Lifeboat Foundation

A drug used for cancer therapy has shown promise in reversing kidney damage caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus), according to a Yale-led study published April 8 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“Kidney damage affects about half of the patients with lupus, sometimes leading to renal failure with a requirement for dialysis or transplantation,” said Joe Craft, the Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine (rheumatology) and professor of immunobiology. “Finding what causes that damage is extremely important.”

Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack tissues in the body of the host, with kidneys being particularly susceptible in a condition called lupus nephritis. In lupus nephritis, the patient’s own T cells infiltrate kidney tissue and trigger a decrease in oxygen, leading to tissue damage and potentially end-stage kidney disease.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an “off-the-shelf” artificial cardiac patch that can deliver cardiac cell-derived healing factors directly to the site of heart attack injury. In a rat model of heart attack, the freezable, cell-free patch improved recovery. The researchers also found similar effects in a pilot study involving a pig model of heart attack.

Cardiac patches are being studied as a promising future option for delivering cell therapy directly to the site of heart attack injury. However, current cardiac patches are fragile, costly, time-consuming to prepare and, since they use live cellular material, increase risks of tumor formation and arrhythmia.

“We have developed an artificial cardiac patch that can potentially solve the problems associated with using live cells, yet still deliver effective cell therapy to the site of injury,” says Ke Cheng, Randall B. Terry, Jr. Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine and professor in the NC State/UNC Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering.

A team of University of Florida engineers developed a cheap and easily sourced ventilator made with PVC, sprinkler valves, and Arduino. The design can be made for around $125 and could help with the demand for ventilators in the COVID-19 pandemic.

A ventilator envisioned by a University of Florida engineer and built with do-it-yourself parts gained first-step FDA authorization this week, offering hope that it could be in use within weeks at hospitals around the world where COVID-19 patients have overwhelmed supplies of traditional medical equipment.

The ventilator, composed of parts readily available for less than $250, can be assembled in less than an hour. UF has made plans and software available free over the internet.

Continue reading “University of Florida-led ventilator design clears first FDA review, offers hope for coronavirus patients” »

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill made a one-way street for electrons that may unlock the ability for devices to process ultra-high-speed wireless data and simultaneously harvest energy for power. The researchers did this by shaping silicon on a microscopic scale to create a funnel, or “ratchet,” for electrons.

This method overcomes the speed limitations of prior technologies by removing interfaces that tend to slow down devices.” This work is exciting because it could enable a future where things like low-power smartwatches are wirelessly charged from the data they already receive without ever needing to a leave a person’s wrist,” said James Custer Jr., a doctoral student in UNC-Chapel Hill’s College of Arts & Sciences.

The findings were published April 10 in the journal Science. Custer is lead author. He worked with collaborators at Duke and Vanderbilt universities.

How can we promote the creation of new neurons — and why is it so important?

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, a panoramic high-definition image of astronaut Fred Haise napping in the “lifeboat” Lunar Module has been produced.

Raw footage of HEV demonstrator. Particle physicists propose stripped-down ventilator to help combat COVID-19.

Resveratrol may reduce aging within the brain.

Deficits in the cerebral microcirculation contribute to age-related cognitive decline. In a pilot study of postmenopausal women, we found that supplementation with a low dose of resveratrol, a phytoestrogen, for 14 weeks improved cerebrovascular and cognitive functions. We have since undertaken a larger, longer term study to confirm these benefits. Postmenopausal women aged 45–85 years (n = 129) were randomized to take placebo or 75 mg trans-resveratrol twice daily for 12 months. Effects on cognition, cerebral blood flow, cerebrovascular responsiveness (CVR) and cardiometabolic markers (blood pressure, diabetes markers and fasting lipids) were assessed. Compared to placebo, resveratrol improved overall cognitive performance (P < 0.001) and attenuated the decline in CVR to cognitive stimuli (P = The latter effect was associated with reduction of fasting blood glucose (r = P = This long-term study confirms that regular consumption of resveratrol can enhance cognitive and cerebrovascular functions in postmenopausal women, with the potential to slow cognitive decline due to ageing and menopause. View Full-Text.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are working to create a protective coating that would include a new nanomaterial to catch #COVID19 and kill it within seconds.

ORLANDO, Fla., April 10, 2020 — The masks that health care workers wear to protect them from the virus that causes COVID-19 block the virus before it reaches their faces, but do not destroy it. To further protect doctors, nurses, and others on the front lines of the pandemic, researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are working to create a protective coating that would include a new nanomaterial to catch the virus and kill it within seconds.