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Sep 16, 2019
By exploiting a feature of the immune system, researchers open the door for stem cell transplants to repair the brain
Posted by Gerard Bain in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience
In experiments in mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have developed a way to successfully transplant certain protective brain cells without the need for lifelong anti-rejection drugs.
A report on the research, published Sept. 16 in the journal Brain, details the new approach, which selectively circumvents the immune response against foreign cells, allowing transplanted cells to survive, thrive and protect brain tissue long after stopping immune-suppressing drugs.
The ability to successfully transplant healthy cells into the brain without the need for conventional anti-rejection drugs could advance the search for therapies that help children born with a rare but devastating class of genetic diseases in which myelin, the protective coating around neurons that helps them send messages, does not form normally. Approximately 1 of every 100,000 children born in the U.S. will have one of these diseases, such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. This disorder is characterized by infants missing developmental milestones such as sitting and walking, having involuntary muscle spasms, and potentially experiencing partial paralysis of the arms and legs, all caused by a genetic mutation in the genes that form myelin.
Sep 16, 2019
Watch all-electric air taxi âVolocopterâ make debut urban flight in Stuttgart
Posted by Omuterema Akhahenda in category: transportation
Volocopter, an electric air taxi startup backed by Daimler, had its urban flight debut during a presentation at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
We previously reported on Volocopter in 2017 when they received a âŹ25 million ($30 million) investment led by Daimler, Mercedes-Benzâs parent company, and a few other investors.
Sep 16, 2019
Teslaâs âJoe Modeâ in its V10 update is a lifesaver for parents
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation
Tesla owners who travel with kids can breathe an extra sigh of relief with the electric car makerâs V10 Update, as the company has introduced a new feature known as âJoe Mode.â The new feature will allow drivers to lower the volume of alerts and prompts that will are engaged while the vehicle is in motion.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced some details on V10âs âJoe Modeâ earlier this year while replying to numerous followers who speculated about what new features will be coming to be new update. As one follower asked for a mode that would help keep his children asleep during drives, Musk replied with introductory information about the V10 feature.
Hoping to get âJoe Modeâ into V10. The default, of course, is normal volume, but selecting âJoe Modeâ would lower the volume of strident beeps & chimes by half.
Sep 16, 2019
Researchers advance noise cancelling for quantum computers
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: computing, quantum physics
A team from Dartmouth College and MIT has designed and conducted the first lab test to successfully detect and characterize a class of complex, ânon-Gaussianâ noise processes that are routinely encountered in superconducting quantum computing systems.
The characterization of non-Gaussian noise in superconducting quantum bits is a critical step toward making these systems more precise.
The joint study, published in Nature Communications, could help accelerate the realization of quantum computing systems. The experiment was based on earlier theoretical research conducted at Dartmouth and published in Physical Review Letters in 2016.
See the Earth from 20 miles (32 km) above in this breathtaking 360° footage captured from a weather balloon.
Sep 16, 2019
EU agency starts space sustainability initiative
Posted by Adriano Autino in categories: business, security, space, sustainability
PARIS â The European Unionâs equivalent of a foreign ministry is starting a new effort to promote the need for sustainable space operations, but that effort will not initially include any new regulation of European satellite operators.
Carine Claeys, special envoy for space and head of the Space Task Force for the European External Action Service, said in a Sept. 13 panel discussion at Euroconsultâs World Satellite Business Week that the Safety, Security and Sustainability of Outer Space (3SOS) public diplomacy initiative will promote âethical conductâ in space amid concerns about orbital debris.
The acronym, she noted, has a second meaning. âIt is also three times SOS,â she said, âto create the case and a sense of urgency.â
Sep 16, 2019
NASA Funds New Lunar CubeSat Orbiter Mission
Posted by Bruce Dorminey in category: space
NASA funds ambitious new CubeSat mission to prove navigation technology for crewed Artemis mission to the lunar surface.