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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2021 at 12:23pm

AugLimb: Compact Robotic Limb for Human Augmentation

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2021 at 12:18pm

A 3D printed vaccine patch offers vaccination without a shot

 Scientists have created a 3D-printed vaccine patch that provides greater protection than a typical vaccine shot. The trick is applying the vaccine patch directly to the skin, which is full of immune cells that vaccines target.

The resulting immune response from the vaccine patch was 10 times greater than vaccine delivered into an arm muscle with a needle jab, according to a study conducted in animals and published by the team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Considered a breakthrough are the 3D-printed microneedles lined up on a polymer patch and barely long enough to reach the skin to deliver vaccine. The ease and effectiveness of a vaccine patch sets the course for a new way to deliver vaccines that's painless, less invasive than a shot with a needle and can be self-administered.

Study results show the vaccine patch generated a significant T-cell and antigen-specific antibody response that was 50 times greater than a subcutaneous injection delivered under the skin.

That heightened immune response could lead to dose sparing, with a microneedle vaccine patch using a smaller dose to generate a similar immune response as a vaccine delivered with a needle and syringe.

“Transdermal vaccination via 3D-printed microneedles induces potent humoral and cellular immunity” by Cassie Caudill, Jillian L. Perry, Kimon Iliadis, Addis T. Tessema, Brian J. Lee, Beverly S. Mecham, Shaomin Tian and Joseph M. DeSimone, 22 September 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102595118

https://researchnews.cc/news/9101/A-3D-printed-vaccine-patch-offers...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 25, 2021 at 8:57am

The research team also performed a systematic transcriptome and proteome analysis of monosomic cell lines in comparison to their parental cell lines—i.e., the quantification of all messenger RNAs (mRNAs) transcribed based on DNA, as well as the quantification of all proteins in the cells. As expected, this showed that the expression of genes localized on the monosome was reduced. 

Yet, teh researchers observed the lower levels in only 20 percent of the encoded proteins. They suspect that gene dosage effects came into play here. The cells need to return to their 'natural' diploid protein levels to sustain their function and thus compensate for the chromosome loss. Scientists envision two possible scenarios: First, translation of mRNAs encoded using the genes could be selectively increased, or second, protein degradation is reduced. These results suggest that cells use multiple pathways to mitigate the consequences of altered gene expression.

In summary, these scientists present for the first time a successful experimental approach to study the effects of monosomy in human somatic cells.

https://phys.org/news/2021-09-chromosome-lost-human-cells-react.htm...

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 25, 2021 at 8:55am

How do cells react when a chromosome is lost?

Human cells are usually diploid—they contain two sets of chromosome. Cells in which one chromosome is missing from the duplicated chromosome set are generally not viable. For a long time, the mechanisms responsible for the loss of viability were unknown. New research now throws some light on it.

Monosomy occurs when chromosomes are incorrectly distributed during routine cell division and cells subsequently lack one chromosome in an otherwise double (diploid) set. The only form of this deviation in chromosome number (aneuploidy) that human cells can survive is known as Turner syndrome. The hallmark of the hereditary disease, which occurs in women: only one of the two X sex chromosomes is present. However, what happens in human somatic cells that are missing other than sex chromosome had not been explored until now, because monosomic cells are generally not viable.

When monosomy occurs, the protein 'p53," encoded by the so-called tumor suppressor gene TP53, ensures that the cell cycle stops. In other words, the cells stop dividing. Therefore, researchers have switched off this gene in one part of their cell lines, which were originally derived from human retina cell lines, to downregulate the production of the encoded protein. Thus, for the first time, they succeeded in generating stable monosomic cell lines for research purposes.

The research team subsequently focused on the effects of monosomy on proliferation (cell growth/multiplication), genomic stability and how chromosome loss affects the amount of mRNAs and proteins (transcriptome and proteome, respectively). They we observed reduced levels of cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins and reduced protein synthesis (protein translation) in all monosomal cell lines. Accordingly, they hypothesize that chromosome loss impairs ribosomal biogenesis and thereby cellular proliferation. They also showed that this change triggers cell cycle arrest and or senescence via the p53 signaling pathway.

The findings also shed light on the link between cancer and monosomy. Recurrent loss of an entire chromosome or chromosome arm is common in certain tumors, such as neuroblastoma, lung cancer, and myeloid malignancies.

Since monosomies are viable only without p53, scientists predicted that the cancers with monosomy must have defective p53 pathway. The analysis of scientific databases of cancer-related changes, such as "The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)' and "Cancer Cell Lines Encyclopedia (CCLE)", indeed revealed a strong association of monosomy with p53 inactivation and ribosomal pathway impairment.

