A theory for the motion of a fluid “bump” inside a cylinder may lead to improved drugs for lung diseases.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 34
A tiny chip that can help us see deeper into space
A new imaging system could help us see deeper into the universe than ever before. The same powerful technology could also help us analyze the chemical makeup of everyday materials such as food and medicines much faster and with greater accuracy than current methods.
In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers from Tsinghua University in China have introduced a tiny device called RAFAEL (Reconfigurable, Adaptive, FAst and Efficient Lithium-niobate spectro-imager) that uses advanced photonics to capture light in exceptional detail with high speed.
RAFAEL is designed to dramatically improve spectroscopy, the technique used to study the physical structure and chemical composition of matter. It is used for everything from mapping deep space to checking for contaminants in water and diagnosing diseases, and it works by breaking down the light that comes from an object and analyzing the different colors (wavelengths). While incredibly powerful, traditional spectrometers often face a trade-off: To get very fine detail you have to block much of the light. Or if you let in a lot of light, you lose resolution or sensitivity.
New organic thin-film tunnel transistors for wearable and other small electronics
To meet the growing demands of flexible and wearable electronic systems, such as smart watches and biomedical sensors, electronics engineers are seeking high-performance transistors that can efficiently modulate electrical current while maintaining mechanical flexibility.
Thin-film transistors (TFTs), which are comprised of thin layers of conducting, semiconducting and insulating materials, have proved to be particularly promising for large-area flexible and wearable electronics, while also enabling the creation of thinner displays and advanced sensors.
Despite their potential, the energy-efficiency with which these transistors can switch electrical current has proved difficult to improve. This is due to the so-called thermionic limit, a theoretical threshold that delineates the lowest possible voltage required for a transistor to boost electrical current by a factor of 10 at room temperature when switching between “off” and “on” states.
Parkinson’s Discovery Suggests We May Have an FDA-Approved Treatment Already
Researchers have discovered how a surface protein on brain cells, called Aplp1, can play a role in spreading material responsible for Parkinson’s disease from cell to cell in the brain.
Promisingly, an FDA-approved cancer drug that targets another protein – Lag3 – which interacts with Aplp1 – was found to block this process in mice. This suggests a potential treatment for Parkinson’s may already exist.
In a paper published last year, an international team of scientists detailed how the two proteins work together to help toxic clumps of alpha-synuclein protein get into brain cells.
Microscopic DNA ‘Flowers’ Could Transform Targeted Drug Delivery
Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) have developed microscopic flower-shaped soft robots made from DNA and inorganic materials that can fold, bend, and react to their environment. Detailed in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, these microscopic DNA “flowers” are a potential new method for targeted drug delivery and other biomedical applications.
“People would love to have smart capsules that would automatically activate medication when it detects disease and stops when it is healed. In principle, this could be possible with our shapeshifting materials,” said senior author Ronit Freeman, PhD, and associate professor at USC and leader of a research group that is seeking to develop novel designer materials using self-assembling biological components.
The DNA flowers are assembled from hybrid DNA, inorganic crystals that respond to environmental stimuli such as changes in acidity (pH), enabling reversible changes in shape—shrinking, bending, and folding—within seconds. The petals can open or close in response to local environmental conditions, motion that can be used to trigger a chemical reaction, release molecules, or interact with tissues.
MIT’s “stealth” immune cells could change cancer treatment forever
Engineered “stealth” immune cells from MIT and Harvard show promise for fast, safe, and powerful cancer treatment. Scientists have created a new and more advanced form of immune-based cancer therapy using engineered cells known as CAR-NK (natural killer) cells. Like CAR-T cells, these modified immune cells can be programmed to recognize and attack cancer, but they rely on a different type of immune cell that naturally targets abnormal or infected cells.
A team from MIT and Harvard Medical School has now developed a more effective way to engineer CAR-NK cells that dramatically reduces the chance of the body’s immune system rejecting them. Immune rejection has been one of the biggest limitations of cell-based therapies, often weakening their effectiveness.
This innovation could also make it possible to produce “off-the-shelf” CAR-NK treatments that are available immediately after diagnosis, rather than waiting weeks for custom-engineered cells. Traditional CAR-NK and CAR-T manufacturing methods typically require several weeks to complete before patients can begin treatment.
Strong evidence supports skin-to-skin contact after birth as standard care
Immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers offers a better start in life, improving a number of key health metrics, according to a newly-updated Cochrane review.
The review, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, found that babies who have skin-to-skin contact with their mother within the first hour of birth are more likely to see a variety of benefits, including exclusive breastfeeding, optimal body temperatures and blood sugar levels.
While possible benefits for the mother were also studied, such as effects on blood loss and timing of placental delivery, the evidence was less certain.
Examining Chronic Inflammation, Immune Metabolism, and T Cell Dysfunction in HIV Infection
Chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a significant challenge to global public health. Despite advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has transformed HIV infection from a fatal disease into a manageable chronic condition, a definitive cure remains elusive. One of the key features of HIV infection is chronic immune activation and inflammation, which are strongly associated with, and predictive of, HIV disease progression, even in patients successfully treated with suppressive ART. Chronic inflammation is characterized by persistent inflammation, immune cell metabolic dysregulation, and cellular exhaustion and dysfunction.
Women better protected against early neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease, study reveals
A large international study involving nearly 700 participants reveals that women with a precursor condition to Parkinson’s disease show significantly less brain atrophy—decreased cortical thickness in the brain—than men, despite similar clinical severity. This discovery, published in the journal Nature Communications, could lead scientists to explore the role that hormones might play in treating the disease.
Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder is characterized by violent movements during sleep, where people literally “act out” their dreams. Far from being harmless, this disorder is the most reliable early warning sign of neurodegenerative diseases caused by the accumulation of a toxic protein in the brain: more than 70% of affected individuals will eventually develop Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, or, more rarely, multiple system atrophy (a disease affecting multiple body systems).
“This sleep disorder offers a unique window of opportunity to study the mechanisms of neurodegeneration before major motor or cognitive symptoms appear,” explains Shady Rahayel, professor at UdeM’s Faculty of Medicine and leader of this study.