The Medical Thread

One brain area, two planning strategies: "Ready to strike, the spear fisherman holds his spear above the water surface. He aims at the fish. But he is misled by the view: Due to the refraction of light on the surface, he does not see the actual location of the fish. How must his brain now plan the arm movement? Do the brain cells (neurons) reflect the position where the fish was spotted, in other words, the visual target? Or do they plan the physical target, which is the actual direction in which the arm and spear should move in order to hit the fish? In new research, investigators tried to answer this question on the different aspects of planning a limb movement."

Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease reversed in rats: "A controlled-release oral therapy has been developed by scientists that reversed type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease in rats, according to a study. "Given these promising results in animal models of NAFLD/NASH and type 2 diabetes we are pursuing additional preclinical safety studies to take this mitochondrial protonophore approach to the clinic" said the researchers."

Method for mapping neuron clusters developed: "A method for identifying clusters of neurons that work in concert to guide the behavior has been developed by researchers. Their findings address a long-standing mystery about the organization of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) — one of the most recently evolved parts of the primate brain that underlies complex cognitive functions."

Neurons that help predict what another individual will do identified: "Investigators have discovered two groups of neurons that play key roles in social interactions between primates — one that is activated when deciding whether to cooperate with another individual and another group involved in predicting what the other will do."

Lab In Berkeley Accidentally Discovers Solution To Fix Color Blindness

Feast-and-famine diet could help extend life, study suggests: "Think of it as interval training for the dinner table. Fasting has been shown in mice to extend lifespan and to improve age-related diseases. But fasting every day, which could entail skipping meals or simply reducing overall caloric intake, can be hard to maintain. In a new study, researchers looked at intermittent fasting. They measured participants' changes in weight, blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels, cholesterol, markers of inflammation and genes involved in protective cell responses over 10 weeks. They found that intermittent fasting caused a slight increase to SIRT 3, a well-known gene that promotes longevity and is involved in protective cell responses."

Untangling DNA with a droplet of water, a pipet and a polymer: "Researchers have long sought an efficient way to untangle DNA in order to study its structure - neatly unraveled and straightened out - under a microscope. Now, chemists and engineers at KU Leuven, in Belgium, have devised a strikingly simple and effective solution: they inject genetic material into a droplet of water and use a pipet tip to drag it over a glass plate covered with a sticky polymer. The droplet rolls like a ball over the plate, sticking the DNA to the plate surface. The unraveled DNA can then be studied under a microscope. The researchers described the technique in the journal ACS Nano."

Xeroxed gene may have paved the way for large human brain: "Last week, researchers expanded the size of the mouse brain by giving rodents a piece of human DNA. Now another team has topped that feat, pinpointing a human gene that not only grows the mouse brain but also gives it the distinctive folds found in primate brains. The work suggests that scientists are finally beginning to unravel some of the evolutionary steps that boosted the cognitive powers of our species.

'This study represents a major milestone in our understanding of the developmental emergence of human uniqueness,' says Victor Borrell Franco, a neurobiologist at the Institute of Neurosciences in Alicante, Spain, who was not involved with the work.

The new study began when Wieland Huttner, a developmental neurobiologist at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, and his colleagues started closely examining aborted human fetal tissue and embryonic mice. 'We specifically wanted to figure out which genes are active during the development of the cortex, the part of the brain that is greatly expanded in humans and other primates compared to rodents,' says Marta Florio, the Huttner graduate student who carried out the main part of the work."

First detailed microscopy evidence of bacteria at the lower size limit of life: "Scientists have captured the first detailed microscopy images of ultra-small bacteria that are believed to be about as small as life can get. The research was led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. The existence of ultra-small bacteria has been debated for two decades, but there hasn't been a comprehensive electron microscopy and DNA-based description of the microbes until now."

WATCH: This 3D-printed arm costs just $300, and kids really, really love it: "Bionic arms have improved incredibly over the past 10 years. Just yesterday, it was announced that three men had chosen to amputate their arms as a result of nerve damage, and replace them with mind-controlled prosthetics. Researchers have even managed to create devices that allow amputees to feel what they're touching with their new limbs.

