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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,071

New biocomputing method uses enzymes as catalysts for DNA-based molecular computing

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From early detection and internal treatment of diseases to futuristic applications like augmenting human memory, biological computing, or biocomputing, has the potential to revolutionize medicine and computers.

Traditional computer hardware is limited in its ability to interface with living organs, which has constrained the development of medical devices. Computerized implants require a constant supply of electricity, they can cause scarring in soft tissue that makes them unusable and they cannot heal themselves the way organisms can. Through the use of biological molecules such as DNA or proteins, biocomputing has the potential to overcome these limitations.

Biocomputing is typically done either with or with non-living, enzyme-free molecules. Live cells can feed themselves and can heal, but it can be difficult to redirect cells from their ordinary functions toward computation. Non-living molecules solve some of the problems of live cells, but have weak output signals and are difficult to fine-tune and regulate.

The future of heart health: Wearable e-tattoo provides comprehensive heart measurements

Revolutionizing the process of heart monitoring, researchers have developed a wearable e-tattoo that provides continuous heart monitoring outside of a clinical setting.

A team of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin has created a flexible and wearable medical device that could transform the fight against heart disease. This device called an electronic tattoo or e-tattoo, can be attached to the chest to continuously monitor the heart outside of clinical settings.

The e-tattoo is wireless and mobile, as it has small active circuits and sensors linked by stretchable interconnections. The device weighs just 2.5 grams and can be worn comfortably with a medical dressing.

University of Texas.

The Achilles Heel That Could Lead to Universal Coronavirus Treatments

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AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers behind discoveries that led to vaccines for the virus that causes COVID-19 have identified a potential Achilles heel that exists in all coronaviruses. These findings, led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, could aid the development of improved treatments for COVID-19 and also protect against existing and emerging coronaviruses.

Most vaccines and antibody-based treatments for COVID-19 neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus by disrupting interactions between the protein spike on the virus and the ACE2 receptor on human cells, which the virus hijacks to gain entry. But mutations in the spike protein mean that emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 can escape the human antibody response, making treatments less effective and leading to vaccinated individuals still experiencing breakthrough infections. The researchers are addressing the issue by focusing on parts of the spike protein that are crucial for the virus’s survival and don’t mutate.

The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is made up of two subunits – called S1 and S2. The S1 subunit binds to the ACE2 receptor, while the S2 subunit allows the virus to fuse with the membrane of the cell it is gaining access to. Most mutations in the spike protein affect its S1 subunit, but the S2 part is relatively constant across all seven human coronaviruses, making it a prime target for therapeutic antibodies and vaccines.

The future is here: Israeli researchers develop nanotechnology to fight cancer

Year 2022 😗

Bar-Ilan University researchers have developed a new technology that enables the use of nanoparticles to assist the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

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According to the research, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, the nanoparticles are used to eliminate obstacles in the malignant tumor’s environment that impede the normal activity of natural killer cells (a special sub-type of white blood cells called lymphocytes).

Human Metabolome Reference Database in a Biracial Cohort across the Adult Lifespan

As one of the OMICS in systems biology, metabolomics defines the metabolome and simultaneously quantifies numerous metabolites that are final or intermediate products and effectors of upstream biological processes. Metabolomics provides accurate information that helps determine the physiological steady state and biochemical changes during the aging process. To date, reference values of metabolites across the adult lifespan, especially among ethnicity groups, are lacking. The “normal” reference values according to age, sex, and race allow the characterization of whether an individual or a group deviates metabolically from normal aging, encompass a fundamental element in any study aimed at understanding mechanisms at the interface between aging and diseases.

Forget AI; Organoid Intelligence May Soon Power Our Computers

While the world has been captivated by recent advances in artificial intelligence, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have identified a new form of intelligence: organoid intelligence. A future where computers are powered by lab-grown brain cells may be closer than we could ever have imagined.

What is an organoid? Organoids are three-dimensional tissue cultures commonly derived from human pluripotent stem cells. What looks like a clump of cells can be engineered to function like a human organ, mirroring its key structural and biological characteristics. Under the right laboratory conditions, genetic instructions from donated stem cells allow organoids to self-organize and grow into any type of organ tissue, including the human brain.

