Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether AKI is independently associated with subsequent kidney function trajectory among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The findings suggest kidney disease observed after AKI often present before injury.

In the present study of hospitalized persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) fournd that acute kidney injury (AKI) did not predict worsening of kidney function trajectory once difference in pre-hospitalization characteristically were fully accounted for. Instead, the authors suggest that much of determinants of faster kidney disease decline observed after AKI may already be present before AKI. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Many now believe that AKI is an independent risk factor for accelerated loss of kidney function. This has led to changes in research focus, practice patterns, and public health targets. However, prior studies associating AKI with more rapid subsequent loss of kidney function had methodological limitations, including inadequate control for differences between patients who had AKI and those who did not.

A pair of new studies led by researchers at Columbia University explains why babies get so many common respiratory infections and identifies a specialized cluster of immune cells found only in babies that help them better cope with new pathogens.

“We know little about how the immune system develops throughout life, and most of what we know about immune system development in children comes from animal studies,” says Donna Farber, Ph.D., an expert in immune system development at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons who led the research. “But mice develop much more quickly than humans and their immune systems are a bit different than ours.”

Using a trove of tissue samples from deceased pediatric organ donors, Farber’s team was able to pinpoint aspects of immune system development that distinguish babies from adults.

Pain affects millions of Americans. It’s hard to measure, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all treatment approach. NIH conducts and supports basic, translational, and clinical research on pain, as well as strategies for treating it. Here are just a few recent examples.

Basic pain research

Basic research is conducted in labs by scientists who study the most fundamental building blocks of life, including genes, proteins, and cells. This kind of research helps us better understand living systems and processes.

Some sharks get a new set of teeth every few weeks, while crocodiles can go through thousands of chompers in their long lifetimes. Yet the ability to endlessly replace our pearly whites is something that’s eluded us and nearly all other mammals. By the time our 32 ‘adult’ teeth grow in, that’s as good as it gets.

Now, a Japanese team of scientists is set to trial an experimental drug that would allow humans to grow completely new teeth.

A clinical trial scheduled for July 2024 will initially be for participants with tooth agenesis, a genetic condition that results in the absence of teeth, but the scientists have a view to making the treatment available for general use by as soon as 2030.

Big cats also like cat nip 😗😁.

As you may know from your own pet, if there’s one thing that is guaranteed to send your cat a little dizzy it’s their catnip toy. Big cats are no exception and one of the favourite enrichment activities we give our cats is their regular catnip fix.

Continue reading “Cats In A Spin Over Catnip” »

Allergists can help treat and prevent allergy symptoms that effect day-to-day activities or decrease your quality of life.

Australia-based Q-CTRL has officially announced that it will partner with the Australian military and AUKUS to develop GPS-free navigation using quantum sensors.

Australian quantum technology developer Q-CTRL has now officially partnered with Australia’s Department of Defence (DoD) and, by proxy, AUKUS partners to develop quantum sensors that will deliver quantum-assured navigation capability for military platforms. The program will use Q-CTRL’s “software-ruggedized” quantum sensing technology to enhance positioning and navigation.

Continue reading “Q-CTRL’s quantum navigation uses atom vibration for dead reckoning” »

This could help us improve our understanding of the Sun and its impact on space weather.

A collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Graz in Austria and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in Russia used artificial intelligence (AI) to study the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere of the Sun, a press release said.

The solar magnetic field is a poorly understood area of research among astronomers. Even after centuries of watching the Sun, we only have limited information about how sunspots are formed or whether they will lead to events like a flare or a coronal mass ejection (CME).

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing our lives for the better making it easier, better, more entertaining, and, hopefully, longer and healthier. Between 2013 and 2014, advances in deep learning led to machines outperforming humans in image recognition, text recognition, voice recognition and many other tasks. The generative AI revolution, which, despite the many early proof-of-concept papers, went mainstream after the publication of the Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in 2014 and Transformers in 2017, has led to the creation of many advanced generative tools and apps that are transforming our lives in the most profound way possible. Many predictions made by Jensen Huang, the prolific CEO of NVIDIA — a company that has enabled and powered the AI revolution, have come true and even exceeded expectations. Instructional Transformer-based Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are already in mainstream use. ChatGPT can already outperform me in the many writing tasks, and we even co-authored an academic paper. Today, there are millions of professionals working on the development of AI systems and applications. Many of these professionals, including the author of this article, would very likely celebrate ‘International AI Day’ if there were one.

On July 16th, social media lit up with the celebratory posts for the “AI Appreciation Day” often using the #AIAppreciationDay hashtag. Several large brands and academic institutions, including Zeiss, Wistar Institute, and MBZUAI followed.