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Summary: Researchers successfully applied a gene therapy platform to completely correct brain defects in a large animal model of a human genetic disease.

Source: University of Pennsylvania

A lone genetic mutation can cause a life-changing disorder with effects on multiple body systems. Lysosomal storage diseases, for example, of which there are dozens, arise due to single mutations that affect production of critical enzymes required to metabolize large molecules in cells. These disorders affect multiple organs including, notably, the brain, causing intellectual disability of varying degrees.

Researchers in Boston have designed a sleep wearable called Dormio to explore how to improve creativity in our sleep.

According to the University of Minnesota trial data supports dexamethasone over Hydroxychloroquine:

Data from a large randomized controlled trial in the United Kingdom showing a benefit from use of the steroid dexamethasone in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was released today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), while two more studies show no benefit for the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

The NEJM data, which were originally reported in a press release in mid-June by the chief investigators of the RECOVERY (Randomized Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy) trial after an interim analysis, show that in patients needing mechanical ventilation, dexamethasone reduced deaths by 36% compared with usual care. In patients receiving oxygen, the incidence of death was 18% lower for patients on dexamethasone.

Continue reading “Trial data support dexamethasone, but not hydroxychloroquine, for COVID-19” »

To learn more about the science behind a dog’s ability to find its way home, researchers tracked the 27 hunting dogs representing 10 breeds as they roamed the woods.

The AI Foundation, a startup developing technology that powers digital personas, has raised $17 million in venture capital.

The Honeywell UV Cabin System is a portable ultraviolet-c light (UVC) system that, when properly applied, reduces certain viruses and bacteria on airplane cabin surfaces.

This efficient and cost-effective system can cover an entire mid-sized airline cabin in less than 10 minutes. Roughly the size of a beverage cart, it can easily be transferred on and off the aircraft to maximize fleet efficiency. The extendable arms deliver treatments to both sides of an aisle at once, minimizing aircraft downtime between flights.

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Imagine looking out your window to see an eerie green glow resonating from your neighbor’s shed. Or seeing government trucks being loaded with barrels marked radioactive by men dressed in hazmat suits outside your home.

The residents of Golf Manor, Michigan, don’t have to imagine it, because in 1995, a young teenage boy built a nuclear breeder reactor in his mother’s potting shed, an idea he came up with while working on his Atomic Energy merit badge in attempt to earn Eagle Scout status.

Continue reading “That time a Boy Scout built a nuclear reactor out of common household items” »

Astronomers have discovered a mysterious stream of ancient stars at the distant edges of the galaxy: a strange stellar breed so unlike any we’ve seen before, they may very well be the last of their kind.

This unusual collection of stars – called the ‘Phoenix stream’, after the Phoenix constellation in which they are visible – is what’s known as a stellar stream: an elongated chain of stars that used to exist in a spherical form, known as a globular cluster.

Continue reading “Astronomers Find Stream of Early Universe Stars, Torn Apart” »

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Ultimately, the MIT engineers hope that their giant atoms lead to a simpler, enhanced form of quantum computers.

“This allows us to experimentally probe a novel regime of physics that is difficult to access with natural atoms,” MIT engineer Bharath Kannan said in a press release. “The effects of the giant atom are extremely clean and easy to observe and understand.”