Lifeboat Foundation

A scrupulous gatekeeper stands between the brain and its circulatory system to let in the good and keep out the bad, but this porter, called the blood-brain barrier, also blocks trial drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s or cancer from getting into the brain.

Now a team led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has engineered a way of studying the barrier more closely with the intent of helping drug developers do the same. In a new study, the researchers cultured the human blood-brain barrier on a chip, recreating its physiology more realistically than predecessor chips.

The new chip devised a healthy environment for the barrier’s central component, a brain cell called the astrocyte, which is not a neuron, but which acts as neurons’ intercessors with the circulatory system. Astrocytes interface in human brains with cells in the vasculature called endothelial cells to collaborate with them as the blood-brain barrier.

This story begins in 1985 when at age 22, I became the World Chess Champion after beating Anatoly Karpov.

We must face our fears if we want to get the most out of technology — and we must conquer those fears if we want to get the best out of humanity, says Garry Kasparov. One of the greatest chess players in history, Kasparov lost a memorable match to IBM supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997. Now he shares his vision for a future where intelligent machines help us turn our grandest dreams into reality.

Continue reading “Don’t fear Intelligent Machines. Work with them: Kasparov” »

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKKEHuAGzwVtIEIFW3cZOPg

I’ve got a secret!

A little bird told me the Steele Hawes was going to have a special guest on tomorrow, Tuesday February 11th at 2:30 PM US Pacific Time:

Continue reading “Debt Nation” »

Identifying biological correlates of late life cognitive function is important if we are to ascertain biomarkers for, and develop treatments to help reduce, age-related cognitive decline. Here, we investigated the associations between plasma levels of 90 neurology-related proteins (Olink® Proteomics) and general fluid cognitive ability in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936, N = 798), Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921, N = 165), and the INTERVAL BioResource (N = 4451). In the LBC1936, 22 of the proteins were significantly associated with general fluid cognitive ability (β between −0.11 and −0.17). MRI-assessed total brain volume partially mediated the association between 10 of these proteins and general fluid cognitive ability. In an age-matched subsample of INTERVAL, effect sizes for the 22 proteins, although smaller, were all in the same direction as in LBC1936. Plasma levels of a number of neurology-related proteins are associated with general fluid cognitive ability in later life, mediated by brain volume in some cases.

A new AI prototype could transform how earthquake aftermaths are managed, by predicting the safest routes that families can take to find their loved ones.

The idea first emerged in the ImpactHub Istanbul, a social innovation centre in a city where a future earthquake is all but inevitable.

The last time a devastating earthquake had struck Turkey was in 1999, around 150–200 kilometers from the capital. Official records put the death toll at 18,373 people.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common ailments of an aging population, but there aren’t many treatment options besides taking pain killers or getting a full joint replacement. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute have found that a combination of two experimental drugs appears to reverse the symptoms of the disorder, with successful tests conducted in rats and in human cells in the lab.

As we age, our bodies gradually lose the ability to repair damage as fast as it needs to. That means that tissues subjected to high-intensity long-term use, such as cartilage in joints, are especially prone to wearing out. That manifests itself in the common condition of osteoarthritis, resulting in pain when that joint moves.

In the past, two molecules have been identified as having decent potential for treating the disease – alpha-KLOTHO (αKLOTHO) and TGF beta receptor 2 (TGFβR2). Previous tests only showed moderate success, so the researchers on the new study decided to see if they fared any better when used together.

Very interesting, researches probably already know.

You awake in the middle of the night from a nightmare.

In the nightmare, you are standing in a room that is completely full, floor to ceiling, of balloons. There are red ones, purple ones, yellow ones and green ones.

Continue reading “Fit to burst: How cancer-exploding viruses are changing the game” »

A team of engineers has figured out how to take a single drop of rain and use it to generate a powerful flash of electricity.

The City University of Hong Kong researchers behind the device, which they’re calling a droplet-based electricity generator (DEG), say that a single rain droplet can briefly generate 140 volts. That was enough to briefly power 100 small lightbulbs and, while it’s not yet practical enough for everyday use, it’s a promising step toward a new form of renewable electricity.

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