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Findings from study believed to be largest of its kind contradict smaller studies showing treatment’s promise.

Regular doses of the hormone oxytocin do not appear to overcome deficits in social functioning among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings contradict earlier reports that indicated the hormone could alleviate the difficulties in social functioning characteristic of ASD. Oxytocin is associated with empathy and social bonding. The study was conducted by Linmarie Sikich, M.D., of Duke University, and colleagues. It appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Funding was provided by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Implantable heart technology is being used in Manchester to assess when a patient is at high risk of dying, thanks to an NIHR ARC-GM and University of Manchester led research published today.

The pacemakers and defibrillators contain multiple sensors that allow continuous monitoring of a patient’s heart health, 24 hours a day. The study published in Europace and funded by the Medical Research Council is a collaboration between The University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Health Innovation Manchester, the National Institute for Health Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM) and Medtronic – who manufacture implantable devices.

The research team examined remotely monitored health related data from 439 patients at Manchester Royal Infirmary over two years. The study reported a three-fold increase in odds of mortality for patients who spent at least one day in high-risk status. There was also a 26% increase in the odds of mortality for patients who had 14 consecutive days or more in a high-risk status compared with those whose high-risk episodes were shorter. Higher percentages of time spent in a high-risk status, and less time in a low-risk status, were also associated with increased risk of death.

In 2,019 a survey from the Center for Digital Government (CDG), the National Association of Chief Information Officers and IBM found that just 13 percent of state governments reported using artificial intelligence in some non-core part of their operations. Three years later, the same survey yielded very different results.

At the NASCIO annual confference in Seattle this week, Joe Morris with CDG presented some of the study’s 2021 findings, and it was clear that the COVID-19 pandemic changed how state and local government are thinking about AI. This year, 60 percent of respondents reported AI is currently in use in their enterprise; 6.7 percent said the tech is widely used across the state, up from just 1 percent in 2019.

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The is the world’s first biotech fine dust filter for urban spaces. Integrated moss modules bring the forest into the city and ensure that the air is verifiably and noticeably clean. We combine the natural filtering power of mosses with smart IoT technology. With an automated irrigation and ventilation system, the can clean and cool the surrounding air. Independent studies show that up to 82% of the fine dust in the air is filtered directly through the moss and the air is also cooled by up to 2.5 ° C.

Mitochondrial disorders, nano-medicine drug delivery, and innovative therapeutic interventions — dr. volkmar weissig scd, phd — president, world mitochondria society — professor, midwestern university.


Dr. Volkmar Weissig, Sc. D., Ph.D. is a Tenured Full Professor of Pharmacology, Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Co-Director of the Nanomedicine Center of Excellence in Translational Cancer Research, at Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA.

Dr. Weissig received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry, and his postdoctoral Sc. D. degree in Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the Martin-Luther University in Halle (Germany).

He says here that we will not live to 150 without merging with technology. Since rejuvenation already exists for worms, mice, and rats I see no reason why a person could not make it that long and longer.


In this video Sergey talks about his ideas for when we will reach Longevity Escape Velocity, his vision for the longer term and the implications for society as people live longer.

Sergey Young is a longevity investor and visionary on a mission to help one billion people extend their lifespans and live longer, healthier lives. To do that, Sergey founded Longevity Vision Fund to accelerate breakthroughs in life extension technology and to make longevity affordable and accessible to all.

Researchers have identified a subpopulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that boost the healing of bone fractures and show an ability to differentiate into various cell types.

Their findings are published in the journal Bone Reports in a paper titled, “Bone marrow CD73+ mesenchymal stem cells display increased stemness in vitro and promote fracture healing in vivo,” and led by researchers from the University of Tsukuba, in collaboration with the University of Bonn, Germany.

“MSCs are multipotent and considered to be of great potential for regenerative medicine,” the researchers wrote. “We could show recently (Breitbach, Kimura, et al. 2018) that a subpopulation of MSCs, as well as sinusoidal endothelial cells (sECs) in the bone marrow (BM) of CD73-EGFP reporter mice, could be labeled in vivo. We took advantage of this model to explore the plasticity and osteogenic potential of CD73-EGFP+ MSCs in vitro and their role in the regenerative response upon bone lesion in vivo.”

“Lower levels of DHA are associated with inflammation, cardiovascular and brain disorders, such as depression, which are all linked to migraine risk.”

Professor Nyholt said LPE(20:4) was a chemical compound that blocked the production of an anti-inflammatory molecule called anandamide.


Summary: Researchers have identified causal genetic links to three blood metabolite levels that increase migraine risks.

Source: Queensland University of Technology