Lifeboat Foundation

Increasing evidence suggests that acupressure, a complementary and alternative medicine approach involving applying pressure to specific areas of the body, known as acupoints, can effectively mediate symptoms experienced by cancer patients. Recent studies have shown that acupressure can control cancer-related nausea, fatigue, sleep disruption, and pain.

Most of the growing body of literature promoting the benefits of acupressure involves treatments administered by trained acupuncturists. However, we lack an understanding of the effectiveness of performing acupressure on yourself, a process known as self-acupressure. To address the potential benefits of self-acupressure, a team of researchers conducted a systemic review of published data on self-acupressure for symptom management in cancer patients. The review appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

The researchers searched electronic databases for peer-reviewed studies exploring self-acupressure for cancer-related symptoms. The search identified 11 studies to include in the review.

Researchers from The University of Queensland applied an algorithm from a video game to study the dynamics of molecules in living brain cells.

Dr. Tristan Wallis and Professor Frederic Meunier from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute came up with the idea while in lockdown during the COVID-19.

First identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China, COVID-19, or Coronavirus disease 2019, (which was originally called “2019 novel coronavirus” or 2019-nCoV) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It has spread globally, resulting in the 2019–22 coronavirus pandemic.

In a novel attempt to reduce the risks of over sedation, physician-scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether virtual reality immersion can minimize the need for sedatives during hand surgery without negatively impacting patient satisfaction. The team studied adults undergoing hand surgery who were randomized to receive either Virtual Reality (VR) immersion during the procedure in addition to usual MAC, or usual MAC alone. They found that VR immersion during hand surgery led to significant reductions in sedative doses as well as post-operative lengths of stay in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU). Their work is published in PLOS ONE.

BIDMC researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial that found virtual reality immersion during hand surgery reduced the need for sedatives.

These clocks promise to measure biological age and help identify anti-aging drugs, but there are lingering questions over their accuracy.

Bacteria draw from an arsenal of weapons to combat the drugs intended to kill them. Among the most prevalent of these weapons are ribosome-modifying enzymes. These enzymes are growing increasingly common, appearing worldwide in clinical samples in a range of drug-resistant bacteria.

Now scientists have captured the first images of one important class of these enzymes in action. The images show how the enzymes latch onto a particular site on the bacterial ribosome and squeeze it like a pair of tweezers to extract an RNA nucleotide and alter it. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the findings, led by scientists at Emory University.

The advanced technique of cryoelectron microscopy made the ultra-high-resolution, three-dimensional snapshots possible.

Brain age was estimated using an algorithm that combined multiple measures of brain structure obtained through MRI scans when the participants were 45 years old. This algorithm quantified the difference between estimated brain age and the participants’ chronological age, referred to as brain age gap estimate.

If the estimated brain age is higher than the chronological age, it suggests that the brain’s structural characteristics are more similar to those of an older individual. Conversely, if the estimated brain age is lower than the chronological age, the brain’s structural characteristics resemble those of a younger individual.

Lay-Yee and his colleagues also adjusted their analyses for various potential confounding factors. These included socio-demographic factors like sex and socio-economic status, as well as family factors (teen-aged mother, single parent, change in residence, maltreatment) and child-behavioral factors (self-control, worry/fearfulness).

The authors used a long-read nanopore method to study chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation of the highly repetitive centromeres, telomeres, and ribosomal DNA arrays in both wildtype and DNA methylation mutants of Arabidopsis.

A new discovery by the Polytechnic University of Milan opens up new perspectives in the field of sustainable chemical synthesis, promoting innovative solutions that allow chemicals to be created in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way. The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Synthesis.

Using the innovative technique of dispersing isolated atoms on carbon nitride supports, the team developed a catalyst that is more active and selective in esterification reactions. This is an important reaction in which carboxylic acids and bromides are combined to form products used in the manufacture of medicines, food additives, and polymers.

The revolutionary feature of this new catalyst is that it reduces the use of rare metals, a significant step towards conserving critical resources and making processes more sustainable. In addition, the catalyst can be activated by sunlight, eliminating the need for energy-intensive methods. This discovery holds enormous potential in reducing dependence on finite resources and lowering the environmental impact of catalytic processes.

Physicist Luke MacQueen combines tissue engineering with stem cell technologies to produce synthetic meat whose texture mimics that of natural meat.

Winston Churchill—the well-known wartime leader and lesser-known Nobel Laureate in Literature—published an essay in 1931 in The Strand Magazine in which he imagined the future “Fifty Years Hence.” Many of his predictions turned out to be prophetic—wireless telephones, television, and nuclear power—while others read like science fiction. But one of his futuristic ideas—growing meat in a lab—may just be a few years away, if Luke MacQueen of Harvard University has his way.