Google Research spinout Osmo wants to find substitutes for hard-to-source aromas. The tech could inspire new perfumes—and help combat mosquito-borne diseases.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,098
Device transmits radio waves with almost no power—without violating the laws of physics
A new ultra-low-power method of communication at first glance seems to violate the laws of physics. It is possible to wirelessly transmit information simply by opening and closing a switch that connects a resistor to an antenna. No need to send power to the antenna.
Our system, combined with techniques for harvesting energy from the environment, could lead to all manner of devices that transmit data, including tiny sensors and implanted medical devices, without needing batteries or other power sources. These include sensors for smart agriculture, electronics implanted in the body that never need battery changes, better contactless credit cards and maybe even new ways for satellites to communicate.
Apart from the energy needed to flip the switch, no other energy is needed to transmit the information. In our case, the switch is a transistor, an electrically controlled switch with no moving parts that consumes a minuscule amount of power.
Study shows spatial organization in tumor cells
In a recent study published in Cell, researchers investigated whether the observed tumor cellular heterogeneity and architecture result from stochastic and chaotic events or whether there is more coordination in the histopathological chaos of cancer. They also explored mechanisms shaping the highly complicated tumor landscape.
Both embryology studies and oncology research activities are aimed at elucidating tissue growth mechanisms; however, they share limited conceptual and technical overlap. Morpho-genomic processes and tissue-level signaling are prime mechanisms in the field of embryology. Researchers have developed various approaches to explore the associated mechanisms; however, cell, genetic, and biological means have been predominantly focused upon, leaving the spatial aspects of tumor cells under-studied in the field of oncology.
Sea Spiders Show Unusual Ability to Regenerate Nearly Complete Bottom Halves, Study Finds
Some young sea spiders can regenerate significant portions of their bottom halves, including muscles, reproductive organs, and the anus, or can function without them, according to a study published on January 23rd in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The ability to regrow body parts is not widely seen, but some species possess this capability. For example, some sea slug heads can regenerate their entire bodies, and sea spiders and other arthropods can regrow parts of their legs. Researchers previously believed that arthropods could only regenerate legs, possibly due to their hard exoskeletons preventing them from regenerating other body parts.
Evolutionary biologist Georg Brenneis of the University of Vienna first discovered that sea spiders (Pycnogonum litorale) might have the ability to perform more complex regenerations when he accidentally injured a young specimen in the lab with forceps. The specimen was still alive despite being injured, so he decided to observe it.
Tiny ion is crucial for HIV replication, say chemists
A study by chemists at the University of Chicago has uncovered a new key step in the process that HIV uses to replicate itself.
The study, published Jan. 6 in Science Advances, used computer modeling to focus on how HIV forms a capsule that carries its genetic material—in particular, the role of a particular ion known as IP6. Scientists had previously suspected IP6 has an important function but didn’t know exactly how it worked.
The theory may explain aspects of the success of a promising new drug, as well as point the way to other treatments.
ChatGPT found to be capable of passing exams for MBA and Medical Licensing Exam
The academic community is growing increasingly concerned about students using ChatGPT for less than honest purposes as it has been found to be capable of not only writing essays for high school students, but passing some exams, such as parts of those used to license doctors and grant MBAs.
In two new papers posted on preprint servers, one team and another researcher independently tested the ability of ChatGPT to take and pass exams. In the first a team with members from AnsibleHealth, Inc., Brown University and OpenAI, Inc. describe testing they did to see how well ChatGPT could do on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and posted their results on the medRXiv preprint server.
In the second, Christian Terwiesch, the Andrew M. Heller Professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has posted a paper on Wharton’s preprint site, describing how he tested the chatbot’s ability to perform on the final exam of a typical Operations Management MBA core course and what he found.
Genome-wide RNA polymerase stalling shapes the transcriptome during aging Genetics
In aging mouse livers, 40% of elongating RNA polymerases are stalled, biasing transcriptional output dependent on gene length. This transcriptional stress appears to be caused by endogenous DNA damage.
Experimental device breaks up blood clots using twisted ultrasound
It goes without saying that if someone has a blood clot in their brain, that clot should be cleared as soon as possible. An experimental new transducer could help, as it uses swirling waves of ultrasound to break up blood clots much faster than existing methods.
Developed by scientists at North Carolina State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, the device is designed specifically for use on what are known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) clots. These form in veins that ordinarily allow blood to drain from the brain. When those veins are blocked, blood pressure in the brain increases, to the point that a potentially lethal or disabling hemorrhage may occur.
Most existing CVST treatments involve using drugs to dissolve the clot. According to the team behind the new study, however, it takes an average of about 29 hours – and never less than 15 hours – for such medications to work. By contrast, the new transducer breaks up the clots in less than 30 minutes.
An ‘unprecedented pandemic of avian flu’ is wreaking havoc on the U.S. poultry industry. Humans may be at risk too, experts warn
On Jan. 3, she was transported to a pediatric hospital in critical condition after suffering septic shock and being diagnosed with pneumonia. She tested positive for the H5N1 strain on Jan. 7 and remained hospitalized, under sedation and on a ventilator as of Jan. 17, the international health organization stated.
The previously healthy girl becomes the seventh individual the virus has sickened since 2020, according to the World Health Organization. While H5N1 is considered highly infectious, that’s only among birds. It’s typically difficult for the virus to make the leap to humans, and transmission from human to human is “unusual,” the international health organization says.
When the virus does make the leap, however, it’s highly fatal, with a mortality rate of greater than 50% among humans, according to the CDC.
Experimental Cancer Therapy Shows Success in More Than 70 Percent of Patients in Global Clinical Trials
New York, NY (December 12, 2022) A new therapy that makes the immune system kill bone marrow cancer cells was successful in as many as 73 percent of patients in two clinical trials, according to researchers from The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The therapy, known as a bispecific antibody, binds to both T cells and multiple myeloma cells and directs the T cells—white blood cells that can be enlisted to fight off diseases—to kill multiple myeloma cells. The researchers described this strategy as “bringing your army right to the enemy.”
The success of the off-the-shelf immunotherapy, called talquetamab, was even seen in patients whose cancer was resistant to all approved multiple myeloma therapies. It uses a different target than other approved therapies: a receptor expressed on the surface of cancer cells known as GPRC5D.