Biotech/medical – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Dec 8
2023

DNA-folding nanorobots can manufacture limitless copies of themselves

Researchers have demonstrated a programmable nano-scale robot, made from a few strands of DNA, that’s capable of grabbing other snippets of DNA, and positioning them together to manufacture new UV-welded nano-machines – including copies of itself.

The robots, according to New Scientist, are created using just four strands of DNA, and measure just 100 nanometers across, so about a thousand of them could squeeze up into a line the width of a human hair.

The team, from New York University, the Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomechanical Engineering, and The Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the robots surpass previous efforts, which were only able to assemble pieces into two-dimensional shapes. The new bots are able to use “multiple-axis precise folding and positioning” to “access the third dimension and more degrees of freedom.”

Dec 8
2023

Unlocking the Secrets of Aging: Science, Studies, and Interventions for Longer, Healthier Lives

In this episode, Dr. David Sinclair and co-host Matthew LaPlante discuss why we age. In doing so, they discuss organisms that have extreme longevity, the genes that control aging (mTOR, AMPK, Sirtuins), the role of sirtuin proteins as epigenetic regulators of aging, the process of “ex-differentiation” in which cells begin to lose their identity, and how all of this makes up the “Information Theory of Aging”, and the difference between “biological age” and “chronological age” and how we can measure biological age through DNA methylation clocks. #Aging #DavidSinclair #Longevity

Dec 8
2023

NMN, NR, Resveratrol, Metformin & Other Longevity Molecules

In this week’s episode, Dr. David Sinclair and co-host Matthew LaPlante zero in on drugs and supplements that have been reported to combat aspects of aging. They share the latest experimental and clinical data for NAD boosters (these being NR, NMN, NAD IV drips and shots), resveratrol, fisetin, quercetin, rapamycin, spermidine, metformin, and berberine.

Dec 8
2023

Brain implants revive cognitive abilities long after traumatic brain injury

The results of the clinical trial were published Dec. 4 in Nature Medicine.

More than 5 million Americans live with the lasting effects of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury — difficulty focusing, remembering and making decisions. Though many recover enough to live independently, their impairments prevent them from returning to school or work and from resuming their social lives.

Dec 8
2023

Brain Area Associated With Impulse Control Discovered

Summary: A new study identified the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) as a central regulator in the brain’s inhibitory control circuit.

Using dynamic causal modeling and fMRI on a sample of 250 participants, the study reveals that the rIFG significantly influences the caudate nucleus and thalamus during response inhibition tasks. This research also shows gender differences in brain function: women have distinct neural patterns in the thalamus, and overall, better inhibitory control correlates with stronger neural communication from the thalamus to the rIFG.

These findings provide valuable insights for developing neuromodulation therapies for mental and neurological disorders with inhibitory control deficits.

Dec 8
2023

Medical microrobots that can travel inside your body are (still) on their way

Microrobots released into the body could bust up clots, deliver cancer drugs, and even guide listless sperm to their target.

The human body is a labyrinth of vessels and tubing, full of barriers that are difficult to break through.

Dec 8
2023

In 6 years, a digital twin will begin testing personalized stroke care

This technology customizes treatment methods by testing them virtually on digital copies of individual patients, changing how medical care is personalized for people with strokes.

This personalized medical technology tailors treatments by virtually testing on digital patient replicas, revolutionizing personalized stroke care.

Dec 8
2023

Tianhe Xingyi: China unveils the ‘fastest’ homegrown supercomputer

No specifications have been revealed, but officials have claimed that it surpasses the capabilities of the famous Tianhe-2 supercomputer.

The National Supercomputing Center (NSC) in Guangzhou, China, has unveiled the Tianhe Xingyi, a homegrown supercomputer, at an industrial event in Guangdong Province, which several media reports have confirmed. The NSC is the parent organization under whose guidance the Tianhe-2 supercomputer was also developed.

Supercomputers are a crucial component of a nation’s progress as they aid in solving the most complex and technical problems. The US has conventionally led the world in hosting the fastest supercomputers, as captured by the TOP500 listings, while also leading in the absolute number of supercomputers available to its researchers.

The high computing prowess of supercomputers can be used to carry out simulations for understanding climate change, carrying out material research, space exploration, and finding cures for various diseases. Of late, supercomputers have assumed importance for developing AI models, and access to advanced supercomputers could be critical in determining who leads the next frontier of information technology.

Dec 8
2023

FDA approves 2 new gene therapies for sickle cell disease, a ‘functional cure’ for many patients

The FDA has approved two new gene therapies for sickle cell disease, a ‘functional cure’ for many patients.

Dec 8
2023

A shape-shifting robotic catheter could make heart surgery safer

A beating heart makes for a formidable surgical arena, but a new robotic catheter could someday equip surgeons to operate in the cardiac environment with greater ease.

The device, designed by a team of physicians and engineers at Boston University, possesses shape-shifting capabilities that allow it to be maneuvered through complex anatomy while maintaining enough stability to accomplish surgical objectives within the heart.

In a study published in Science Advances, the authors demonstrated the robot’s ability to assist with two mock cardiac procedures using animal tissue. The study authors suggest that, with further development, the robotic catheter could make many common heart surgeries far safer and less taxing on the body.