But the only problem with this amazing technology is that it's expensive - prosthetics can cost anywhere from US$20,000 - 100,000, and often it can only be produced by specialists. Which is where this cheap, 3D-printed arm comes in. As Derek Muller from Veritasium shows in the video above, by taking a simple idea and applying the latest in 3D printing, researchers from the University of Central Florida have managed to build a sophisticated bionic arm that costs just $300 to make. And kids absolutely love it."

Genetically speaking, mammals are more like their fathers: "You might resemble or act more like your mother, but a novel research study reveals that mammals are genetically more like their dads. Specifically, the research shows that although we inherit equal amounts of genetic mutations from our parents — the mutations that make us who we are and not some other person — we actually 'use' more of the DNA that we inherit from our dads."

Peanut consumption associated with decreased total mortality and mortality from cardiovascular diseases: "Researchers have examined the association of nut and peanut consumption with mortality among low-income and racially diverse populations and found that intake of peanuts was associated with fewer deaths, especially from heart disease."

Treadmill performance predicts mortality: "Analyzing data from 58,000 heart stress tests, Johns Hopkins cardiologists report they have developed a formula that estimates one's risk of dying over a decade based on a person's ability to exercise on a treadmill at an increasing speed and incline. For example, a 45-year-old woman with a fitness score in the bottom fifth percentile is estimated to have a 38 percent risk of dying over the next decade, compared with 2 percent for a 45-year-old woman with a top fitness score."

Beliefs can regulate effects of nicotine on the human brain: Scientists have discovered that beliefs can regulate the effects of nicotine on the human brain. Two identical cigarettes led to a new discovery. Study participants inhaled nicotine, yet they showed significantly different brain activity. Why the difference? Some subjects were told their cigarettes were nicotine free. This goes beyond he placebo effect, researchers say."

Anesthetics could have long-term impact on children's brains: "A group of anesthesiologists and toxicologists today issued a caution to parents and health care professionals about the use of general anesthetics in children."

Results challenge conventional wisdom about where the brain begins processing visual information: "Neuroscientists generally think of the front end of the human visual system as a simple light detection system: The patterns produced when light falls on the retina are relayed to the visual cortex at the rear of the brain, where all of the "magic" happens that transforms these patterns into the three-dimensional world view that we perceive with our mind's eye. Now, however, a brain imaging study challenges this basic assumption."

Scientists crack piece of neural code for learning, memory: "Researchers describe how postmortem brain slices can be 'read' to determine how a rat was trained to behave in response to specific sounds, a new article suggests. The work provides one of the first examples of how specific changes in the activity of individual neurons encode particular acts of learning and memory in the brain."

New nanodevice defeats drug resistance: "Chemotherapy often shrinks tumors at first, but as cancer cells become resistant to drug treatment, tumors can grow back. A new nanodevice developed by MIT researchers can help overcome that by first blocking the gene that confers drug resistance, then launching a new chemotherapy attack against the disarmed tumors."

Nice to sniff you: Handshakes may engage our sense of smell: "Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may provide people with a socially acceptable way of communicating via the sense of smell. People sniff their hands twice as much after a handshake."

Giant virus revealed in 3-D using X-ray laser: "For the first time, researchers have produced a 3-D image revealing part of the inner structure of an intact, infectious virus, using a unique X-ray laser at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The virus, called Mimivirus, is in a curious class of 'giant viruses' discovered just over a decade ago.

The experiment at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, establishes a new technique for reconstructing the 3-D structure of many types of biological samples from a series of X-ray laser snapshots."

The origins of polarized nervous systems: "There is no mistaking the first action potential you ever fired. It was the one that blocked all the other sperm from stealing your egg. After that, your spikes only got more interesting. Waves of calcium flooding the jointly-forged cell stiffened its glycoprotein-enhanced walls against all other suitors and kicked off the developmental program ultimately responsible for constructing your brain. Unlike the nervous systems of the lower forms of life, our neurons have a clearly polarized form—a single output axon projecting far to parts unknown is charged by input dendrites feeding on the local metabolic soup de jour. The origins of this polarity in neurons, and therefore in nervous systems in general, are written in the primitive body plans of the mostly gelatinous organisms still hailing intact across deep time."

