Lifeboat Foundation

How much time elapses between a blow to the head and the start of damage associated with Alzheimer’s disease?

A device that makes it possible to track the effects of concussive force on a functioning cluster of brain cells suggests the answer is in hours. The “traumatic brain injury (TBI) on a chip” being developed at Purdue University opens a window into a cause and effect that announces itself with the passage of decades but is exceedingly difficult to trace back to its origins.

“We’re basically creating a miniature brain that we can hit and then study,” said Riyi Shi, lead researcher and the Mari Hulman George Endowed Professor of Applied Neuroscience in Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “We know there’s a link between TBI and Alzheimer’s; that’s well established in clinical observation. But teasing out the basic essential pathway is not easy. With the TBI on a chip, we’re able to test a lot of hypotheses that would be very difficult to do in living animals.”

The Winer lab has helped establish three sub-specialties that are fueling the field.

The experimental interface allows the patient to communicate through a digital avatar, and it’s faster than her current system.

This is good news! The article says this could lead to treatment of other cancers.

A particularly aggressive form of childhood cancer that forms in muscle tissue might have a new treatment option on the horizon.

Scientists have successfully induced rhabdomyosarcoma cells to transform into normal, healthy muscle cells. It’s a breakthrough that could see the development of new therapies for the cruel disease, and it could lead to similar breakthroughs for other types of human cancers.

Continue reading “Aggressive Cancer Cells Transformed Into Healthy Cells in Breakthrough” »

#ted.
#wifi.
#internet.

Continue reading “LiFi — This is the Fastest Internet in the World (224GBPS) — Easiest Explanation Ever!” »

Rohit Chikkaraddy/ University of Birmingham.

Mid-infrared, as the name suggests, lies between the infrared spectrum’s near and far wavelengths, just outside those of visible light. The mid-infrared spectrum has gained particular importance as it has been useful for multiple applications ranging from military to environmental and medical treatments and studying celestial objects.

¹ Department of Biotechnology, School of Science, GITAM (Deemed to be University), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 530,045, India; ² Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61,801, USA

Correspondence: Sireesha V Garimella; Pankaj Chaturvedi, Email [email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract: Cancer continues to rank among the world’s leading causes of mortality despite advancements in treatment. Cancer stem cells, which can self-renew, are present in low abundance and contribute significantly to tumor recurrence, tumorigenicity, and drug resistance to various therapies. The drug resistance observed in cancer stem cells is attributed to several factors, such as cellular quiescence, dormancy, elevated aldehyde dehydrogenase activity, apoptosis evasion mechanisms, high expression of drug efflux pumps, protective vascular niche, enhanced DNA damage response, scavenging of reactive oxygen species, hypoxic stability, and stemness-related signaling pathways. Multiple studies have shown that mitochondria play a pivotal role in conferring drug resistance to cancer stem cells, through mitochondrial biogenesis, metabolism, and dynamics. A better understanding of how mitochondria contribute to tumorigenesis, heterogeneity, and drug resistance could lead to the development of innovative cancer treatments.

If your mother says she loves you: check it.

A couple weeks ago, I asked Vergecast.

What I was not expecting was for so many people to send me versions of a video that shows a banana getting stitches in a robotic surgery device, with the captions claiming that the surgery is being done remotely over 5G. This video has had an … More.

Continue reading “No, they did not do surgery on a banana over 5G” »

The Da Vinci robot was able to undertake an operation no doctor would.

Robots are increasingly showing up in operating rooms and they are saving lives. As one patient in Canada reports in a CBC

Glenn Deir recounts the story of how his inoperable tumor nearly cost him his life and thanks the robot that saved him.