Reducing nSR100 protein levels by half was enough to trigger autistic-like behavior in these animals. As many as a third of autism cases could be explained by a scarcity of a single protein in the brain, Toronto scientists have revealed. The findings provide a unique opportunity to develop treatments for a disorder that is rooted...
Year: <span>2017</span>
Post
CVS cuts the price of a generic EpiPen competitor in half
CVS is now selling a rival, generic version of Mylan’s life-saving allergy treatment EpiPen at about a sixth of EpiPen’s price, months after Mylan was eviscerated before Congress because of EpiPen’s soaring cost. The drugstore chain says it will charge $109.99 for a two-pack of the authorized generic version of Adrenaclick, a lesser-known treatment compared to...
Post
Lenovo’s VR headset is cheaper and more comfortable than Rift and Vive
Lenovo’s upcoming VR headset will work with PCs and fall in the $300-400 range(Credit: Will Shanklin/New Atlas) Lenovo is one of the OEM partners teaming with Microsoft to bring affordable, PC-based VR to the masses in 2017 on Redmond’s Windows Holographic platform. While functional demos will have to wait, we handled the headset and chatted with Lenovo about...
Post
Smartphone add-on sees into your skin
The SmartUV is an ultraviolet camera for smartphones Visible light – the light that we see with our unaided eyes – reflects off the outer layer of the skin. Ultraviolet light, however, penetrates below to the second layer. It was with this in mind that Korean tech firm Nurugo created the SmartUV. Currently being showcased...
Post
Hands-on: Can a heartbeat-simulating wearable tweak your mood?
Doppel heartbeat-simulating wearable(Credit: Will Shanklin/New Atlas) Wearable tech is often associated with smartwatches and fitness trackers, but we’ve also seen a niche group of consumer products aimed at regulating emotions. While it’s an area ripe for a placebo effect, we found Doppel, a heartbeat-simulating wrist wearable, to be curious enough to demo at CES 2017. The idea behind...
Post
Mesothelioma shows promising response to existing immunotherapy drug
An existing immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab appears to be effective in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive lung cancer that is primarily caused by exposure to asbestos. Writing in The Lancet Oncology, researchers describe the first study to show a positive result from using the antibody drug against this rare cancer. Researchers...
Post
Targeting bacterial adherence inhibits multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection following burn injury
Abstract Classical antimicrobial drugs target proliferation and therefore place microbes under extreme selective pressure to evolve resistance. Alternative drugs that target bacterial virulence without impacting survival directly offer an attractive solution to this problem, but to date few such molecules have been discovered. We previously discovered a widespread group of bacterial adhesins, termed Multivalent Adhesion...
Post
New method uses sound to see vividly inside living cells
A new nanoscale ultrasound technique for imaging live cells could rival the optical super-resolution techniques which won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.(Credit: University of Nottingham) Researchers from The University of Nottingham (UN) have developed a groundbreaking technique that uses sound rather than light to see inside live cells. The new technique provides insight into the structure...
Post
Meet the modern day Dr Frankenstein: Scientist who re-wires frogs to grow extra limbs says he could use the technique on HUMANS ‘in our lifetime’
Dr Michael Levin is a researcher at Tufts University in Massachusetts His work focuses on ion channels which control the flow of molecules in cells Previously he has created tadpoles with eyes on their back and frogs with 6 legs He believes that his work could soon extend into humans and could allow us...
Post
Oculus Officially Owns an Eye-Tracking Company
IN BRIEF The Eye Tribe has introduced a $99 eye tracking device developer kit for computers, and software that can bring gaze-based interfaces to smartphones and potentially virtual reality headsets. Oculus has officially acquired the Danish company in hopes of integrating the technology into their VR technology, and maybe even tracking Facebook users. A NEW...