Lifeboat Foundation

A loss of controlled inhibition of overly excited brain cells might explain how a common knock-out anesthesia drug works.

A new animal study led by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that propofol, a sedative used to safely lull people into unconsciousness for medical procedures, disrupts the brain’s normal ability to regain control of highly excitable neurons.

“The brain has to operate on this knife’s edge between excitability and chaos,” explains MIT neuroscientist and senior study author Earl Miller.

Minimally invasive cellular-level target-specific neuromodulation is needed to decipher brain function and neural circuitry. Here nano-magnetogenetics using magnetic force actuating nanoparticles has been reported, enabling wireless and remote stimulation of targeted deep brain neurons in freely behaving animals.

“There is a tremendous amount of interest in what enables wildfire ignitions and what can be done to prevent them,” said Dr. Erica Fleishman. “This database increases the ability to access relevant information and contribute to wildfire preparedness and prevention.”

Can wildfires be predicted in advance to allow for safeguards that can prevent their spread? This is what a recent study published in Earth System Science Data hopes to address as a team of researchers have developed a database to help firefighters and power companies establish protocol for implementing strategies that holds the potential for helping to reduce the spread of a wildfire before it gets too large.

Wildfire closure sign seen in the Oregon Cascades in September 2020. (Credit: Oregon State University)

Continue reading “Enhanced Database AIDS Wildfire Managers in Predicting Fires” »

Summary: A new experimental cancer drug could ease cognitive difficulties for those with Rett syndrome, a rare autism-linked disorder, by enhancing brain cell functions. The drug, ADH-503, improves the activity of microglia, which are crucial for maintaining neural networks.

Researchers found that healthy microglia restored synapse function in brain organoids mimicking Rett syndrome. This breakthrough suggests potential therapies for Rett syndrome and other neurological conditions.

Sexual size dimorphism in mammals, often linked to sexual selection, can impacts genome evolution. This study finds sexual dimorphism in body size is associated with expanded gene families for olfactory functions and contracted gene families for brain development.

In this episode of In Conversation, we turn the focus to all things extreme exercise and longevity. Based on the findings of a recent study, which found that a select group of elite runners could live around five years longer on average than the general population, Medical News Today editors Maria Cohut and Yasemin Nicola Sakay discuss the probable biological mechanisms behind how more extreme forms of exercise, such as 4-minute mile running, affect longevity with an expert in cardiology.

Joining the conversation is Michael Papadakis, president of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC), professor of cardiology at St George’s, University of London, honorary consultant cardiologist at St George’s University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, and consultant cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic London in the United Kingdom.

Papadakis shares easy-to-follow advice on how to incorporate more physical activity into our daily lives while discussing the potential health risks and benefits of running and similar forms of professional athletic performance.

Researchers create DNA-based nanopores that switch between three sizes, allowing selective molecule transport across membranes for potential drug delivery and biosensing applications.

In a scientific breakthrough, an international research team from Germany’s Forschungszentrum Jülich and Korea’s IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) developed a quantum sensor capable of detecting minute magnetic fields at the atomic length scale. This pioneering work realizes a long-held dream of scientists: an MRI-like tool for quantum materials.

The research team utilized the expertise of bottom up single-molecule fabrication from the Jülich group while conducting experiments at QNS, utilizing the Korean team’s leading-edge instrumentation and methodological know how, to develop the world’s first quantum sensor for the atomic world.

The diameter of an atom is a million times smaller than the thickest human hair. This makes it extremely challenging to visualize and precisely measure physical quantities like electric and magnetic fields emerging from atoms. To sense such weak fields from a single atom, the observing tool must be highly sensitive and as small as the atoms themselves.

Teleology the return of Aristotle?

The scientific story of who we are is a reductionist, gene-centric model that forfeits natural phenomena like purpose due to its association with intelligent design and a transcendent, intelligent designer. Noble is neutral on religious matters. Yet he sees compelling evidence that purpose may be fundamental to life. He’s determined to debunk the current scientific paradigm and replace the elevated importance of genes with something much more controversial. His efforts have enraged many of his peers but gained support from the next generation of origins-of-life researchers working to topple the reign of gene-centrism. If successful, the shift could not only transform how we classify, study and treat disease, but what it means to be alive.

One of the earliest biomedical computer programmers, Noble created the first model for a working human heart in 1960 on a vacuum tube computer. The project led to his discovery that heartbeats are emergent properties—new phenomena—arising from feedback loops, transforming our understanding of heart function and underpin treatments for heart conditions that we use today. His research on the heart’s pacemaker demonstrates a prioritization of the organism as a whole over its genes alone. “Several genes could individually be knocked out but the process continues,” says Noble. These genes are responsible for heart rhythm, yet other mechanisms can take over to get the job done.

Continue reading “Evolution May Be Purposeful And It’s Freaking Scientists Out” »