Lifeboat Foundation

Research led by the Department of Anthropology and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Ohio, has investigated neuropeptide Y innervation in an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens of various primate species, including humans. The research was focused on understanding its role in brain evolution and any implications for human health, particularly regarding addiction and eating disorders.

In a paper, “Hedonic eating, obesity, and addiction result from increased neuropeptide Y in the nucleus accumbens during human brain evolution,” published in PNAS, the researchers suggest that the combination of increased neuropeptide Y (NPY) and dopamine (DA) within the human nucleus accumbens (NAc) may have allowed for enhanced brain development. This same configuration may have also made humans exceptionally vulnerable to eating disorders and substance abuse, hinting at addictive traits having a deep evolutionary origin.

NPY plays a role in the reward system, emotional behavior and is associated with increased alcohol use, drug addiction and fat intake. The NAc brain region is central to motivation and action, exhibiting one of the highest densities of NPY in the brain and is of great interest to researchers investigating brain-related promoters of addiction.

Imagine living in a cool, green city flush with parks and threaded with footpaths, bike lanes, and buses, which ferry people to shops, schools, and service centers in a matter of minutes.

That breezy dream is the epitome of urban planning, encapsulated in the idea of the 15-minute city, where all basic needs and services are within a quarter of an hour’s reach, improving public health and lowering vehicle emissions.

Artificial intelligence could help urban planners realize that vision faster, with a new study from researchers at Tsinghua University in China demonstrating how machine learning can generate more efficient spatial layouts than humans can, and in a fraction of the time.

Back to AI in healthcare – we’ve looked at this from a number of angles, but what about some of the pros and cons of using AI/ML systems in a clinical context? And also, what about how to conquer disease with AI models?

There’s a broader theory that AI is going to allow for trail-blazing research on everything from cancer and heart disease to trauma and bone and muscle health — and everything in between. Now, we have more defined solutions coming to the table, and they’re well worth looking at!

In this IIA talk, cardiologist Collin Stultz talks about the treatment of disorders, and new tools, starting with a dramatic emphasis on heart disease.

Multiple prominent government ministries in Colombia are responding to a ransomware attack that is forcing officials to make significant operational changes.

This week, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the country’s Judiciary Branch and the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce announced that a cyberattack on technology provider IFX Networks Colombia had caused a range of problems limiting the ability of both departments to function.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said it began facing issues on Tuesday after IFX Networks told them of problems affecting their data center.

Zhiling Guo, a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham outlines research into how nanomaterials found in consumer and health-care products can pass from the bloodstream to the brain side of a blood-brain barrier model with varying ease depending on their shape. A new study reveals that this may create potential neurological impacts that could be both positive and negative.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2021/07/nanomateria…study.aspx

Even when a bone marrow transplant cures leukemia or lymphoma, GVHD—in which T cells in the donor graft attack the recipient’s own tissues—can still be fatal. The condition is among the leading causes of death and long-term adverse health consequences associated with bone marrow transplants.

Senior co-corresponding authors Ivan Maillard, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine and vice chief for research in Hematology-Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Leslie S. Kean, MD, PhD, a professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, along with… More.

In new preclinical research, an experimental antibody treatment largely prevented a bone marrow transplant complication called graft versus host disease in the intestines, without causing broad immune suppression, paving the way for clinical trials.

Continue reading “Antibody Prevents Graft Versus Host Disease in Preclinical Tests” »

Human intervention right now holds the key.

How do we assess the health of our planet? In 2009, a group of 28 scientists wanted a definite answer to this question. So, they outlined nine planetary boundaries, which are critical for Earth’s stability.

A reassessment in 2023 says that six of these nine planetary boundaries have been transgressed, suggesting that Earth is “well outside of the safe operating space for humanity.”

The threat group behind the fast-growing Rhysida ransomware-as-a-service operation has claimed credit for an Aug. 19 attack that crippled systems at Singing River Health System, one of Mississippi’s largest healthcare entities.

The attack follows one against California’s Prospect Medical Holdings in August that affected 16 hospitals and more than 160 clinics around the country. The wide scope of that incident prompted an alert from the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center to other organizations in the industry.

The attack on Singing River impacted three hospitals and some 10 clinics belonging to the system and is likely to reinforce Rhysida’s credentials as a growing threat to healthcare organizations in the US. It’s also a reminder of the surging interest in the sector from ransomware actors who, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, had piously vowed to stay away from attacking hospitals and other healthcare entities.

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize the world, allowing massive health and science computation problems to be solved exponentially faster than by classic computing. But quantum computers have a big drawback—they can only operate in subzero temperatures.

“In order to make quantum computers work, we cannot use them at room temperature,” said Ahmed El-Gendy, Ph.D., an associate professor of physics at The University of Texas at El Paso. “That means we will need to cool the computers and cool all the materials, which is very expensive.”

Now, physicists at The University of Texas at El Paso believe they have made a quantum leap in that regard. Led by El-Gendy, the team has developed a highly magnetic quantum computing material—100 times more magnetic than pure iron—that functions at regular temperature. The material is described in a summer issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters.