Lifeboat Foundation

‘Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.’

The WHO has confirmed that, by December 19, the Omicron variant had spread to more than 89 countries. Many epidemiologists believe that Omicron will shortly become the dominant strain of COVID-19, replacing the delta variant (which is currently the dominant coronavirus variant). Compared to Delta, Omicron is capable of multiplying 70 times faster inside the human respiratory tract.

A recent report (Dec 10) from the UK’s Department of Health also indicates that household transmission of Omicron is around 3 times higher than for Delta. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated Omicron (aka. variant B.1.1.529) a variant of concern at the end of November, and within just a few weeks, it has led to increased case rates in a number of countries.

Continue reading “What Makes the Omicron Variant So Dangerous?” »

Several strategies are being explored to halt or reverse the effects of aging.

Scientists have used state-of-the-art 3D printing and microscopy to provide a new glimpse of what happens when taking magnets to three-dimensions on the nanoscale—1000 times smaller than a human hair.

The international team led by Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory used an advanced 3D printing technique they developed to create magnetic double helices—like the double helix of DNA—which twist around one another, combining curvature, chirality, and strong magnetic field interactions between the helices. Doing so, the scientists discovered that these magnetic double helices produce nanoscale topological textures in the magnetic field, something that had never been seen before, opening the door to the next generation of magnetic devices. The results are published in Nature Nanotechnology.

Magnetic devices impact many different parts of our societies, magnets are used for the generation of energy, for data storage and computing. But magnetic computing devices are fast approaching their shrinking limit in two-dimensional systems. For the next generation of computing, there is growing interest in moving to three dimensions, where not only can higher densities be achieved with 3D nanowire architectures, but three-dimensional geometries can change the magnetic properties and offer new functionalities.

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To solve the mysteries of how learning and memory occur, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists have created a system to track millions of connections among brain cells in mice—all at the same time—when the animals’ whiskers are tweaked, an indicator for learning.

Researchers say the new tool gives an unprecedented view of brain cell activity in a synapse—a tiny space between two brain cells, where molecules and chemicals are passed back and forth.

Continue reading “Scientists create mind-blowing tool to ‘see’ millions of brain cell connections in mice” »

Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that participants who underwent cataract surgery had nearly 30 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who did not have the procedure. The study also found that the reduction of risk continued for at least a decade following surgery and was associated specifically with the lower risk of Alzheimer’s.

“This is really exciting because no other medical intervention has shown such a strong association with lessening dementia risk in older individuals,” Cecilia S. Lee, ophthalmologist and the study’s lead author, said in a statement.

Thyme and oregano possess an anti-cancer compound that suppresses tumor development, but adding more to your tomato sauce isn’t enough to gain significant benefit. The key to unlocking the power of these plants is in amplifying the amount of the compound created or synthesizing the compound for drug development.

Researchers at Purdue University achieved the first step toward using the compound in pharmaceuticals by mapping its biosynthetic pathway, a sort of molecular recipe of the ingredients and steps needed.

“These plants contain important compounds, but the amount is very low and extraction won’t be enough,” said Natalia Dudareva, a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry in Purdue’s College of Agriculture, who co-led the project. “By understanding how these compounds are formed, we open a path to engineering plants with higher levels of them or to synthesizing the compounds in microorganisms for medical use.

And they’re faster than AI.

Researchers at Cortical Labs, a biotechnology startup, have successfully taught human brain cells in a petri dish how to play the 2D table tennis simulation video game “Pong”.

Continue reading “Scientists Taught Human Brain Cells In a Dish How to Play ‘Pong’” »