Researchers develop synthetic markers that cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing for noninvasive monitoring of the living brain via blood tests.
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Large-Scale Neuromorphic Spiking Array Processors: A Quest to Mimic the Brain
Neuromorphic engineering (NE) encompasses a diverse range of approaches to information processing that are inspired by neurobiological systems, and this feature distinguishes neuromorphic systems from conventional computing systems. The brain has evolved over billions of years to solve difficult engineering problems by using efficient, parallel, low-power computation. The goal of NE is to design systems capable of brain-like computation. Numerous large-scale neuromorphic projects have emerged recently. This interdisciplinary field was listed among the top 10 technology breakthroughs of 2014 by the MIT Technology Review and among the top 10 emerging technologies of 2015 by the World Economic Forum.
Flexible high-density microelectrode arrays for closed-loop brain–machine interfaces: a review
Flexible high-density microelectrode arrays (HDMEAs) are emerging as a key component in closed-loop brain–machine interfaces (BMIs), providing high-resolution functionality for recording, stimulation, or both. The flexibility of these arrays provides advantages over rigid ones, such as reduced mismatch between interface and tissue, resilience to micromotion, and sustained long-term performance. This review summarizes the recent developments and applications of flexible HDMEAs in closed-loop BMI systems. It delves into the various challenges encountered in the development of ideal flexible HDMEAs for closed-loop BMI systems and highlights the latest methodologies and breakthroughs to address these challenges. These insights could be instrumental in guiding the creation of future generations of flexible HDMEAs, specifically tailored for use in closed-loop BMIs.
How Nanotech Made an Old Leukemia Drug 22,000x Stronger
Structural nanomedicine — what helped give us the COVID vaccine — may now be the key to a potent blood cancer treatment that’s had remarkable early results.
The findings, published in ACS Nano, show that just two doses of the experimental therapy achieved 97.5% tumor growth inhibition in a human AML xenograft mouse model — 59-fold more effective than standard 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment, with no observable side effects.
For a disease with a grim 29% 5-year survival rate — and a cure rate of only 15% in patients older than 70 years — the findings offer a glimpse of how rethinking drug structure, not just chemistry, could advance cancer care.
Mirkin frames the findings within what he calls “the era of structural nanomedicine,” the idea that how you arrange medicinal components at the nanoscale matters as much as the molecules themselves.
Circulating Ketone Bodies and Incident Cardiovascular Outcomes and Mortality: Insights From the UK Biobank
Higher ketone body levels are associated with increased cardiovascular events and mortality in a large population cohort. @paragchevli @DrMichaelShapir @wakeforestmed @WFCardiology
BackgroundKetone bodies (KB) are endogenous energy sources synthesized by the liver in response to metabolic stress. Their associations with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), heart failure (HF), and mortality and their potential beneficial or harmful effects have yet to be determined. This study aimed to examine the association between KB and incident cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in a large general population cohort free from ASCVD and HF at baseline.
Challenges and opportunities in adapting high-throughput functional assays for in vivo neuroscience
High-throughput functional assays such as CRISPR screens and massively parallel reporter assays have transformed studies of gene regulation in cultured cells, but their translation to neuroscience remains limited.
The brain presents unique barriers to scaling these assays, including delivery bottlenecks, low recovery, and the complexity of cellular diversity and spatial architecture.
Emerging strategies—ranging from optimized viral vectors and streamlined library design to integration with singlecell and spatial transcriptomics—offer paths to overcome these limitations.
Together, these innovations are paving the way toward in vivo functional genomics approaches that can bridge the gap between genetic variation, regulatory logic, and brain function. sciencenewshighlights ScienceMission https://sciencemission.com/high-throughput-functional-assays
Precision tumor imaging with a fluorescence probe and engineered enzymes
Successful cancer surgery depends on a surgeon’s ability to remove tumors, while minimizing harm to healthy tissues. Surgeons currently use glowing dyes which mark cancer cells to help differentiate from healthy cells, but these dyes aren’t perfect and will light up some healthy tissues too. For the first time, researchers including those from the University of Tokyo developed what they call a bioorthogonal fluorescence probe and a matching reporter enzyme that can activate the probe selectively at targeted tumor sites. This enables high-contrast tumor visualization with very low background. This study was performed in mice.
Cancer is a universal issue which affects uncountably many people around the world. Many will turn to surgery in the hope a surgeon will be able to completely remove a tumor leaving healthy tissues unaffected. Various tools and techniques have been developed over the years to improve the way these surgeries are performed, and visual imaging methods such as glowing dyes have proven to be very useful. But one drawback is that some probes can also be activated in healthy tissues by endogenous enzymes, creating background fluorescence and making it harder to judge what should be removed. The opposite is also possible, where cancer cells are left unmarked and are missed during surgery, increasing the chance of recurrence.
“Our group acknowledged this current shortcoming and improved upon this way to make cancer cells light up inside the body. In tests on mice, we delivered a special enzyme to tumors and used a fluorescence probe that only turns on when that enzyme is present,” said Associate Professor Ryosuke Kojima from the Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Imaging at the University of Tokyo. “Older probes often light up healthy tissue by mistake, creating background noise, but our highly selective, or bioorthogonal, dye probe is designed to stay completely off unless it meets its matching engineered enzyme. We essentially trained the enzyme through repeated mutation and selection, a form of directed evolution, so it could activate the probe strongly enough to work inside living animals.”
Microbes harvest metals from meteorites aboard space station
If humankind is to explore deep space, one small passenger should not be left behind: microbes. In fact, it would be impossible to leave them behind, since they live on and in our bodies, surfaces and food. Learning how they react to space conditions is critical, but they could also be invaluable fellows in our endeavor to explore space.
Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi can harvest crucial minerals from rocks and could provide a sustainable alternative to transporting much-needed resources from Earth.
Researchers from Cornell and the University of Edinburgh collaborated to study how those microbes extract platinum group elements from a meteorite in microgravity, with an experiment conducted aboard the International Space Station. They found that “biomining” fungi are particularly adept at extracting the valuable metal palladium, while removing the fungus resulted in a negative effect on nonbiological leaching in microgravity.
Pearls & Oy-sters: Reversible Leukoencephalopathy and Parkinsonism Due to CNS Involvement in Cryoglobulinemia
What is metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease?
Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) involves accumulation of fat in the liver and may progress to liver inflammation and scarring.
The main risk factors for MASLD are obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Usually people with MASLD show no symptoms but some may feel tired or have pain or discomfort in the upper right side of their abdomen.
Eating a low-carbohydrate, low-fat, and low-calorie diet; avoiding alcohol; and exercise are the first-line of treatment for MASLD. sciencenewshighlights ScienceMission https://sciencemission.com/What-Is–MASLD
This JAMA Patient Page describes metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and its risk factors, symptoms and complications, diagnosis, and treatment.