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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,246

New AI-enabled study unravels the principles of aging

New work from Gero, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Genome Protection Inc. and published in Nature Communications, demonstrates the power of AI combined with analytical tools borrowed from the physics of complex systems to provide insights into the nature of aging, resilience and future medical interventions for age-related diseases including cancer.

Longevity. Technology: Modern AI systems exhibit superhuman-level performance in medical diagnostics applications, such as identifying cancer on MRI scans. This time, the researchers took one step further and used AI to figure out principles that describe how the biological process of aging unfolds in time.

The researchers trained an AI algorithm on a large dataset composed of multiple blood tests taken along the life course of tens of thousands of aging mice to predict the future health state of an animal from its current state. The artificial neural network precisely projected the health condition of an aging mouse with the help of a single variable, which was termed dynamic frailty indicator (dFI) that accurately characterises the damage that an animal accumulates throughout life [1].

Cancer Weakness Discovered: New Method Pushes Cancer Cells Into Remission

Cancer cells delete DNA

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

Scientists discover a new mechanism to generate cartilage cells

As any weekend warrior understands, cartilage injuries to joints such as knees, shoulders, and hips can prove extremely painful and debilitating. In addition, conditions that cause cartilage degeneration, like arthritis and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), affect 350 million people in the world and cost the U.S. public health system more than $303 billion every year. Patients suffering from these conditions experience increased pain and discomfort over time.

However, an exciting study led by faculty at The Forsyth Institute suggests new strategies for making with huge implications in regenerative medicine for future cartilage injuries and degeneration treatments. In a paper, entitled “GATA3 mediates nonclassical β-catenin signaling in skeletal determination and ectopic chondrogenesis,” co-first authors Takamitsu Maruyama and Daigaku Hasegawa, and senior author Wei Hsu, describe two breakthrough discoveries, including a new understanding of a multifaced protein called β-catenin.

Dr. Hsu is a senior scientist at the Forsyth Insitute and a Professor of Developmental Biology at Harvard University. He is also an affiliate faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Other members conducting the study included Swiss scientists Tomas Valenta and Konrad Basler, and Canadian scientists Jody Haigh and Maxime Bouchard. The study appears in the most recent issue of Science Advances.

MRNA vaccines offer one-two punch to combat malaria

Malaria is found in more than 90 countries around the world, causing 241 million cases and an estimated 627,000 deaths every year. Vaccines are one intervention that could help eliminate this deadly disease, yet a highly effective vaccine remains elusive. Recent technological advances in vaccine development–such as the mRNA vaccines for SARS-CoV2–could lead to a new generation of malaria vaccines.

Now, a research team led by George Washington University has developed two mRNA candidates that are highly effective in reducing both and transmission. The team also found that the two experimental vaccines induced a powerful immune response regardless of whether they were given individually or in combination. The study was published today in npj Vaccines, an open-access that is part of the Nature Portfolio.

“Malaria elimination will not happen overnight but such vaccines could potentially banish from many parts of the world,” Nirbhay Kumar, a professor of global health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said. “The mRNA vaccine technology can really be a game changer. We saw how successful this technology was in terms of fighting COVID and for this study we adapted it and used it to develop tools to combat malaria.”

Dr. Jennifer Fogarty, Ph.D. — Baylor — Innovations To Safeguard Health & Performance In Deep Space

Dr. Jennifer A. Fogarty, Ph.D. (https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/jennifer-fogarty-100936) is the Chief Scientific Officer for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH — https://www.bcm.edu/academic-centers/space-medicine/translat…-institute) at Baylor College of Medicine, and the Director of the Applied Health and Performance at Sophic Synergistics LLC.

As Chief Scientist of TRISH, Dr. Fogarty leads an innovative and high-risk research and technology development portfolio to address the most challenging human health and performance risks of space exploration.

At Sophic Synergistics, which is a women-owned and women-led Human Centered Design firm specializing in integrating human factors engineering and human health and performance into a business model, Dr. Fogarty’s Division focuses on developing and expanding the application of medical technologies for use in remote medicine, telemedicine, and home healthcare.

