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Category: biotech/medical – Page 570

The convergence

When looking into the future, there are a number of interesting trends, such as quantum computing, which may save lots of energy, or space travel, which is here to stay and will become more affordable. But what I find interesting is the development of computation with biological cells, and the ability to build computing systems, and robots, not from hard metals but from soft biological matter — mostly cells.

Look around you in “nature”- almost everything you see, all plants and animals are built from a single type of structure, a biological cell. They are all alike. Sure, cells vary as they adapt to their environments, but a cellular organism has the same building plan as any other cell. There’s the cell membrane, there is a nucleus, there are organelles and cytoplasm. There is DNA, RNA, amino acids to build proteins and peptides, lipids and sugars. Put together in predictable ways.

We are learning to use these systems to build anything we want from them. We focus on this because our bodies are made from cells, and we want to remain healthy. That is a strong incentive to study these systems. The convergence will happen when we relegate metal-based computing to the sidelines and focus on biological computing as our main systems. These biological cell systems are, incidentally, quantum computing systems. So the trends I mention — here on earth will converge, and only space travel will require the opposite — the need to shield biological computing from conditions in space.

Good as gold — improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles

Abstract: By harnessing the power of composite polymer particles adorned with gold nanoparticles, a group of researchers have delivered a more accurate means of testing for infectious diseases.

Details of their research was published in the journal Langmuir.

The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need for fast and reliable infectious disease testing in large numbers. Most testing done today involves antigen-antibody reactions. Fluorescence, absorptions, or color particle probes are attached to antibodies. When the antibodies stick to the virus, these probes visualize the virus’s presence. In particular, the use of color nanoparticles is renowned for its excellent visuality, along with its simplicity to implement, with little scientific equipment needed to perform lateral flow tests.

Powering Brain Repair: Mitochondria Key to Neurogenesis

Summary: Researchers made a groundbreaking discovery about the maturation process of adult-born neurons in the brain, highlighting the critical role of mitochondrial fusion in these cells. Their study shows that as neurons develop, their mitochondria undergo dynamic changes that are crucial for the neurons’ ability to form and refine connections, supporting synaptic plasticity in the adult hippocampus.

This insight, which correlates altered neurogenesis with neurological disorders, opens new avenues for understanding and potentially treating conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s by targeting mitochondrial dynamics to enhance brain repair and cognitive functions.

Revitalizing Vision: Metabolome Rejuvenation Can Slow Retinal Degeneration

Gene therapy may be the best hope for curing retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited condition that usually leads to severe vision loss and blinds 1.5 million people worldwide.

But there’s a huge obstacle: RP can be caused by mutations in over 80 different genes. To treat most RP patients with gene therapy, researchers would have to create a therapy for each gene—a nearly impractical task using current gene therapy strategies.

A more universal treatment may be forthcoming. Using CRISPR-based genome engineering, scientists at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons are designing a gene therapy with the potential to treat RP patients regardless of the underlying genetic defect.

Human neuron model paves the way for new Alzheimer’s therapies

Weill Cornell Medicine scientists have developed an innovative human neuron model that robustly simulates the spread of tau protein aggregates in the brain—a process that drives cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. This new model has led to the identification of novel therapeutic targets that could potentially block tau spread.

RNA Molecules in Brain Nerve Cells Display Lifelong Stability

Certain RNA molecules in the nerve cells in the brain last a life time without being renewed. Neuroscientists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have now demonstrated that this is the case together with researchers from Germany, Austria and the USA. RNAs are generally short-lived molecules that are constantly reconstructed to adjust to environmental conditions. With their findings that have now been published in the journal Science, the research group hopes to decipher the complex aging process of the brain and gain a better understanding of related degenerative diseases.

Most cells in the human body are regularly renewed, thereby retaining their vitality. However, there are exceptions: the heart, the pancreas and the brain consist of cells that do not renew throughout the whole lifespan, and yet still have to remain in full working order. “Aging neurons are an important risk factor for neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s,” says Prof. Dr. Tomohisa Toda, Professor of Neural Epigenomics at FAU and at the Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine in Erlangen. “A basic understanding of the aging process and which key components are involved in maintaining cell function is crucial for effective treatment concepts:”

In a joint study conducted together with neuroscientists from Dresden, La Jolla (USA) and Klosterneuburg (Austria), the working group led by Toda has now identified a key component of brain aging: the researchers were able to demonstrate for the first time that certain types of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that protect genetic material exist just as long as the neurons themselves. “This is surprising, as unlike DNA, which as a rule never changes, most RNA molecules are extremely short-lived and are constantly being exchanged,” Toda explains.

Newly Approved Rapid Blood Test for Traumatic Brain Injury Could Speed Up Treatment for Troops

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a blood test to detect concussion that produces results in minutes rather than hours — a breakthrough that could help expedite treatment for service members with traumatic brain injuries, according to the U.S. Army and Abbott Laboratories, the…

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“This can help get the most severely injured service members to neurosurgeons faster and ultimately save lives,” Lt. Col. Bradley Dengler, neurosurgical consultant to the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General, said in a release.

The test was developed by Abbott with the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, part of U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. It measures the levels of two head injury biomarkers — glial fibrillary acidic protein and ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase — in a blood sample, with results produced bedside within 15 minutes.