Half of our HIV strains came from gorillas, study reveals: "Two of the HIV strains that infect humans came from gorillas, a new study has found. The HIV-1 virus, which causes AIDS, jumped from apes to humans four separate times in history, creating four individual strains - M, N, O and P.

We already knew that the M and N strains infected humans from chimpanzees, most likely in southern Cameroon. But the origin of the other half of the HIV-1 strains remained unknown, up until now."

Doing the 5:2 diet? Avoid antioxidants, new research suggests: "Researchers have investigated what the popular 5:2 diet, also known the feast-or-famine diet, is doing to our bodies, and the results are looking pretty good for devotees. But, oddly enough, when they added antioxidant supplements to the mix, the benefits gained from the diet appeared to be counteracted."

How big is the average penis?

Newly discovered hormone mimics the effects of exercise: "Scientists have discovered a new hormone that fights the weight gain caused by a high-fat Western diet and normalizes the metabolism — effects commonly associated with exercising. When tested in mice, the hormone blocked the negative health effects of eating a high-fat diet."

Creative genius driven by distraction: "The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise — and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound. Now new research suggests why the inability to shut out competing sensory information while focusing on the creative project at hand might have been so acute for geniuses such as Proust, Franz Kafka, Charles Darwin, Anton Chekhov and many others."

High-salt diet could protect against invading microbes: "Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary salt could have a biological advantage: Defending the body against invading microbes. A high-salt diet increased sodium accumulation in the skin of mice, thereby boosting their immune response to a skin-infecting parasite."

Study identifies first-ever human population adaptation to toxic chemical, arsenic: "High up in the high Andes mountains of Argentina, researchers have identified the first-ever evidence of a population uniquely adapted to tolerate the toxic chemical arsenic.

For thousands of years, in some regions of the Andes, people have been exposed to high levels of arsenic, a naturally occurring phenomenon that happens when arsenic in the volcanic bedrock is released into the groundwater. How could this population adapt to tolerate arsenic, a potent killer of such ill repute that it's often the overused plot-driver of many murder mysteries?"

Researchers devise new method to identify disease markers: "UCLA life scientists have created an accurate new method to identify genetic markers for many diseases—a significant step toward a new era of personalized medicine, tailored to each person's DNA and RNA.

The powerful method, called GIREMI (pronounced Gir-REMY), will help scientists to inexpensively identify RNA editing sites, genetic mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms—tiny variations in a genetic sequence—and can be used to diagnose and predict the risk of a wide range of diseases from cancers to schizophrenia, said Xinshu (Grace) Xiao, senior author of the research and a UCLA associate professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College."

edited 3rd Mar '15 8:55:15 PM by rmctagg09

Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study: "Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. So, while it may feel like more, flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess how often people are infected by influenza."

Experiments support conductivity claims for microbial nanowires: "Scientific debate has been hot lately about whether microbial nanowires, the specialized electrical pili of the mud-dwelling anaerobic bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, truly possess metallic-like conductivity as its discoverers claim. But now scientists say they have settled the dispute between theoretical and experimental scientists by devising a combination of new experiments and better theoretical modeling."

Men tend to be more narcissistic than women, study finds: "With three decades of data from more than 475,000 participants, a new study on narcissism reveals that men, on average, are more narcissistic than women."

Humans didn't even see the colour blue until modern times, research suggests: "Last week we all had our minds torn apart by a dress that was clearly blue and black to some people, and 100 percent white and gold to others. But there's actually evidence that, until modern times, humans didn't really see the colour blue at all.

In a fascinating feature over on Business Insider, Kevin Loria breaks down the evidence behind the claim, which dates all the way back to the 1800s, when scholar William Gladstone, who later went on to be the Prime Minister of Great Britain, noticed that, in the Odyssey, Homer describes the ocean as "wine-dark" and other strange hues, but he never uses the word 'blue'.

