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Category: biotech/medical – Page 407

MIT engineers create a chip-based tractor beam for biological particles

MIT researchers have developed a miniature, chip-based “tractor beam,” like the one that captures the Millennium Falcon in the film “Star Wars,” that could someday help biologists and clinicians study DNA, classify cells, and investigate the mechanisms of disease.

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the device uses a beam of light emitted by a silicon-photonics chip to manipulate particles millimeters away from the chip surface. The light can penetrate the glass cover slips that protect samples used in biological experiments, enabling cells to remain in a sterile environment.

Traditional optical tweezers, which trap and manipulate particles using light, usually require bulky microscope setups, but chip-based optical tweezers could offer a more compact, mass manufacturable, broadly accessible, and high-throughput solution for optical manipulation in biological experiments.

Targeting Glucose May Spark Neurogenesis

Summary: Neural stem cells, which create new neurons in the brain, become less active with age due to elevated glucose levels. Researchers found that by knocking out the glucose transporter gene GLUT4 in older mice, they could significantly increase the production of new neurons.

This discovery opens up potential pathways for both genetic and behavioral interventions to stimulate brain repair, including the possibility of a low-carbohydrate diet. The findings could help treat neurodegenerative diseases and aid in brain recovery after injury.

Scientists Discover Dual Roles of Antibodies in COVID-19 Infections

Scientists at the University of Minnesota and the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center have made a surprising discovery: antibodies can have opposite effects on viral infections in human cells.

The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, enables the virus to enter human cells and is the primary target for the body’s antibodies. Previous research has shown that antibodies can either block the virus, have no effect, or, in rare cases, assist the virus in infecting cells. While antibody drugs work to block infections, this new study challenges current understanding of their mechanisms.

Published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, this study is the first to identify an antibody that can both assist and block the virus. This particular antibody helps pre-omicron variants of the virus infect cells while preventing the omicron variant from doing the same. The study also explains how the antibody aids the pre-omicron virus in invading cells while blocking the omicron virus from succeeding.

Brain scan study shows what happens in the brain when a person with schizophrenia hears voices

Patients with certain mental disorders, including schizophrenia, often hear voices in the absence of sound.

Auditory hallucinations are likely the result of abnormalities in two brain processes: a broken corollary discharge that fails to suppress self-generated sounds, and a noisy efference copy that makes the brain hear these sounds more intensely than it should. That is the conclusion of a study published October 3 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Xing Tian, of New York University Shanghai, China, and colleagues.

In the new study, researchers carried out electroencephalogram (EEG) experiments measuring the brain waves of 20 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with and 20 patients diagnosed with who had never experienced such hallucinations.

The Z-Bell℠ Test: A Breakthrough in Eye-Ear Testing

🧠 Neuromodulation through the eyes 👀

Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is a process that involves adaptive structural and functional changes to the brain.

Founded and directed by Deborah Zelinsky, O.D., F.N.O.R.A., F.C.O.V.D.

Just as with eye-hand coordination, integration of vision and sound – eye-ear connection – must be developed. If the two senses are out of sync, a person can experience difficulties in academics, social situations and activities such as sports.

Balance between vision and hearing is necessary for a person to learn letter sounds, for example, while applying those sounds to the words they see on a page. In social situations, a person can better understand what another is saying – and meaning — by watching body language and facial expression. Autistic patients cannot discern the nuances of a joke because they simply listen. They do not connect sound and vision, because the environment around them is too confusing.

A student whose eyesight is more sensitive than his or her hearing may be easily distracted by activities and moving objects in the environment and unable to concentrate on what the teacher is saying. People whose peripheral vision is not sufficiently “tuned in” may have to turn their head before finding what is causing a certain sound.

Continue reading “The Z-Bell℠ Test: A Breakthrough in Eye-Ear Testing” | >

Vision loss: Is gene therapy the answer?

Diseases that affect the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye, are a significant cause of visual impairment and blindness. Gene therapy holds promise for treating some of these conditions, and current research advances may soon shift the therapeutic landscape for eye health. However, many obstacles remain in place, as this Special Feature discusses.

Gene therapy uses genetic material, either DNA or RNA, to treat or prevent the progression of a disease. It often involves the introduction of genetic material into a person’s cells to replace a defective or missing gene.

Although early attempts at gene therapy have been effective in achieving the expression of the therapeutic gene in the target tissue, they have also been accompanied by severe adverse effects.

Purr-suing feline longevity with data-driven research

Last week we reported that The Cat Health Company had closed its pre-seed round and is now moving towards identifying and developing new therapeutics for age-related diseases in cats. As the pet longevity field continues to gather momentum, The Cat Health Company aims to join companies like Loyal and Arterra at the forefront of this movement. Founded by Alex Bacita and Alex Voda, the Bucharest-based company is not only focused on improving the lifespan of our feline friends but also on enhancing their overall quality of life by targeting the underlying mechanisms of aging.

Longevity. Technology: Pet longevity is becoming a growing area of interest for both researchers and consumers; as owners increasingly seek solutions to extend the healthspan of their pets, demand for scientifically backed innovations has grown, and it is a trend that mirrors the rising popularity of similar human-focused longevity research, signaling a shift in how we approach aging across species.

We sat down with Alex Voda, cofounder of The Cat Health Company, to discuss the future of feline longevity and how TCHC plans to turn cutting-edge research into practical treatments for the cats we cherish.