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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 9, 2024 at 9:22am

To identify chronic wound-associated microbiota, the researchers swabbed diabetic foot ulcers from 100 participants and sequenced DNA from these samples. Among the bacteria abundantly present in the samples, they identified an environmental, non-pathogenic bacterium called Alcaligenes faecalis. Digging into published datasets, the team found that this bacterium was prevalent in different types of chronic wounds, such as pressure ulcers and venous leg ulcers. This prompted them to investigate the role of A. faecalis in chronic wounds.

For their experiments, the team used a diabetic mouse model that exhibits impaired wound healing. They made wounds measuring about eight millimeters in diameter on the back skin of these mice and treated them with A. faecalis culture. They photographed these wounds at different times and observed that wounds colonized with A. faecalis were significantly smaller than wounds treated with a control solution. To better understand how A. faecalis influences wound healing, the researchers used in vitro assays to investigate whether the bacterium promoted cell migration, a crucial process that occurs in the outer skin layer during the early stages of wound healing. They isolated keratinocytes, cells from the outermost layer of the skin, from diabetic mice and cultured them in lab dishes. Once the cells had formed a layer in the dish, the researchers introduced a thin scratch along the middle, disrupting the continuous layer of cells. They treated the system with either A. faecalis or a control solution and took photographs over time to track how quickly cells from the undisturbed side moved toward the scratch to fill the empty space. Compared to control-treated cells, A. faecalis treatment increased the rate at which keratinocytes migrate. They observed similar results when they repeated this experiment with skin cells obtained from people with diabetes, indicating that the bacterium likely influences wound healing in humans via a similar mechanism.

The results show that we need to think about how to retain friendly bacteria while using less aggressive antimicrobial approaches to eliminate pathogens from the chronic wound environment, say the researchers.

Just taking antibiotics blindly could eliminate these useful bacteria that help in the wound healing process. 

Kalan LR, et al. Strain- and species-level variation in the microbiome of diabetic w.... Cell Host Microbe. 2019;25(5):641-655.e5. 

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 9, 2024 at 9:14am

A Beneficial Bacterium Helps Wounds Heal

A bacterium found in the wound microbiome can accelerate healing, highlighting the potential for microbiota-based wound therapies.

Skin wounds that fail to heal in a normal timeframe are considered to be chronic, and an estimated two percent of the global population will experience a chronic wound in their lifetime. In addition to severe pain, individuals with chronic wounds can face mental health problems due to the persistent nature of the condition and the risk of recurrence. This significantly affects their quality of life, highlighting the need for effective treatments.

Given this unmet clinical need, researchers have been exploring a new frontier—the wound microbiome. Previously published studies have largely focused on faulty processes in skin cells that contribute to impaired healing. But recently, researchers have appreciated that there is a wound microbiome—an entire ecosystem that colonizes wounds and can influence wound healing.
Highlighting this, researchers have shown that a bacterium found in chronic wounds can aid wound healing in mice. The results, published in Science Advances, uncover a mechanism of bacterial-driven wound repair and provide a foundation to develop microbiome-based therapies.
This study is unique in terms of bringing light on the good part of the chronic wound microbiome.‌

White EK, et al. Alcaligenes faecalis corrects aberrant matrix metalloproteinase expression to promote r.... Sci Adv. 2024;10(26):eadj2020. 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 12:15pm

For the study, researchers surveyed 107 women ages 18 to 49 who were taking anti-seizure medications about their reproductive plans.

Six said they were pregnant or planning to become pregnant, and another 69 said they were using some sort of birth control that could interfere with their anti-seizure meds, researchers said.
Survey participants may not have known that their answers were wrong and so did not feel they needed more information," Betstadt noted.

Only about a third of the women were receiving medical care that aligned with their reproductive plans, researchers found.

Anti-seizure medications that increase the risk of birth defects include valproic acid, topiramate, carbamazepine, phenobarbital and phenytoin.

Further, anti-seizure drugs that can make hormonal contraceptives like pills, patches and rings less effective include carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and higher doses of topiramate and oxcarbazepine.

Despite that, no anti-seizure drug is as dangerous for an expecting mother or her fetus as uncontrolled seizures, the researchers noted.

