[TECH NEWS] By knocking down the expression of a protein in rat brains known to stimulate eating, Johns Hopkins researchers say they not only reduced the animals’ calorie intake and weight, but also transformed their fat into a type that burns off more energy. The finding could lead to better obesity treatments for humans, the scientists report. “If we could… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Researchers at King’s College London and Osaka University in Japan have identified specific bone marrow cells that can transform into skin cells to repair damaged skin tissue, according to a study published April 5 in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Using a mouse model the team has uncovered how this process works, providing… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Five new genes have been definitively linked to Alzheimer’s disease, doubling the total confirmed by scientists and opening new areas for research into an illness that affects 35 million people globally. The genetic pathways were reported in two studies involving more than 50,000 people worldwide. Some of the connections found involve systems that control inflammation and cholesterol in… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] By combining sophisticated mathematical techniques more commonly used by spies instead of scientists with the power and versatility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a Penn Medicine neurologist has developed a new approach for studying the inner workings of the brain. A hidden pattern is encoded in the seemingly random order of things presented to a human subject,… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Researchers have described how the most common gene mutation found in acute myeloid leukemia starts the process of cancer development and how it can cooperate with a well-defined group of other mutations to cause full-blown leukemia. The researchers suggest that three critical steps are required to transform normal blood cells into leukemic ones, each subverting a different cellular… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] A woman with tetraplegia using the investigational BrainGate system was able to control a computer cursor accurately through neural activity alone more than 1,000 days after receiving the implant. A team of physicians, scientists, and engineers is developing and testing the technology at Brown University, the Providence VA Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Results from five… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and collaborators have demonstrated the efficacy of a “wearable,” portable PET scanner they’ve developed for rats. The device will give neuroscientists a new tool for simultaneously studying brain function and behavior in fully awake, moving animals. The researchers describe the tool and validation studies… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] There have been gloves and shavers for one-off use for a long time. In future, there will also be disposable endoscopes for minimally invasive operations on the human body. A new microcamera is what makes it possible. It’s the size a large grain of salt (1 mm3), supplies razor-sharp pictures and can be manufactured very inexpensively. Endoscopy has… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Chemotherapy drug resistance contributes to treatment failure in more than 90 percent of metastatic cancers. Overcoming this hurdle would significantly improve cancer survival rates. Dean Ho, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, believes a tiny carbon particle called a nanodiamond may offer an effective drug delivery solution for hard-to-treat cancers. In studies… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Even long after it is formed, a memory in rats can be enhanced or erased by increasing or decreasing the activity of a brain enzyme, say researchers supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health. “Our study is the first to demonstrate that, in the context of a functioning brain in a behaving animal, a single molecule,… Read more »
