Lifeboat Foundation

Immunotherapy has changed the way physicians treat patients and has improved standard of care for many different tumors. Unfortunately, solid tumors are still treated with limited efficacy. In many cases, solid tumors are not recognized by the immune system and progress throughout the body. Tumor growth unnoticed by the immune system is due to immune suppressive mechanisms that the cancer controls. These mechanisms dysregulate immune cells from functioning properly. Various tumors escape immune cell detection and by the time it is clinically detected, the cancer has moved to an advanced stage.

Although there are many solid tumors that rapidly progress, one in particular includes glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that extends into the spinal cord and results in poor prognosis. It arises from glial cells which support nerves and aids in brain damage repair. Unfortunately, scientists are still unsure on how glioblastoma occurs. Symptoms can vary based on location of tumor in the brain, but common features include headaches, nausea, seizures, vision changes, difficulty speaking, and change in personality. Currently, there is no cure for glioblastoma and the treatments are limited based on the aggressive stage at diagnosis. Scientists are working to improve quality of life and prolong survival through different immunotherapies, which redirect immune cells toward the tumor.

There are various ways to study therapy in a laboratory including the use of animal models and cells in a dish. However, a more recent form of model has emerged in the last few decades that can help scientists better mimic a human tumor. This new technology are cells cultured in a dish that are produced to form a 3D tumor. These cell cultures are referred to as ‘organoids’ and they are designed to grow and act like a tumor within the body. A group at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is using this model to test tumor response to novel immunotherapies.

Researchers have discovered new connections between the gut and brain that hold promise for more targeted treatments for depression and anxiety, and could help prevent digestive issues in children by limiting the transmission of antidepressants during pregnancy.

The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, shows that increasing serotonin in the gut epithelium—the thin layer of cells lining the small and large intestines—improves symptoms of anxiety and depression in animal studies. The researchers also found that, in humans, antidepressant use during pregnancy increases the risk of babies developing constipation in the first year of life.

“Our findings suggest that there may be an advantage to targeting antidepressants selectively to the gut epithelium, as systemic treatment may not be necessary for eliciting the drugs’ benefits but may be contributing to digestive issues in children exposed during pregnancy,” said Kara Margolis, director of the NYU Pain Research Center and associate professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry, who co-led the study with Mark Ansorge, associate professor of clinical neurobiology at Columbia University.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated that the brain’s ability to learn certain skills can be significantly enhanced if both the brain and nervous system are primed by carefully-calibrated, precisely-timed electrical and magnetic stimulations. This new research has the potential to open entirely new perspectives in rehabilitation and possibly elite sports.

Scientists meticulously calculate the process. First, electricity is delivered to a nerve in the forearm of a test subject. Milliseconds later, magnetic stimulation is applied to the motor area of their brain using a coil placed on their head. The immediate effect is visible as small, involuntary twitches in the subject’s hand. Ten seconds later, the process is repeated.

While this may evoke images of Dr. Frankenstein at work, the reality is that of pioneering research into the brain’s capacity to learn that could unlock new understandings of brain function and provide new avenues for motor training and rehabilitation. The young, healthy test subjects reportedly felt almost nothing during the process, but displayed enhanced benefits from their motor training session thereafter.

New research found that the protein MANF helps cells manage toxic protein clumps, improving cellular health and potentially aiding treatments for age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Researchers at McMaster University have uncovered a previously unidentified cell-protective role of a protein, potentially paving the way for new treatments for age-related diseases and promoting healthier aging.

The team has found that a class of protective proteins known as MANF plays a role in the process that keep cells efficient and working well.

The new study demonstrates the ability to learn new skills without conscious effort.

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking technique using brain imaging and neurofeedback to induce learning without conscious effort.

Two years ago, a medical professional approached scientists at the University of Tabriz in Iran with an interesting problem: Patients were having headaches after pacemaker implants. Working together to investigate, they began to wonder if the underlying issue is the materials used in the pacemakers.

“Managing external noise that affects patients is crucial,” author Baraa Chasib Mezher said. “For example, a person with a brain pacemaker may experience interference from external electrical fields from phones or the sounds of cars, as well as various electromagnetic forces present in daily life. It is essential to develop novel biomaterials for the outlet gate of brain pacemakers that can effectively handle electrical signals.”

In an article published this week in AIP Advances, Mezher, who is an Iraqi doctoral student studying in Iran, and her colleagues at the Nanostructured and Novel Materials Laboratory at the University of Tabriz created organic materials for brain and heart pacemakers, which rely on uninterrupted signal delivery to be effective.

The black box of the human brain is starting to open. Although animal models are instrumental in shaping our understanding of the mammalian brain, scarce human data is uncovering important specificities.

In a paper published in Cell, a team led by the Jonas group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and neurosurgeons from the Medical University of Vienna shed light on the human hippocampal CA3 region, central for memory storage.

Many of us have relished those stolen moments with a grandparent by the fireplace, our hearts racing to the intrigues of their stories from good old times, recounted with vivid imagery and a pinch of fantasy.

First look at neuron-tumor connections illuminates formation, spread.

Black holes have long fascinated scientists, known for their ability to trap anything that crosses their event horizon. But what if there were a counterpart to black holes? Enter the white hole—a theoretical singularity where nothing can enter, but energy and matter are expelled with immense force.

First proposed in the 1970s, white holes are essentially black holes in reverse. They rely on the same equations of general relativity but with time flowing in the opposite direction. While a black hole pulls matter in and lets nothing escape, a white hole would repel matter, releasing high-energy radiation and light.

Despite their intriguing properties, white holes face significant scientific challenges. The laws of thermodynamics, particularly entropy, make it improbable for matter to move backward in time, as white holes would require. Additionally, introducing a singularity into the Universe without a preceding collapse defies current understanding of cosmic evolution.