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Feb 19, 2019

Researchers develop new therapeutic approach to treating osteoarthritis

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering

Researchers from Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, have developed a new way to deliver treatment for cartilage regeneration.

Gaharwar, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M, said the nanoclay-based platform for sustained and prolonged delivery of protein therapeutics has the potential to impact treating osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease that affects nearly 27 million Americans and is caused by breakdown of cartilage that can lead to damage of the underlying bone.

As America’s population ages, the number of osteoarthritis incidences is likely to increase. One of the greatest challenges with treating osteoarthritis and subsequent joint damage is repairing the damaged tissue, especially as cartilage tissue is difficult to regenerate.

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Feb 19, 2019

New machine learning technique rapidly analyzes nanomedicines for cancer immunotherapy

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, nanotechnology, robotics/AI

  • Spherical nucleic acids are a class of personalized medicines for treating cancer and other diseases
  • SNAs are challenging to optimize because their structures can vary in many ways
  • Northwestern University team developed a library approach and machine learning to rapidly synthesize, analyze and select for potent SNA medicines

EVANSTON, Ill.— With their ability to treat a wide a variety of diseases, (SNAs) are poised to revolutionize medicine. But before these digitally designed nanostructures can reach their full potential, researchers need to optimize their various components.

A Northwestern University team led by nanotechnology pioneer Chad A. Mirkin has developed a direct route to optimize these challenging particles, bringing them one step closer to becoming a viable treatment option for many forms of cancer, , neurological disorders and more.

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Feb 19, 2019

The Pentagon compiled research into invisibility cloaking, wormholes, and warp drive

Posted by in categories: cosmology, military, space travel

Documents disclosing the research came out this month.

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Feb 19, 2019

Neuroscience confirms your subconscious shapes your reality

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Groundbreaking neuroscience confirms what Sigmund Freud first theorized: that what we believe to be the objective reality surrounding us is actually formed by our subconscious. David Eagleman explains:

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Feb 19, 2019

How Measles Hacks the Body—and Harms Its Victims for Years

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The virus is the most contagious in the world, exploiting the human body’s immune system to spread with extreme agility and harming its victims for years.

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Feb 19, 2019

TCL is working on a foldable phone that bends into a smartwatch

Posted by in category: mobile phones

It’s one of a family of foldable devices in development with the Chinese company, best known for budget televisions.

    by

  • Shara Tibken

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Feb 19, 2019

Bioengineers create ultrasmall, light-activated electrode for neural stimulation

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

Neural stimulation is a developing technology that has beneficial therapeutic effects in neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. While many advancements have been made, the implanted devices deteriorate over time and cause scarring in neural tissue. In a recently published paper, the University of Pittsburgh’s Takashi D. Y. Kozai detailed a less invasive method of stimulation that would use an untethered ultrasmall electrode activated by light, a technique that may mitigate damage done by current methods.

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Feb 19, 2019

Elon Musk Wants to Create Human-A.I. Link and “Make Everyone Hyper-Smart”

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI

Circa 2018


The CEO is worried about unchecked machines.

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Feb 19, 2019

How oyster mushrooms helped clean up after California’s wildfires

Posted by in category: food

Mycelia consume their food externally, by secreting powerful enzymes that break down molecules. In other words, they “digest” whatever substrate, or surface, they’re growing on, converting it to nutrients and—depending on the substrate—edible mushrooms.

Proponents say it’s a natural, more benign, and potentially cheaper alternative to the “scrape and burn” approach to environmental clean-up, which involves digging up contaminated soil and incinerating it.

The problem with that traditional approach is that it can remove potentially fertile topsoil, says Theresa Halula, who teaches mushroom cultivation at Merritt College in Oakland, California. Mycoremediation, on the other hand, she says, can help clean up toxic sites while actually improving soil fertility.

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Feb 19, 2019

Searching Tardigrades for Lifesaving Secrets

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, space

There are many instances in medicine when it would be helpful to stop, or greatly slow down, time. Doing so could spare a limb from amputation, prevent paralysis after a stroke or save your life following a heart attack.

Across the tree of life, there are many organisms that can essentially cheat time by decelerating their biology. Chief among them is the tardigrade, a creature no bigger than a speck of sand that can survive severe temperatures and pressures, outer space and all sorts of apocalyptic scenarios by entering a dormant state called anhydrobiosis.

A team at Harvard Medical School is studying tardigrades in hopes of finding medical treatments that halt tissue damage. In particular, the scientists are drawing inspiration from special proteins suspected to help tardigrades achieve suspended animation. They aim to synthesize a version of these proteins that can enter human cells and pause processes leading to cell death.

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