Top 10 Technologies We Are Excited About
We cover a lot of news and announcements about digital health technologies to provide context for you. Even within The Medical Futurist team, there are favorite technologies and trends. And we thought it would be time to share the technologies we’re excited about! With advancements in exoskeleton technology, A.I.’s ever-increasing importance in healthcare and technologies like 5G and quantum computing soon going mainstream, there’s much to be excited about! Without further ado, let’s jump in!
1. Quantum Computing: faster, cheaper and safer
Late last month, Google claimed “quantum supremacy” and made the c...
Source: The Medical Futurist - December 3, 2019 Category: Information Technology Authors: Prans Tags: Future of Medicine digital health Healthcare technology digital technology Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 25th 2019
This study demonstrates for the first time that senescent cells secrete functional LTs, significantly contributing to the LTs pool known to cause or exacerbate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Against Senolytics
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/11/against-senolytics/
There is no consensus in science that is so strong as to have no heretics. So here we have an interview with a naysayer on the matter of senolytic treatments, who argues that the loss of senescent cells in aged tissues will cause more harm to long-term health than the damage they will do by remaining. To be clear, I think this to be a...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 24, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Dogs as a Model of Human Aging
Dogs are an interesting species when it comes to the study of aging. Firstly they are much closer to human metabolism and cellular biochemistry than mice, and secondly selective breeding has generated lineages with a very wide range of sizes and life spans. Thirdly, they occupy a good compromise position in the range of life spans, study cost, and similarity to humans. Mice live short lives, so studies are rapid and comparatively cheap, but there are sizable, important differences between mouse and human biochemistry. Humans live so long that most studies of aging are simply out of the question. Even in non-human primates ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 21, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
20 Medical Technology Advances: Medicine in the Future – Part II.
Nanorobots swimming in blood vessels, in silico clinical trials instead of experimenting with drugs on animals and people, remote brain surgeries with the help of 5G networks – the second part of our shortlist on some astonishing ideas and innovations that could give us a glimpse into the future of medicine is ready for you to digest. Here, we’re going beyond the first part with medical tricorders, the CRISPR/Cas-9 gene-editing method, and other futuristic medical technologies to watch for.
11) In silico clinical trials against testing drugs on animals
As technologies transform every aspect of healthcare,...
Source: The Medical Futurist - October 23, 2019 Category: Information Technology Authors: berci.mesko Tags: Artificial Intelligence E-Patients Future of Medicine Future of Pharma Genomics Health Sensors & Trackers 3d printing AI bioprinting blockchain clinical trials CRISPR digital digital health drug development genetics Innovat Source Type: blogs
Soft Robotic Glove for Hand Grasp Rehab
All sorts of conditions, including muscular dystrophy, ALS, and partial spinal cord injury, result in patients losing their ability to confidently grasp objects with their hands. Regaining this important capability is usually a priority, as it is one of the biggest impediments to living a normal life.
Now, researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have developed and are clinically testing a soft robotic glove that helps to restore hand function.
The device was developed with constant feedback from potential users. Testing was performed not only to evaluate the glove’s mechanical capabilities, but also to s...
Source: Medgadget - October 7, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Neurology Rehab Source Type: blogs
A Scientist ’s Exploration of Regeneration
Viravuth (“Voot”) Yin, associate professor of regenerative biology and medicine at MDI Biological Laboratory and chief scientific officer at Novo Biosciences, Inc., in Bar Harbor, Maine. Credit: MDI Biological Laboratory.
In 1980, a week after his 6th birthday, Viravuth (“Voot”) Yin immigrated with his mother, grandfather, and three siblings from Cambodia to the United States. Everything they owned fit into a single, 18-inch carry-on bag. They had to build new lives from almost nothing. So, it’s perhaps fitting that Yin studies regeneration, the fascinating ability of some animals, such as salamanders, sea ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - July 17, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cool Creatures Regeneration Research Organisms RNA Source Type: blogs
Lipid Nanoparticles Deliver CRISPR/Cas9 into Organs with High Efficiency
Researchers at Tufts University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a new lipid nanoparticle which can deliver CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tools into organs with high efficiency, suggesting that the system is promising for clinical applications.
The CRISPR/Cas9 system is currently being investigated as a way to treat a variety of diseases with a genetic basis, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s, and sickle cell disease. While the system has significant promise, there are some issues that need to be resolved before it can be used clinically. CRISPR/Cas9 is a large complex, and it is diffic...
Source: Medgadget - July 15, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, April 29th 2019
In this study, we report the age-associated differences between fetal MSC (fMSC) populations and MSCs isolated from elderly donors with respect to their transcriptomes. We successfully reprogrammed fMSCs (55 days post conception) and adult MSC (aMSC; 60-74 years) to iPSCs and, subsequently, generated the corresponding iMSCs. In addition, iMSCs were also derived from ESCs. The iMSCs were similar although not identical to primary MSCs. We unraveled a putative rejuvenation and aging gene expression signature. We show that iMSCs irrespective of donor age and cell type re-acquired a similar secretome to that of their parent...
