This JAMA Insights discusses the FDA approval of remestemcel-L-rknd to treat graft-vs-host disease in children and provides regulatory considerations for this approval.
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Danish trial reveals how structured exercise and guidance affect life with chronic conditions
A large multicenter trial found that a 12-week personalized exercise therapy and self-management support program produced a small but statistically significant improvement in health-related quality of life for adults with multimorbidity. The intervention was safe, but its clinical relevance remains uncertain, as only self-rated health showed a significant benefit over usual care.
Chinese scientists find genetics shapes brain’s balance linked to mental ability
There is extensive evidence that brain criticality – the balance between neural excitation and inhibition – enhances its information processing capabilities.
But despite the significance of brain criticality and its potential influence on neurological and psychiatric disorders, the genetic basis of this state had been “largely unexplored”, according to researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ biophysics and automation institutes. “We demonstrate that genetic factors significantly influence brain criticality across various scales, from specific brain regions to large-scale networks,” the team said in their paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month.
They also established a link between criticality and cognitive functions, suggesting a shared genetic foundation.
“These findings position brain criticality as a biological phenotype, opening broad avenues for exploring its implications in brain function and potential dysfunctions,” the team wrote.
Brain criticality is characterised by neuronal avalanches, or cascading bursts of neuron activity in brain networks.
“At the critical state, the brain exhibits scale-free dynamics, with avalanches observed across various scales ranging from local networks of individual neurons to the global network of interacting brain areas,” the paper said.
Surprise Discovery About Sugar in The Brain Could Help Fight Alzheimer’s
Stores of glucose in the brain could play a much more significant role in the pathological degeneration of neurons than scientists realized, opening the way to new treatments for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s is a tauopathy; a condition characterized by harmful build-ups of tau proteins inside neurons. It’s not clear, however, if these build-ups are a cause or a consequence of the disease. A new study now adds important detail by revealing significant interactions between tau and glucose in its stored form of glycogen.
Led by a team from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in the US, the research sheds new light on the functions of glycogen in the brain. Before now, it’s only been regarded as an energy backup for the liver and the muscles.
Goodbye to humans in warehouses — Amazon rolls out new autonomous robots in the UK and accelerates full automation
Amazon is going to put an end to human labour. Yes, it has reached a turning point that will change how we view salaried work forever: robots will outnumber human employees in warehouses around the world. The company that until a few years ago was seen as a major job creator has now said no more human labour, it wants more robots. And yes, it will be the first time that robots outnumber human employees, even though Amazon already has one million machines, from robotic arms to wheeled transporters since 2020.
Layoffs continue and job automation doesn’t seem to be slowing down, because of course, not only does it improve company productivity, but machines don’t get sick, don’t ask for personal days, and don’t demand their labour rights… The data may be very optimistic for Amazon, but workers are seeing their jobs being taken away… and there’s no turning back. Here’s what’s happening inside Amazon’s warehouses.
The Mushroom Motherboard: The Crazy Fungal Computers that Might Change Everything
Unlock the secrets of fungal computing! Discover the mind-boggling potential of fungi as living computers. From the wood-wide web to the Unconventional Computing Lab, witness the evolution of mushroom technology.
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Fiona Cauley & Dr. David Lynch — Comedy, Biotech Research & Patient Advocacy
Fiona Cauley ( https://www.fionacauley.com ) is a Nashville-based comedy superstar who uses her comedy for a greater purpose – to raise awareness about her r…