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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,478

Elon Musk’s Neuralink Took One Step Closer to Implanting Chips Into Human Brains

Elon Musk’s Neuralink, the company that purports to implant computer chips in human brains, just took a critical step toward actually following through.

The brain implant firm is officially hiring a clinical trial director, which means Musk’s futuristic firm is finally ready, at least on its own terms, to give next-gen brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) a try.

Of course, it’s hard to imagine being the one for whom the buck stops should anything go monstrously wrong during trials. But on the other hand, if it works, this could be the beginning of a new age of sense re-immersion for countless victims of neurological disorders, brain damage, paralysis, and more.

A Brain-Dead Person Just Scored Two Kidneys From Genetically Modified Pigs

After only 23 minutes, he could even pee again!

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham transplanted kidneys derived from genetically modified pigs into a brain-dead person last year as part of human preclinical trials, Science Daily reported.

Organ transplant from another species recently made big news, a heart from a genetically modified pig was transplanted into a human whose heart condition left with no other option. While the transplant was authorized under compassionate grounds by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the idea is catching up with the provider of the organ, Revivicor, already having completed two such trials in dead patients.

As Science Daily explains, genetically modified kidneys have been extensively tested in non-human primate recipients but testing them in humans before clinical trials can also provide important information about the safety and efficacy of the transplanted organs.

Full Story:

The shortage of kidneys is acute and calls for a radical solution to save human lives. Genetically modified pig kidneys could be the answer.

Continue reading “A Brain-Dead Person Just Scored Two Kidneys From Genetically Modified Pigs” | >

Trapping tiny particles: A versatile tool for nanomanipulation

At just 1/1000th of a millimeter, nanoparticles are impossible to see with the naked eye. But, despite being small, they’re extremely important in many ways. If scientists want to take a close look at DNA, proteins, or viruses, then being able to isolate and monitor nanoparticles is essential.

Trapping these particles involves tightly focusing a to a point that produces a strong electromagnetic field. This beam can hold particles just like a pair of tweezers but, unfortunately, there are natural restrictions to this technique. Most notable are the size restrictions—if the particle is too small, the technique won’t work. To date, optical tweezers have been unable to hold particles like individual proteins, which are only a few nanometers in diameter.

Now, due to recent advances in nanotechnology, researchers in the Light-Matter Interactions for Quantum Technologies Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have developed a technique for precise nanoparticle trapping. In this study, they overcame the natural restrictions by developing optical tweezers based on —a synthetic material with specific properties that do not occur naturally. This was the first time that this kind of metamaterial had been used for single nanoparticle trapping.

U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions Expected to Increase in 2022 & 2023

In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will increase in both 2022 and 2023 but remain below 2019 levels. In 2020, U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions decreased by 11% as energy use declined during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the U.S. economy began to return to pre-COVID activity, CO2 emissions increased by an estimated 6% in 2021. We expect increasing economic activity, along with other factors, will result in those emissions increasing by another 2% in 2022 and remaining virtually flat in 2023.

We forecast that, by 2023, U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions will total 4,971 million metric tons (MMmt) — still 3% below the 5,144 MMmt of CO2 emissions generated in 2019 and 17% below the peak level of 6,016 MMmt in 2007.

U.S. petroleum-related CO2 emissions increased 8% in 2021, and we forecast that they will increase by another 5% in 2022 and an additional 1% in 2023 as travel activity continues to increase. We forecast that in 2022, the number of vehicle miles traveled in the United States, which affects motor gasoline and diesel consumption, will return to 2019 levels and that air travel will increase by 4% over 2019.

Jeff Bezos joins tycoons pouring billions in new anti-ageing research

For it is they who are leading a charge towards a new frontier in medicine that will revolutionise our ‘healthspans’ — the number of years of good health we can expect to enjoy — and push back the worst effects of ageing.

The announcement this week that a new anti-ageing company, Altos Labs, which is based in the U.S. and UK, has been established to ‘hack’ the ageing process has reignited interest in the science of rejuvenation, an obsession that has spanned continents and the ages.

Study: Reducing Snoring May Help Put Brain Health Risks to Rest

𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙡𝙯𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚.

The Neuro-Network.

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬:

𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲: 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐏𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭

Snoring not only can cause a restless night for bedfellows, but it can also disturb the processes that affect brain health. Researchers found that reducing snoring may improve cognitive function in individuals with mild impairment.

Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and their colleagues have discovered that breathing rates while sleeping can be used to distinguish cognitively normal people from those who have mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.

Continue reading “Study: Reducing Snoring May Help Put Brain Health Risks to Rest” | >

Cancer Cell Nanotubes Hijack Mitochondria from Immune Sentinels

Cancer cells send out nanotubes to suck mitochondria from immune cells, finds a November 18 study in Nature Nanotechnology. The pilfered organelles allow the cancer cells to replenish their power while weakening T cells—a finding that could lead to new avenues for assailing tumors.

“It’s surprising that the transfer of mitochondria happened between different cell types, intriguingly between immune cells and cancer cells,” writes cancer biologist Ming Tan of China Medical University in Taiwan, who was not involved in this study, in an email to The Scientist. While researchers have observed mitochondrial transfer between cells before, most cases occurred between two cells of the same type. “Moreover, the mitochondrial transfer appears to have a significant impact on tumor cells escaping from immune surveillance,” Tan adds. “This is exciting because [of] its potential therapeutic implications.”

See “Nanotubes Link Immune Cells”.

Pfizer CEO says omicron vaccine will be ready in March

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday said a vaccine that targets the omicron variant of Covid will be ready in March, and the company’s already begun manufacturing the doses.

“This vaccine will be ready in March,” Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We [are] already starting manufacturing some of these quantities at risk.”

Bourla said the vaccine will also target the other variants that are circulating. He said it is still not clear whether or not an omicron vaccine is needed or how it would be used, but Pfizer will have some doses ready since some countries want it ready as soon as possible.