There’s a fresh push to edit the genes of human embryos to prevent diseases and enhance characteristics that parents value. Bioethicists say just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it should be done.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 122
Lithium loss ignites Alzheimer’s, but lithium compound can reverse disease in mice
What is the earliest spark that ignites the memory-robbing march of Alzheimer’s disease? Why do some people with Alzheimer’s-like changes in the brain never go on to develop dementia? These questions have bedeviled neuroscientists for decades.
Now, a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School may have found an answer: lithium deficiency in the brain.
The work, published in Nature, shows for the first time that lithium occurs naturally in the brain, shields it from neurodegeneration, and maintains the normal function of all major brain cell types.
Scientists say it may be possible to protect aging brains from Alzheimer’s with an old remedy — lithium
In a major new finding almost a decade in the making, researchers at Harvard Medical School say they’ve found a key that may unlock many of the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and brain aging — the humble metal lithium.
Lithium is best known to medicine as a mood stabilizer given to people who have bipolar disorder and depression. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1970, but it was used by doctors to treat mood disorders for nearly a century beforehand.
Now, for the first time, researchers have shown that lithium is naturally present in the body in tiny amounts and that cells require it to function normally — much like vitamin C or iron. It also appears to play a critical role in maintaining brain health.
Waiting in line: Why six feet of social distancing may not be enough to stop airborne virus spread
We all remember the advice frequently repeated during the COVID pandemic: maintain six feet of distance from every other human when waiting in a line to avoid transmitting the virus. While reasonable, the advice did not take into account the complicated fluid dynamics governing how the airborne particles actually travel through the air if people are also walking and stopping. Now, a team of researchers led by two undergraduate physics majors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has modeled how aerosol plumes spread when people are waiting and walking in a line.
The results, published recently in Science Advances, grew out of a question that many of us may have asked ourselves when standing in marked locations six-feet apart while waiting for a vaccine, to pay for groceries or to get a cup of coffee: what’s the science behind six-feet of separation? If you are a physicist, you might even have asked yourself, “What is happening physically to the aerosol plumes we’re all breathing out while waiting in a line, and is the six-foot guideline the best way to design a queue?”
To find answers to these questions, two UMass Amherst undergrads, Ruixi Lou and Milo Van Mooy, took the lead.
Low-oxygen air slows Parkinson’s progression and restores movement in mice
Researchers from the Broad Institute and Mass General Brigham have shown that a low-oxygen environment—similar to the thin air found at Mount Everest base camp—can protect the brain and restore movement in mice with Parkinson’s-like disease.
The new research, in Nature Neuroscience, suggests that cellular dysfunction in Parkinson’s leads to the accumulation of excess oxygen molecules in the brain, which then fuel neurodegeneration—and that reducing oxygen intake could help prevent or even reverse Parkinson’s symptoms.
“The fact that we actually saw some reversal of neurological damage is really exciting,” said co-senior author Vamsi Mootha, an institute member at the Broad, professor of systems biology and medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.
Ultra-short RNA insertions offer scalable, cost-effective gene silencing for agriculture
A team of researchers from the Spanish National Research Council has made a significant advance in plant biotechnology by developing a new method for silencing genes. The novel technique uses ultra-short ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequences carried by genetically modified viruses to achieve genetic silencing, allowing the customization of plant traits. The work, published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, opens up new avenues for crop improvement, functional genomics, and sustainable agriculture.
Viral vector technology involves modifying viruses, removing the genetic material that causes disease, to turn them into vehicles that carry the RNA sequence to be introduced into an organism. This technique, when applied to plants, has already proven effective under experimental conditions in inducing flowering and accelerating the development of improved crop varieties, modifying plant architecture to facilitate adaptation to mechanization, improving drought tolerance, and producing metabolites beneficial to human health, among other applications.
Now, the method developed by the CSIC, together with the Valencian University Institute for Research on the Conservation and Improvement of Agrodiversity (COMAV) and the Italian Department of Applications and Innovation in Supercomputing (Cineca), represents an optimization of technological platforms to accelerate the development and validation of agricultural applications based on viral vectors.
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes
University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have developed a “two-in-one” molecule that can simultaneously turn off two notoriously difficult-to-target cancer-related genes, KRAS and MYC, as well as directly deliver drugs to tumors that express these genes. This advance holds special promise for treating cancers that have been historically challenging to treat.
The new technology incorporates novel compositions of inverted RNAi molecules that have shown a marked ability to co-silence mutated KRAS and over-expressed MYC. RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular process that uses small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to selectively turn off, or silence, mutated genes. The co-silencing resulted in up to a 40-fold improvement in inhibition of cancer cell viability compared to the use of individual siRNAs.
The laboratory findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on July 31.
Researchers create shape-shifting robot that liquifies to escape cage
Researchers from China and us create shape shifting robot:
In a scene straight out of science fiction, researchers from China and the U.S. have developed a shape-shifting robot made from magnetically responsive liquid metal that can melt, flow, escape confinement, and reassemble itself—all on command.
Inspired by sea cucumbers and powered by gallium, a metal with a melting point just above room temperature, the robot can switch between solid and liquid states using magnetic fields. During tests, it was able to melt, escape from a prison-like cage, and then re-solidify into its original form—without losing function.
Unlike traditional rigid robots, this breakthrough allows machines to:
* Navigate tight or complex spaces * Heal themselves or split apart to avoid damage * Perform surgical tasks inside the human body without invasive procedures * Transition between tool-like solidity and liquid flexibility.
The magnetic fields not only induce the phase change but also control movement, making the robot swim, climb walls, and even jump. Researchers envision future uses in minimally invasive medicine, like removing foreign objects from internal organs, or in electronic assembly, where the robot could flow into hard-to-reach places and form circuits.
Quantitative and Compositional MRI of the Articular Cartilage: A Narrative Review
This review examines the latest advancements in compositional and quantitative cartilage MRI techniques, addressing both their potential and challenges. The integration of these advancements promises to improve disease detection, treatment monitoring, and overall patient care. We want to highlight the pivotal task of translating these techniques into widespread clinical use, the transition of cartilage MRI from technical validation to clinical application, emphasizing its critical role in identifying early signs of degenerative and inflammatory joint diseases. Recognizing these changes early may enable informed treatment decisions, thereby facilitating personalized medicine approaches. The evolving landscape of cartilage MRI underscores its increasing importance in clinical practice, offering valuable insights for patient management and therapeutic interventions.