Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists from UNSW Sydney have developed a ceramic-based ink that may allow surgeons in the future to 3D-print bone parts complete with living cells that could be used to repair damaged bone tissue.

Using a 3D-printer that deploys a special ink made up of calcium phosphate, the scientists developed a new technique, known as ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions (COBICS), enabling them to print bone-like structures that harden in a matter of minutes when placed in water.

While the idea of 3D-printing bone-mimicking structures is not new, this is the first time such material can be created at room temperature—complete with living cells—and without harsh chemicals or radiation, says Dr. Iman Roohani from UNSW’s School of Chemistry.

Specifically, the researchers looked at lupus, which attacks the body’s own immune system, along with antiphospholipid syndrome (often associated with lupus), which causes blood clots. Both the diseases cause widespread inflammation and ravage organs overtime. In mice with either of the disease, 6-gingerol stopped the neutrophil extracellular trap release caused by the diseases’ production of autoantibodies.

“Neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs, come from white blood cells called neutrophils,” explained lead author Ramadan Ali, Ph.D in a press release. “These sticky spider-web like structures are formed when autoantibodies interact with receptors on the neutrophil’s surface.”

The webs, according to Ali, play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome in which they set off autoantibody formation and contribute to clots in blood vessels and other damage.

Here’s a riddle: What do the Moon, nuclear weapons, clean energy of the future, terrorism, and lung disease all have in common?

The answer is helium-3, a gas that’s extremely rare on Earth but 100 million times more abundant on the Moon.

The capability to show anatomic details of the lungs and airways, and the ability to display functional imaging as a patient breathes, makes helium-3 MRI far better than the standard method of testing lung function. Called spirometry, this method tells physicians how the lungs function overall, but does not home in on particular areas that may be causing a problem. Plus, spirometry requires patients to follow instructions and hold their breath, so it is not great for testing young children with pulmonary disease.

Continue reading “Shoot for the Moon: Its Surface Contains a Pot of Gold” »

“Social robots like me can take care of the sick or elderly,” Sophia says as she conducts a tour of her lab in Hong Kong. “I can help communicate, give therapy and provide social stimulation, even in difficult situations.”

Government-backed incentives and funding are still the main engines driving Chinese manufacturers to replace humans with robots in industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, new infrastructure projects and food processing.

Trade war with US saw many companies relocate outside China, but orders came back last year as Chinese production rapidly rebounded from the coronavirus, and a robotics boom is expected in 2021.

Fair to say that we all assume that aging is inevitable. In reality however, there is no biological law that says we must age. Over the years we’ve seen a variety of theories proposed to explain why we age including the accumulation of damage to our DNA, the damaging effects of chemicals called “free radicals, changes in the function of our mitochondria, and so many others.

Our guest today, Dr. David Sinclair, believes that aging is related to a breakdown of information. Specifically, he describes how, with time, our epigenome accumulates changes that have powerful downstream effects on the way our DNA functions. Reducing these changes to the epigenome is achievable and in fact, even taking it further, his research now reveals that the epigenome can be reprogrammed back to a youthful state.

Continue reading “The Empowering Neurologist — David Perlmutter M.D., and Dr. David Sinclair” »

Ditto for Canada…

As US President Biden signs a national mask mandate into law, measures being imposed in the name of protecting public health could create a humanitarian crisis that sees Americans sued by the state and forced into detention camps for breaking pandemic protocols.

The very first executive order Joe Biden signed upon becoming the forty-sixth President of the United States was the national mask mandate he promised at the Democratic National Convention back in August. The order makes face coverings and social distancing mandatory on all federal property and a legal requisite for interstate commerce.

Continue reading “Experts Warn Civil Rights Fallout from COVID Could be Far Worse Than the Pandemic Itself” »

MONTREAL — A team of researchers from the Montreal Heart Institute believe they have found an effective weapon against COVID-19: colchicine, an oral tablet already known and used for other diseases.

For Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, who led the study, this is a “major scientific discovery,” he said. Colchicine is the first “effective oral drug to treat out-of-hospital patients.”

“To be able to offer this, from Quebec, and for the planet, we are very happy,” said Tardif.

Intelligent Design

DNA is already known to be an ideal storage medium. Why not use cells to do the hard work?