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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 13, 2023 at 6:13am

Using reflections to see the world from new points of view

As a car travels along a narrow city street, reflections off the glossy paint or side mirrors of parked vehicles can help the driver glimpse things that would otherwise be hidden from view, like a child playing on the sidewalk behind the parked cars.

Drawing on this idea, researchers have created a computer vision technique that leverages reflections to image the world. Their method uses reflections to turn glossy objects into “cameras,” enabling a user to see the world as if they were looking through the “lenses” of everyday objects like a ceramic coffee mug or a metallic paper weight.

Using images of an object taken from different angles, the technique converts the surface of that object into a virtual sensor which captures reflections. The AI system maps these reflections in a way that enables it to estimate depth in the scene and capture novel views that would only be visible from the object’s perspective. One could use this technique to see around corners or beyond objects that block the observer’s view.

This method could be especially useful in autonomous vehicles. For instance, it could enable a self-driving car to use reflections from objects it passes, like lamp posts or buildings, to see around a parked truck.

The researchers  have shown that any surface can be converted into a sensor with this formulation that converts objects into virtual pixels and virtual sensors. This can be applied in many different areas.

In real life, exploiting these reflections is not as easy as just pushing an enhance button. Getting useful information out of these reflections is pretty hard because reflections give us a distorted view of the world.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 12, 2023 at 10:39am

Growing crops under solar panels provide food and energy at the same time

 Imagine growing greens in your back yard under a solar panel, and then juicing them in a blender powered by the same energy. A new  project is working to make that a reality. By growing spinach under different solar panels,  researchers are measuring how the process affects both plant growth and the electrical output of the panels. Known as agrivoltaics, the fairly new sustainable practice integrates solar panels with crops, making simultaneous use of land for both food and energy production. Agrivoltaics has the potential to address several pressing issues around sustainability.

https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2023/05/could-growing-crops-under-sol....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 12, 2023 at 10:26am

New Synthetic Blood Clotting System Could Help Stop Internal Bleeding

Blood clots are one of the body's most important natural defense systems, a mechanism for plugging internal and external gaps to keep us alive. However, in cases where the body is losing a lot of blood, the clotting process can't keep up. This is where a new synthetic replacement could come in.

Researchers have developed a two-component system that targets internal injuries without causing any unwanted damage of its own. The two components match the body's platelets (cell fragments that trigger clotting) and fibrinogen (a protein that helps clots to form). So far, the synthetic process has only been tested on mice, but it effectively triggered the blood clotting part of the natural hemostasis reaction to wounds and proved significantly better at stopping bleeding than previous approaches.

The idea of using two components allows selective gelation of the hemostatic system as the concentration is enhanced in the wound, mimicking the end effect of the natural clotting cascade.

The first part of the system is a biocompatible polymer nanoparticle called PEG-PLGA that is engineered to bind to whatever platelets the body can provide while injured. Platelets are drawn to the site of an injury, which in turn carries in these bound nanoparticles.

The second part of the system is a polymer that takes the place of fibrinogen and starts creating clumps through a reaction with the nanoparticles. The team describes this second component as a crosslinker, essentially getting the particles that have formed around a wound to join together.

Crucially, the researchers designed the particles in a form where they wouldn't accumulate in places where they shouldn't (in the wrong spots, blood clots can also be dangerous to our health) by having them only crosslink at a high enough concentration.

In a tiny initial mouse trial, not only did the synthetic system prove highly effective, but also it lasted longer than normal blood clots would. Moreover, the system didn't trigger any unwanted immune system reactions in the animals.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adhm.202202756

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 12, 2023 at 9:52am

Cold Water Therapy Might Do More Harm Than Good. 

Immersion in cold water is definitely an activity that divides people – some love it, others hate it. But many now practice it weekly or even daily in the belief that it's good for their mental and physical health.

Cold water therapy, as it has come to be known, can take the form of outdoor swimming – in lakes, rivers or the ocean – cold showers, or even ice baths. It has been used for a while by sportspeople as a way to reduce muscle soreness and speed up recovery time – with people typically spending about ten minutes after exercise in cold water that's about 10 to 15 °C (50 to 59 °F).

