A new approach to monitoring arachnid behavior could help understand their social dynamics, as well as their habitat’s health.
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Paralysed patients could regain movement and sensation, stem cell treatment trial finds
Paralysed patients can regain movement and a sense of feeling after being injected with stem cells grown from their own fat, scientists have found.
The research into new experimental therapy has shown that patients who had suffered devastating injuries after car accidents and falls showed a number of improvements.
The treatment involves taking fat from the abdomen or thigh and removing the mesenchymal stem cells – a special type of stem cell that can hone in on injuries, and encourage repair and regeneration.
UCL spinout bags £10M to make AI ‘super brains’ for 100x faster LLM training
Oriole Networks, a UCL spinout, has raised £10mn in seed funding to build AI “super brains” that promise to accelerate the training of Large Language Models (LLMs).
Founded in 2023 by UCL scientists, the startup has developed a new method that harnesses the power of light to connect thousands of AI chips. This results in a network of chips, where the power of each individual GPU is combined to form a “super brain.”
According to James Regan, CEO at Oriole Networks, this “enables the direct connection of a very large number of nodes enabling it to function as a single machine.”
LyGenesis treats first patient in first-of-its-kind liver regeneration trial
Cell therapy company LyGenesis today revealed that the first patient has received treatment in the Phase 2a clinical trial of its regenerative cell therapy targeting end-stage liver disease (ESLD). The therapy, known as LYG-LIV-001, treats ESLD via an allogeneic regenerative cell therapy transplanted into patients’ lymph nodes.
ESLD affects nearly 2% of the US population, with more than 50,000 Americans succumbing to chronic liver disease annually. Often stemming from cirrhosis, ESLD poses significant health risks, and many patients are ineligible for traditional liver transplants.
The Phase 2a clinical trial, an open-label, dose-escalation study, is currently recruiting 12 patients diagnosed with ESLD. Each participant will undergo close monitoring for one year to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the transplanted hepatocytes in addressing the symptoms of ESLD.
Astronomers have found what may be the smallest galaxy ever
A tiny clump of stars orbiting our galaxy should have been ripped apart by the Milky Way, but its continued existence hints it may be held together by a massive amount of dark matter.
By Leah Crane
Swallowable Sensors could Pinpoint Gut Movement Problems for Patients
Scientists have developed an ingestible capsule dotted with sensors that can detect pressure in a patient’s guts and detect points of failure.
The ingestible system will give colorectal medical teams an unprecedented understanding of the movement of a patient’s digestive tract, or lack thereof. Instead of simply taking images of inside the guts, the system will sense whether it’s contracting, how much pressure is exerted and exactly where it might be inactive.
The system has been tested in a synthetic gut and animals. A patent for the technology is pending.