Biotech startup eGenesis developed a gene-edited kidney that was successfully transplanted into a living patient last week. Its CEO says the company is just getting started.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,347
Could AI play a role in locating damage to the brain after stroke?
In a new study, AI processed text from health histories and neurologic examinations to locate lesions in the brain. The study, which looked specifically at the large language model called generative pre-trained transformer 4 (GPT-4), is published in the online issue of Neurology Clinical Practice.
A stroke can cause long-term disability or even death. Knowing where a stroke has occurred in the brain helps predict long-term effects such as problems with speech and language or a person’s ability to move part of their body. It can also help determine the best treatment and a person’s overall prognosis.
Damage to the brain tissue from a stroke is called a lesion. A neurologic exam can help locate lesions, when paired with a review of a person’s health history. The exam involves symptom evaluation and thinking and memory tests. People with stroke often have brain scans to locate lesions.
Depleting myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells rejuvenates aged immunity
Antibody-mediated depletion of myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells in aged mice restores characteristic features of a more youthful immune system.
The virus that infects almost everyone, and its link to cancer and MS — podcast
On 28 March it’s the 60th anniversary of the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus, the most common viral infection in humans. The virus was first discovered in association with a rare type of cancer located in Africa, but is now understood to be implicated in 1% of cancers, as well as the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. Ian Sample meets Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School, to hear the story of this virus, and how it might help us prevent and treat cancer and other illnesses.
Solar-powered emission-free technology converts saltwater into drinking water
Scientists have developed a new solar-powered system to convert saltwater into fresh drinking water which they say could help reduce dangerous waterborne diseases like cholera.
People Unexpectedly Getting Pregnant on Ozempic and Wegovy
On social media, a bizarre trend seems to be emerging: surprise pregnancies when taking the diabetes drug Ozempic and its sister weight loss shot Wegovy.
As People reports, there are a few reasons why people might be getting pregnant unexpectedly when taking these semaglutide-based injectable drugs.
For one thing, Dr. Iman Saleh — an obstetrician, gynecologist, and obesity medicine doctor at New York’s Northwell Health system — tells People that through a roundabout mechanism, the weight people lose on these drugs may be making them more fertile.
BioMedLM: A 2.7B Parameter Language Model Trained On Biomedical Text
BioMedLM
A 2.7B Parameter Language Model Trained On Biomedical Text https://huggingface.co/papers/2403.
Models such as GPT-4 and Med-PaLM 2 have demonstrated impressive performance on a wide variety of biomedical NLP tasks.
Join the discussion on this paper page.
CRISPR could disable and cure HIV, suggests promising lab experiment
The gene-editing technique CRISPR disabled HIV that lay dormant in immune cells in a lab experiment, raising hopes for an eventual cure.
By Clare Wilson
Chemicals Found In Popular Household Products Potentially Linked To Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Study Suggests
“We hope our work will contribute to informed decisions regarding regulatory measures or behavioral interventions to minimize chemical exposure and protect human health,” Tesar said in a statement.
1.8 million. That’s how many people globally have multiple sclerosis, according to the World Health Organization. The agency also found around one in 100 children worldwide have been diagnosed with autism.
“Rigorous safety tests are in place for human health that are evaluated by [the] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval and compliance with all regulatory guidelines,” Brian Sansoni, senior vice president for Communications, Outreach and Membership for the American Cleaning Institute, told Forbes. The ACI represents top cleaning product manufacturers like the Clorox Company and Procter & Gamble. “ACI member company manufacturers make product safety a top priority.” Quats have been known to be effective at killing bacteria, germs, viruses and mold. “The use of cleaning products, disinfectants and their chemistries contribute to public health in homes, schools, healthcare settings and communities every single day,” the ACI said.
DNA Damage and Inflammation Key to Memory Formation
Summary: Researchers unveiled a groundbreaking discovery that DNA damage and brain inflammation are vital processes for forming long-term memories, particularly within the brain’s hippocampus.
Contrary to previous beliefs associating inflammation with neurological diseases, this study highlights inflammation’s critical role in memory formation through the activation of the Toll-Like Receptor 9 (TLR9) pathway following DNA damage in hippocampal neurons.
These findings not only challenge conventional views on brain inflammation but also caution against indiscriminate inhibition of the TLR9 pathway, given its importance in memory encoding and the potential risks of genomic instability.