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Oct 31, 2024

New Research Suggests Various Parts Of The Brain Work Together To Come Up With Creative Ideas, Not Just One Specific Region

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

At some point in your life, you must’ve experienced a lightbulb moment when an amazing idea just popped into your head out of nowhere. But what is your brain doing during these brief periods of creativity?

Researchers from the University of Utah Health and Baylor College of Medicine looked into the origin of creative thinking in the brain. They found that different parts of the brain work together to produce creative ideas, not just one particular area.

“Unlike motor function or vision, they’re not dependent on one specific location in the brain,” Ben Shofty, the senior author of the study and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, said. “There’s not a creativity cortex.”

Oct 30, 2024

Breakdown of polyethylene therepthalate microplastics under saltwater conditions using engineered Vibrio natriegens

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biological, health, sustainability

Bioengineered bacteria to eat plastic in seawater:3 Which in large quantities can eat all the plastic in the ocean:3 Yay face_with_colon_three


Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a highly recyclable plastic that has been extensively used and manufactured. Like other plastics, PET resists natural degradation, thus accumulating in the environment. Several recycling strategies have been applied to PET, but these tend to result in downcycled products that eventually end up in landfills. This accumulation of landfilled PET waste contributes to the formation of microplastics, which pose a serious threat to marine life and ecosystems, and potentially to human health. To address this issue, our project leveraged synthetic biology to develop a whole-cell biocatalyst capable of depolymerizing PET in seawater environments by using the fast-growing, nonpathogenic, moderate halophile Vibrio natriegens. By leveraging a two-enzyme system—comprising a chimera of IsPETase and IsMHETase from Ideonella sakaiensis —displayed on V. natriegens, we constructed whole-cell catalysts that depolymerize PET and convert it into its monomers in salt-containing media and at a temperature of 30°C.

Oct 29, 2024

Modified metal-organic framework can capture benzene in the atmosphere to tackle a major health risk

Posted by in categories: chemistry, health

Scientists have developed a new material capable of capturing the harmful chemical benzene from the polluted air, offering a potential solution for tackling a major health and environmental risk.

Oct 28, 2024

How Rare Intestinal Cells May Work as a Kind of Therapeutic Sensor

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, health

There are rare cells in the gut called enteroendocrine cells (EECs) that could be manipulated in a variety of ways to detect or treat disease.


The trillions of microbes in our gastrointestinal tract, known as the gut microbiome, are crucial to the body; the gut microbiome aids in digestion, nutrient absorption, and influences our health in different ways. But the body also has to be protected from all of those microbes, which are kept behind a tight barrier. But if the intestinal barrier is dysfunctional, or leaky, serious problems can arise.

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Oct 26, 2024

Researchers flip genes on and off with AI-designed DNA switches

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health, robotics/AI

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Yale University, have used artificial intelligence to design thousands of new DNA switches that can precisely control the expression of a gene in different cell types. Their new approach opens the possibility of controlling when and where genes are expressed in the body, for the benefit of human health and medical research, in ways never before possible.

“What is special about these synthetically designed elements is that they show remarkable specificity to the target cell type they were designed for,” said Ryan Tewhey, PhD, an associate professor at The Jackson Laboratory and co-senior author of the work. “This creates the opportunity for us to turn the expression of a gene up or down in just one tissue without affecting the rest of the body.”

In recent years, genetic editing technologies and other gene therapy approaches have given scientists the ability to alter the genes inside living cells. However, affecting genes only in selected cell types or tissues, rather than across an entire organism, has been difficult. That is in part because of the ongoing challenge of understanding the DNA switches, called cis-regulatory elements (CREs), that control the expression and repression of genes.

Oct 26, 2024

Fathers’ Gut Bacteria Impact Offspring Health

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health

ABOVE: The placenta’s labyrinth zone (red), responsible for nutrient exchange between mother and fetus, is reduced in fetuses with dysbiotic fathers (lower panel) compared to healthy fathers (upper panel). Ayele Argaw-Denboba.

The microbiome has a profound impact on host health that extends to the host’s young ones. Studies in mice have shown that maternal gut bacteria play a role in offspring behavior and placental growth during pregnancy.1,2 Yet, the effects of the paternal microbiome on the health of their progeny remained relatively unexplored.

In a new study, scientists found that altering the gut microbiome of male mice negatively affected the health and lifespan of their offspring through epigenetic changes in the sperm.3 The results, published in Nature, offer insights into a gut-germline axis that mediates the effects of the microbiome on health and disease across generations.

Oct 26, 2024

A Single Workout Can Improve Your Brain: Here’s What Scientists Found

Posted by in categories: health, neuroscience

UC Santa Barbara researchers discovered that single, vigorous exercise sessions, especially under 30 minutes, improve cognitive functions like memory and executive function. Future studies will explore whether combining physical activity with cognitive tasks yields even greater benefits.

Years of research on exercise have long supported the idea that consistent workouts over time lead to both physical and cognitive benefits. But what about short, intense bursts of exercise? A team of scientists at UC Santa Barbara has taken a closer look.

Their study was recently published in the journal Communications Psychology.

Oct 26, 2024

Genomic Advances Promise New Era for Early Disease Detection in Infants

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

A new study shows that using DNA analysis for newborn screening can detect far more serious, yet treatable, health conditions than traditional methods. The study, called GUARDIAN, is one of the first large-scale projects to use genome sequencing for newborns, and early results suggest that this approach could greatly improve medical care for children.

Early findings from a study on newborn screening reveal that DNA analysis detects significantly more preventable or treatable serious health conditions than traditional screening methods. Most parents offered the option of genome sequencing prefer it.

The study, called GUARDIAN, is among the first large-scale research projects globally to use genome sequencing for newborn screening. It is also the first to release preliminary results.

Oct 25, 2024

‘Electric Plastic’ Could Merge Technology With the Body in Future Wearables and Implants

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, health, neuroscience, wearables

Finding ways to connect the human body to technology could have broad applications in health and entertainment. A new “electric plastic” could make self-powered wearables, real-time neural interfaces, and medical implants that merge with our bodies a reality.

While there has been significant progress in the development of wearable and implantable technology in recent years, most electronic materials are hard, rigid, and feature toxic metals. A variety of approaches for creating “soft electronics” has emerged, but finding ones that are durable, power-efficient, and easy to manufacture is a significant challenge.

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Oct 25, 2024

Dr. David B. Agus, MD — Founding Director & Co-CEO, Ellison Institute of Technology

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, health, security

Science And Engineering For Humanity — Dr. David Agus, MD — Founding Director & Co-CEO, Ellison Institute of Technology.


Dr. David B. Agus (https://davidagus.com/) is one of the world’s leading doctors and pioneering biomedical researchers.

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