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Researchers recreate the machine which cleans up the waste inside a cell

Autophagy is the process by which cells break down waste and gunk inside them.

There’s a cleaning process happening in our bodies daily. Derived from Greek, the process is called autophagy, which means self-eating.

It plays a vital role in immunity and host defense. In the human body, self-eating is the process by which our cells break down, remove abnormal proteins and old waste macromolecules and organelles in its cytoplasm, and kill invading microorganisms.

This wireless ultrasound patch can sense deep tissue vital signs

The device can track body signals from tissues as deep as 164 mm for up to twelve hours at a time.

A team of researchers and scientists from the University of California San Diego have developed a stick-on ultrasound patch, also called an ultrasonic system-on-patch (USoP), which a person can wear on the go as the device gives insight on the blood pressure, heart rate, and other physiological signs of the subject wearing it.

As per the press release, the USoP tracks these body signals from tissues as deep as 164 mm for up to twelve hours at a time.


Lin et al.

As per the press release, the USoP tracks these body signals from tissues as deep as 164 mm for up to twelve hours at a time.

Paralysed man walks again via thought-controlled implants

A paralysed man has regained the ability to walk smoothly using only his thoughts for the first time, researchers said on Wednesday, thanks to two implants that restored communication between brain and spinal cord.

The patient Gert-Jan, who did not want to reveal his surname, said the breakthrough had given him “a freedom that I did not have” before.

The 40-year-old Dutchman has been paralysed in his legs for more than a decade after suffering a spinal cord injury during a bicycle accident.

ChatGPT is giving therapy. A mental health revolution may be next

face_with_colon_three This new gold rush with AI will bring new jobs for even Psychiatry and Therapists which is already leading to new bots with human like therapists in texts. This could lead to even better mental health for the global population.


“Psychotherapy is very expensive and even in places like Canada, where I’m from, and other countries, it’s super expensive, the waiting lists are really long,” Ashley Andreou, a medical student focusing on psychiatry at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera.

“People don’t have access to something that augments medication and is evidence-based treatment for mental health issues, and so I think that we need to increase access, and I do think that generative AI with a certified health professional will increase efficiency.”

The prospect of AI augmenting, or even leading, mental health treatment raises a myriad of ethical and practical concerns. These range from how to protect personal information and medical records, to questions about whether a computer programme will ever be truly capable of empathising with a patient or recognising warning signs such as the risk of self-harm.

Study reveals unique molecular machinery of woman who can’t feel pain

The biology underpinning a rare genetic mutation that allows its carrier to live virtually pain-free, heal more rapidly and experience reduced anxiety and fear, has been uncovered by new research from UCL.

The study, published in Brain, follows up the team’s discovery in 2019 of the FAAH-OUT gene and the that cause Jo Cameron to feel virtually no pain and never feel anxious or afraid. The new research describes how the mutation in FAAH-OUT “turns down” FAAH gene expression, as well as the knock-on effects on other molecular pathways linked to and mood. It is hoped the findings will lead to new drug targets and open up new avenues of research in these areas.

Jo, who lives in Scotland, was first referred to pain geneticists at UCL in 2013, after her doctor noticed that she experienced no pain after major surgeries on her hip and hand. After six years of searching, they identified a that they named FAAH-OUT, which contained a rare genetic mutation. In combination with another, more common mutation in FAAH, it was found to be the cause of Jo’s unique characteristics.

A lab deep underground could hold the key to habitability on Mars

Tunnels deep underground in North Yorkshire are providing a unique opportunity to study how humans might be able to live and operate on the moon or on Mars.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have launched the Bio-SPHERE project in a unique research facility located 1.1 km below the surface, in one of the deepest mine sites in the UK. The project investigates how scientific and medical operations would take place in the challenging environments of the moon and Mars.

It is the first of a series of new laboratory facilities planned to study how humans might work—and stay healthy—during long space missions, a key requirement for ensuring mission continuity on other planets.

Generative AI Is Stoking Medical Malpractice Concerns For Medical Doctors In These Unexpected Ways, Says AI Ethics And AI Law

In today’s column, I will be examining how the latest in generative AI is stoking medical malpractice concerns for medical doctors, doing so in perhaps unexpected or surprising ways. We all pretty much realize that medical doctors need to know about medicine, and it turns out that they also need to know about or at least be sufficiently aware of the intertwining of AI and the law during their illustrious medical careers.

Here’s why.


Is generative AI a blessing or a curse when it comes to medical doctors and the role of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Artificial Intelligence Powers Breakthrough in Large-Scale Atom Simulations

Utilizing the computational prowess of one of the world’s top supercomputers, scientists have achieved the most accurate simulation to date of objects consisting of tens of millions of atoms, thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. Previous simulations that delved into the behavior and interaction of atoms were limited to small molecules due to the immense computational power required. Although there are methods to simulate larger atom counts over time, they heavily rely on approximations and fail to provide intricate molecular details.

A team led by Boris Kozinsky at Harvard University has developed a tool named Allegro, which leverages AI to perform precise simulations of systems containing tens of millions of atoms. To demonstrate the capabilities of their approach, Kozinsky and his team employed Perlmutter, the world’s eighth most powerful supercomputer, to simulate the complex interplay of 44 million atoms constituting the protein shell of HIV. Additionally, they successfully simulated other vital biological molecules such as cellulose, a protein associated with haemophilia, and a widespread tobacco plant virus.

Kozinsky emphasizes that this methodology can accurately simulate any atom-based object with exceptional precision and scalability. The system’s applications extend beyond biology and can be applied to a wide array of materials science problems, including investigations into batteries, catalysis, and semiconductors.