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Summary: AI models trained on MRI data can now distinguish brain tumors from healthy tissue with high accuracy, nearing human performance. Using convolutional neural networks and transfer learning from tasks like camouflage detection, researchers improved the models’ ability to recognize tumors.

This study emphasizes explainability, enabling AI to highlight the areas it identifies as cancerous, fostering trust among radiologists and patients. While slightly less accurate than human detection, this method demonstrates promise for AI as a transparent tool in clinical radiology.

A big day of output for the Human Cell Atlas, a global collaborative project with 100 countries to understand our ~37 trillion cells A Wikipedia of our cells, a “remarkable achievement” https://nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03754-y

In a collection of research articles and related content, the Human Cell Atlas consortium presents tools, data and ideas towards the generation of their first draft atlas of cells in the human body.

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Continue reading “Sunlight Deficiency As A Contributor To Poor Health: Roger Seheult, M.D. (‪@Medcram‬)” »

Genes aren’t the sole driver instructing cells to build multicellular structures, tissues, and organs. In a paper published in Nature Communications, USC Stem Cell scientist Leonardo Morsut and Caltech computational biologist Matt Thomson characterize the influence of another important developmental driver: cell density, or how loosely or tightly cells are packed into a given space.

In both computational models and laboratory experiments, the team of scientists used cell density as an effective tool for controlling how mouse cells pattern themselves into complex structures.

“This paper represents progress towards our big picture goal of engineering synthetic tissues,” said Morsut, an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, and biomedical engineering at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Summary: The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium has published over 40 studies revealing groundbreaking insights into human biology through large-scale mapping of cells. These studies cover diverse areas such as brain development, gut inflammation, and COVID-19 lung responses, while also showcasing the power of AI in understanding cellular mechanisms.

By profiling over 100 million cells from 10,000 individuals, HCA is building a “Google Maps” for cell biology to transform diagnostics, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. The initiative emphasizes diversity, including underrepresented populations, to ensure a globally inclusive understanding of health and disease.

Summary: Autism-linked SHANK3 gene mutations disrupt not only neurons but also oligodendrocytes, essential for producing myelin, which insulates nerve fibers. This damage reduces brain signal efficiency and impairs behavior.

Using gene therapy, researchers successfully repaired these cells in a mouse model, restoring their function and myelin production. They validated their findings with human-derived stem cells, confirming similar impairments and repair mechanisms.

This discovery highlights a significant role for oligodendrocytes in autism and opens the door for innovative treatments targeting myelin dysfunction. The study underscores both the biological complexity of autism and the promise of genetic therapies for intervention.

We converted the calculations in Morgan Levine and Steve Horvath’s famous research paper on phenotypic age into a free biological age calculator.

It’s a great (cheap) alternative to $400 epigenetic age tests and means you can test more frequently to see if longevity interventions are actually…

This free biological age calculator is based on a pioneering paper by longevity experts Dr. Morgan Levine and Dr. Steve Horvath.

Continue reading “Free Biological Age Calculator” »

Can therapy rewire the brain? For individuals struggling with both depression and obesity, a new Stanford Medicine study says yes—when the therapy is the right fit. Researchers found that cognitive behavioral therapy focused on problem-solving reduced depression symptoms in a third of participants and altered their brain activity in ways that could predict longer-term benefits. The findings have been published in Science Translational Medicine.

Depression affects millions of people worldwide and becomes particularly challenging to treat when paired with obesity, a condition that complicates recovery and worsens outcomes. Previous research has suggested that brain regions associated with cognitive control—areas responsible for regulating emotions and behaviors—might influence how individuals respond to therapy.

This study aimed to determine whether a therapy specifically designed to engage these brain circuits could lead to sustained improvements in depression symptoms, particularly in individuals with comorbid depression and obesity. The researchers also investigated whether early changes in brain activity could predict long-term therapeutic success, paving the way for more personalized treatment strategies.

Basically bio electricity once controlled could offer eternal life for humans because we could simply use the electricity to have longer if not indefinite lifespans that don’t require as much food for energy.

In the near future, birth defects, traumatic injuries, limb loss and perhaps even cancer could be cured through bioelectricity—electrical signals that communicate to our cells how to rebuild themselves. This innovative idea has been tested on flatworms and frogs by biologist Michael Levin, whose research investigates how bioelectricity provides the blueprint for how our bodies are built—and how it could be the future of regenerative medicine.

Levin is a professor of biology at Tufts University and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.