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Hundreds of elders are using an AI-powered robot to combat their loneliness — and it appears to be offering companionship to one New Yorker getting daily breast cancer treatments.

Priscilla O’Kesson, a 77-year-old, told Spectrum News she has been using ElliQ, an AI-powered robot made by Israeli startup Intuition Robotics, to keep her company at her home in a town in Greene County called Catskill.

The AI-robot, designed to help older adults age on their own, uses voice commands and on-screen instructions to talk to and interact with users in real-time. ElliQ can conduct daily check-ins, act as a personal trainer, play games to stimulate the brain, and track their wellness goals, according to the robotics company.

Group A streptococci are one of the most common pathogens that humans are exposed to, and they can cause infections with a wide range of severities, from mild rashes and sore throats to flesh-eating and systemic infections that can be fatal. The number of these infections is also on the rise, although the reasons are unclear. Now researchers have learned more about why these pathogens can be mild in some people, and hit others hard. The findings have been reported in Nature Communications.

Scientists suspected that some interaction between a person’s genetics and the bacterial pathogen could be leading to such varied outcomes, said study co-author Fredric Carlsson, a researcher at Lund University.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the largest institutes in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. The Bacterial Pathogenesis and Antimicrobial Resistance Unit (chief John Dekker) in the Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology in the Division of Intramural Research (DIR) within NIAID seeks candidates for a postdoctoral fellowship position in microbial genomics.

This position will offer a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of pathogen genomics, systems biology, and clinical infectious diseases. The lab uses a variety of genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, imaging, and molecular approaches to study bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, with a focus on intra-host evolution in the context of infection. Access to state-of-the-art short-and long-read sequencing, metabolomics, optical, and computational resources is available. See more information about the Bacterial Pathogenesis and Antimicrobial Resistance Unit under chief John P. Dekker and an example of their recent work.

Imagine a person on the ground guiding an airborne drone that harnesses its energy from a laser beam, eliminating the need for carrying a bulky onboard battery.

That is the vision of a group of University of Colorado at Boulder scientists from the Hayward Research Group.

In a new study, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering researchers have developed a novel and resilient photomechanical material that can transform light energy into mechanical work without heat or electricity, offering innovative possibilities for energy-efficient, wireless and remotely controlled systems. Its wide-ranging potential spans across diverse industries, including robotics, aerospace and biomedical devices.

Chiral molecules are those that have two versions that are mirror images, like our right and left hands. These molecules have the same structure but different properties when they interact with other molecules, including those inside our bodies. This is important for example in drug molecules, where only the right-or left-handed version may have the desired effect.

Detecting and quantifying the chirality of matter however has been difficult. Current methods using a form of light that produces a (right-or left-twisting) helix have the problem that each turn of the helix is much larger than the molecules. This creates important challenges for detecting molecular chirality.

Now, researchers at Imperial College London, with collaborators in Germany and Spain, have come up with a new way to use light to detect chirality. Instead of making light helix in space, they have devised a way to make it helix in time using lasers with moderate intensities.

Brain-computer interfaces are devices that allow for direct communication between the brain and external devices, such as computers or prosthetics. As significant investments flow into R&D, cutting-edge companies are gearing up for human trials. These trials aim to showcase and fine-tune the potential of these interfaces to treat conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and depression.

While these technologies’ immediate use is for treating conditions, they also have the potential to access vast information at unprecedented speeds. As it stands today, the field not only aims to aid recovery, but also enhance existing cognitive functions. These goals introduce various ethical and… More.

Can cutting-edge technology transform the way humans learn, remember and evolve?

Continue reading “How Neuroscience Is Bringing Superhuman Memory Closer To Reach” »

Australian researchers have developed a new method to reprogram human cells to better mimic embryonic stem cells called transient-naive-treatment (TNT).

Stem cells, serving as a repair system for our body, generate all other cells with specialized functions. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

In a scientific advancement in the 2000s, it was discovered that somatic cells, which are responsible for the growth and development of an organism, could be artificially reprogrammed into a state that resembles embryonic stem (ES) cells, also known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. These cells can then generate any cell in the body.

A genetically modified pig kidney transplanted into a brain-dead man on life support has exhibited regular functioning for over a month, showing no signs of rejection or infection.

A new milestone in animal-to-human organ transplants in the United States has been achieved.

A gene-edited pig kidney implanted into a brain-dead man on life support has been functioning normally for over a month with no signs of rejection or infection.

Older adults with more severe behavioral symptoms, including agitation, aggression, and disinhibition, are more likely to become divorced than those with less severe symptoms. However, increasing stages of dementia are associated with a low likelihood of divorce. These are some of the conclusions of a new study published August 16 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Joan Monin of the Yale School of Public Health and colleagues.

In recent years, divorce has been on the rise among older adults. Moreover, dementia can be difficult for married couples for many reasons, including the introduction of caregiving burden, loss of intimacy, and financial strain.

In a new study, researchers analyzed data from 37 NIA/NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) across the US. The final study included 263 married or living-as–married couples who were divorced or separated during their follow up period at an ADRC, as well as 1,238 age-matched controls.