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Identification of proliferating neural progenitors in the adult human hippocampus

Continuous adult hippocampal neurogenesis is involved in memory formation and mood regulation but is challenging to study in humans. Difficulties finding proliferating progenitor cells called into question whether and how new neurons may be generated. We analyzed the human hippocampus from birth through adulthood by single-nucleus RNA sequencing. We identified all neural progenitor cell stages in early childhood. In adults, using antibodies against the proliferation marker Ki67 and machine learning algorithms, we found proliferating neural progenitor cells. Furthermore, transcriptomic data showed that neural progenitors were localized within the dentate gyrus. The results contribute to understanding neurogenesis in adult humans.

Clinical test predicts best rheumatoid arthritis treatment on first try

1 in 100 people in Britain today live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Unlike osteoarthritis (OA), RA is caused not by wear and tear but by the body’s immune system attacking its own joints. RA can strike quickly at any age—but is most common for people aged 40–60.

Biological therapies are the leading treatment. Clinicians use engineered proteins made from living cells to slow the disease by targeting the specific parts of the immune system that are going rogue. Over the past 20 years they have led to major improvements in helping patients to live with RA.

However, different patients will react differently to different biological therapies depending upon their genetics. This means individual therapies have a failure rate of approximately 40%.

“They Actually Made This Fly”: World’s First Heli-Plane Takes Off Vertically and Hits Blistering Speeds of 280mph

IN A NUTSHELL 🚁 The Cavorite X7 is the world’s first ‘heli-plane’, offering a revolutionary blend of helicopter and airplane capabilities. 🌟 Featuring a fan-in-wing design, it achieves vertical takeoff and transitions to high-speed flight seamlessly. 📦 With a cargo capacity of up to 1,500 lbs, it serves as an efficient solution for both passenger

Natural compounds and strategies for fighting against drug resistance in cancer: a special focus on phenolic compounds and microRNAs

Bioactive phytochemicals, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and alkaloids, exert antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antigenotoxic, and anticancer effects, simultaneously showing minimal or no toxicity on normal, healthy cells. Phytochemicals targeting various signaling pathways and multiple mechanisms underlying intrinsic and acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells make them invaluable tools for the development of novel strategies for fighting against anticancer drug resistance in different types of cancer, which is one of the ultimate goals of modern oncology research. As MDR is described to be a simultaneous development of resistance to multiple drugs with different chemical structures, mechanisms of action, and targets it is not surprising that multiple factors, such as genetic and epigenetic changes, as well as noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs may significantly contribute to the development MDR in cancer cells, and its targeting and modulation of their expression to sensitize cells to treatment. This review implies that some natural compounds, such as curcumin, resveratrol, kaempferol, allicin, and quercetin, have the potential to interact with highly oncogenic and/or proinflammatory miRNAs, such as miR-21/155/663/146a, significantly influencing the response to cancer therapy. This article aims to point out how natural compounds may be used, accompanied by miRNAs mimics or miRNA inhibitors to treat specific types of cancer and its subtypes to overcome multidrug resistance. The main challenge is to determine the proper doses and concentrations of both miRNAs and compounds.

Intelligent wound dressing controls inflammation

Chronic wounds are a major medical challenge, burdening health care systems with billions of dollars in costs every year. Pioneer Fellow Börte Emiroglu is developing a new product: a selective, sponge-like hydrogel that reduces inflammatory signals and actively promotes healing.

The work is published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

Emiroglu’s academic career has taken her from Turkey to Zurich, after a master’s degree, and straight into the interdisciplinary world of biomedical engineering at ETH Zurich. “Back then, I didn’t even know what a hydrogel was,” she recalls, thinking back to the early days of her doctoral research at the Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory under the supervision of Professor Mark Tibbitt.