Category Health/Medical

Delivery technology successfully blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice; adaptable for multiple diseases

Scientists at UMass Chan Medical School have developed a technology to deliver gene therapy directly to lung tissue through intranasal administration, a development that could potentially create a new class of treatments for lung disease.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study by a multidisciplinary team of RNA biologists, chemical biologists, immunologists and virologists describes the delivery of siRNA molecules locally to lung tissue...

More effectively measuring tissue stiffness could help treat cancer, sports injuries and more. A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a stretchable ultrasonic array capable of serial, non-invasive, 3D imaging of tissues as deep as four centimeters below the surface of human skin, at a spatial resolution of 0.5 millimeters. This new method provides a non-invasive, longer-term alternative to current methods, with improved penetration depth.

The research emerges from the lab of Sheng Xu, a pro...

Researchers chart course for the design, testing, and implementation of next-gen AI in medicine.

Most medical AI models in use today are trained to perform one or two specific tasks and have limited utility. Next-generation AI — called generalist medical AI — incorporates various types of data to perform a variety of complex tasks in a range of clinical scenarios. Generalist medical AI can reshape medicine by augmenting clinical decision-making, real-time surgical and bedside support, and more.

The vast majority of AI models used in medicine today are “narrow specialists,” trained to perform one or two tasks, such as scanning mammograms for signs of breast cancer or detecting lung disease on chest X-rays.

But the everyday practice of medicine involves an endless array of clin...

Human lifespan is related to the aging of our individual cells. Three years ago a group of University of California San Diego researchers deciphered essential mechanisms behind the aging process. After identifying two distinct directions that cells follow during aging, the researchers genetically manipulated these processes to extend the lifespan of cells.

As described in a new article published April 27, 2023, in Science, the team has now extended this research using synthetic biology to engineer a solution that keeps cells from reaching their normal levels of deterioration associated with aging.

Cells, including those of yeast, plants, animals and humans, all contain gene regu...