Lifeboat Foundation

Soft robots, medical devices, and wearable devices have permeated our daily lives. KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) researchers have developed a fluid switch using ionic polymer artificial muscles that operates at ultra-low power and produces a force 34 times greater than its weight. Fluid switches control fluid flow, causing the fluid to flow in a specific direction to invoke various movements.

KAIST announced on the 4th of January that a research team under Professor IlKwon Oh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed a soft fluidic switch that operates at ultra-low voltage and can be used in narrow spaces.

The results have been published in Science Advances (“Polysulfonated Covalent Organic Framework as Active Electrode Host for Mobile Cation Guests in Electrochemical Soft Actuator”).

Ichthyosis refers to a group of skin disorders that lead to dry, itchy skin that appears scaly, rough, and red. Your health care provider may be able to diagnose ichthyosis with a genetic test that detects the mutated gene usually from a blood sample or a swab from the mouth. Find out more:

What is ichthyosis? It is a disorder that causes dry, thickened skin that may look similar to fish scales.

In the largest study of its kind, scientists report how combining health data with whole genome sequence (WGS) data in patients with cancer can help doctors provide more tailored care for their patients.

The research, published in Nature Medicine, shows that linking WGS data to real-world clinical data can identify changes in cancer DNA that may be relevant for an individual patient’s care, for example by helping identify what treatment might work best for them based on their cancer.

The study, led by Genomics England, NHS England, Queen Mary University of London, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Westminster, analyzed data covering over 30 types of solid tumors collected from more than 13,000 participants with cancer in the 100,000 Genomes Project. By looking at the genomic data alongside routine clinical data collected from participants over a 5-year period, such as hospital visits and the type of treatment they received, scientists were able to find specific genetic changes in the cancer associated with better or worse survival rates and improved patient outcomes.

A study finds that microglia with mutant TREM2 protein reduce brain circuit connections, promote inflammation, and contribute to Alzheimer’s.

Rapid-acting antidepressants, including ketamine, scopolamine and psilocybin, have been found to have immediate and lasting positive effects on mood in patients with major depressive disorder but how these effects arise is unknown. New research led by the University of Bristol explored their neuropsychological effects and found that all three of these drugs can modulate affective biases associated with learning and memory.

The paper, published in Science Translational Medicine was carried out in collaboration with researchers at Compass Pathways, Boehringer Ingelheim, and the University of Cambridge.

Negative affective biases are a core feature of major depressive disorder. Affective biases occur when emotions alter how the brain processes information and negative affective biases are thought to contribute to the development and continuation of depressed mood.

Jan 11 (Reuters) — The University of Oxford said on Thursday it had begun human testing of an experimental vaccine against the brain-swelling Nipah virus that led to outbreaks in India’s Kerala state and other parts of Asia.

There is no vaccine yet for the deadly virus. Nipah was first identified about 25 years ago in Malaysia and has led to outbreaks in Bangladesh, India and Singapore.

The first participants in the Oxford trial received doses of the vaccine over the last week. The shot is based on the same technology as the one used in AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Serum Institute of India’s COVID-19 shots.

Ancient DNA helps explain why northern Europeans have a higher risk of multiple sclerosis than other ancestries: It’s a genetic legacy of horseback-riding cattle herders who swept into the region about 5,000 years ago.

The findings come from a huge project to compare modern DNA with that culled from ancient humans’ teeth and bones — allowing scientists to trace both prehistoric migration and disease-linked genes that tagged along.

When a Bronze Age people called the Yamnaya moved from the steppes of what are now Ukraine and Russia into northwestern Europe, they carried gene variants that today are known to increase people’s risk of multiple sclerosis, researchers reported Wednesday.

Primary prophylaxis in high-risk patients with lung or gastrointestinal cancers lowered incidence of thromboembolism in a randomized trial.

NEJM Journal Watch reviews over 250 scientific and medical journals to present important clinical research findings and insightful commentary.

CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., looks set to continue to push the boundaries of gene editing, as she announces plans to team up with life sciences giant Danaher to create a center focused on generating new therapies for rare and other diseases.

The center, which will be based at the headquarters of Doudna’s own Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) and referred to as the Danaher-IGI Beacon for CRISPR Cures, “aims to use CRISPR-based gene editing to permanently address hundreds of diseases with a unified research, development and regulatory approach,” according to a Jan. 9 release from Danaher.