Although this may sound like science-fiction, brain organoids have been used to model and study neurodegenerative diseases for nearly a decade. Emerging studies now reveal that these lab grown brain cells may be capable of learning. In fact, a research team from Melbourne recently reported that they trained 800,000 brain cells to perform the computer game, Pong (see video). As this field of research continues to grow, researchers speculate that this so-called “intelligence in a dish” may be able to outcompete artificial intelligence.

Investigating the Importance of Investing in Vaccine Manufacturing

The protective effects of vaccines have particularly been highlighted during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Countries able to offer the vaccine demonstrate lowered infection rates and have kick-started the recovery of their economies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the need to proactively develop medical countermeasures to novel pathogens, in addition to advancing supply and manufacturing capacities to meet global demands.

Investing in vaccine manufacturing has both economic and societal benefits, in addition to protecting human health and limiting infection spread.

The Future of Satellite-Based Synthetic Biology and Genetic Engineering

The potential of satellite-based synthetic biology and genetic engineering to revolutionize healthcare is becoming increasingly clear. Recent advances in the field have opened up a world of possibilities for medical professionals and researchers, allowing them to diagnose and treat diseases more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

Satellite-based synthetic biology and genetic engineering have already been used to develop treatments for a variety of conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders. By using satellite-based techniques, researchers can quickly and accurately identify genetic mutations and other abnormalities in a patient’s DNA. This allows them to develop personalized treatments that are tailored to the individual’s specific needs.

The use of satellite-based synthetic biology and genetic engineering also has the potential to reduce healthcare costs. By identifying genetic mutations and other abnormalities at an early stage, doctors can avoid costly and unnecessary treatments. This could lead to significant savings for both patients and healthcare providers.

Using Artificial Intelligence to Speed up Discovery of New Drugs

Summary: Experts see a bright future in the complementary use of artificial intelligence (AI) and structure-based drug discovery for drug discovery. Researchers explain how computational methods will streamline drug discovery by predicting which drug molecules are most likely to bind with the target receptor. The structure-based and AI-based approaches complement each other and can save time and money while yielding better results than traditional trial-and-error methods.

Source: USC

Artificial intelligence can generate poems and essays, create responsive game characters, analyze vast amounts of data and detect patterns that the human eye might miss. Imagine what AI could do for drug discovery, traditionally a time-consuming, expensive process from the bench to the bedside.

Blood pressure and muscle sympathetic nerve activity are associated with trait anxiety in humans

Chronic anxiety is prevalent and associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Prior studies that have reported a relationship between muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and anxiety have focused on participants with anxiety disorders and/or metabolic syndrome. The present study leverages a large cohort of healthy adults devoid of cardiometabolic disorders to examine the hypothesis that trait anxiety severity is positively associated with resting MSNA and blood pressure. Resting blood pressure (BP) (sphygmomanometer and finger plethysmography), MSNA (microneurography), and heart rate (HR; electrocardiogram) were collected in 88 healthy participants (52 males, 36 females, 25 ± 1 yr, 25 ± 1 kg/m2). Multiple linear regression was performed to assess the independent relationship between trait anxiety, MSNA, resting BP, and HR while controlling for age and sex. Trait anxiety was significantly correlated with systolic arterial pressure (SAP; r = 0.251, P = 0.018), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP; r = 0.291, P = 0.006), mean arterial pressure (MAP; r = 0.328, P = 0.002), MSNA burst frequency (BF; r = 0.237, P = 0.026), and MSNA burst incidence (BI; r = 0.225, P = 0.035). When controlling for the effects of age and sex, trait anxiety was independently associated with SAP (ÎČ = 0.206, P = 0.028), DAP (ÎČ = 0.317, P = 0.002), MAP (ÎČ = 0.325, P = 0.001), MSNA BF (ÎČ = 0.227, P = 0.030), and MSNA BI (ÎČ = 0.214, P = 0.038). Trait anxiety is associated with increased blood pressure and MSNA, demonstrating an important relationship between anxiety and autonomic blood pressure regulation.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Anxiety is associated with development of cardiovascular disease. Although the sympathetic nervous system is a likely mediator of this relationship, populations with chronic anxiety have shown little, if any, alteration in resting levels of directly recorded muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). The present study is the first to reveal an independent relationship between trait anxiety, resting blood pressure, and MSNA in a large cohort of healthy males and females devoid of cardiometabolic comorbidities.

Listen to this article’s corresponding podcast at https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/anxiety-and-muscle-sympathetic-nerve-activity/.

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