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Bursts of brain rhythms with “beta” frequencies control where and when neurons in the cortex process sensory information and plan responses. Studying these bursts would improve understanding of cognition and clinical disorders, researchers argue in a new review.

The brain processes information on many scales. Individual cells electrochemically transmit signals in circuits but at the large scale required to produce cognition, millions of cells act in concert, driven by rhythmic signals at varying frequencies. Studying one frequency range in particular, beta rhythms between about 14–30 Hz, holds the key to understanding how the brain controls cognitive processes — or loses control in some disorders — a team of neuroscientists argues in a new review article.

Drawing on experimental data, mathematical modeling and theory, the scientists make the case that bursts of beta rhythms control cognition in the brain by regulating where and when higher gamma frequency waves can coordinate neurons to incorporate new information from the senses or formulate plans of action. Beta bursts, they argue, quickly establish flexible but controlled patterns of neural activity for implementing intentional thought.

ONE in 50 people could be at risk of a new type of genetic dementia, according to a study.

Researchers found people carrying two copies of the APOE4 gene mutation are “almost guaranteed” to develop Alzheimer’s in old age.

Ohh nice! New vaccine science it seems though I’m not familiar with vaccines, this does seem like a novel approach. It’s kinda future proof to train the immune system to target proteins that are shared across all coronavirus’ I’m hoping it provides, as do they, that it provides a better solution than current vaccines.

The vaccine is made by attaching harmless proteins from different coronaviruses to minuscule nanoparticles that are then injected to prime the body’s defences to fight the viruses should they ever invade.

Because the vaccine trains the immune system to target proteins that are shared across many different types of coronavirus, the protection it induces is extremely broad, making it effective against known and unknown viruses in the same family.

Continue reading “Scientists create vaccine with potential to protect against future coronaviruses” »

Serial home tests would reduce unnecessary colonoscopy testing. Patients with suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could benefit from better testing protocols that would reduce the need and lengthy wait for potentially unnecessary colonoscopies, a new study has found.

In a paper published in Frontline Gastroenterology, researchers from the Birmingham NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the University of Birmingham tested a new protocol to improve IBD diagnosis combining clinical history with multiple home stool tests.

In the two-year study involving 767 participants, patients were triaged and had repeated faecal calprotectin (FCP) tests and the research team found that the use of serial FCP tests were able to strongly predict possible IBD as well as Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Scientists have found a way to restore brain cells impaired by a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder called Timothy syndrome.

A type of drug known as an antisense oligonucleotide allowed clusters of human neurons to develop normally even though they carried the mutation responsible for…

A therapy that restores brain cells impaired by a rare genetic disorder may offer a strategy for treating conditions like autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.

Continue reading “Scientists restore brain cells impaired by a rare genetic disorder” »

In a recent review published in the journal Nature Reviews Immunology, researchers discussed the limitations of current influenza vaccines and the potential for future vaccines to induce both T-cell responses and antibodies for enhanced protection. They examined the strategies to develop influenza vaccines with broad strain specificity and long-term efficacy, covering protection requirements, immune response evaluation, expected outcomes, and financial considerations.

Study: Opportunities and challenges for T cell-based influenza vaccines. Image Credit: CI Photos / Shutterstock.

Excellent paper wherein Shen et al.

Abstract. Long single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is a versatile molecular reagent with applications including RNA-guided genome engineering and DNA nanotechnology, yet its production is typically resource-intensive. We introduce a novel method utilizing an engineered Escherichia coli ‘helper’ strain and phagemid system that simplifies long ssDNA generation to a straightforward transformation and purification procedure. Our method obviates the need for helper plasmids and their associated contamination by integrating M13mp18 genes directly into the E. coli chromosome. We achieved ssDNA lengths ranging from 504 to 20 724 nt with titers up to 250 μg/l following alkaline lysis purification. The efficacy of our system was confirmed through its application in primary T-cell genome modifications and DNA origami folding. The reliability, scalability and ease of our approach promise to unlock new experimental applications requiring large quantities of long ssDNA.

Working To Reduce Global Catastrophic Biological Risks — Dr. Jaime Yassif, Ph.D. — VP, Global Biological Policy and Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Dr. Jaime Yassif, Ph.D. serves as Vice President of Global Biological Policy and Programs, at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (https://www.nti.org/about/people/jaim…) where she oversees work to reduce global catastrophic biological risks, strengthen biosecurity and pandemic preparedness, and drives progress in advancing global health security.

Continue reading “Dr. Jaime Yassif, Ph.D. — VP, Global Biological Policy and Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)” »

A previously unknown mechanism for inactivating genes that suppress tumor formation helps explain why cancer risk is associated with an unhealthy diet or unmanaged metabolic conditions like diabetes.

Researchers from Singapore and the UK used mouse models, human tissue, and human breast organoids grown in the lab to find that changes in glucose metabolism could help cancer grow by temporarily disabling a gene that protects us from tumors called BRCA2.

“These findings raise awareness of the impact of diet and weight control in the management of cancer risks,” says the first author of the new study, cancer pharmacologist Li Ren Kong from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore).