Lifeboat Foundation

The brain is an evolutionary marvel. By shifting the control of sensing and behavior to this central organ, animals (including us) are able to flexibly respond and flourish in unpredictable environments. One skill above all—learning—has proven key to the good life.

But what of all the organisms that lack this precious organ? From jellyfish and corals to our plant, fungi, and single-celled neighbors (such as bacteria), the pressure to live and reproduce is no less intense, and the value of learning is undiminished.

Recent research on the brainless has probed the murky origins and inner workings of cognition itself, and is forcing us to rethink what it means to learn.

Given these perks, it’s no wonder scientists have tried recreating skin in the lab. Artificial skin could, for example, cover robots or prosthetics to give them the ability to “feel” temperature, touch, or even heal when damaged.

It could also be a lifesaver. The skin’s self-healing powers have limits. People who suffer from severe burns often need a skin transplant taken from another body part. While effective, the procedure is painful and increases the chances of infection. In some cases, there might not be enough undamaged skin left. A similar dilemma haunts soldiers wounded in battle or those with inherited skin disorders.

Recreating all the skin’s superpowers is tough, to say the least. But last week, a team from Wake Forest University took a large step towards artificial skin that heals large wounds when transplanted into mice and pigs.

It is now apparent that the mass-produced artifacts of technology in our increasingly densely populated world—whether electronic devices, cars, batteries, phones, household appliances, or industrial robots—are increasingly at odds with the sustainable bounded ecosystems achieved by living organisms based on cells over millions of years.

Cells provide organisms with soft and sustainable environmental interactions with complete recycling of material components, except in a few notable cases like the creation of oxygen in the atmosphere, and of the fossil fuel reserves of oil and coal (as a result of missing biocatalysts).

However, the fantastic information content of biological cells (gigabits of information in DNA alone) and the complexities of protein biochemistry for metabolism seem to place a cellular approach well beyond the current capabilities of technology, and prevent the development of intrinsically sustainable technology.

In recent years, roboticists have developed increasingly sophisticated robotic systems designed to mimic both the structure and function of the human body. This work includes robotic hands, grippers that allow robots to grasp objects and manipulate them like humans do while completing everyday tasks.

Ideally, robotic hands should be able to perform highly precise movements, while also being relatively affordable and easy to fabricate. However, most bio-inspired skeleton structures for robotic hands introduced so far have highly intricate designs containing numerous advanced components, which makes them difficult to fabricate on a large scale.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently created a new highly precise robotic hand that could be easier to upscale, as its components can be crafted using commonly employed techniques, such as 3D printing and laser cutting. Their robotic hand, introduced in a paper published in the journal 2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), is based on a so-called modular structure, meaning that it comprises multiple building blocks that can be rearranged to achieve different movements.

Mayo Clinic research has developed a new type of chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy (CAR-T cell therapy) aimed at killing B-cell blood cancers that have returned and are no longer responding to treatment. This pioneering technology, designed and developed in the lab of Hong Qin, M.D., Ph.D., killed B-cell tumors grown in the laboratory and tumors implanted in mouse models. The preclinical findings are published in Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy.

“This study shows our experimental CAR-T cell therapy targets several blood cancers, specifically chronic lymphocytic leukemia,” says Dr. Qin. “Currently there are six different CAR-T cell therapies approved for treatment of relapsed blood cancers. While the results are impressive, not everyone responds to this treatment. Our goal is to provide novel cell therapies shaped to each patient’s individual need.”

Dr Qin’s team developed a cell therapy to target a protein known as B-cell activating factor receptor (BAFF-R) found in patients with B-cell cancers, particularly those with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The BAFF-R protein is linked to tumor growth. The cell therapy under investigation allows the immune system to quash cancer and target tumors that have returned or have resisted available CAR-T cell therapies.

New case report worth reading! A patient underwent subtotal cholecystectomy for severe cholecystitis. Post-op he developed jaundice and abscess requiring percutaneous transhepatic drainage (PTAD).

Shock and massive hemothorax occurred after removal of the PTAD tube. The cause was bleeding from the liver at the PTAD site. The patient required emergency hemostasis and embolization. This highlights the need for extreme care when handling PTAD tubes after complicated gallbladder surgery.

A 59-year-old man with a past medical history of gallstones was diagnosed with acute cholecystitis and received antibiotic treatment. He was discharged after ten days of hospitalization and was due to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Three months later, however, he had to be readmitted due to a recurrence of acute cholecystitis. Subsequently, laparoscopic reconstituting subtotal cholecystectomy was performed because Inflammation of the gallbladder was severe. At the first postoperative outpatient visit, the patient reported obstructive jaundice, and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed fluid collection in the hepatic bed and a missed common bile duct stone. Percutaneous transhepatic abscess drainage (PTAD) was performed on admission, and endoscopic stone removal was attempted the following day but was challenging due to a periampullary diverticulum.

Continue reading “Massive Hemothorax Caused by Removal of Percutaneous Transhepatic Abscess Drainage Tube for Bile Leak After Subtotal Cholecystectomy: A Case Report” »

Of course, this study was performed on a relatively small group of individuals in an agricultural community, which is not the environment that most American teenagers grow up in. These links may also be due to some other confounding factors, like spending more time on the farm than in formal education. However, these results are still striking and important to consider for young people in farming communities (and non-farming communities) around the world.

“Many chronic diseases and mental-health disorders in adolescents and young adults have increased over the last two decades worldwide, and exposure to neurotoxic contaminants in the environment could explain a part of this increase,” senior author Jose Ricardo Suarez, an associate professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, said in a statement.

“Hundreds of new chemicals are released into the market each year, and more than 80,000 chemicals are registered for use today,” Suarez added. “Sadly, very little is known about the safety and long-term effects on humans for most of these chemicals. Additional research is needed to truly understand the impact.”

The positron, the antiparticle of the electron, has the same mass and charge as that of an electron but with the sign flipped for the charge. It is an attractive particle for scientists because the use of positrons has led to important insights and developments in the fields of elementary particle physics, atomic physics, materials science, astrophysics, and medicine.

For instance, positrons are known to be components of antimatter. They are also powerful in detecting lattice defects in solids and semiconductors and in structural analysis of the topmost surface of crystals.

Positronic compounds, namely bound states of positrons with regular atoms, molecules, or ions, represent an intriguing aspect of positron –matter interactions and have been studied experimentally via observation of positron annihilation in gases. It may be possible to generate new molecules and ions via the formation of positron compounds, but no research has ever been done from such a perspective.

Did you know (RA) is a long-lasting autoimmune disease that affects joints? The immune system is meant to protect us, but with RA, it attacks healthy tissue. This can cause pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of joint function.

Caring for yourself when living with RA includes knowing when to rest and when to exercise, occasionally wearing a splint, and managing stress levels.

Find more tips for coping with RA from NIAMS:

Continue reading “Rheumatoid Arthritis: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Steps to Take” »