Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have developed brain organoids — 3D, brain-like structures grown from human stem cells — that show organized waves of activity similar to those found in living human brains.

Then, while studying organoids grown from stem cells derived from patients with the neurological disorder Rett syndrome, the scientists were able to observe patterns of electrical activity resembling seizures, a hallmark of the condition.

The study, published today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, broadens the list of brain conditions that can be studied in organoids and further illustrates the value of these human cell–based models in investigating the underlying causes of diseases and testing potential therapies.

Bioengineers apply engineering and design principles to develop innovative solutions for biological and medical problems. Our researchers are creating tools and technologies to eliminate bottlenecks and reduce the time it takes for discoveries in stem cell research to reach the clinic as life-saving therapies. This includes everything from creating biodegradable scaffolds that can help stem cells Cells that have the ability to differentiate into multiple types of cells and make an unlimited number of copies of themselves. stem cells Cells that have the ability to differentiate into multiple types of cells and make an unlimited number of copies of themselves. regenerate damaged tissue to engineering materials that can make the immune-boosting effects of vaccines last longer.

Nanotechnology is the field of science focused on creating and manipulating structures and materials at the nanometer scale (one billionth of a meter). The application of nanotechnology in medicine recreates the natural scale of biological phenomena, enabling more precise and less invasive approaches for preventing, diagnosing and treating disease. Together with scientists from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, our researchers are creating nanomaterials that enable targeted drug and gene delivery, more efficient production of cells for use as therapies and better models of human disease. Because nanotechnology-based methods enhance efficiency, require less material and use up less space, they can offer low cost, high-accuracy solutions for the study, diagnosis and treatment of disease.

By leveraging the combined strengths of nanotechnology and bioengineering, our researchers are accelerating the development of more effective and affordable stem cell-based therapies for a host of intractable medical conditions.

A new stroke-healing gel created by UCLA researchers helped regrow neurons and blood vessels in mice whose brains had been damaged by strokes. The finding is reported May 21 in Nature Materials.

“We tested this in laboratory mice to determine if it would repair the brain and lead to recovery in a model of stroke,” said Dr. S. Thomas Carmichael, professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. “The study indicated that new brain tissue can be regenerated in what was previously just an inactive brain scar after stroke.”

The results suggest that such an approach could some day be used to treat people who have had a stroke, said Tatiana Segura, a former professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UCLA who collaborated on the research. Segura is now a professor at Duke University.

Brain cells receive sensory inputs from the outside world and send signals throughout the body telling organs and muscles what to do. Although neurons comprise only 10% of brain cells, their functional and genomic integrity must be maintained over a lifetime. Most dividing cells in the body have well-defined checkpoint mechanisms to sense and correct DNA damage during DNA replication.

Neurons, however, do not divide. For this reason, they are at greater risk of accumulating damage and must develop alternative repair pathways to avoid dysfunction. Scientists do not understand how neuronal DNA damage is controlled in the absence of replication checkpoints.

A recent study led by Cynthia McMurray and Aris Polyzos in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab’s) Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division addressed this knowledge gap, shedding light on how DNA damage and repair occur in the brain. Their results suggest that DNA damage itself serves as the checkpoint, limiting the accumulation of genomic errors in cells during natural aging.

Researchers experimentally demonstrated counterflow superfluidity, a quantum state where atoms flow in opposite directions simultaneously.

This video provides a progress update on cutting-edge research exploring epigenetic reprogramming and small molecule cocktails for cellular rejuvenation.

Dr David Sinclair delve into the latest studies on how these approaches can potentially reverse the effects of aging at the cellular level. Topics covered include:

Continue reading “Reverse Aging : Small Molecule Cocktail & Epigenetic Reprogramming | Dr David Sinclair” »

A serious knock to the head may also deliver an insidious blow to the human immune system – a one-two punch that could reawaken dormant viruses in the body, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative disease.

A study using stem cell ‘mini brains’ has shown that a herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection already ‘arrested’ by the immune system can shake off its shackles when brain tissue is injured.

“We thought, what would happen if we subjected the brain tissue model to a physical disruption, something akin to a concussion?” says biomedical engineer Dana Cairns from Tufts University in the US.

Read the 2021 Review Article “Immune and Genome Engineering as the Future of Transplantable Tissue” by Jennifer Elisseeff, PhD, Stephen F. Badylak, MD, DVM, PhD, and Jef D. Boeke, PhD, DSc.

What if a distant planet held the key to finding life beyond Earth? NASA’s discovery has scientists buzzing with curiosity.

This revelation might bring us closer to answering one of humanity’s biggest questions: Are we truly alone in the universe?

Continue reading “NASA Discovered Planet Bigger Than Earth With a Gas That Is ‘Only Produced by Life’” »