Shen et al. investigate the use of Lactobacillus plantarum, a commensal bacterial strain, as a chassis for targeting the olfactory mucosa to facilitate precise nose-to-brain delivery of therapeutic molecules. When engineered to secrete appetite-regulating hormones, intranasal delivery of L. plantarum alleviates obesity-related symptoms in a mouse model.
“Can you hand me the… you know… the thingy? It’s right there next to that other doohickey!” Struggling to find the right word happens to all of us. In fact, it even has a name; lethologica, and it tends to become more common as we get older.
Forgetting words now and then isn’t a big deal, but if it starts happening frequently, it could be an early sign of changes in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease —long before more obvious symptoms appear. But here’s the twist: A recent University of Toronto study suggests that how fast you speak might be a better clue about brain health than the occasional word mix-up.
When researchers injected mRNA encoding this protein into mice, it produced enough to protect DNA from radiation damage.
While the robot presents a glimpse into the future of robotic caregiving, it will only be ready by 2030.
Developed by researchers from Waseda University, the AI-driven robot addresses Japan’s caregiver shortage in the wake of an ageing population.
Humanity came close to extinction 800,000 years ago. Only 1,280 of our ancestors survived.
A recent study published in Science suggests that a catastrophic “ancestral bottleneck” reduced the global population to just 1,280 breeding individuals, wiping out 98.7% of the early human lineage.
This population crash, lasting about 117,000 years, likely resulted from extreme climate shifts, prolonged droughts, and dwindling food sources.
Using a groundbreaking genetic analysis method called FitCoal, researchers analyzed modern human genomes to trace this dramatic decline, potentially explaining a gap in the African and Eurasian fossil record.
Despite the near-extinction, this bottleneck may have played a crucial role in shaping modern humans. Scientists believe it contributed to a key evolutionary event—chromosome fusion—which may have set Homo sapiens apart from earlier hominin species, including Neanderthals and Denisovans. The study raises intriguing questions about how this small population survived, possibly through early fire use and adaptive intelligence. Understanding this ancient crisis helps scientists piece together the story of human evolution and the resilience that allowed our species to thrive against all odds.
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Posted in biotech/medical, health, space travel | Leave a Comment on Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s Return to Earth Confirmed: Know How and When NASA Astronauts Will Return After 9 Month Extended Stay in Space; Here’s Details
NASA has confirmed that Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore will return to Earth in late March 2025 after spending over nine months aboard the ISS. Their return is scheduled to take place once the Crew-10 mission successfully arrives at the space station. Crew-10, carrying four new astronauts, will launch on March 12, 2025, at 7:48 PM EDT and undergo a week-long handover process before Williams and Wilmore begin their journey back. The decision to return them aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was made due to ongoing technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner. NASA has assured that all necessary preparations are in place to facilitate a safe return. Sunita Williams Health Update: NASA Astronaut’s Mother Bonnie Pandya Dismisses Health Concerns Surrounding Her Daughter, Says ‘Space Is As Safe as Anywhere Else’ (Watch Video).
Williams and Wilmore’s return capsule, the SpaceX Crew Dragon, will follow a carefully planned re-entry trajectory before making a splashdown in designated waters. NASA has shortlisted landing sites in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, with the final decision depending on weather and oceanic conditions at the time of descent. SpaceX recovery teams will be stationed near the landing zone, ready to retrieve the capsule and transport the astronauts back to shore. After landing, Williams and Wilmore will undergo a thorough medical assessment before heading to NASA’s facilities for debriefing.
Sunita Williams’ return to Earth marks the end of an unexpectedly extended mission that was originally planned for just ten days but stretched to over nine months. The delay was primarily due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner, which faced multiple failures, including propulsion system malfunctions and propellant leaks. NASA, prioritising astronaut safety, decided to postpone their return until a reliable alternative was arranged.
Biomedical engineers at the University of Melbourne have developed a 3D bioprinting system capable of creating structures that closely replicate various human tissues, ranging from soft brain tissue to more rigid materials like cartilage and bone.
This innovative technology provides cancer researchers with a powerful tool for replicating specific organs and tissues, enhancing their ability to predict drug responses and develop new treatments. By offering a more accurate and ethical approach to drug discovery, it also has the potential to reduce reliance on animal testing.
Head of the Collins BioMicrosystems Laboratory at the University of Melbourne, Associate Professor David Collins said: In addition to drastically improving print speed, our approach enables a degree of cell positioning within printed tissues. Incorrect cell positioning is a big reason most 3D bioprinters fail to produce structures that accurately represent human tissue.
Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have identified a potential new target for Parkinson’s disease treatment. Their research highlights the role of a specific brain cell protein in triggering the disease and may explain why Parkinson’s is more prevalent in men.
Recent studies from LJI suggest that autoimmunity plays a key role in Parkinson’s onset. Their latest findings, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, reveal that the protein PINK1 may label certain brain cells for attack by the immune system, contributing to disease progression.
“This research allows us to better understand the role of the immune system in Parkinson’s disease,” says LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., senior author of the recent study.
Posted in biotech/medical, robotics/AI | Leave a Comment on Early-Stage Cholangiocarcinoma Detection Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and 1D CNN with Discrete Wavelet Transform
Breakthrough in early detection of cholangiocarcinoma using ai-powered spectroscopy.
In a major advancement for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) detection, researchers have developed a cutting-edge AI-driven diagnostic method that could revolutionize early cancer screening. Utilizing Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), a powerful non-invasive technique, the team introduced a novel approach combining Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) with a one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (1D CNN) to distinguish early-stage CCA from precancerous, inflammatory, and healthy conditions.
Unlike traditional Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Support Vector Machine (SVM), which struggles with nonlinear SERS data and only differentiates late-stage CCA, the new AI-enhanced method provides greater accuracy in detecting early-stage cancer, a crucial factor in improving survival rates. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis confirmed its superior performance.
The study, conducted on hamster serum, opens the door for future applications in human diagnostics, potentially transforming cancer detection and treatment. This breakthrough underscores the potential of AI and advanced signal processing in enhancing precision medicine and saving lives through early intervention.
This Early detection of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is critical for improving patient prognosis and survival rates. Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) offers a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool due to its high sensitivity and specificity. In this study, we propose a novel approach combining Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and a onedimensional Convolutional Neural Network (1D CNN) for the detection and differentiation of first stage CCA from precancerous, inflammation, and healthy states using SERS data. Our method is compared with a traditional Principal Component Analysis (PCA) followed by Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification. In contrast, the PCA + SVM method could only differentiate late-stage CCA and healthy states due to the nonlinearity of the SERS dataset. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis further validates the superior performance of our proposed method. We studied on hamster serum and the concept can be extended to human serum in the near future work.
