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“Our study raises the possibility of using therapeutic drugs, gene editing, or other strategies to make epigenetic modifications that tap into the latent regenerative capacity of inner ear cells as a way to restore hearing,” said Segil. “Similar epigenetic modifications may also prove useful in other non-regenerating tissues, such as the retina, kidney, lung, and heart.”

Scientists from the USC Stem Cell laboratory of Neil Segil have identified a natural barrier to the regeneration of the inner ear’s sensory cells, which are lost in hearing and balance disorders. Overcoming this barrier may be a first step in returning inner ear cells to a newborn-like state that’s primed for regeneration, as described in a new study published in Developmental Cell.

“Permanent hearing loss affects more than 60 percent of the population that reaches retirement age,” said Segil, who is a Professor in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and the USC Tina and Rick Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. “Our study suggests new gene engineering approaches that could be used to channel some of the same regenerative capability present in embryonic inner ear cells.”

Continue reading “Stem Cell Scientists Explore the Latent Regenerative Potential of the Inner Ear” »

Every dad should do this. 😃

French dad and robotics engineer Jean-Louis Constanza has built a robotic suit for his 16-year-old son Oscar that allows him to walk.

Continue reading “Dad builds robotic exoskeleton to help son walk — BBC News” »

Few people seem to realise how devastating this is, not only for human wellbeing – we need insects to pollinate our crops, recycle dung, leaves and corpses, keep the soil healthy, control pests, and much more – but for larger animals, such as birds, fish and frogs, which rely on insects for food. Wildflowers rely on them for pollination. As insects become more scarce, our world will slowly grind to a halt, for it cannot function without them.

A strong argument can be made that humans ought to farm more insects as an alternative to pigs, cows or chickens. Farming insects is more energy efficient and requires less space and water. They are a healthier source of protein, being high in essential amino acids and lower in saturated fats than beef, and we are much less likely to catch a disease from eating insects (think bird flu or Covid-19). So if we wish to feed the 10–12 billion people who are projected to be living on our planet by 2050, then we should be taking the farming of insects seriously as a healthier source of protein and a more sustainable option to conventional livestock.

While western societies may not eat insects, we do regularly consume them at one step removed in the food chain. Freshwater fish such as trout and salmon feed heavily on insects, as do game birds like partridge, pheasant and turkey.

Continue reading “The insect apocalypse: ‘Our world will grind to a halt without them’” »

A nanoparticle diagnostic tool developed by MIT can detect cancer in urine. It could also be used in scans to detect the disease anywhere in the body.

TOKYO — Centenarians have unique gut bacteria that enables them to live to a ripe old age, according to new research. Scientists in Japan say this unique gut makeup fuels bile acids that protect against disease.

The discovery could lead to yogurts and other probiotic foods that increase longevity.

“In people over the age of 100, an enrichment in a distinct set of gut microbes generate unique bile acids,” says lead author Professor Kenya Honda of Keio University in a statement per South West News Service. “They might inhibit the growth of pathogens.”

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The predicted shapes still need to be confirmed in the lab, Ellis told Technology Review. If the results hold up, they will rapidly push forward the study of the proteome, or the proteins in a given organism. DeepMind researchers published their open-source code and laid out the method in two peer-reviewed papers published in Nature last week.

And in 20 other animals often studied by science, too.

AlphaFold 2 paper and code is finally released. This post aims to inspire new generations of Machine Learning (ML) engineers to focus on foundational biological problems.

This post is a collection of core concepts to finally grasp AlphaFold2-like stuff. Our goal is to make this blog post as self-complete as possible in terms of biology. Thus in this article, you will learn about:

Black short-haired kitty Astra, one of millions of pets acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, had to go without salmon-flavored Whiskas treats that were sold out at stores in New Orleans this month.