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    Category Health/Medical

    Storing Data in Everyday Objects

    December 9, 2019, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology

    3D-printed plastic rabbit
    A 3D-​printed plastic rabbit. The plastic contains DNA molecules in which the printing instructions have been encoded. (Photograph: ETH Zurich / Julian Koch)

    Researchers and an Israeli scientist have discovered a new method for turning nearly any object into a data storage unit. This makes it possible to save extensive data in, say, shirt buttons, water bottles or even the lenses of glasses, and then retrieve it years later. The technique also allows users to hide information and store it for later generations. It uses DNA as the storage medium.

    Living beings contain their own assembly and operating instructions in the form of DNA. That’s not the case with inanimate objects: anyone wishing to 3D print an object also requires a set of instructions...

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    First Long-Term Estimates suggest Link between Cholesterol Levels and Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke

    December 9, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Figure thumbnail gr4
    Model of long-term cardiovascular disease risk prediction and the benefit of lipid reduction
    Individual risk of fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular disease in women (A) and men (B) according to age, non-HDL cholesterol concentration, and the number of additional cardiovascular risk factors (daily smoking, arterial hypertension, diabetes, and obesity; white circle). The red circle represents the probability (%) of cardiovascular disease by the age of 75 years. The hypothetically achievable probability (%) for cardiovascular disease by the age of 75 years after 50% reduction of non-HDL cholesterol is given in the green circle. 

    The most comprehensive analysis of its kind suggests that there is a strong link between non-HDL cholesterol levels and long-term risk for cardiovascular disease in...

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    Chip-based Optical Sensor Detects Cancer Biomarker in Urine

    December 8, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

     Pump light coupled to the device produced lasing in a microring resonator. The surface of the resonator holds probes (red anchor molecules on the ring) that capture the analytes of interest. The laser light in the ring extends into the fluid. When analytes of interest (blue triangles) attach to the capture probes, this is sensed by the field outside the microring laser, shifting the frequency of the laser emission. This shift can be very precisely measured permitting the detection of minute amounts of analytes flowing over the sensor in a “specific” manner (i.e., the pink particles do not bind to the capture layer and are therefore not detected)...
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    Clinical study finds Eating within 10-hr Window may help stave off Diabetes, Heart Disease

    December 7, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Ten-Hour Time-Restricted Eating Reduces Weight, Blood Pressure, and Atherogenic Lipids in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome. Cell Metabolism, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.11.004

    Researchers have found that a 10-hour time-restricted eating intervention, when combined with traditional medications, resulted in weight loss, reduced abdominal fat, lower BP and cholesterol for participants. The pilot study could lead to a new treatment option for metabolic syndrome patients who are at risk for developing life-altering and costly medical conditions such as diabetes.

    Metabolic syndrome affects nearly 30% of the U.S. population, and increases the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke...

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