Menu

Blog

Page 8166

Jan 23, 2019

Trump reportedly offered NASA ‘all the money you could ever need’ to land on Mars during his presidency

Posted by in categories: economics, space travel

Some people on his communications staff at the time were not pleased.


Sims writes that he was “getting antsy” in the room due to Trump’s abrupt question shortly before a televised phone call with the Space Station. NASA officials were believed to have gone to great lengths to coordinate with the Space Station, which could only be reached during a certain time due to “orbital mechanics.”

“All I could think about was that we had to be on camera in three minutes … And yet we’re in here casually chatting about shaving a full decade off NASA’s timetable for sending a manned flight to Mars,” Sims reportedly wrote. “And seemingly out of nowhere.”

Continue reading “Trump reportedly offered NASA ‘all the money you could ever need’ to land on Mars during his presidency” »

Jan 23, 2019

Yet another blood pressure medication has been recalled over cancer-causing impurity

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Last year, the FDA announced a whole bunch of recalls related to blood pressure medication over fears that an impurity created during the manufacturing process could lead to cancer. The compound in question was found in dozens of prescription medications that contained the active ingredient valsartan, prompting several distributors and manufacturers to issue voluntary recalls affecting countless heart patients.

Now, additional medications containing a similar blood pressure drug, irbesartan, have been found to contain the same impurity, and a new round of recalls is upon us. Solco Healthcare LLC is now asking anyone with potentially contaminated medication to stop taking the drug.

Read more

Jan 23, 2019

Large meta-study reveals aspirin bleeding risks outweigh heart benefits

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A large meta-study from a team of UK researchers has examined data from over a dozen different clinical trials to conclude that the dangers of daily aspirin use may outweigh any potential benefits for individuals that are generally healthy.

Read more

Jan 23, 2019

This high-tech LED lighting could grow veggies in space

Posted by in categories: food, space

OSRAM, a high-tech global lighting company, is developing better ways to grow vegetables both on Earth and in outer space. Here’s a peek at their CES offerings.

Read more

Jan 23, 2019

The Scientific Guide to a Healthy Body and Brain

Posted by in category: neuroscience

This BBC Focus Special Edition reveals the science behind how to stay fit, live well and keep your brain sharp.

Read more

Jan 23, 2019

World’s 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%, says Oxfam

Posted by in category: policy

Oxfam’s director of campaigns and policy, Matthew Spencer, said: The massive fall in the number of people living in extreme poverty is one of the greatest achievements of the past quarter of a century but rising inequality is jeopardising further progress.


It said the widening gap was hindering the fight against poverty, adding that a wealth tax on the 1% would raise an estimated $418bn (£325bn) a year – enough to educate every child not in school and provide healthcare that would prevent 3 million deaths.

Read more

Jan 22, 2019

Chinese scientist who gene-edited babies fired

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, ethics, genetics

A Chinese scientist who created what he said were the world’s first “gene-edited” babies evaded oversight and broke ethical boundaries in a quest for fame and fortune, state media said on Monday, as his former university said he had been fired.

He Jiankui said in November that he used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born that month, sparking an international outcry about the ethics and safety of such research.

Hundreds of Chinese and international scientists condemned He and said any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes was unethical.

Continue reading “Chinese scientist who gene-edited babies fired” »

Jan 22, 2019

Gene Therapy Promotes Nerve Regeneration

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have shown that treatment using gene therapy leads to a faster recovery after nerve damage. By combining a surgical repair procedure with gene therapy, the survival of nerve cells and regeneration of nerve fibers over a long distance was stimulated for the first time. The discovery, published in the journal Brain, is an important step towards the development of a new treatment for people with nerve damage.

During birth or following a traffic accident, nerves in the neck can be torn out of the spinal cord. As a result, these patients lose their arm function, and are unable to perform daily activities such as drinking a cup of coffee. Currently, surgical repair is the only available treatment for patients suffering this kind of nerve damage. “After surgery, nerve fibers have to bridge many centimeters before reaching the muscles and nerve cells from which new fibers need to regenerate are lost in large numbers. Most regenerating nerve fiber do not reach the muscles. The recovery of arm function is therefore disappointing and incomplete,” explains researcher Ruben Eggers of the NIN.

Read more

Jan 22, 2019

“Mind-Controlled Skateboard”

Posted by in category: futurism

Posts about “mind-controlled skateboard” written by Jimmy Jones.

Read more

Jan 22, 2019

The Top Biotech and Medicine Advances to Expect in 2019

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience

2019 will likely see gene drives used in the wild, a universal flu vaccine, further advance of brain-machine interfaces, and more.

Read more