Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,274

Scientists Discover a New Way To Make Species

The evolution of a new species by hybridization of two previously described species with no change in chromosomal number is very unusual in the animal world. So far, only a few empirically acknowledged cases of this spontaneous mode of evolution (from one generation to the next) known as homoploid hybridization exist.

A study led by Axel Meyer, Professor of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Konstanz, has successfully demonstrated the emergence of a new hybrid species in cichlid fishes. This is likely the first instance of this genetic speciation method in vertebrates. The researchers reveal that a new hybrid species has emerged from the cichlid A. sagittae and A. xiloaensis in the crater lake Xiloá in Nicaragua using whole genome sequencing of more than 120 individuals as well as a number of other techniques.

Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

How Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Improve Medical Processes

AI can also be of benefit in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Tools have been created that help diagnose a patient as well as a human would.

AI isn’t a new technology—it’s been researched and developed since the 1950s and is currently present in many of our daily routines. Most of these applications are so common that we don’t even notice them.

Our lives often depend on the healthcare industry. So, having a technology that allows you to speed up patient registration processes and help diagnose more quickly and effectively is essential. Every health center should consider the use of AI for the benefit of its processes so it can adapt to the modern world and its accelerated pace.

The Cause of Alzheimer’s Could Be Coming From Inside Your Mouth

In recent years, a growing number of scientific studies have backed an alarming hypothesis: Alzheimer’s disease isn’t just a disease, it’s an infection.

While the exact mechanisms of this infection are something researchers are still trying to isolate, numerous studies suggest the deadly spread of Alzheimer’s goes way beyond what we used to think.

One such study, published in 2019, suggested what could be one of the most definitive leads yet for a bacterial culprit behind Alzheimer’s, and it comes from a somewhat unexpected quarter: gum disease.

Scientists Created Synthetic Muscle That’s Stronger Than Kevlar

Researchers believe that synthetic muscle fibers could be used in a wide variety of sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial applications, including textiles, biomedicine, and tissue engineering. In a world where it takes up to 1,800 gallons of water to produce a single pair of jeans, the development of such environmentally safe processes that provide high-strength materials for industrial applications is a great step forward.

How strong can a muscle ever get? Can it have more endurance than metal? Can it be sturdier than Kevlar? While you might be inclined to answer the above in the negative, please pause, for scientists have succeeded in developing synthetic muscle that’s stronger than Kevlar. How about that for a flex?

The science and other stuff to know

The breakthrough was achieved by researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University, and the findings were reported in a study published in Nature Communications in August.

Physicians urged to consider fungal infections as possible cause for lung inflammation

Infectious diseases expert George Thompson has been studying and treating fungal diseases for over two decades. He monitors their spread, symptoms and relative risks. Lately, he has been more concerned about a rising threat: the spread of disease-causing fungi outside of their traditional hot spots.

In a commentary published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Thompson and his co-author from the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Chiller raised the alarm. They noted the expanding presence and emerging risks from three endemic : histoplasmosis, blastomycosis and coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever).

“These three fungal diseases usually inhabit specific U.S. regions conducive to their survival,” said Thompson. He is a professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. “Recently, we are finding more cases of these diseases outside their known areas, taking clinicians and patients by surprise.”

High-resolution MRI enables direct imaging of neuronal activity

Medical television shows sometimes depict thoughts skipping across the brain as action potentials that ignite like exploding stars. While it looks dramatic and impressive, today’s brain-imaging technologies can’t visualize brain activity so sensitively. A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called DIANA – direct imaging of neuronal activity – may get us closer, though.

An alternative to BOLD fMRI

A brain signal begins with an action potential caused by rapid changes in voltage across cellular membranes. Researchers involved in this proof-of-concept study, reported in Science, say that DIANA might measure this neuronal activity by capturing the intracellular voltage of a group of neurons.

All breast cancers are not the same: New tests and therapy options for individualized management

Breast cancer is one of the five commonest cancers in India. But it should be understood that all breast cancers are not the same. They have different characteristics because of genetic mutations. The new tests now available can help us identify these mutations. This helps oncologists to determine the specific therapy approach required for each type of breast cancer. Now, science has given us a new therapy called ‘targeted therapy’ to target specific mutations. These new tests and therapies can make the management of breast cancer more individualized by matching the therapies to the cancer we have to treat and improve chances of disease-free survival.

New tests to identify the individual characteristics of breast cancer

Identification of the genetic causes of breast cancer: Next generation sequencing.

Population scientist identifies rapid rise in cervical cancer in millennial women

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Ashish Deshmukh, Ph.D., has identified a dramatic recent rise in cervical cancer incidence among women in their early 30s. This work was published Nov. 21 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Cervical cancer is mostly related to human papillomavirus (HPV), and has made this cancer preventable. Yet, it is estimated that over 14,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year and more than 4,000 deaths will be attributed to .

“HPV is a group of over 200 viruses. At least 14 high-risk HPV types can cause several types of cancers, including cervical, anal and head and neck cancers. In the era of the overall decline in cancer incidence, cancers caused by HPV are unfortunately rising,” said Deshmukh, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at MUSC.

Evaluating cell-free DNA-based blood tests for early detection of multiple cancers

In a recent study published in Cancer Cell, researchers assessed several approaches for a circulating cell-free deoxyribonucleic acid (cfDNA)-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test. Defining the clinical limit of detection (LOD) based on circulating tumor allele fraction (cTAF) enables the comparison of different approaches.

An MCED test is a blood test that helps early detection of a shared cancer signal across multiple cancers using blood samples. Currently, available MCED tests have a low false-positive rate of less than 1%.

/* */