In both roles, Dr. Fogarty’s goal is to increase access to high quality healthcare and empower patients and medical providers by incorporating precision medicine and cutting-edge science and technology with actionable data both in space and on Earth.

Dr. Fogarty has over twenty years of experience in medical physiology and extreme environments and was the NASA Human Research Program Chief Scientist. Her approach prioritizes communication and collaboration with industry academia, government and commercial spaceflight programs, and international partners. She values and seeks collaborations with external institutions and government agencies to assess fundamental and mechanistic discoveries as well as innovative prevention and treatment strategies for application to preserve health and performance.

Dr. Fogarty has a Ph.D. in Medical Physiology from Texas A&M University School of Medicine and a B.S. in Biology from Stockton University. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, an editor of the Fundamentals of Aerospace Medicine 4th and 5th edition, and associate editor for the journal npj Microgravity.

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Scientists link rare genetic phenomenon to neuron function, schizophrenia

In our cells, the language of DNA is written, making each of us unique. A tandem repeat occurs in DNA when a pattern of one or more nucleotides—the basic structural unit of DNA coded in the base of chemicals cytosine ©, adenine (A), guanine (G) and thymine (T)—is repeated multiple times in tandem. An example might be: CAG CAG CAG, in which the pattern CAG is repeated three times.

Now, using state-of-the-art whole-genome sequencing and machine learning techniques, the UNC School of Medicine lab of Jin Szatkiewicz, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics, and colleagues conducted one of the first and the largest investigations of repeats in , elucidating their contribution to the development of this devastating disease.

Published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the research shows that individuals with schizophrenia had a significantly higher rate of rare tandem repeats in their genomes—7% more than individuals without schizophrenia. And they observed that the tandem repeats were not randomly located throughout the genome; they were primarily found in genes crucial to brain function and known to be important in schizophrenia, according to previous studies.

Liquid Metal Stretchy Circuits, Built With Sound

A team in Korea has used sound waves to connect tiny droplets of liquid metals inside a polymer casing. The novel technique is a way to make tough, highly conductive circuits that can be flexed and stretched to five times their original size.

Making stretchable electronics for skin-based sensors and implantable medical devices requires materials that can conduct electricity like metals but deform like rubber. Conventional metals don’t cut it for this use. To make elastic conductors, researchers have looked at conductive polymers and composites of metals and polymers. But these materials lose their conductivity after being stretched and released a few times.

Liquid metals, alloys that stay liquid at room temperature, are a more promising option. Gallium-based liquid metals, typically alloys of gallium and indium, have caught the most attention because of their low toxicity and high electrical and heat conductivity. They are also tough because of an oxide skin that forms on their surface, and they stick well to various substrates.

Amazon debuts a fully autonomous warehouse robot

You can’t discuss fulfillment robots without mentioning Amazon. Over the past decade, the retail juggernaut has become the 800-pound gorilla in the category, courtesy of several key acquisitions and seemingly endless resources. And while warehouse robotics and automation have been accelerated amid the pandemic and resulting employment crunch, Amazon Robotics has been driving these categories for years now.

This week at its annual Re: Mars conference in Las Vegas, the company celebrated a decade of its robotics division, which was effectively born with its acquisition of Kiva Systems. Over the course of its life, Amazon Robotics has deployed more than 520,000 robotic drive units, across its fulfillment and sort centers. From the outside, it’s been a tremendous success in the company’s push toward same-and next-day package delivery, and its driven the competition to look for their own third-party robotics solutions, bolstering startups like Locus, Fetch and Berkshire Grey.

Is the brain a quantum computer? A remarkable pair of studies suggests so

Using modified MRI machines, physicists may have found quantum entanglement between the heart and brain If someone were to (theoretically) throw a wrench at your head, you might be able to catch it just in time to avoid a concussion. But how? Typically, for split-second reactions, we do not consciously decide to catch.