Category Health/Medical

Graphene and gold make a better brain probe. Credit: DGIST

Brain electrodes record neural activity, and can help treat neural diseases like Parkinson’s and epilepsy. Interest is also growing in developing better brain-machine interfaces, in which electrodes can help control prosthetic limbs. Progress in these fields is hindered by limitations in electrodes, which are relatively stiff and can damage soft brain tissue. Designing smaller, gentler electrodes that still pick up brain signals is a challenge because brain signals are so weak. Typically, the smaller the electrode, the harder it is to detect a signal. However, a team from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology in Korea developed new probes that are small, flexible and read brain signals clearly.

The probe consists of...

Serine and glycine can be taken up by cells through neutral amino acid transporters or synthesized de novo.

Cutting out certain amino acids from the diet of mice slows tumor growth and prolongs survival, according to new research published in Nature. Researchers at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute and the University of Glasgow found that removing 2 non-essential amino acids – serine and glycine – from the diet of mice slowed the development of lymphoma and intestinal cancer. The researchers also found that the special diet made some cancer cells more susceptible to chemicals in cells called reactive oxygen species.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy boost levels of these chemicals in the cells, so this research suggests a specially formulated diet could make conventional cancer treatmen...

Bioinspired Polydopamine-Coated Hemoglobin as Potential Oxygen Carrier with Antioxidant Properties

Blood transfusions can save the lives of patients who have suffered major blood loss, but hospitals don’t always have enough or the right type on hand. In search of a solution, researchers have developed a promising substitute using blood’s oxygen-carrying component, hemoglobin. The in vitro study, reported in ACS’ journal Biomacromolecules, found that the modified hemoglobin was an effective oxygen carrier and also scavenged for potentially damaging free radicals.

Red blood cells are the most commonly transfused component of blood, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute...

Left: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart of a patient after a heart attack. Right: key. 1: left ventricle, 2: left atrium, 3: right ventricle. The major heart muscle surrounds the left ventricle, and healthy muscle appears black on MRI. After an infarction, the necrotic portion of the heart appears white on MRI after injectino of a contrast agent. Credit: CNIC

Scientists at CNIC have discovered a new mechanism of action of metoprolol, a drug that can reduce the damage produced during a heart attack if administered early. Rapid administration of metoprolol during a heart attack directly inhibits the inflammatory action of neutrophils. The reduced inflammation translates into a smaller area of damaged tissue in the post-infarcted heart...