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Category: biotech/medical – Page 191

Misfolded proteins may preserve postmortem brains well after other tissues have decayed.

By Kermit Pattison edited by Tanya Lewis

No part of our body is as perishable as the brain. Within minutes of losing its supply of blood and oxygen, our delicate neurological machinery begins to suffer irreversible damage. The brain is our most energy-greedy organ, and in the hours after death, its enzymes typically devour it from within. As cellular membranes rupture, the brain liquifies. Within days, microbes may consume the remnants in the stinky process of putrefaction. In a few years, the skull becomes just an empty cavity.

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📚 🧑🏻‍🔬 By Dr. Lena Katharina Müller-Heupt et al.

MDPI university of nebraska medical center — UNMC.

This study investigated the whitening effect, cytotoxicity and enamel surface alterations induced by different over-the-counter (OTC) bleaching agents in comparison to hydrogen peroxide. Human teeth (n = 60) were randomly assigned into 6 groups (n = 10), stained with coffee solution for 7 d, followed by a whitening period of 7 d with either placebo, bromelain, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chlorite, PAP or hydrogen peroxide. Color measurements were performed with a spectrophotometer. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) were taken to assess the enamel structure. Cytotoxicity of the tested substances was assessed based on the cell viability of primary human fibroblasts. The application of all whitening gels resulted in a greater color difference of the enamel (ΔE) in comparison to the negative control. Hydrogen peroxide caused the greatest color difference.

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Cephalopods’ remarkable behavior and complex neurobiology make them valuable comparative model organisms, but studies aimed at enhancing welfare of captive cephalopods remain uncommon. Increasing regulation of cephalopods in research laboratories has resulted in growing interest in welfare-oriented refinements, including analgesia and anesthesia. Although general and local anesthesia in cephalopods have received limited prior study, there have been no studies of systemic analgesics in cephalopods to date. Here we show that analgesics from several different drug classes may be effective in E. berryi. Buprenorphine, ketorolac and dexmedetomidine, at doses similar to those used in fish, showed promising effects on baseline nociceptive thresholds, excitability of peripheral sensory nerves, and on behavioral responses to transient noxious stimulation.

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Princeton engineers have developed a scalable 3D printing technique to produce soft plastics with customizable stretchiness and flexibility, while also being recyclable and cost-effective—qualities rarely combined in commercially available materials.

In a study published in Advanced Functional Materials, a team led by Emily Davidson detailed how they used thermoplastic elastomers—a class of widely available polymers—to create 3D-printed structures with adjustable stiffness. By designing the 3D printer’s print path, the engineers could program the plastic’s physical properties, allowing devices to stretch and flex in one direction while remaining rigid in another.

Davidson, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, highlighted the potential applications of this technique in fields such as soft robotics, medical devices, prosthetics, lightweight helmets, and custom high-performance shoe soles.

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Researchers are warning of potential risks from the development of synthetic organisms called mirror bacteria, which have reversed molecular chirality.

These organisms could evade immune systems, disrupt natural ecosystems, and pose threats to human, animal, plant, and environmental health.

Potential Risks of Mirror Bacteria.

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Stanford Medicine researchers have developed a new method for influenza vaccination that encourages a robust immune response to all four common flu subtypes, potentially increasing the vaccine’s efficacy.

In laboratory tests using human tonsil organoids, the modified vaccine showed promising results in combating both seasonal and bird flu strains. The approach involves a combined antigen methodology that might also protect against emerging flu variants with pandemic potential.

Innovative Flu Vaccine Development

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NUS researchers found that deuterated water (D₂O) reduces pain by modulating the TRPV1 ion channel, offering a non-addictive alternative to conventional painkillers.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in partnership with Peking University, China, have uncovered new insights into the TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 1) ion channel and its role in pain perception. Their findings demonstrate how solvent molecules can influence pain signals, paving the way for potential development of safer, non-addictive pain management strategies.

Effective pain management is vital for improving quality of life and overall well-being. The TRPV1 ion channel, which plays a key role in detecting pain, expands its pore when activated, enabling ions and larger molecules to pass through. However, the ability of water molecules to permeate the TRPV1 channel has remained uncertain.

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The glymphatic system becomes more active during sleep, especially during deep sleep, allowing for more effective waste clearance, said psychiatrist Dr. Jingduan Yang, founder of the Yang Institute of Integrative Medicine in Pennsylvania.

In a mouse study published in Science, researchers used tracers to monitor changes in cerebrospinal fluid flow. They found that during sleep, the interstitial, or intervening, space expanded by more than 60 percent, and the tracer influx increased. The brain’s clearance rate of beta-amyloid doubled during sleep (or under anesthesia) compared to the awake state.

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A dietary supplement may offer a novel way to enhance the effectiveness of CAR T cell therapy, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Although this method requires validation through clinical trials, early findings—recently presented during a press briefing at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition—suggest a potentially affordable and accessible strategy to improve CAR T cell functionality and cancer-fighting capabilities.

CAR T cell therapy, first developed at Penn Medicine, is a personalized cancer treatment that reprograms a patient’s immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells.

“Thousands of patients with blood cancers have been successfully treated with CAR T cell therapy, but it still doesn’t work for everyone,” said co-lead author Shan Liu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow who presented the study at ASH. “We took an outside-the-box approach to improve CAR T cell therapy, by targeting T cells through diet rather than further genetic engineering.”

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