A few years later, a philologist called Lazarus Geiger decided to follow up on this discovery, and analysed ancient Icelandic, Hindu, Chinese, Arabic and Hebrew texts, to find no mention of the word blue. And, when you think about it, why would they need one? Other than the sky, there isn't really much in nature that is inherently a vibrant blue."

"Other than the sky, there isn't really much in nature that is a vibrant blue"? Bluebirds, blueberries, some varietals of grapes, lots of flowers, any number of bugs, butterflies or beetles, some fish?

Methinks these people took Sapir-Whorf (over simplified to "They don't have a specific word for it, therefore they don't have the concept.") too seriously. A more convincing explanation is that words for shades of a color are only created by a culture once a reliable way of producing that color with dyes or pigments is developed.

edited 4th Mar '15 3:18:23 PM by Madrugada

Not to mention the variety of plant, animal, and copper/sodalite mineral pigments used by ancient civilizations.

Ha. Try Ancient Egypt: what they didn't know about playing with copper salts wasn't worth knowing (they even understood the heavy metal poisoning quite well). And, they were dab hands at knowing which bit of their blue-green spectrum they were shooting for, with sufficient vocabulary to describe it.

edited 4th Mar '15 7:28:50 PM by Euodiachloris

Olive oil: The key to curing cancer?: "Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), long-known for its heart health benefits, has now been identified for its rapid destruction of cancer cells. While scientists have proven that the oleocanthal compound found in EVOO causes cell death in cancer cells, they have been unable to provide an explanation for this phenomenon until now."

New protein booster may lead to better DNA vaccines and gene therapy: "Scientists have discovered a new way to manipulate how cells function, a finding that might help advance an experimental approach to improving public health: DNA vaccines, which could be more efficient, less expensive and easier to store than traditional vaccines. Their approach improves upon an existing laboratory technique, transfection, widely used to study how cells and viruses work."

Phthalates potentially alter levels of a pregnancy hormone that influences sex development: "Exposure to hormone-altering chemicals called phthalates — which are found in many plastics, foods and personal care products — early in pregnancy is associated with a disruption in an essential pregnancy hormone and adversely affects the masculinization of male genitals in the baby, according to new research. The findings focus on the role of the placenta in responding to these chemicals and altering levels of a key pregnancy hormone."

Molecule found in tree leaves helps female mice combat weight gain; males unaffected: "A small molecule that binds to a receptor found on muscle cells speeds up energy metabolism — but only in female mice. Researchers have shown that female mice treated with a molecule found in tree leaves could indulge in high-fat foods without gaining weight or accumulating fat. Males did not enjoy similar benefits, highlighting the need to study both sexes while developing drugs."

Scientists are 3D-printing tiny human brains: "Researchers from the University of Wollongong in Australia are 3D-printing their own artificial human brains in the lab, in an ambitious project that sounds like something out of science fiction.

Using human stem cells, the team is growing specific brain cell types, such as neurons, onto 3D brain-like scaffolding. The hope is that their model will allow them to properly understand the mechanics of human-specific diseases, such as schizophrenia, and also investigate potential treatments. After all, animal models can only tell us so much."

Britain's Oldest Surviving Human Brain Was Preserved In Mud For 2,600 Years: "A 2,600-year-old human skull from the Iron Age was unearthed in a muddy pit back in late 2008. Upon closer examination, the soil-caked cranium contained an unusual yellow substance that turned out to be Britain’s oldest surviving human brain. Now, researchers have figured out how this remarkable brain had been preserved so well and for so long: The mud provided an oxygen-free burial."

I don't think you can call the brain "surviving" if the owner's already dead, ya?

Infants' environments play key role in their heights as adults: "Environmental elements during the first year of one's life (including nutrition and health status, family structure, and economic and emotional factors) play a key role in determining one's growth and final adult height, researchers have found."

