/medical
Researchers have figured out a way to map the human genome in three dimensions, using enzymes to calculate a gene’s distance from a cell’s nucleus.
Aug 31, 2018
Scientists Have Found Secret Tunnels Between The Skull And The Brain
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Did you know you have tiny tunnels in your head? That’s OK, no one else did either until recently! But that’s exactly what a team of medical researchers have just found in mice and humans — tiny channels that connect skull bone marrow to the lining of the brain.
The research shows they may provide a direct route for immune cells to rush from the marrow into the brain in the event of damage.
Previously, scientists had thought immune cells were transported via the bloodstream from other parts of the body to deal with brain inflammation following a stroke, injury, or brain disorder.
Continue reading “Scientists Have Found Secret Tunnels Between The Skull And The Brain” »
Aug 31, 2018
A recipe for regenerating nerve fibers across complete spinal cord injury
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: biotech/medical
Scientists have designed a three-stepped recipe for regenerating electro-physiologically active nerve fibers across complete spinal cord lesions in rodents. Rehabilitation is still required to make these new nerve fibers functional for walking.