Cold water has also been used to help treat symptoms of depression, pain, and migraine. Indeed, there are many accounts of how cold water therapy has changed lives, cured broken hearts, and helped people during difficult times.

While many studies have shown benefits linked to ice baths and post-exercise recovery, research from 2014 found there could be a placebo effect going on here.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2023 at 10:27am

A New Urine Test Could Be a Simple Way to Check For Cancer

Diagnosing cancer early makes a significant difference to the chances of a patient's successful recovery, which is why cheap, non-invasive screening tests are so important.

A new diagnostic tool development by researchers 

needs little more than a sample of urine, making it possible for some types of cancer to be screened at home much like a pregnancy test. No need for a trip to the doctor or to hospital, and no need for expensive scanning procedures or bothersome blood tests.

While the test might be simple, the technology behind it is rather sophisticated, relying on the presence of enzymes that are specific to the emergence of different cancers.

Researchers developed a new type of nanoparticle with a coating of proteins tagged with an array of DNA sequences. When cancer-related enzymes encounter a nanoparticle in the blood, they snip off a protein specific to that enzyme. Excreted out of the body through the urine, the sequences connected to the protein can then be read like a barcode, identifying the presence of cancer.

Tested on mice via an injection, the same nanoparticles could eventually be developed to be taken orally, through an inhaler, or as a local treatment such as a cream, according to the researchers.

Not only do the nanoparticle's various DNA barcodes have the potential to identify whether or not a tumor is present, they could also be able to distinguish between types of tumors, and spot if a tumor has metastasized (spread to other parts of the body). All of this is vital information for developing and targeting treatments.

The nanoparticle sensors were shown to detect five different enzymes produced by tumors. Up to 46 different DNA barcodes can potentially be expressed in a single sample, once the technology has been scaled up further.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-023-01372-9

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2023 at 9:27am

New method for delivering an antioxidant directly to mitochondria in the liver, mitigating oxidative stress

Mitochondria are microscopic organelles found within cells, and are by far the largest producer of the molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which provides energy to many processes in living cells. The process by which mitochondria synthesize ATP generates a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), chemical groups that are highly reactive.

In a healthy cell, the ROS are controlled by the mitochondria; however, when this balance is lost, the excess ROS damages the mitochondria and subsequently cells and tissues. This phenomenon, known as oxidative stress, can cause premature aging and disease. The ROS that cause oxidative stress can be controlled by antioxidants.

A research team has developed a system to deliver antioxidants to mitochondria to mitigate the effects of excess ROS. Their findings have been published in Scientific Reports.

They  developed a drug delivery system which they named CoQ₁₀-MITO-Porter. This system consists of the antioxidant molecule Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀)—which is also required by mitochondria for ATP production—encapsulated by a lipid nanoparticle that would target mitochondria. 

Variations of the formula for the synthesis of CoQ₁₀-MITO-Porter were tested, and their structures were examined with electron microscopy. CoQ₁₀-MITO-Porter was administered to mice models with acetaminophen-induced liver damage. Acetaminophen overdoses cause excess ROS in mitochondria, which in turn damages cells in the liver. CoQ₁₀-MITO-Porter was transported primarily to the liver and measurably reduced the damage caused by ROS. A further discovery was that downsized CoQ₁₀-MITO-Porter particles with more efficient packaging of CoQ₁₀ were more effective at treating liver damage than the original formulation.

Mitsue Hibino et al, A System that Delivers an Antioxidant to Mitochondria for the treatment of Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33893-7. www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33893-7

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2023 at 8:53am

Scientists discover microbes in the Alps and Arctic that can digest plastic at low temperatures

Finding, cultivating, and bioengineering organisms that can digest plastic not only aids in the removal of pollution, but is now also big business. Several microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but when their enzymes that make this possible are applied at an industrial scale, they typically only work at temperatures above 30°C.

The heating required means that industrial applications remain costly to date, and aren't carbon-neutral. But there is a possible solution to this problem: finding specialist cold-adapted microbes whose enzymes work at lower temperatures.

Scientists  knew where to look for such microorganisms: at high altitudes in the Alps, or in the polar regions. When they did that, novel microbial taxa obtained from the 'plastisphere' of alpine and arctic soils were able to break down biodegradable plastics at 15°C. Their findings are published in Frontiers in Microbiology.