Are you a descendant of Genghis Khan? Millions of modern men descendants of 11 Asian dynastic leaders: "Millions of modern Asian men are descended from 11 powerful dynastic leaders who lived up to 4,000 years ago — including Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan, according to a new study. Researchers examined the male-specific Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son, in more than 5,000 Asian men belonging to 127 populations."

Experimental drug turns 'bad' white fat into 'good' brown-like fat: "An experimental drug causes loss of weight and fat in mice, a new study has found. Known as GC-1, the drug reportedly speeds up metabolism, or burning off, of fat cells."

Brain structure varies depending on how trusting people are of others, study shows: "Brain structure varies according to how trusting people are of others, scientists say. This research may have implications for future treatments of psychological conditions such as autism, said the study's lead author. Each autism diagnosis is on a spectrum and varies, but some diagnosed with the condition exhibit problems trusting other people."

Mapping 'switches' that shaped the evolution of the human brain: "Thousands of genetic 'dimmer' switches, regions of DNA known as regulatory elements, were turned up high during human evolution in the developing cerebral cortex, according to new research."

Bioengineers put human hearts on a chip to aid drug screening: "When University of California, Berkeley, bioengineers say they are holding their hearts in the palms of their hands, they are not talking about emotional vulnerability.

Instead, the research team led by bioengineering professor Kevin Healy is presenting a network of pulsating cardiac muscle cells housed in an inch-long silicone device that effectively models human heart tissue, and they have demonstrated the viability of this system as a drug-screening tool by testing it with cardiovascular medications.

This organ-on-a-chip, reported in a study to be published Monday, March 9, in the journal Scientific Reports, represents a major step forward in the development of accurate, faster methods of testing for drug toxicity. The project is funded through the Tissue Chip for Drug Screening Initiative, an interagency collaboration launched by the National Institutes of Health to develop 3-D human tissue chips that model the structure and function of human organs."

A live look at the AIDS virus: "Seeing is believing, and a study in rhesus macaques with a new imaging technique reveals for the first time a real-time map of an AIDS virus replicating in the entire body of a living animal. The results point to some unexpected hideouts of the simian AIDS virus, or SIV. And the experiments also show that when the monkeys are given antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, the amount of virus that persists differs by location in the body. The innovative tool promises to clarify the still-murky details of the initial infection process and may help guide drug, vaccine, and cure research in people."

Any idea what the a western governments response would be outbreak if startling looking symptoms appeared in a small number of people who otherwise seemed in good health?

For example imagine several hundred/thousand people suddenly developed bio-luminescent markings on their bodies, but had no other symptoms. Would they be put in quarantine?

High levels of vitamin D is suspected of increasing mortality rates: "The level of vitamin D in our blood should neither be too high nor to low. Scientists have now shown that there is a connection between high levels of vitamin D and cardiovascular deaths."

Committing 'gamblers fallacy' may be in the cards, new research shows: "It's called the gambler's fallacy: After a long streak of losses, you feel you are going to win. But in reality, your odds of winning are no different than they were before. For years, the gambler's fallacy has been thought to be a prime example of human irrationality, but a new study suggests that our brains naturally soak up the strange statistics of random sequences."

New research into materials for tooth fillings: "Tooth decay is a serious health problem and it is often necessary to repair cavities. Today they often use a composite filling material made of acrylate compounds, as it resembles the colour of the teeth and is reasonably strong so it can handle the rigors of the powerful chewing movements. But composite filling materials have some disadvantages and now researchers are working on an interdisciplinary collaboration between physicists and dentists to develop a material comprised of glass ionomer cement. The results are published in the scientific journal, Scientific Reports."

@MCE: I don't know for sure, but I would check the CDC's (Center for Disease Control) to see if any of their preparation plan fit with your scenario.

IIRC it includes a plan for zombie outbreaks among other things.

Drug restores brain function and memory in early Alzheimer’s disease: "An existing epilepsy drug reverses a condition in elderly patients who are at high risk for dementia due to Alzheimer's disease."

This world-first bionic heart works without a pulse: "Australian researchers have invented a new type of bionic heart that pumps blood around the body without a pulse. Named BiVACOR, the device has been successfully implanted in a sheep, and works so well, researchers are hoping to run human trials in just three years."

