In an astounding medical first, researchers have used AI-powered brain implants to restore movement and sensation for a man who was paralyzed from the chest down.
Keith Thomas, 45, became a quadriplegic after a tragic diving accident damaged his C4 and C5 vertebrae in 2020. But thanks to pioneering work by scientists at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes, Thomas can now move his arm simply by thinking about it. Even more remarkably, he can feel the touch of a hand for the first time in three years.
Advanced technology made the impossible possible after a double neural bypass changed the life of a paralyzed patient.
A pioneering dental medicine project in Japan is making strides toward clinical trials, with the aim of becoming the world’s first tooth-regrowing treatment, according to the country’s national news site Mainichi.
The upcoming trial will be focused on patients affected by anodontia, a genetic condition characterized by the absence of teeth, or partial anodontia, where people are missing some teeth, as described by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).
Clinical trials are scheduled to begin next July in Japan. If successful, regulatory approval for the tooth-regrowing medicine is anticipated by 2030, potentially heralding groundbreaking advancements in dentistry.
Antiviral therapies are notoriously difficult to develop, as viruses can quickly mutate to become resistant to drugs, or hide within cells. Researchers at NYU have now developed a new approach to antiviral treatment that ignores the fast-mutating proteins on the surface of viruses and instead targets lipids in the membranes of enveloped viruses, which disrupts their protective layers. In a newly published study the researchers showed how these novel peptoid molecules, inspired by the immune system, could inactivate several viruses, including Zika and chikungunya. The team suggests their approach may not only lead to drugs that can be used against many viruses, but could also help overcome antiviral resistance.
“We found an Achilles heel of many viruses: their bubble-like membranes,” said Kent Kirshenbaum, PhD, professor of chemistry at NYU. “Exploiting this vulnerability and disrupting the membrane is a promising mechanism of action for developing new antivirals.” Kirshenbaum is senior author of the team’s published paper in ACS Infectious Diseases, which is titled “Peptidomimetic Oligomers Targeting Membrane Phosphatidylserine Exhibit Broad Antiviral Activity.”
In their paper the authors concluded, “We provide the first evidence for the engagement of distinct viral envelope lipid constituents, establishing an avenue for specificity that may enable the development of a new family of therapeutics capable of averting the rapid development of resistance.”
As we age, our bodies undergo various changes that can impact our overall health and make us more susceptible to diseases. One common factor in the aging process is low-grade inflammation, which contributes to age-related decline and impairment. However, the precise pathways responsible for this inflammation and their impact on natural aging have remained elusive until now.
A new study led by Andrea Ablasser at EPFL now shows that a molecular signaling pathway called cGAS/STING plays a critical role in driving chronic inflammation and functional decline during aging. By blocking the STING protein, the researchers were able to suppress inflammatory responses in senescent cells and tissues, leading to improvements in tissue function.
Microorganisms leverage the CRISPR-Cas system as a defense mechanism against viral intrusions. In the realm of genetic engineering, this microbial immune system is repurposed for the targeted modification of the genetic makeup.
Under the leadership of Professor Dr. Alexander Probst, microbiologist at the Research Center One Health Ruhr at the Research Alliance Ruhr a research team has now discovered another function of this specialised genomic sequence: archaea – microorganisms that are often very similar to bacteria in appearance – also use them to fight parasites.
The team has recently published their findings in Nature Microbiology.
An AI-powered brain implant helps a quadriplegia patient regain sensations and movement for the first time after a diving accident in 2020. Can this implant work for other paralysis patients?
Scientists at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have re-established the connection between the brain, body, and spinal cord of a person living with quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs and trunk) due to a diving accident in 2020.
They installed an implant inside the patient’s brain. The implant comprises five microchips and uses an AI program to convert the patient’s thoughts into actions. The brain implant lets the patient feel sensations and move some of his body parts.
A study in the Lancet Oncology journal found that AI-supported breast cancer screenings saved radiologists time that could be used for more complex diagnoses.
A process of surgically joining the circulatory systems of a young and old mouse slows the aging process at the cellular level and lengthens the lifespan of the older animal by up to 10%.
Published in the journal Nature Aging, a study led by researchers at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, found that the longer the animals shared circulation, the longer the anti-aging benefits lasted once the two were no longer connected.
The findings suggest that the young benefit from a cocktail of components and chemicals in their blood that contributes to vitality, and these factors could potentially be isolated as therapies to speed healing, rejuvenate the body, and add years to an older individual’s life.
If there’s one thing the Covid pandemic taught us, it’s that viruses shouldn’t be underestimated.
People are, therefore, taking note after scientists discovered a whole new range of giant virus-like particles (VLP) that have taken on “previously unimaginable shapes and forms.”
The microscopic agents, resembling everything from stars to monsters, were found in just a few handfuls of forest soil.
