Lifeboat Foundation

Digesting a crunchy critter starts with the audible grinding of its rigid protective covering — the exoskeleton. Unpalatable as it may sound, the hard cover might be good for the metabolism, according to a new study, in mice, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers, led by Steven Van Dyken, PhD, an assistant professor of pathology & immunology, found in mice that digesting chitin, an abundant dietary fiber in insect exoskeletons and also mushrooms and crustacean shells, engages the immune system. An active immune response was linked to less weight gain, reduced body fat and a resistance to obesity. “Obesity is an epidemic,” Van Dyken said. “What we put into our bodies has a profound effect on our physiology and on how we metabolize food. We’re investigating ways to counteract obesity based on what we learn about how the immune system is engaged by diet.”

Findings, in mice, suggest engaging immune system with such fiber to counteract obesity.

What once was thought to be a Science fiction is now fact which means mind uploading is just around the corner 🤔.

Back in 2018, scientists achieved something that still sounds unbelievable today: they “transplanted” memories from one snail into another. It was a fascinating study in its own right, but it’s also part of a much bigger story: the long-running human quest to understand precisely what memory is and how it works.

How the study worked

Continue reading “How Scientists Managed To Transfer ‘Memories’ Between Snails” »

As more people turn to chat-based AIs for medical advice, it remains to be seen how these tools stack up against—or could complement—human doctors.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and their partners have unearthed new findings about healing and aging by studying a tiny sea creature capable of regenerating its entire body using just its mouth. They analyzed the RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule similar to DNA that is essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. Both are nucleic acids, but unlike DNA, RNA is single-stranded. An RNA strand has a backbone made of alternating sugar (ribose) and phosphate groups. Attached to each sugar is one of four bases—adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine ©, or guanine (G). Different types of RNA exist in the cell: messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and transfer RNA (tRNA).

Cool paper that adds a useful tool to the gene therapist’s toolbox! Young et al. utilize an in vivo screening method to develop adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) which target microglia. They show that their AAVs transduce central nervous system microglia as well as tissue macrophages after intravenous injection. #biotechnology

Tissue macrophages, including microglia, are notoriously resistant to genetic manipulation. Here, we report the creation of Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) variants that efficiently and widely transduce microglia and tissue macrophages in vivo following intravenous delivery, with transgene expression of up to 80%. We use this technology to demonstrate manipulation of microglia gene expression and microglial ablation, thereby providing invaluable research tools for the study of these important cells.

New insights into the medical mysteries behind dementia have been revealed this week, with two studies identifying drivers of the brain-degenerating condition.

One study, released on September 11 in the journal General Psychiatry, shows that the shortening of little caps on the end of chromosomes may be linked to increased dementia risk. Another, published in the journal JAMA on September 12, reveals that spending more time sedentary, such as sitting down, may also increase the risk.

These studies may help scientists to further understand the mechanisms behind what causes dementia to develop, and therefore how to stop it.

The Wollemi pine was thought to have gone extinct 2 million years ago until it was rediscovered by a group of hikers in 1994. Now, scientists have decoded its genome to understand how it’s survived — almost unchanged — since the time of the dinosaurs.

New research in mice suggests that a stem cell involved in backbone development might help tumors from other parts of the body move to the spine.

Pandemic, renovation project, and rising costs create logistics nightmare for NSF-funded scientists.