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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,345

Scientists use stem cells to create synthetic mouse embryos

Scientists have created “synthetic” mouse embryos from stem cells without a dad’s sperm or a mom’s egg or womb.

The lab-created embryos mirror a natural mouse embryo up to 8 ½ days after fertilization, containing the same structures, including one like a beating heart.

In the near term, researchers hope to use these so-called embryoids to better understand early stages of development and study mechanisms behind disease without the need for as many lab animals. The feat could also lay the foundation for creating synthetic human embryos for research in the future.

Efficient AI technology for MRI data analysis

An algorithm developed by researchers from Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and its University Hospital rechts der Isar, the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn is able to learn independently across different medical institutions. The key feature is that it is self-learning, meaning it does not require extensive, time-consuming findings or markings by radiologists in the MRI images.

This federated was trained on more than 1,500 MRI scans of healthy study participants from four institutions while maintaining data privacy. The algorithm then was used to analyze more than 500 patient MRI scans to detect diseases such as multiple sclerosis, vascular disease, and various forms of brain tumors that the algorithm had never seen before. This opens up new possibilities for developing efficient AI-based federated algorithms that learn autonomously while protecting privacy. The study has now been published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.

Health care is currently being revolutionized by artificial intelligence. With precise AI solutions, doctors can be supported in diagnosis. However, such algorithms require a considerable amount of data and the associated radiological specialist findings for training. The creation of such a large, central database, however, places special demands on . Additionally, the creation of the findings and annotations, for example the marking of tumors in an MRI image, is very time-consuming.

Nontoxic material found to be ultra-strong solar energy harvester

Solar cells are vital for the green energy transition. They can be used not only on rooftops and solar farms but also for powering autonomous vehicles, such as planes and satellites. However, photovoltaic solar cells are currently heavy and bulky, making them difficult to transport to remote locations off-grid, where they are much needed.

In a collaboration led by Imperial College London, alongside researchers from Cambridge, UCL, Oxford, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in Germany, and others, researchers have produced that can absorb comparable levels of sunlight as conventional silicon , but with 10,000 times lower thickness.

The material is sodium bismuth sulfide (NaBiS2), which is grown as nanocrystals and deposited from solution to make films 30 nanometers in thickness. NaBiS2 is comprised of nontoxic elements that are sufficiently abundant in the earth’s crust for use commercially. For example, bismuth-based compounds are used as a nontoxic lead replacement in solder, or in over-the-counter stomach medicine.

PPE can be recycled to make stronger concrete

Engineers at RMIT University have developed a method to use disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) to make concrete stronger, providing an innovative way to significantly reduce pandemic-generated waste.

The RMIT team is the first to investigate the feasibility of recycling three key types of PPE—isolation gowns, face masks and rubber gloves—into concrete.

Published in the journals Case Studies in Construction Materials, Science of the Total Environment and Journal of Cleaner Production, the studies by RMIT School of Engineering researchers demonstrate the potential for PPE to be used as reinforcement materials in structural concrete.

Study points to new approach to clearing toxic waste from brain

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a new druggable pathway that potentially could be used to help prevent Alzheimer’s dementia.

Amyloid beta accumulation in the brain is the first step in the development of Alzheimer’s dementia. Scientists have poured countless hours and millions of dollars into finding ways to clear amyloid away before cognitive symptoms arise, with largely disappointing results.

In this study, published Aug. 24 in the journal Brain, researchers found a way to increase clearance of waste products from the brains of mice by ramping up a genetic quirk known as readthrough. This same strategy also may be effective for other characterized by the buildup of toxic proteins, such as Parkinson’s disease, the researchers said.

Space Biology, Psychology Studies Help NASA Plan Future Missions

Life science continued dominating the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. The seven Expedition 67 orbital residents explored how living in microgravity affects tissue regeneration, crew psychology, and the human digestion system.

Learning to heal wounds in space is critical as NASA and its international partners plan crewed missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Four station astronauts have been partnering together this week for the skin healing study taking place inside the Kibo laboratory module. Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, all from NASA, with Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), are studying surgical techniques such as biopsies, suture splints, and wound dressing, inside Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox.

Scientists on Earth seek to identify the molecular mechanisms that occur during tissue regeneration in weightlessness. Observations may offer advanced therapies and provide insights into how space-caused accelerated skin aging affects an astronaut’s healing properties. The biomedical experiment may also contribute to better wound healing techniques on Earth.

IoT Vulnerability Disclosures Up 57% in Six Months, Claroty Reveals

The number of vulnerability disclosures impacting extended internet of things (XIoT) devices increased by 57% in the first half of 2022 compared to the previous six months, according to a new report by Team82, the research team of cyber-physical systems (CPS) security firm Claroty.

The research also found that vendor self-disclosures increased by 69%. This would be a first for the industry, which usually relies more for disclosures on independent research teams. According to Team82, the trend indicates that more operational technology (OT), IoT, and internet of medical things (IoMT) vendors are establishing vulnerability disclosure programs and dedicating more resources to them.

Additionally, fully or partially remediated firmware vulnerabilities increased by 79% over the same time period, a significant improvement considering the relative challenges in patching firmware versus software vulnerabilities.