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The researchers also showed that they could restore normal cognitive function in mice with these genetic mutations by artificially turning down hyperactivity in neurons of the AD thalamus. The approach they used, chemogenetics, is not yet approved for use in humans. However, it may be possible to target this circuit in other ways, the researchers say.

Summary: Certain genes that are mutated or missing in those with schizophrenia and autism cause similar dysfunction in neural networks within the thalamus.

Source: MIT

Many neurodevelopmental disorders share similar symptoms, such as learning disabilities or attention deficits. A new study from MIT has uncovered a common neural mechanism for a type of cognitive impairment seen in some people with autism and schizophrenia, even though the genetic variations that produce the impairments are different for each condition.

Continue reading “Common Mechanism Underlies Some Behavioral Traits Seen in Autism and Schizophrenia” | >

Tee said AiFoam is the first of its kind to combine both self-healing properties and proximity and pressure sensing. After spending over two years developing it, he and his team hope the material can be put to practical use within five years.

SINGAPORE, July 6 (Reuters) — Singapore researchers have developed a smart foam material that allows robots to sense nearby objects, and repairs itself when damaged, just like human skin.

Artificially innervated foam, or AiFoam, is a highly elastic polymer created by mixing fluoropolymer with a compound that lowers surface tension.

This allows the spongy material to fuse easily into one piece when cut, according to the researchers at the National University of Singapore.

Continue reading “Smart foam material gives robotic hand the ability to self-repair” | >

Nano-Magnetics For Wireless Brain-Computer Interfaces & Precision Medicine — Dr. Sakhrat Khizroev, Ph.D., University of Miami.

Dr. Sakhrat Khizroev is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the College of Engineering of the University of Miami, with a secondary appointment at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miller School of Medicine.

Dr Khizroev’s laboratory conducts research on nano-magnetics and spintronics applications ranging from energy-efficient information processing to precision medicine. From 2011 to 2018, he was a Professor (tenured) of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida International University, with a joint appointment at the College of Medicine, where he co-founded and spearheaded the university-wide initiative on personalized nanomedicine.

Continue reading “Dr Sakhrat Khizroev PhD — Nano-Magnetics For Wireless Brain-Computer Interfaces & Precision Medicine” | >

Neil Patrick Harris is the latest celebrity to express love and enthusiasm for bitcoin. So much so that he is now serving as the new spokesperson for Coin Flip, a leading crypto ATM firm.

Neil Patrick Harris Is a Big Crypto Fan

Harris is well known for playing lead roles in television programs such as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” However, what many do not know about the young star is that he is an avid crypto trader and investor. He entered the bitcoin space relatively early and has spent the last few years watching his investment grow into something he never thought possible.

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Estimated to be 100–200 kilometers across, the unusual wandering body will make its closest approach to the Sun in 2031.

A giant comet from the outskirts of our Solar System has been discovered in 6 years of data from the Dark Energy Survey. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is estimated to be about 1000 times more massive than a typical comet, making it arguably the largest comet discovered in modern times. It has an extremely elongated orbit, journeying inward from the distant Oort Cloud over millions of years. It is the most distant comet to be discovered on its incoming path, giving us years to watch it evolve as it approaches the Sun, though it’s not predicted to become a naked-eye spectacle.

A giant comet has been discovered by two astronomers following a comprehensive search of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The comet, which is estimated to be 100–200 kilometers across, or about 10 times the diameter of most comets, is an icy relic flung out of the Solar System by the migrating giant planets in the early history of the Solar System. This comet is quite unlike any other seen before and the huge size estimate is based on how much sunlight it reflects.

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In the yawning vacuum of intergalactic space, something large is lurking.

Not a galaxy, although it’s of a comparable size: A vast cloud of hot, faintly glowing gas, bigger than the Milky Way, in the space between galaxies congregating in a huge cluster.

Scientists believe this cloud may have been unceremoniously stripped from a galaxy in the cluster, the first gas cloud of this kind we’ve ever seen. Even more surprisingly, it hasn’t dissipated, but has remained clumped together for hundreds of millions of years.

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Researchers aboard the ISS have announced the first successful use in space for a new technique for studying DNA repair in yeast. Astronauts aboard the space station have demonstrated a successful CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing method. An organism can suffer damaged DNA occurring during normal biological processes or as the result of environmental causes.

In both humans and animals, damaged DNA can lead to cancer. However, there are multiple natural strategies inside cells that allow damaged DNA to be repaired. NASA is working hard on studying DNA repair in space because astronauts traveling outside of the atmosphere have an increased risk of DNA damage due to ionizing radiation.

Until now, technological and safety obstacles have limited research into the issue. Now astronauts aboard the ISS have developed a new method for studying DNA repair in yeast cells that can be conducted completely in space. The process uses CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to create precise damage in DNA strands to allow DNA repair mechanisms to be observed.

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Concept I introduced long ago in TMP2 as the Inchworm orbital service robot is now being demonstrated by the ESA with the new Russian addition to the ISS.

It is much like a human arm. It has an elbow, shoulders and even wrists. The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is the first robot able to ‘walk’ around the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

Light yet powerful, the orbital arm has the ability to anchor itself to the Station and move back and forward by itself, hand-over-hand between fixed base-points. This space robot looks like a pair of compasses and has a length of over 11 m. When stretched, it could pass a football from a penalty spot to the goalkeeper.

The robot will serve as main manipulator on the Russian part of the Space Station. Its seven joints can handle multi-tonne payloads with a large range of motion for assembly tasks.

Continue reading “European Robotic Arm” | >

Circa 2017

A new study by scientists at the University of Birmingham has revealed a group of cells that function as a ‘brain’ for plant embryos, capable of assessing environmental conditions and dictating when seeds will germinate.

A plant’s decision about when to germinate is one of the most important it will make during its life. Too soon, and the plant may be damaged by harsh winter conditions; too late, and it may be out-competed by other, more precocious plants.

In a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists from the University of Birmingham have shown that this trade-off between speed and accuracy is controlled by a small group of within the that operate in similar way to the human brain.

Continue reading “Scientists discover plant ‘brain’ controlling seed development” | >

In 1958, Ford showed the world a car like it had never seen before, one powered by a small nuclear reactor. The Ford Nucleon, as it was christened, was envisioned as a car capable of driving more than 5000 miles between fueling stops, appealing to a postwar fixation with convenience that has dominated American consumerism since. Like some other midcentury nuclear fantasies, though, the Nucleon never came to fruition, in part due to engineering problems we still struggle with to this day.

Before we examine why the Nucleon could never be, let’s get a better grasp of the car itself, starting with its utterly comical dimensions. Ford’s press materials envisaged the Nucleon stretching 200.3 inches long and 77.4 wide, making it as long as the new Ford Maverick compact pickup, but slightly wider. Its roof was said to measure just 41.4 inches high, making it less than an inch taller than the legendarily low-slung Ford GT40.

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