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Category: biotech/medical – Page 639

Resolvin T4 Found to Reverse Inflammation and Reduce Vascular Disease

Inflammation is the signature characteristic of arthritis. Quite literally, “arthritis” means swelling or inflammation of a one or more joints. A common diagnosis among older individuals, the primary cause is inconclusive, but the medical community agrees that it is most likely the cause of disease, genetic defect, an injury, or overuse. The major symptoms include joint pain and stiffness. There are many different types of arthritis, which can have varying symptoms and dictate treatment. Two of the most common include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Osteoarthritis is caused by the deterioration or break down of cartilage. Cartilage is the slick tissue between bones to allow for easy movement. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system attacks the joints. There are many different treatments to target arthritis, but the overall goal is to reduce symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life. Researchers are currently finding new ways to overcome the disease and possibly reverse the effects of inflammation.

Amazing Spiral-Shaped Contact Lens Uses ‘Optical Vortex’ to Correct Vision

Scientists have designed a striking new contact lens that could revolutionize ophthalmology. It’s based on a spiral pattern that lets the eye focus at different distances and in varying lighting conditions.

Beyond contact lenses, its inventors say the tech could be applied to a range of miniaturized imaging systems, including consumer gadgets like virtual reality headsets, to offer more versatility and flexibility than existing lenses.

The lens, called a spiral diopter, causes incoming light to spin in an optical vortex, making allowances for the various deformations in the cornea of the eye that can happen as we age.

New test for improving population-based colorectal cancer screening

A new stool test appears to detect colorectal cancer precursors better than the current fecal immunochemical test. This could further reduce the number of new colorectal cancer cases as well as the number of people dying from the disease. A study led by the Netherlands Cancer Institute compared both tests.

Their results are published in The Lancet Oncology.

Each year worldwide, approximately 1.9 million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and 935,000 people lose their lives as a result of the condition. If detected early, colorectal cancer is curable. However, by the time symptoms such as or blood in the stool appear, it is often too late. That is why many countries have introduced population-based screening programs. In The Netherlands, for example, people between the ages of 55 and 75 are invited to be tested every two years.

SGLT-2 Inhibitors Lower Risk for Kidney Stones in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

according to a recent study.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with excess risk for kidney stones. Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors increase urine output and alter urine composition in ways that might lower risk for kidney stones. In this U.S. study, researchers compared risks for kidney stones among 600,000 adults with type 2 diabetes who were new users of SGLT-2 inhibitors versus 600,000 propensity score–matched patients who initiated glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which do not have the same renal effects.

During median follow-up of 6 months, risk for kidney stones was significantly lower in patients who began using SGLT-2 inhibitors than in patients who began using GLP-1 receptor agonists (15 vs. 22 events/1000 person-years) or DPP-4 inhibitors (15 vs. 20 events/1000 person-years). The effect was larger for younger patients (age, 70).

This study suggests that initiating SGLT-2 inhibitors, compared with GLP-1 receptor agonists or DPP-4 inhibitors, is associated with lower risk for kidney stones in the short term; whether this effect will persist long term is unknown. For a patient in whom the decision to start an SGLT-2 inhibitor (vs. another diabetes drug) is otherwise a toss-up, a history of recurrent kidney stones might tip the balance toward the SGLT-2 inhibitor.

Neuralink brain chip’s first human patient. How does it work? | About That

The first human patient has received an implant from Neuralink, Elon Musk’s computer-brain interface company. Andrew Chang explores the complexity of the N1 implant, how it’s working in clinical trials, and what Neuralink is trying to achieve with the device.

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SynMoss project grows moss with partially synthetic genes

A Chinese team of life scientists, microbiologists, plant researchers and seed designers has developed a way to grow engineered moss with partially synthetic genes. In their project, reported in the journal Nature Plants, the group engineered a moss that is one of the first living things to have multiple cells carrying a partially artificial chromosome.

Several research projects have been working toward the goal of creating plants with synthetic —such plants could be programmed to produce more food, for example, or more oxygen, or to pull more from the air. Last year, one team of researchers developed a way to program up to half of the genome of yeast cells using synthetic genes.

In this new effort, the team in China upped the ante by replacing natural genes with genes created in a lab—moss is far more genetically complex than yeast. They call their project SynMoss.

Ultrasound Reverses Senescence in Cells

A new study claims that low-frequency ultrasound can reverse aspects of replicative and chemically induced senescence in vitro [1].

The age-related increase in senescent cell burden is thought to contribute to many processes of aging. Most of the attempts to deal with it involve senolytics: drugs that eliminate senescent cells.

However, it may be possible to re-educate them instead. Senomorphics are compounds that change senescent cells in a way that renders them benign, but they are much less common. The authors of this new pre-print study (it has not yet been peer-reviewed) claim to have found an even more impressive way to solve the senescent cell problem: by rejuvenating them with ultrasound.

Faulty DNA disposal system found to cause inflammation

Cells in the human body contain power-generating mitochondria, each with their own mtDNA—a unique set of genetic instructions entirely separate from the cell’s nuclear DNA that mitochondria use to create life-giving energy. When mtDNA remains where it belongs (inside of mitochondria), it sustains both mitochondrial and cellular health—but when it goes where it doesn’t belong, it can initiate an immune response that promotes inflammation.

Now, Salk scientists and collaborators at UC San Diego have discovered a novel mechanism used to remove improperly functioning mtDNA from inside to outside the mitochondria. When this happens, the mtDNA gets flagged as foreign DNA and activates a normally used to promote to rid the cell of pathogens, like viruses.

The findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, offer many new targets for therapeutics to disrupt the inflammatory pathway and therefore mitigate inflammation during aging and diseases, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.