Teen cannabis users have poor long-term memory in adulthood: "Teens who were heavy marijuana users — smoking it daily for about three years — had an abnormally shaped hippocampus and performed poorly on long-term memory tasks, reports a new study. The hippocampus is important to long-term memory, which is the ability to remember life events. The brain abnormalities and memory problems were observed during the individuals' early twenties, two years after they stopped smoking marijuana."

'Ouch zone' in brain identified: "Activity in a brain area known as the dorsal posterior insula is directly related to the intensity of pain, a brain imaging study has found. These results could help detect pain in people with limited communication abilities. The research team now plans to verify these results by attempting to switch off this brain region in relevant patients suffering from intractable pain."

Nature's inbuilt immune defense could protect industrial bacteria from viruses: "Findings from a new study that set out to investigate the evolution of immune defences could boost the development of industrial bacteria that are immune to specific viral infections. The study is published today in the journal Current Biology.

Bacteria have many industrial uses including the production of cheese and yoghurt, paper making, biogas and the synthetic production of hormones like insulin. Viral infections of these bacterial cultures can halt production processes resulting in significant financial cost.

Dr Edze Westra from the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall said: 'Our study indicates that it is the risk of infection that determines the type of immune defence used. This naturally occurring mechanism can be used to our advantage to equip industrial bacteria with immunity against viral attack.'"

Network theory sheds new light on origins of consciousness: "Where in your brain do you exist? Is your awareness of the world around you and of yourself as an individual the result of specific, focused changes in your brain, or does that awareness come from a broad network of neural activity? How does your brain produce awareness?

Vanderbilt University researchers took a significant step toward answering these longstanding questions with a recent brain imaging study, in which they discovered global changes in how brain areas communicate with one another during awareness. Their findings, which were published March 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenge previous theories that hypothesized much more restricted changes were responsible for producing awareness."

Genetically Modified Immune Cells Control HIV Long-Term: "Anti-HIV drugs have transformed infection with the AIDS virus from a death sentence to a chronic, manageable condition with a normal life expectancy. But although it is now possible to attack HIV at every stage of its life cycle, effectively controlling viral replication and allowing the immune system to rebuild itself, a cure still eludes scientists and treatment is far from perfect. Resistance is still a problem, some of the medications have major side effects, and a number of patients poorly respond to therapy.

While it is sometimes difficult to get excited when we see so many reports of 'breakthroughs' in HIV research, promising results from a series of small trials investigating an innovative therapy in the U.S. have led to renewed hope that a cure could be in sight. The novel therapy involves modifying the DNA of white blood cells to make them largely resistant to HIV and injecting these into patients."

edited 12th Mar '15 3:20:57 PM by rmctagg09

Some genes 'foreign' in origin and not from our ancestors: 'Many animals, including humans, acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times, according to new research. The study challenges conventional views that animal evolution relies solely on genes passed down through ancestral lines, suggesting that, at least in some lineages, the process is still ongoing."

You are when you eat: Limiting flies to specific eating hours protects their hearts against aging, study finds: "Limiting flies to specific eating hours protected their hearts against aging, a study has demonstrated. Previous research has found that people who tend to eat later in the day and into the night have a higher chance of developing heart disease than people who cut off their food consumption earlier. 'So what's happening when people eat late?' asked a biologist whose research focuses on cardiovascular physiology. 'They're not changing their diet, just the time.'"

Researchers find hidden meaning and 'speed limits' within genetic code: "Case Western Reserve scientists have discovered that speed matters when it comes to how messenger RNA (mRNA) deciphers critical information within the genetic code—the complex chain of instructions critical to sustaining life. The investigators' findings, which appear in the March 12 journal Cell, give scientists critical new information in determining how best to engage cells to treat illness—and, ultimately, keep them from emerging in the first place."

edited 12th Mar '15 11:29:49 PM by rmctagg09

Seven-year-old gets 3D-printed Iron Man prosthetic from Robert Downey Jr.

SO. FUCKING. AWESOME.