Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers used magnetically driven microrobots to carry cells to predetermined spots within living zebrafish and mice, they report in Science Robotics today (June 27). The authors propose using these hair-width gadgets as delivery vehicles in regenerative medicine and cell therapy.

The scientists used a computer model to work out the ideal dimensions for a microrobot; spiky, porous, spherical ones were deemed best for transporting living cells. They printed the devices using a 3D laser printer and coated the bots with nickel and titanium to make them magnetic and biocompatible, respectively. An external magnetic field applied to the animal then leads the microrobots.

To begin with, the research team tested the ability for the robots to transport cells through cell cultures, blood vessel–like microfluidic chips, and in vivo in zebrafish. Further, they used these microrobots to induce cancer at a specific location within mice by ferrying tumor cells to the spot. The team observed fluorescence at the target site as the labeled cancer cells proliferated.

Continue reading “Magnetic Microrobots Deliver Cells Into Living Animals” »

Packed cells may help explain why some cancerous tumors stay put while others break off and spread through the body.

The subtle mechanics of densely packed cells may help explain why some cancerous tumors stay put while others break off and spread through the body.

Persistent anxiety can contribute to respiratory disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and heart disease. Treating anxiety with psychotherapy, medications, or a combination can reduce or relieve physiological distress.

Tactical Robotics’ Cormorant drone design allows it to navigate tight areas where a helicopter’s blades would get caught on the environment. The remote-controlled military drone can transport two injured people from a battle zone. The Israeli-based company believes the drone could one day also be used to inspect bridges, deliver medical supplies and spray crops.

It would include lots of data about law-abiding citizens, including their faces and voices.

A new report details a proposed biometrics strategy for the United Kingdom in which all collected biometrics are stored in one database.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmXW4-ohCg8

Elon Musk Wants You to Watch ‘Do You Trust This Computer?’ in Memory of Stephen Hawking, and It’s Free.

Because “nothing will affect the future of humanity more than digital super-intelligence,” Elon Musk thinks you should watch Chris Paine’s artificial-intelligence movie “Do You Trust This Computer?” And, wouldn’t you know it, the film is streaming for free until later tonight.

Continue reading “Do You Trust This Computer” »

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is one of the most commonly associated causes of age-related dementia and stroke. New research, led by the University of Edinburgh, may have finally uncovered the mechanism by which SVD causes brain cell damage, as well as a potential treatment to prevent the damage, and possibly even reverse it.

SVD is thought to be responsible for up to 45 percent of dementia cases, and the vast majority of senior citizens are suspected of displaying some sign of the condition. One study strikingly found up to 95 percent of subjects between the ages of 60 and 90 displayed some sign of SVD when examined through MRI scans.

The new research set out to examine early pathological features of SVD and found that dysfunction in endothelial cells are some of the first signs of the disease’s degenerative progression. These are cells that line small blood vessels in the brain and, in early stages of SVD, they secrete a protein that impairs production of myelin, a compound essential for the protection of brain cells.

Continue reading “New drug shows promise for preventing and even reversing damage from age-related dementia and stroke” »

The world’s most powerful tractor beam just lifted a 2 centimeter ball, but could it make levitating humans a reality?

One Shot Could Provide All the Vaccines You’ll Ever Need — https://youtu.be/qQ1VKYX4Vl0

Continue reading “Scientists Just Used a Tractor Beam to Levitate the Largest Object Yet” »

European nations see biggest increases in use of stimulants such as Ritalin by people seeking brain-boosting effects.

• By Arran Frood, Nature magazine on July 6, 2018