Women who want to become pregnant should talk with their doctor about drugs that are less risky but still can control their seizures, researchers said.

The survey quizzed women on their knowledge regarding birth control and anti-seizure meds, and found that:

Two-thirds (67%) of all the women answered at least one question incorrectly regarding the ways birth control can interfere with anti-seizure medications and vice-versa
56% of those who want to become pregnant answered at least one question incorrectly about the birth defect risk posed by anti-seizure drugs
36% of those actively using birth control showed some ignorance of the way it can interact with anti-seizure meds
73% felt they didn't need any more education about these risks
Only 29% of those who displayed any ignorance of the interaction said they wanted more education.
Neurology and reproductive health care providers should collaborate to provide the safest and most effective care for their patients of reproductive age who are taking anti-seizure medications

Source: https://www.epilepsy.com/lifestyle/family-planning/birth-control

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 12:10pm

Many women with epilepsy unaware of seizure meds' risks to pregnancy

Many women with epilepsy who are of childbearing age might not realize their anti-seizure drugs can raise the risk of birth defects or dampen the effectiveness of their birth control, a new study warns.

Likewise, some birth control methods can cause anti-seizure meds to be less effective, researchers reported this week in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Los Angeles.

Many neurologists do not learn about birth control in their training, even though they know that anti-seizure medications may have some risks in pregnancy. 

This study raises awareness for patients and encourages health care providers from neurology and reproductive health care to work together to ensure the best care for these patients.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 11:55am

They found the ideal molecular zip code in a protein called brevican, which helps to form the jelly-like structure of the brain, and only appears there. For the street address, they used two proteins that are found in most brain cancers.

The scientists programmed the immune cells to attack only if they first detected brevican and then detected one or the other of the brain cancer proteins.

When the scientists put the immune cells into the bloodstream, they easily navigated to the mouse's brain and eliminated a growing tumor. Any immune cells that remain in the bloodstream stay dormant, sparing any tissues outside the brain that happen to have the same protein "address" from being attacked.

One hundred days later, the scientists introduced new tumor cells into the brain, and enough immune cells were left to find and kill them, a good indication that they may be able to prevent any remaining cancer cells from growing back.

"The brain-primed CAR-T cells were very, very effective at clearing glioblastoma in our mouse models, the most effective intervention we've seen yet in the lab", say the scientists.
In another experiment, the researchers used the brain GPS system to engineer cells that deliver anti-inflammatory molecules to the brain in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. The engineered cells once again reached their target and made their delivery, and the inflammation faded.

The scientists hope this approach will soon be ready for patients with other debilitating nervous system diseases.

Milos S. Simic et al, Programming tissue-sensing T cells that deliver therapies to the brain, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adl4237

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 11:53am

Molecular 'ZIP code' draws killer T cells to brain tumors

Scientists have developed a "molecular GPS" to guide immune cells into the brain and kill tumors without harming healthy tissue.

It is the first living cell therapy that can navigate through the body to a specific organ, addressing what has been a major limitation of CAR-T cancer therapies until now. The technology worked in mice and the researchers expect it to be tested in a clinical trial next year.

Working in mice, the scientists showed how the immune cells could eliminate a deadly brain tumor called glioblastoma—and prevent recurrences. They also used the cells to tamp down inflammation in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

Because of their location, brain cancers are among the hardest cancers to treat. Surgery and chemotherapy are risky, and drugs can't always get into the brain.

To get around these problems, the scientists developed a "molecular GPS" for immune cells that guided them with a "zip code" for the brain and a "street address" for the tumor.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 11:20am

When police make 500 arrests using facial recognition tech, can we say "our privacy and freedom are being infringed upon"?

London's Metropolitan Police force said this week that it had used facial recognition technology to make more than 500 arrests in 2024 for offenses ranging from shoplifting to rape.

The force uses live facial recognition in specific areas of the UK capital, positioning a van equipped with cameras in a pre-agreed location.

The cameras capture live footage of passers-by and compare their faces against a pre-approved watchlist, generating an alert if a match is detected.