How did the ability to digest plastic evolve? Since plastics have only been around since the 1950s, the ability to degrade plastic almost certainly wasn't a trait originally targeted by natural selection.

Microbes have been shown to produce a wide variety of polymer-degrading enzymes involved in the break-down of plant cell walls. In particular, plant-pathogenic fungi are often reported to biodegrade polyesters, because of their ability to produce cutinases which target plastic polymers due their resemblance to the plant polymer cutin.

Discovery of plastic-degrading microbial strains isolated from the alpine and Arctic terrestrial plastisphere, Frontiers in Microbiology (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1178474 , www.frontiersin.org/articles/1 … cb.2023.1178474/full

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2023 at 8:42am

Breakthrough research could bring stem cell therapy to the masses

Researchers  have made a significant breakthrough in realizing the promise of stem cell therapy: stem cells that do not trigger an immune response from an immunologically incompatible donor.

In the paper "Hypoimmune induced pluripotent stem cells survive long term in fully immunocompetent, allogeneic rhesus macaques," published in Nature Biotechnology, the researchers detail how they cloaked a line of hypoimmune pluripotent (HIP) stem cells to evade the normal rejection and destruction obstacles to therapeutic use.

In an experimental setting, hypoimmune pluripotent cells did not trigger an immune cell response. They were also impervious to cytotoxicity incited by wild-type stem cells transplanted along with them, successfully evading direct detection and effects from the enrichment of untargeted threats.

The HIP cells survived unrestricted for 16 weeks (the entire test duration) in fully immunocompetent allogeneic recipients and differentiated into several lineages, whereas wild-type cells were vigorously rejected.

In a humanized diabetic mouse model, pancreatic differentiated human HIP cells lasted four weeks and showed evidence of improving the condition. The mice were not immunosuppressed and were not a type match for the cell types used.

An additional long-term test of HIP cells found cell islets 40 weeks after implantation in rhesus macaque recipients without immunosuppression, compared to an unedited wild-type version that was destroyed within a week.

Stem cells have the potential to revolutionize medicine as they can be manipulated to differentiate into various cell types, making them a promising source of new cells for transplantation or regenerative medicine. By introducing stem cells to damaged tissue or organs, it may be possible to regenerate healthy tissue and restore proper function. This has implications for developing new therapies for various diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders.

Xiaomeng Hu et al, Hypoimmune induced pluripotent stem cells survive long term in fully immunocompetent, allogeneic rhesus macaques, Nature Biotechnology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01784-x

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 11, 2023 at 8:12am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 10, 2023 at 11:53am

A New Way to Activate Dormant Cells in The Retina Could Restore Vision

Degenerative retinal disease is a problem for millions of people worldwide, as light-sensitive cells called photoreceptors at the back of the eye die without being replaced. Thanks to new research, a solution to the problem might not be far off.

Scientists  have come up with a way to transform dormant support neurons called Müller glial cells into tissues that work like cone photoreceptors, which are required for color perception and visual acuity. While the process has only been tested on mice cells, it could eventually be developed into a therapy that can restore vision in people.

Part of the reason the Müller glial cells were chosen for investigation is their ability to be reprogrammed in some animals. Unfortunately it's not a trick that these cells can do in humans.

What's interesting is that these Müller cells are known to reactivate and regenerate retina in fish. But in mammals, including humans, they don't normally do so, not after injury or disease. And we don't yet fully understand why.

Key to the study were the genes Ikzf1 and Ikzf4, and the proteins they produced. These proteins are known as temporal identity factors, already known to play important roles in the development of cells into various types.

The Müller glial cells were isolated and cultured before being reprogrammed using a variety of temporal identity factors, including Ikzf1 and Ikzf4. These factors didn't fully transform the glial cells into cone cells, but they did take on some of the necessary characteristics to function like the photoreceptors.

While glial cells help nourish, regulate, and organize other cells in the eye, the researchers say there's enough of a surplus to safely convert a number of the support cells into the photoreceptor-like cells – crucial for seeing light and identifying colors.

It's early days, but the process could eventually be adapted to work in humans, without the need to transplant any new cells. Further down the line, these findings could also be useful in treating diseases in the brain – being able to replace certain neurons that have been damaged by reprogramming other types of cells.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2122168120

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