Narendra Kumar Chunduri et al, Systems approaches identify the consequences of monosomy in somatic human cells, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25288-x

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Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 25, 2021 at 8:35am

Scientists suggest pregnant women only take paracetamol/acetaminophen only if medically necessary

A group of 13 scientists has penned a consensus statement regarding the use of paracetamol/acetaminophen (APAP) by pregnant women. In their paper, published in the journal Nature Reviews Endocrinology, the group suggests that pregnant women only take paracetamol/acetaminophen only if it is medically necessary. Nature has also published an Editorial in the same journal issue, outlining the consensus statement and noting that its authors are not calling for a ban on the drug being used, instead they are suggesting that it be taken more cautiously by pregnant women because of a possible risk of birth defects.

In their paper, the authors note that research over the past several years has shown that it is possible under some circumstances for APAP to alter fetal development which in some cases can lead to problems with neurological, urological and reproductive disorders in the baby—they looked at 29 studies and found evidence of birth defects in 26 of them. They call for more research to be conducted to better understand possible problems with the drug being used by pregnant women. They also acknowledge—as do several experts in a reaction piece published on the Science Media Centre, site—that APAP is the only drug currently available for pain management for pregnant women. And they point out that medical use of APAP is generally warranted when the mother experiences problems that can negatively impact her baby—such as having a fever. But they also note that use of APAP by pregnant women appears to have crept up into general use as it has gained a reputation as being safe to use as an all-purpose analgesic.

The authors of the consensus statement further suggest that their intent in publishing such an article is to bring renewed and more focused attention to the possibility of APAP use leading to certain birth defects and the conditions under which they might arise. They note that current research has shown, for example, that the possibility of harm seems to increase as the duration of APAP use goes up. Thus, they suggest pregnant women consider using the drug for short term pain management, rather than as a long-term solution.

Ann Z. Bauer et al, Paracetamol use during pregnancy—a call for precautionary action, Nature Reviews Endocrinology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41574-021-00553-7

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-scientists-pregnant-women-pa...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 25, 2021 at 8:25am

Reprogramming heart muscle cells to repair damage from heart attacks

A team of researchers has found that it is possible to reprogram heart muscle to repair damaged tissue. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their approach to repairing damaged hearts in mice and how well it worked when tested.

There are two main kinds of heart attack. The first occurs when something prevents the heart from beating. The second occurs when blood flow is restricted to parts of the heart, preventing the muscle in that area from beating. The first kind is generally fatal unless the heart can be restarted very quickly. The second is generally less serious, but can leave permanent, debilitating scarring. In this new effort, the researchers have found a way to prevent such scarring—at least in mice.

The work built on prior research that showed that in the case of a baby experiencing heart damage in utero, the heart can repair itself because the cardiomyocyte cells are in a state that allows rejuvenation. This is not the case after birth or later in life, as the cardiomyocytes have no ability to regenerate. After several years of effort, the researchers discovered a way to get adult cardiomyocytes to revert back to fetal-like cardiomyocytes by reprogramming them using the Yamanaka factors c-Myc, Klf4, Sox2 and Oct4. Their research showed that such factors express for cell renewal. The reprogramming also featured an on/off switch using the antibiotic doxycycline. 

The researchers then tested their approach by giving mice with reprogrammed cells doxycycline just prior to and after inducing heart damage. They found that under both scenarios, heart regeneration occurred along with heart function improvement. The researchers also tried giving similar test mice doxycycline six days after experiencing heart damage and found it had no impact. Thus, the window of repair is short. Further testing also showed that if doxycycline was administered for too long a period, cancerous tumors developed. Much more work is required to determine if a similar approach might work for humans, and if it can be done without increasing the risk of cancer.

Yanpu Chen et al, Reversible reprogramming of cardiomyocytes to a fetal state drives heart regeneration in mice, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5159

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-reprogramming-heart-muscle-c...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 24, 2021 at 12:14pm

Winged microchip is smallest-ever human-made flying structure

Inspired by the way trees like maples disperse their seeds using little more than a stiff breeze, researchers developed a range of tiny flying microchips, the smallest one hardly bigger than a grain of sand.

This flying microchip or 'microflier' catches wind and spins like a helicopter towards the ground.

The microfliers can be packed with ultra-miniaturized technology, including sensors, power sources, antennas for wireless communication, and even embedded memory for data storage.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 24, 2021 at 10:07am

The Roman Space Telescope's Wide Field Instrument

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 24, 2021 at 9:36am

Hairdressers say people are having allergic reactions to hair dye due to COVID

Covid-19: New allergic reactions to hair dye reported

It's important to always get a patch test before using a beauty product

News that there is a link between COVID-19 and allergies to hair dye is being reported more and more. Over the past year, more and more hairdressers have noticed a worrying increase in customers suffering allergic reactions to hair dye after testing positive for COVID-19.

Hairdressers report customers developing rashes and burns after using hair dye, even if it's a product they've used before. Now, according to the BBC, the trade body that represents hairdressers and beauticians is warning professionals to carry out additional patch tests to avoid facing legal action. Patch tests require customers to sample the product on their skin 24-48 hours before their appointment to see how they react.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-58651244

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a37703414/allergic-reac...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 23, 2021 at 9:57am

Flying cars

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