Long thought to be sterile, our brains are now believed to harbour all sorts of micro-organisms, from bacteria to fungi. How big a part do they play in Alzheimer’s and similar diseases?
Category: biotech/medical – Page 164
Science and Technology: This was previously thought to be impossible:
This was previously thought to be impossible:
Scientists were astonished to find that recirculating a cocktail of preserving agents through a severed pig’s head caused the animal’s brain to show signs of life.
As New Scientist reports, basic cellular functions were restored in the dismembered brain — something that was previously thought impossible following the cessation of blood flow.
While the pig brain wasn’t exactly oinking at the farm after the treatment, in scientifically significant ways it was seemingly brought back from the brink of death — a ghoulish experiment that could have implications for future efforts to reanimate a dead human brain as well.
A study published in the November issue of Redox Biology has found that adding intravenous, high-dose vitamin C to a chemotherapy regimen doubled the survival of patients with late-stage, metastatic pancreatic cancer from eight months to 16 months.
“This is a deadly disease with very poor outcomes for patients. The median survival is eight months with treatment, probably less without treatment, and the five-year survival is tiny. When we started the trial, we thought it would be a success if we got to 12 months survival, but we doubled overall survival to 16 months. The results were so strong in showing the benefit of this therapy for patient survival that we were able to stop the trial early,” explains Joseph J. Cullen, MD, FACS, a professor of Surgery and Radiation Oncology at the University of Iowa, in a statement to StudyFinds.
The study consisted of 34 patients with stage 4 pancreatic cancer who were randomized to two groups. One group received standard chemotherapy (gemcitabine and nab -paclitaxel). The other group received the same chemotherapy plus intravenous infusions of 75 grams of vitamin C three times a week.
Although it is widely recognized that sleep boosts cognitive performance, the neural mechanisms underlying this effect—especially those associated with non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep—are still not well understood.
A new study by a team of researchers at Rice University and Houston Methodist’s Center for Neural Systems Restoration and Weill Cornell Medical College, coordinated by Rice’s Valentin Dragoi, has nonetheless uncovered a key mechanism by which sleep enhances neuronal and behavioral performance, potentially changing our fundamental understanding of how sleep boosts brainpower.
The research, published in Science, reveals how NREM sleep — the lighter sleep one experiences when taking a nap, for example — fosters brain synchronization and enhances information encoding, shedding new light on this sleep stage. The researchers replicated these effects through invasive stimulation, suggesting promising possibilities for future neuromodulation therapies in humans. The implications of this discovery potentially pave the way for innovative treatments for sleep disorders and even methods to enhance cognitive and behavioral performance.
As we explore space outside our solar system, genetic engineering offers hope for overcoming challenges like radiation exposure and the effects of microgravity. By understanding and modifying our genes, we could make astronauts more resilient and improve their health in space. However, these advancements raise important ethical questions about safety, fairness, and long-term impacts, which must be carefully considered as we develop new space travel technologies.
We are on the edge of exploring space outside our solar system. This is not just a major advancement in technology, but a transformation for all of mankind. As we aim for the stars, we also try to understand more about ourselves. Our exploration into space will determine the future of our history. However, this thrilling adventure comes with many challenges. We need to build faster spacecraft, develop ways to live sustainably in space and deal with the physical and mental difficulties of long space missions. Genetics may help us solve some of these problems. As we travel further into space, it will be important to understand how genetics affects our ability to adapt to the space environment. This knowledge will be crucial for the success of space missions and the well-being of astronauts.
Genetics offers a hopeful path to overcoming many challenges in space exploration. As we venture further into space, it becomes essential to understand how our genes affect the way we adapt to the space environment. Genetics affects many aspects of an astronaut’s ability to survive and do well in space. It influences how the body handles exposure to radiation, deals with microgravity, and copes with isolation. Some genetic differences, like changes in the Methylene-TetraHydrofolate-Reductase (MTHR) gene, can make certain people more vulnerable to the harmful effects of radiation in space. With tools like genetic testing and personalized medicine, space agencies can now choose the best-suited astronauts and develop health strategies to improve their safety and performance in harsh space conditions.
Researchers at FutureNeuro, the SFI Research Centre for Translational Brain Science, and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, in collaboration with international partners, have developed a revolutionary technique to profile gene activity in the living human brain.
This innovative approach, published in JCI Insight, opens new avenues for understanding and treating neurological conditions like epilepsy.
Studying gene activity in the brain without requiring invasive tissue samples from surgery or post-mortem donation has been a long-standing challenge in neuroscience. By analyzing molecular traces – specifically RNA and DNA – collected from electrodes implanted in the brains of patients with epilepsy and linking these with electrical recordings from the brain, the researchers were able to take a ‘snapshot’ of gene activity in the living brain.
More than 100 Texans have been infected with the common mosquito-spread virus dengue. Recently, the state reported a case acquired in the Lone Star State.
With the increase of new technology and artificial intelligence, the demand for efficient and powerful semiconductors continues to grow. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have achieved a new material that will be pivotal in making the next generation of high-power electronics faster, transparent and more efficient. This artificially designed material allows electrons to move faster while remaining transparent to both visible and ultraviolet light, breaking the previous record.
The research, published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, marks a significant leap forward in semiconductor design, which is crucial to a trillion-dollar global industry expected to continue growing as digital technologies expand.
Semiconductors power nearly all electronics, from smartphones to medical devices. A key to advancing these technologies lies in improving what scientists refer to as “ultra-wide band gap” materials. These materials can conduct electricity efficiently even under extreme conditions. Ultra-wide band gap semiconductors enable high-performance at elevated temperatures, making them essential for more durable and robust electronics.
Generate: Generate: Biomedicines Announces Multi-Target Collaboration with Novartis to Discover and Develop Protein Therapeutics with Generative AI
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Generate Biomedicines is a new kind of therapeutics company—existing at the intersection of biology, machine learning, and biological engineering.