Lifeboat Foundation

Feb. 1, 2024 – A common condition called polycystic ovary syndrome that causes irregular menstrual cycles has been linked to signs of early cognitive decline.

Known as PCOS, the condition may affect more than 1 in 10 women, and is among the most common causes of infertility. In addition to ovulation problems, PCOS can cause excess hair growth on the face and the other parts of the body, as well as abnormal growths on the ovaries. Women with PCOS are at a particularly heightened risk of getting type 2 diabetes, as well as other serious health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, and sleep apnea, particularly if the women are overweight.

This latest study looked for possible links between PCOS and brain health in women once they were in their late 40s or older.

Researchers at Aalto University were looking for better ways to instruct dance choreography in virtual reality. The new WAVE technique they developed will be presented in May at the CHI conference for human-computer interaction research.

Previous techniques have largely relied on pre-rehearsal and simplification.

Continue reading “Researchers develop a new way to instruct dance in virtual reality” »

The following is a summary of “Emerging therapeutic frontiers in cancer: insights into posttranslational modifications of PD-1/PD-L1 and regulatory pathways,” published in the April 2024 issue of Hematology by Wang et al.

The intricate interplay between programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), expressed on the surface of tumor cells, and programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), expressed on T cells, constitutes a pivotal mechanism fostering immune evasion by tumor cells through the thwarting of effective tumor antigen-specific T cell activation. The advent of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade has emerged as a transformative strategy in combating tumor immune evasion, garnering substantial interest within the oncology landscape. Clinical investigations have underscored the remarkable efficacy and safety profile of PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies across a spectrum of malignancies, offering a beacon of hope for patients.

Nonetheless, the therapeutic landscape of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 interventions is fraught with challenges, including limited indications and the emergence of drug resistance, necessitating a nuanced approach to therapeutic intervention. Accordingly, unraveling additional regulatory pathways and molecular players associated with PD-1/PD-L1 signaling assumes paramount importance, alongside the strategic implementation of combinational therapeutic modalities, to address the multifaceted dynamics of tumor immune evasion.

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A research team led by the late Professor Liang Haojun from the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has developed a facile enthalpy-mediated strategy to precisely control the replication and catalytic assembly of DNA-functionalized colloids in a time-dependent manner, facilitating the creation of large-scale ordered nanomaterials. The study was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

The replication of information is a fundamental characteristic of nature, with nucleic acids playing a crucial role in biological systems. However, creating synthetic systems that can produce large-scale, three-dimensionally ordered nanomaterials using self-replicating nanostructures has remained a formidable challenge.

Existing artificial self-replicating systems often fall short in programmable assembly into sophisticated nanostructures, limiting their potential functions and applications.

Angela Ting, Ph.D., was intrigued by the field of epigenetics as soon as she was introduced to it in college. Now, she runs a research lab that explores how epigenetics plays a role in the development of cancer. She wants to use that knowledge to better treat patients with certain types of cancer.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a state-of-the-art technique that captures and processes information across a given electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike traditional imaging techniques that capture light intensity at specific wavelengths, HSI collects a full spectrum at each pixel in an image. This rich spectral data enables the distinction between different materials and substances based on their unique spectral signatures.

Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) has attracted significant attention in the food and industrial fields as a non-destructive technique for analyzing the composition of objects. A notable aspect of NIR-HSI is over-thousand-nanometer (OTN) spectroscopy, which can be used for the identification of organic substances, their concentration estimation, and 2D map creation. Additionally, NIR-HSI can be used to acquire information deep into the body, making it useful for the visualization of lesions hidden in normal tissues.

Various types of HSI devices have been developed to suit different imaging targets and situations, such as for imaging under a microscope or portable imaging and imaging in confined spaces. However, for OTN wavelengths, ordinary visible cameras lose sensitivity and only a few commercially available lenses exist that can correct chromatic aberration. Moreover, it is necessary to construct cameras, optical systems, and illumination systems for portable NRI-HSI devices, but no device that can acquire NIR-HSI with a rigid scope, crucial for portability, has been reported yet.

Source: University of Cambridge.

Researchers have developed tiny, flexible devices that can wrap around individual nerve fibers without damaging them.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, combined flexible electronics and soft robotics techniques to develop the devices, which could be used for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of disorders, including epilepsy and chronic pain, or the control of prosthetic limbs.

Self-assembling molecules that spontaneously organize themselves to form complex structures are common in nature. For example, the tough outer layer of insects, called the cuticle, is rich in proteins that can self-assemble.

Self-assembly is a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and quick way of manufacturing nanostructures with critical applications in various industries, ranging from therapeutics to self-replicating machines.

Harnessing the self-assembling abilities of proteins from the cuticles of Asian corn borer moth caterpillars (Ostrinia furnacalis), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have created nanosized capsules that could be used to deliver drugs and messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is a molecule that instructs cells to produce proteins and has been used in COVID-19 vaccines.