The brain has an uncanny ability to enhance or reduce communication between brain cells. Whether or not communication is fast or slow changes the brain’s overall function. Understanding how these cells communicate within the brain is critical to understanding how our bodies and minds work together. Terunaga Nakagawa, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics,...
Month: <span>July 2020</span>
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Scientists work to freeze-dry synthetic platelets
A Case Western Reserve University scientist, who has for more than a decade pioneered research into synthetic platelet substitutes, has been awarded a $3.8 million grant by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to develop freeze-dried artificial platelets that can treat bleeding in wounded soldiers in the battlefield before they can be taken to a...
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New bioink for cell bioprinting in 3D
A research group led by Daniel Aili, associate professor at LiU, has developed a bioink to print tissue-mimicking material in 3D printers. The scientists have developed a method and a material that allow cells to survive and thrive. “Bioprinting is a new and exciting technology to manufacture three-dimensional tissue-mimicking cell cultures. It has been a...
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Salmonella biofilm protein causes autoimmune responses—possible link with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
Scientists from the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn., have demonstrated that a salmonella biofilm protein can cause autoimmune responses and arthritis in animals. Salmonella was previously thought to only form biofilms in the environment, such as on food processing surfaces....
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Mechanically Stimulating Neurons Using Magnetic Nanodiscs
Electrical stimulation and chemical pharmaceuticals are the two ways that doctors and scientists routinely use to manipulate neural cells. Chemicals have their side effects, are slow to take effect, and are usually systemically delivered, while electrical stimulation usually requires invasive wires, is limited in its resolution, and is nearly impossible to administer within certain parts...
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Patients who lived longer with cancer at greater risk of severe COVID-19 infection
KING’S COLLEGE LONDON Cancer patients diagnosed more than 24 months ago are more likely to have a severe COVID-19 infection, research has found. Cancer patients of Asian ethnicity or who were receiving palliative treatment for cancer were also at a higher risk of death from COVID-19. The research published today in Frontiers in Oncology by...
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Invention offers new option for monitoring heart health
PURDUE UNIVERSITY A TEAM FROM PURDUE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPED SELF-POWERED WEARABLE TRIBOELECTRIC NANOGENERATORS WITH POLYVINYL ALCOHOL-BASED CONTACT LAYERS FOR MONITORING CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.view more CREDIT: WENZHUO WU/PURDUE UNIVERSITY WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – An invention may turn one of the most widely used materials for biomedical applications into wearable devices to help monitor heart health. A team from...
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Putting the spring-cam back into stroke patients steps
TOHOKU UNIVERSITY LIGHTWEIGHT AND MOTOR-LESS SPRING-CAM ATTACHED TO AN ANKLE SUPPORT DEVICE PROVIDES STROKE PATIENTS WITH GREATER PUSH-OFF POWER – STABILIZING THEIR WALKING AND REDUCING FALLS view more CREDIT: TOHOKU UNIVERSITY A research group has developed a new, lightweight and motor-less device that can be easily attached to an ankle support device – otherwise known...
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Virus antibodies fade fast but not necessarily protection
by Marilynn Marchione In this Friday, June 12, 2020 file photo, a woman has blood drawn for COVID-19 antibody testing in Dearborn, Mich. Research published on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 suggests that antibodies the immune system makes to fight the new coronavirus may only last a few months in people with mild illness. (AP Photo/Paul...
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Brain network mechanism causing spatial memory impairment revealed
by University of California, Irvine New study, led by UCI School of Medicine’s Kei Igarashi, PhD, found that remapping of place cells, a brain circuit function to discriminate distinct environments, was disrupted in Alzheimer’s disease mice. Credit: UCI School of Medicine July 21, 2020—Patients with Alzheimer’s disease frequently suffer from spatial memory loss, such as...