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Category: biotech/medical – Page 127

Humanoid robots in the operating room could address surgery delays and staff shortages

As waiting rooms fill up, doctors get increasingly burned out, and surgeries take longer to schedule and more get canceled, humanoid surgical robots offer a solution. That’s the argument that UC San Diego robotics expert Michael Yip makes in a perspective piece in Science Robotics.

Today’s are costly pieces of equipment designed for specialized tasks and can only be operated by highly trained physicians. However, this model doesn’t scale.

Despite the drastic improvements in artificial intelligence and autonomy for industrial and in the past year, these improvements haven’t translated to surgical robots.

Semiconducting polymers and collagen combine to create safe, green wearable tech

The world of wearable technology—such as sensors and energy-producing devices—is expanding, thanks to new research into a unique combination of materials that are flexible, safe to use on or inside the human body, and environmentally friendly.

Dr. Simon Rondeau-Gagné and a team of collaborators and graduate students have used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan to show that semiconducting polymers and collagen—the main component of human skin—can be combined to create “that are more efficient, more conformable and specifically… more green as well.”

Collagen provided both the skin-like rigidity and elasticity (or bendability) the researchers were looking for in “a platform that can be integrated with something like the human body,” said Rondeau-Gagné, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Windsor.

17y Younger Biological Age (Test #4 in 2025): Supplements, Diet

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New research reveals how male and female brains process regret and change decisions

A traditionally overlooked type of RNA plays an important role in promoting resilience to depression—but only in females. According to a new study led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, researchers have now discovered a novel role this molecule plays in how the female brain makes decisions. The authors revealed brain-region-specific and sex-dependent effects of this biomarker, translated from humans to animals, on how individuals make only certain types of choices. This study uncovered differences in how each sex decides whether to change their minds after making mistakes, including when to cut their losses and move on as well as how they process regrets about missed opportunities.

This research sheds important light on how specific types of decisions that could negatively impact mood engage the male and female brain in very different ways. The study, published July 11 in Science Advances, using laboratory animal models, helps uncover new biological and psychological mechanisms that may be linked to psychiatric vulnerabilities.

Women are twice as likely to develop depression than men. Furthermore, depression can manifest with different symptoms between the sexes, including alterations in negative rumination on the past. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these differences remain unclear.

Role of plasmin in metastatic tumors

FasL is an immune cell membrane protein that triggers a programmed cell death called apoptosis. Activated immune cells, including CAR-T cells made from a patient’s immune system, use apoptosis to kill cancer cells.

The team discovered that in human genes, a single evolutionary amino acid change — serine instead of proline at position 153 — makes FasL more susceptible to being cut and inactivated by plasmin.

Plasmin is a protease enzyme that is often elevated in aggressive solid tumors like triple negative breast cancer, colon cancer and ovarian cancer.

This means that even when human immune cells are activated and ready to attack the tumor cells, one of their key death weapons — FasL — can be neutralized by the tumor environment, reducing the effectiveness of immunotherapies.

The findings may help explain why CAR-T and T-cell-based therapies can be effective in blood cancers but often fall short in solid tumors. Blood cancers often do not rely on plasmin to metastasize, whereas tumors like ovarian cancer rely heavily on plasmin to spread the cancer.

Significantly, the study also showed that blocking plasmin or shielding FasL from cleavage can restore its cancer-killing power. That finding may open new doors for improving cancer immunotherapy.

Continue reading “Role of plasmin in metastatic tumors” | >

How the genome defends itself against internal enemies

An international research team has deciphered a mechanism of the evolutionary arms race in human cells. The findings provide insights into how mobile elements in DNA hijack cellular functions—and how cells can defend themselves against this in order to prevent conditions such as tumor formation or chronic inflammation.

An international research team led by Freiburg biologists Dr. Wenjing Qi and Prof. Ralf Baumeister has discovered how the LINE1 retrotransposon exploits a to become active itself, as occurs in tumors. At the same time, the researchers have also deciphered the cell’s appropriate countermeasures to prevent conditions such as or chronic inflammation. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Wristband sensor provides all-in-one monitoring for diabetes and cardiovascular care

A new wearable wristband could significantly improve diabetes management by continuously tracking not only glucose but also other chemical and cardiovascular signals that influence disease progression and overall health. The technology was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

The flexible wristband consists of a microneedle array that painlessly samples interstitial fluid under the skin to measure glucose, lactate and alcohol in real time using three different enzymes embedded within the tiny needles. Designed for easy replacement, the microneedle array can be swapped out to tailor wear periods. This reduces the risk of allergic reactions or infection while supporting longer-term use.

Simultaneously, the wristband uses an ultrasonic sensor array to measure and arterial stiffness, while ECG sensors measure heart rate directly from wrist pulses. These physiological signals are key indicators of cardiovascular risk, which is often elevated in people with diabetes but is rarely monitored continuously outside of a clinical setting.

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