Traumatic injury is the third leading cause of death in the state of Texas, surpassing strokes, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A massive number of these deaths are the result of uncontrolled bleeding. “Severe blood loss can rapidly lead to hemorrhagic shock,” said Dr. Akhilesh Gaharwar, a biomedical engineering professor at Texas A&M University. “Many patients die within one to two hours of injury. This critical period is often referred to as the ‘golden hour.’”

Gaharwar and his fellow researchers in the biomedical engineering department have found a way to extend this golden hour—using clay.

Gaharwar, Dr. Duncan Maitland and Dr. Taylor Ware are developing a suite of injectable hemostatic bandages —biomedical materials that stop bleeding and promote blood to clot faster. Their research is specifically targeting deep internal bleeding where traditional methods like compression are not possible.

A team led by Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab scientists have developed a new technology that can eavesdrop on the hidden electrical dialogues unfolding inside miniature, lab-grown human brain-like tissues. Known as human neural organoids—and sometimes called “mini brains”—these millimeter-sized structures are powerful models of brain development and disease. But until now, scientists could only record and stimulate activity from a small fraction of their neurons—missing network-wide dynamics that give rise to coordinated rhythms, information processing and the complex patterns of activity that define brain function.

For the first time, the new technology overcomes that stubborn limitation. The soft, three-dimensional (3D) electronic framework wraps around an organoid like a breathable, high-tech mesh. Rather than sampling select regions, it delivers near-complete, shape-conforming coverage with hundreds of miniaturized electrodes. That dense, three-dimensional interfacing enables scientists to map and manipulate neural activity across almost the entire organoid.

By moving from localized probing to true whole-network mapping, the work brings organoid research closer to capturing how real human brains develop, function and even fail.

In a large US-based brain imaging study, researchers found that these drugs do not primarily affect attention networks, but instead act on systems linked to arousal, sleep, and motivation.

The puzzle of ADHD stimulants

Prescription stimulants such as methylphenidate and amphetamines are among the most used psychoactive drugs in children and adolescents with ADHD, where they remain a first-line treatment. Estimates for receiving a prescription for ADHD medication among diagnosed children vary from 38–81%. Despite their widespread use, there is still disagreement about how these drugs work in the brain.

Tumor-immune-neural circuit in cancer cachexia.

The mechanisms involved in cancer-mediated cachexia and anorexia are not well understood.

The researchers in this study delineate an interplay among tumor cells, immune cells, and the nervous system that drives cancer cachexia and anorexia.

The authors show thay loss of GDF15 protects against appetite loss, muscle wasting, and fat loss in pancreatic, lung, and skin cancers.

Disrupting this feedforward loop with GDF15-neutralizing antibody, anti-CSF1R antibody, or Rearranged during Transfection (RET) inhibitor alleviates cachexia and anorexia across cancer models. sciencenewshighlights ScienceMission https://sciencemission.com/Tumor-immune-neural-circuit

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Shi et al. delineate an interplay among tumor cells, immune cells, and the nervous system that drives cancer cachexia and anorexia. Specifically, tumor-derived CSF1 induces macrophage GDF15, which signals through the GFRAL-RET neural axis to enhance β-adrenergic activity and systemic wasting. Disrupting this feedforward loop alleviates cachexia across cancer models.