Source: Fight Aging! - April 28, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
STAT3, FAM3A, and Increased Muscle Stem Cell Activity
Expression of the STAT3 gene influences a number of vital cellular processes, such as mitochondrial activity, cellular differentiation, and cellular proliferation. Researchers have investigated its activity in the context of spurring greater regenerative activity in heart muscles, for example. Arguably this is a good example of a regulatory gene that is involved in too many processes to make it a good target for therapeutics, however. More specific, lower-level mechanisms for specific desired goals would be helpful. That requires slow and costly investigative work, however, picking apart the relationships between proteins ...
Source: Fight Aging! - April 22, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Chromosomally speaking, what do you know about sex? Take a quiz to find out.
Women have two X chromosomes (XX) and men have one X and one Y (XY), right? Not always, as you’ll learn from the quiz below. Men can be XX and women can be XY. And many other combinations of X and Y are possible.
NIGMS Director’sEarly-Career Investigator LectureSex-Biased Genome Evolution
Melissa A. Wilson, Ph.D.Arizona State University
Wednesday, April 10, 201910:00-11:30 a.m. ET
Lecture followed by Q&A sessionInfo on the ECI Lecture webpage
You can learn more by listening to the live stream of a talk, titled “Sex-Biased Genome Evolution,” at 10 a.m. ET on April 10. The speaker, Melissa A. ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - April 3, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Matt Mills Tags: Being a Scientist Genes Chromosomes Genetics Genome Genomics Source Type: blogs
CRISPR-Chip Can Detect Genetic Mutations Within Minutes
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the Keck Graduate Institute of The Claremont Colleges have developed a hand-held device that can detect genetic mutations, such as those causing genetic diseases or affecting how people respond to certain drugs, in just minutes. The device employs a combination of CRISPR and graphene transistors to achieve this. The researchers hope that it could make the process of diagnosing genetic conditions and predicting drug responses easier and more accessible, potentially leading to point-of-care DNA analysis.
The researchers have called their device the “CRISPR-Chip&...
Source: Medgadget - March 26, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Materials Medicine Pathology Source Type: blogs
OCD and Multiple Sclerosis
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a complicated illness, and the cause, or causes, remain unknown. Research has shown that OCD is seen more frequently than usual in those with various physical disorders, such as muscular dystrophy. An October 2018 study published in Frontiers in Immunology highlights a connection between OCD and another disease — multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder, where the body’s immune system goes haywire and attacks healthy cells. It affects over two million people worldwide and has no known cure. Patients with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmun...
Source: World of Psychology - December 15, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Health-related OCD Research Compulsions Multiple Sclerosis Obsessions Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Source Type: blogs
Designer Babies: A Dystopian Sidetrack of Gene Editing
A Chinese scientist shocked the scientific community a couple of days ago with the announcement of having modified the very blueprint of life. If his claims are true, he tried to bestow two baby girls the ability to resist possible future infections with HIV. The outrage shows that humanity is not prepared to utilize the power of gene editing on embryos yet. We have no idea about the biological consequences, and we haven’t tackled the necessary legal and ethical issues.
Genes to become toys of the “Gods”?
Humanity has come a long way since Aldous Huxley pinned down how methods of genetic engineering, biological cond...
Source: The Medical Futurist - December 15, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Bioethics Future of Medicine Genomics designer babies designer baby Gene gene editing genes Genome genome sequencing Health Healthcare healthcare system Innovation technology Source Type: blogs
Gold Nanoparticles with Anti-Inflammatory Add-On Help Injured Muscles Heal Rapidly
Inflammation in the body is an important mechanism that helps to heal. But, as is well known, it can also create problems by aggravating injuries and intensifying various medical conditions. Researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University have been working on getting a handle on the process of inflammation so as to be able to better guide how it heals the body.
The team has focused on being able to switch macrophages, the white blood cells of the immune system found at sites of injury and infection, between their two primary inflammatory states. Normally, the cells are first in their M1 state, which results in the...
Source: Medgadget - October 2, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Nanomedicine Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, August 27th 2018
Fight Aging! provides a weekly digest of news and commentary for thousands of subscribers interested in the latest longevity science: progress towards the medical control of aging in order to prevent age-related frailty, suffering, and disease, as well as improvements in the present understanding of what works and what doesn't work when it comes to extending healthy life. Expect to see summaries of recent advances in medical research, news from the scientific community, advocacy and fundraising initiatives to help speed work on the repair and reversal of aging, links to online resources, and much more.
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Source: Fight Aging! - August 26, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
