Lifeboat Foundation

Continue reading “Bioquark — Electroceuticals — Real Bodies” »

There have been 39 womb transplants using a live donor, including mothers donating their womb to their daughter, resulting in 11 babies.

But the 10 previous transplants from a dead donor have failed or resulted in miscarriage.

In this case, reported in The Lancet, the womb donor was a mother of three in her mid-40s who died from bleeding on the brain.

Continue reading “First baby born after deceased womb transplant” »

A fascinating new study from scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center could provide some motivation to get moving, even just occasionally. The research has revealed that a single workout can positively affect the activity of neurons in the brain that influence metabolism for up to two days.

Researchers used the chip to test a simple neural net and identify numerals with 100 percent accuracy.

Who isn’t interested in new ways to apply stem cell therapy these days?

Speaking of, have you heard about the scientists in Philadelphia, PA, who have been injecting stem cells directly into the spinal cords of medically brain-dead people in order to revive them?

In a page taken from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the idea of “bringing people back from the dead” is a little too much like “playing God” for some critics to appreciate.

Continue reading “Reverse Brain Death with Stem Cells” »

Always hungry 🙈.

By Christian Jarrett. Researchers provoked curiosity in their volunteers using magic and obscure trivia questions.

Open brain surgery is about as dangerous as it sounds, but for sufferers of conditions like Parkinson’s and epilepsy it can be the only way to relieve their symptoms. Unfortunately, this means drilling a hole in the skull and stimulating the brain with electrical currents, bringing on the risk of serious side effects. Fortunately, scientists have opened a new doorway to the brain, developing the Stentrode, a promising first-of-a-kind device that can deliver the currents to targeted areas through a small keyhole incision in the neck.

The discovery of brain structures that apparently mark time has raised a larger question: What is time, anyway?

Scientists can now discover how the fine details of gene activity differ from one cell type to another in a tissue sample, thanks to a technique invented by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.

The technique, described in a paper published Oct. 15 in Nature Biotechnology, will enable biologists to better understand the distinct molecular workings of different cell types in the body. It may also enable the improved understanding and treatment of diseases caused by abnormal gene activity.

“An individual gene can ‘say’ different things, and the true meaning often requires listening to entire phrases, rather than single words,” said senior study author Dr. Hagen U. Tilgner, assistant professor of neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Our new method essentially allows us to record complete phrases, called isoforms, that each gene expresses in each cell.”

Continue reading “Knowing exactly what genes are saying – and where” »