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Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 1720

Apr 25, 2019

A breakthrough in the study of laser/plasma interactions

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, supercomputing

A new 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation tool developed by researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CEA Saclay is enabling cutting-edge simulations of laser/plasma coupling mechanisms that were previously out of reach of standard PIC codes used in plasma research. More detailed understanding of these mechanisms is critical to the development of ultra-compact particle accelerators and light sources that could solve long-standing challenges in medicine, industry, and fundamental science more efficiently and cost effectively.

In laser-plasma experiments such as those at the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) Center and at CEA Saclay—an international research facility in France that is part of the French Atomic Energy Commission—very large electric fields within plasmas that accelerate particle beams to over much shorter distances when compared to existing accelerator technologies. The long-term goal of these laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) is to one day build colliders for high-energy research, but many spin offs are being developed already. For instance, LPAs can quickly deposit large amounts of energy into solid materials, creating dense plasmas and subjecting this matter to extreme temperatures and pressure. They also hold the potential for driving free-electron lasers that generate light pulses lasting just attoseconds. Such extremely short pulses could enable researchers to observe the interactions of molecules, atoms, and even subatomic particles on extremely short timescales.

Supercomputer simulations have become increasingly critical to this research, and Berkeley Lab’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) has become an important resource in this effort. By giving researchers access to physical observables such as particle orbits and radiated fields that are hard to get in experiments at extremely small time and length scales, PIC simulations have played a major role in understanding, modeling, and guiding high-intensity physics experiments. But a lack of PIC codes that have enough computational accuracy to model laser-matter interaction at ultra-high intensities has hindered the development of novel particle and light sources produced by this interaction.

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Apr 25, 2019

Long live Nemo! New animal model in aging research?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

The colorful Clownfish lives longer than 20 years in the aquarium. Researchers of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute on Aging (FLI) in Jena, Germany, have investigated the genetics behind the longevity of clownfish. By sequencing the genome and comparing the sequences with other species, they were able to show, that the secret of this longevity lies in the mitochondria and lysosomes of the clownfish. Because it is uncomplicated to keep and breed clownfish, they represent an interesting new animal model for research on longevity. The results are now published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Clownfish, famous because of the Disney movie “Finding Nemo,” are a bright orange-white-black colored fish with three vertical stripes, which occur in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Clownfish live in symbiotic relationship with sea anemone. They are reliant on sea anemone for shelter in their natural habitat, which offer protection for the fish with its tentacles. The Clownfish’s mucus protection prevents it from being stung by the tentacles of the sea anemone. Thanks to this survival strategy, have a lower mortality rate than other fishes and can grow quite old. Until now there was not much known about the lifespan of this interesting sea dweller.

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Apr 25, 2019

One Step Closer to Artifical Lymph Nodes

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Scientists from Johns Hopkins Medicine have reported the successful creation of a special type of gel that mimics the lymph nodes in our bodies. This gel recruits and multiplies T cells just like actual lymph nodes do, so it could help in the fight against cancer and immune system disorders.

The lymph nodes are the boot camps of the immune system

There has been a great deal of interest in immunotherapy in the last few years, particuarly in using the T cells, a type of white blood cell, to hunt down cancer and destroy it. Our own immune system is quite literally living medicine, and when it works properly, it can deal with invading pathogens and cancers with ease; this is one reason why the traditional small-molecule approach to cancer has started to fall by the wayside in favor of immune approaches.

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Apr 25, 2019

A new way to ‘freeze’ cells promises to transform the common cell-freezing practice

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, materials

A team of Japanese researchers has—for the first time—demonstrated preserving frozen animal cells without a cryoprotectant agent (CPA), a substance that can protect biological material from freezing damage. To keep cells alive, all the conventional freezing methods needed to add a CPA, which can be potentially toxic and associated with cell damage and death. Their method only relies on ultrarapid cooling—or really fast freezing—for cells and vital biological material during freezing process. A safe freezing without CPA method would not only revolutionize how important research and medical material is stored, but greatly advance any and all research methods within those fields. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on April 1st, 2019.

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Apr 25, 2019

German scientists create see-through human ORGANS in step toward 3D-printed body parts

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical, neuroscience

German scientists create see-through ORGANS in a step toward 3D-printed parts that could be transplanted in the human body…


Researchers in Germany have created transparent human organs using a new technology that could pave the way to print three-dimensional body parts such as kidneys for transplants.

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Apr 25, 2019

Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, internet, policy

Chinese technology companies are increasingly important and dynamic international actors. They are making critical contributions in a range of areas, from cutting edge research to enabling connectivity for developing countries. Yet, their rapid expansion and growing influence also bring a range of strategic and policy challenges. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre has created a public database to map the global expansion of 12 key Chinese tech companies working across the telecommunications, internet & biotech sectors. It’s a tool for journalists, researchers, NGOs, policymakers and the interested public to better understand the enormous scale, complexity and increasing reach of some of China’s tech giants. On this website you’ll find:

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Apr 24, 2019

Genetically modified virus may shrink incurable brain cancers

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience

By Michael Le Page

People with incurable melanomas and brain or breast cancers are to get injections of tumour-fighting viruses.

The trial will test the safety of a virus that has been engineered to shrink tumours – an approach that holds promise for a range of cancers, including deadly brain tumours.

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Apr 24, 2019

Florida Man Becomes First Person to Live With Advanced Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, Elon Musk, robotics/AI

Prosthetics have advanced drastically in recent years. The technology’s potential has even inspired many, like Elon Musk, to ask whether we may be living as “cyborgs” in the not-too-far future. For Johnny Matheny of Port Richey, Florida, that future is now. Matheny, who lost his arm to cancer in 2005, has recently become the first person to live with an advanced mind-controlled robotic arm. He received the arm in December and will be spending the next year testing it out.

The arm was developed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab as part of their program Revolutionizing Prosthetics. The aim of the program, which is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is to create prosthetics that are controlled by neural activity in the brain to restore motor function to where it feels entirely natural. The program is specifically working on prosthetics for upper-arm amputee patients. While this particular arm has been demoed before, Matheny will be the first person to actually live with the prosthesis. The program does hope to have more patients take the tech for a longterm test run, though.

While the prosthetic device is impressive, it’s not a limitless, all-powerful robot arm. Matheney won’t be able to get the arm wet and is not allowed to drive while wearing it. Keeping a few rules in mind, Matheney will otherwise be free to push the tech to the edge of its capabilities, truly exploring what it can do.

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Apr 24, 2019

World’s first malaria vaccine to go to 360,000 African children

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

Some 360,000 children a year in three African countries will receive the world’s first malaria vaccine as part of a large-scale pilot project, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

Malawi has started vaccinating children under two years of age and Kenya and Ghana will begin using the vaccine in the coming weeks, with health ministries in these countries deciding where it will be used, the WHO said.

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Apr 24, 2019

Healing device dresses your wound for you

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

This gun treats burn injuries without causing added pain to the victim 💉.

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