by Chris Melore COLUMBUS, Ohio — A scientific breakthrough has given a man in Ohio the chance to reclaim a major part of his life after a devastating injury. Ian Burkhart suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 2010 while on vacation from Ohio University. He dove into a wave and struck an unseen sandbar...
MIT INVENTS $6 COVID-19 TEST USING CRISPR
BY DAN ROBITZSKI / MAY 05 2020 A new coronavirus test uses gene-hacking tech to determine whether someone is sick with COVID-19 — and it only costs $6 to make. Because there are still too few tests to go around, a pair of MIT researchers set out to build something to be as low-cost and...
Using human brain tissue in lab dishes, researchers show herpes link to Alzheimer’s
Asmall 3D version of the human brain develops key features of Alzheimer’s disease when it is infected with a virus that causes cold sores, scientists reported on Wednesday, adding to the evidence that this most common form of dementia can be caused by a common microbe. The new research, published in Science Advances, is the...
Scientists Found A Way to Disable a Gene Responsible For Obesity: Worry About Getting Too Fat No More?
Scientists were able to prevent obesity in mice by blocking macrohages, key inflammatory cells, within the body. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have successfully disabled a gene in specific mouse cells, preventing mice from becoming obese even after being fed a high-fat diet. Macrophages, vital inflammatory cells which are...
Researcher designs robot-assisted care system for speech and language therapy
by Asociacion RUVID Improving the treatment of dyslalia, a disorder that causes the incorrect pronunciation of phonemes, is the purpose of the robot-assisted care system designed by Eldon Glen Caldwell, Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Alicante. It consists of a platform combining a robot with a mobile device application that increases therapeutic...
Study finds ‘volume dial’ for turning neural communication up or down
by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Neuroscientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have found that a protein acts like a volume dial for the release of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that neurons release across connections called synapses to stimulate muscles or communicate with other neurons in brain circuits. The findings help explain how synapses...
Focused ultrasound opening brain to previously impossible treatments
University of Virginia’s School of Medicine and School of Engineering, is using focused soundwaves to overcome the natural ‘blood-brain barrier,’ which protects the brain from harmful pathogens. Credit: Dan Addison | UVA Communications University of Virginia researchers are pioneering the use of focused ultrasound to defy the brain’s protective barrier so that doctors could, at...
Scientists have a hypothesis, why COVID-19 affects older people more
Both old and young people can get COVID-19. However, healthy young people usually get better without any treatment at all, while older patients can experience some life-threatening complications. Why older people are at higher risk of more difficult COVID-19 cases? Scientists from ETH Zurich have a good hypothesis. As you get older, your immune system...
Non-caloric sweetener reduces signs of fatty liver disease in preclinical research study
There is clear evidence that high sugar consumption leads to obesity and fatty liver disease. Synthetic and natural alternatives to sugar are available, but little is known about the effects of these non-caloric sweeteners on the liver. A new study led by Rohit Kohli, MBBS, MS, shows that stevia extract can reduce markers of fatty...
Epidemiologists develop new tool for measuring the pace of aging across the life course
May 5, 2020 — A study just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is reporting a blood-DNA-methylation measure that is sensitive to variation in the pace of biological aging among individuals born the same year. The tool – DunedinPoAm — offers a unique measurement for intervention trials and natural experiment studies investigating...