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Category: biotech/medical – Page 64

Rolling soft electronics yields 3D brain probes for precise neuron mapping

To shed new light on the contribution of different brain regions and neural circuits to specific mental functions, neuroscientists and medical researchers rely on advanced imaging techniques and neural probes. These are electronic devices embedding electrodes, components that can measure the electrical impulses produced by neurons, which are known as spikes.

While existing probes have helped to map various networks of neurons and understand their functions, most of them have two-dimensional (2D) layouts. This is because they are made employing conventional semiconductor-based devices and fabrication strategies.

Researchers at Dartmouth College, University of Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State University and other institutes have developed a new approach that could enable the fabrication of soft three-dimensional (3D) neural probes on a large scale. Their proposed method, outlined in a paper published in Nature Electronics, entails the rolling of flat into cylindrical 3D structures.

New Smart Pimple Patch Clears Acne in Just 7 Days

A new microarray acne patch eliminates pimples in just seven days and could pave the way for future medical treatments far beyond skincare. Waking up with a pimple does not have to be stressful. Pimple patches are small, sticker-like bandages that cover a blemish and support healing. A researc

Don’t sweat it: New device detects sweat biomarker at minimal perspiration rate

A team at Penn State has developed a novel wearable sensor capable of continuously monitoring low rates of perspiration for the presence of a lactate — a molecule the body uses to break down sugars for energy. This biomarker can indicate oxygen starvation in the body’s tissues, which is a key performance indicator for athletes as well as a potential sign of serious conditions such as sepsis or organ failure.

In groundbreaking study, researchers publish brain map showing how decisions are made

Neuroscientists from 22 labs joined forces in an unprecedented international partnership to produce a landmark achievement: a neural map that shows activity across the entire brain during decision-making.

The data, gathered from 139 mice, encompass activity from more than 600,000 neurons in 279 areas of the brain — about 95% of the brain in a mouse. This map is the first to provide a complete picture of what happens across the brain as a decision is made.

“They have created the largest dataset anyone has ever imagined at this scale,” said Dr. Paul W. Glimcher, chair of the department of neuroscience and physiology and director of the Neuroscience Institute at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, of the researchers.

Brain–computer interface control with artificial intelligence copilots

Motor brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) decode neural signals to help people with paralysis move and communicate. Even with important advances in the past two decades, BCIs face a key obstacle to clinical viability: BCI performance should strongly outweigh costs and risks. To significantly increase the BCI performance, we use shared autonomy, where artificial intelligence (AI) copilots collaborate with BCI users to achieve task goals. We demonstrate this AI-BCI in a non-invasive BCI system decoding electroencephalography signals. We first contribute a hybrid adaptive decoding approach using a convolutional neural network and ReFIT-like Kalman filter, enabling healthy users and a participant with paralysis to control computer cursors and robotic arms via decoded electroencephalography signals. We then design two AI copilots to aid BCI users in a cursor control task and a robotic arm pick-and-place task. We demonstrate AI-BCIs that enable a participant with paralysis to achieve 3.9-times-higher performance in target hit rate during cursor control and control a robotic arm to sequentially move random blocks to random locations, a task they could not do without an AI copilot. As AI copilots improve, BCIs designed with shared autonomy may achieve higher performance.

Published September 2025 Nature Machine Intelligence:

Preprint: 2024 Oct 12:2024.10.09. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11482823/

The sleep switch that builds muscle, burns fat, and boosts brainpower

UC Berkeley researchers mapped the brain circuits that control growth hormone during sleep, uncovering a feedback system where sleep fuels hormone release, and the hormone regulates wakefulness. The discovery helps explain links between poor sleep, obesity, diabetes, and cognitive decline, while opening new paths for treating sleep and metabolic disorders.

Space travel may accelerate the aging of stem cells as much as tenfold, study says

In fact, they age “ten times faster in space than on the ground,” said Dr. Catriona Jamieson, the director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at the University of California, San Diego, a lead author of the study.

Stem cells are special cells that can develop into various kinds of tissue. Stem cell aging is potentially worrisome because it diminishes the body’s natural ability to repair its tissues and organs, potentially leading to chronic, age-related conditions like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and heart problems.

Satiation variability prediction using AI for obesity treatment

Meal size and termination is regulated by a process called satiation, which varies widely among adults with obesity.

The researchers assessed calories to satiation (CTS) and integrated a machine learning genetic risk score (CTSGRS) to predict obesity treatment outcomes.

High CTS or CTSGRS identified individuals who responded better to phentermine-topiramate, whereas low CTS or CTSGRS predicted greater weight loss with liraglutide, highlighting personalized obesity therapy.

Squishy ‘smart cartilage’ could target arthritis pain as soon as flareups begin

Researchers have developed a material that can sense tiny changes within the body, such as during an arthritis flareup, and release drugs exactly where and when they are needed.

The squishy material can be loaded with that are released in response to small changes in pH in the body. During an flareup, a joint becomes inflamed and slightly more acidic than the surrounding tissue.

The material, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, has been designed to respond to this natural change in pH. As acidity increases, the material becomes softer and more jelly-like, triggering the release of drug molecules that can be encapsulated within its structure. Since the material is designed to respond only within a narrow pH range, the team says that drugs could be released precisely where and when they are needed, potentially reducing side effects.

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