Recent Comments

    Category Biology/Biotechnology

    Your Birth Year Predicts your Odds if Flu Pandemic were to Strike

    November 11, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    This is a 3-D print of influenza virus. The virus surface (yellow) is covered with proteins called hemagglutinin (blue) and neuraminidase (red) that enable the virus to enter and infect human cells. In this study, Worobey and his collaborators show that the type of flu virus we first are exposed to as children determines which types we are protected from for the rest of our lives. Credit: National Institutes of Health

    This is a 3-D print of influenza virus. The virus surface (yellow) is covered with proteins called hemagglutinin (blue) and neuraminidase (red) that enable the virus to enter and infect human cells. In this study, Worobey and his collaborators show that the type of flu virus we first are exposed to as children determines which types we are protected from for the rest of our lives. Credit: National Institutes of Health

    Your birth year predicts – to a certain extent – how likely you are to get seriously ill or die in an outbreak of an animal-origin influenza virus, according to a study co-led by researchers from the University of Arizona in Tucson and the University of California, Los Angeles...

    Read More

    Pain is not just a Matter of Nerves

    November 11, 2016, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    There are a few different types of glia in the brain: oligodendrocytes, microglia, and astrocytes. Each is needed to optimize brain function. Oligodendrocytes are specialized cells that wrap tightly around axons to form the myelin sheath. These cells speed up the electrical signals (action potentials) that travel down an axon. Without oligodendrocytes, an action potential would travel down an axon 30 times slower!

    There are a few different types of glia in the brain: oligodendrocytes, microglia, and astrocytes. Each is needed to optimize brain function. Oligodendrocytes are specialized cells that wrap tightly around axons to form the myelin sheath. These cells speed up the electrical signals (action potentials) that travel down an axon. Without oligodendrocytes, an action potential would travel down an axon 30 times slower!

    The sensation of pain occurs when neural pathways conduct excitation generated by tissue damage to the spinal cord, where the nociceptive information is pre-processed. From there, the information is transmitted to the brain, where the sensation of “pain” is finally created. This is the general belief...

    Read More

    Toward a Hand-Held ‘Breathalyzer’ for Diagnosing Diabetes

    November 10, 2016, Categories  Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology

    A portable and compact device is demonstrated for measuring acetone in breath samples. The device features a 7 cm long high finesse optical cavity as an optical sensor that is coupled to a miniature adsorption preconcentrator containing 0.5 g of polymer material. Acetone is trapped out of breath and released into the optical cavity where it is probed by a near-infrared diode laser operating at ∼1670 nm. With an optical cavity mirror reflectivity of 99.994%, a limit of detection of 159 ppbv (1σ) is demonstrated on samples from breath bags. Initial results on direct breath sampling are presented with a precision of 100 ppbv. The method is validated with measurements made using an ion–molecule reaction mass spectrometer. Data are presented on elevated breath acetone from two individuals following an overnight fast and exercise, and from a third individual during several days of routine behavior.

    A portable and compact device is demonstrated for measuring acetone in breath samples. The device features a 7 cm long high finesse optical cavity as an optical sensor that is coupled to a miniature adsorption preconcentrator containing 0.5 g of polymer material. Acetone is trapped out of breath and released into the optical cavity where it is probed by a near-infrared diode laser operating at ∼1670 nm. With an optical cavity mirror reflectivity of 99.994%, a limit of detection of 159 ppbv (1σ) is demonstrated on samples from breath bags. Initial results on direct breath sampling are presented with a precision of 100 ppbv. The method is validated with measurements made using an ion–molecule reaction mass spectrometer...

    Read More

    Leg Movement Restored in Primates using Wireless Neural interface

    November 10, 2016, Categories  Technology/Electronics, Biology/Biotechnology

    A Neural Bridge. The brain-spine interface developed for this study uses a brain implant like this one to detect spiking activity in the brain's motor cortex. Seen here, a microelectrode array and a silicon model of a primate's brain, as well as a pulse generator used to stimulate electrodes implanted on the spinal cord. Credit: Alain Herzog / EPFL

    A Neural Bridge. The brain-spine interface developed for this study uses a brain implant like this one to detect spiking activity in the brain’s motor cortex. Seen here, a microelectrode array and a silicon model of a primate’s brain, as well as a pulse generator used to stimulate electrodes implanted on the spinal cord. Credit: Alain Herzog / EPFL

    An international team has used a wireless “brain-spinal interface” to bypass spinal cord injuries, SCIs in a pair of rhesus macaques, restoring intentional walking movement to a temporarily paralyzed leg. This is the first time a neural prosthetic has been used to restore walking movement directly to the legs of nonhuman primates...

    Read More