Civil liberties campaigners have criticized the use of such technology, and advocacy group Big Brother Watch has launched legal action to stop its expansion.

"The technology works by creating a 'faceprint' of everyone who passes in front of camera—processing biometric data as sensitive as a fingerprint, often without our knowledge or consent," the group says on its website.

"This dangerously authoritarian surveillance is a threat to our privacy and freedoms—it has no place on the streets of Britain," it adds.

The Met says it is a "forerunner" in using the technology, adding that it helps "make London safer" by helping detect "offenders who pose significant risks to our communities".

Of the 540 arrests, more then 50 were for serious offenses involving violence against women and girls, including offenses such as strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse and rape

( My questions : don't these crimes severely  infringe upon our freedom and privacy? Don't they put all the women in dangerous situations?).

More than 400 of those arrested have already been charged or cautioned.

"This technology is helping us protect our communities from harm", say the police. Can you argue against it?

This tech is a powerful tool that supports officers to identify and focus on people who present the highest risk that may otherwise have gone undetected. 

Responding to privacy fears, police said that the biometric data of any passer-by not on a watchlist is "immediately and permanently deleted".

Can you get an assurance better than that?

I am okay with this tech. Because I am not a criminal and don't do anything against the law, ever. Then why should I be afraid of it?

It is much better than 500 criminals roaming around the streets.

Police, keep it coming. I am all game for it.

Source: News agencies 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 11:02am

AI infiltrates the rat world: New robot can interact socially with real lab rats

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 10:55am

Scientists make cooking oil biofuel as efficient as diesel

A new way to produce fuels made from leftover fat can create biofuel as effective as diesel and 1000-times more efficiently than current methods, a new study has suggested.

Published in Green Chemistry, researchers  used enzymes to break down fatty acids in cooking oil into alkenes, the building block of fuels like petrol and diesel.  The scientists hope that the new renewable fuel, which can be made using leftover food waste, can cut fossil fuel usage.

Biofuels are a wide variety of energy sources made from renewable organic material that comes from plants or animals, like vegetable oil. Those that can directly replace petrol or diesel in conventional combustion engines have been touted as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, with fuels derived from food waste cutting greenhouse gases by up to 94%.

Typically, these fuels contain a lot of oxygen molecules which burn inefficiently. This low fuel efficiency has previously prevented widespread usage with the energy produced by burning fatty acid derived biofuels being 90% of that produced by diesel. To compensate and create diesel equivalents more raw materials are needed, pushing up costs to two times that of fossil fuels.

To create a more efficient fuel with more active alkene in, the researchers modified an enzyme called P450 decarboxylase to break down fatty acids found in food waste and extract the oxygen found within.
The enzyme typically requires water to work, meaning that it produces a low yield of alkene. To overcome this, the modified enzyme was placed in a liquid salt while a UV light was shone on it as it mixed with fatty acids to activate the reaction. This resulted in a yield of alkenes that was far greater than what is possible in water. The improved efficiency means that the production of the fuel requires less energy and lower amounts of raw materials, dramatically improving sustainability.

Moreover, as the enzyme is a biological catalyst, the process removes the need for conventional catalysts like platinum, which avoids any environmental damage caused by mining. The use of UV light also prevents the use of toxic chemicals like hydrogen peroxide to push the reaction forward.

Jake H. Nicholson et al, Enhancing the reactivity of a P450 decarboxylase with ionic liquids, Green Chemistry (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D4GC05292G

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 7, 2024 at 10:16am

In this new effort, researchers found 485 papers that involved the study of a species and its ability to survive changes to its environment. They then compared this data with estimates of future warming and determined what sort of changes might occur and in which areas. They then made estimates about the likely survivability of a given species based on where it lives and its ability to migrate or to adapt.

The researchers found that if global temperatures rise approximately 5.4°C by the end of this century (the worst-case scenario), it would likely lead to the extinction of approximately one-third of all species alive today. They note that some cases of chain-reaction extinctions could occur, in which a small animal goes extinct and then a larger animal that feeds on it consequently goes extinct. They also note that some species groups or types are at much higher risk than others, such as amphibians.

Mark C. Urban, Climate change extinctions, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adp4461

Part 2

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