Lifeboat Foundation

Source: University of Cambridge.

Researchers have developed tiny, flexible devices that can wrap around individual nerve fibers without damaging them.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, combined flexible electronics and soft robotics techniques to develop the devices, which could be used for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of disorders, including epilepsy and chronic pain, or the control of prosthetic limbs.

Self-assembling molecules that spontaneously organize themselves to form complex structures are common in nature. For example, the tough outer layer of insects, called the cuticle, is rich in proteins that can self-assemble.

Self-assembly is a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and quick way of manufacturing nanostructures with critical applications in various industries, ranging from therapeutics to self-replicating machines.

Harnessing the self-assembling abilities of proteins from the cuticles of Asian corn borer moth caterpillars (Ostrinia furnacalis), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have created nanosized capsules that could be used to deliver drugs and messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is a molecule that instructs cells to produce proteins and has been used in COVID-19 vaccines.

Washington University in St. Louis scientists have developed a novel material that supercharges innovation in electrostatic energy storage. The material is built from artificial heterostructures made of freestanding 2D and 3D membranes that have an energy density up to 19 times higher than commercially available capacitors.

Electrostatic capacitors play a crucial role in modern electronics. They enable ultrafast charging and discharging, providing energy storage and power for devices ranging from smartphones, laptops, and routers to medical devices, automotive electronics and industrial equipment. However, the ferroelectric materials used in capacitors have significant energy loss due to their material properties, making it difficult to provide high energy storage capability.

Harvard researcher Dr. David Sinclair has found himself at the center of controversy within the longevity community.

Sinclair has been a poster child of the longevity movement for years. He’s built several biotechnology companies focused on reversing the effects of aging, won acclaim for his research, and cultivated a loyal base of fans who swear by his lifestyle tips.

He’s also earned his share of critics who say his research isn’t always backed up by sufficient evidence. But over the past months, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinclair has been battling a new level of backlash from colleagues and researchers who say his claims on curing aging have gone too far.

Science is where curiosity, ambition, and innovation meet.

Liz Parrish, founder and CEO of BioViva Science, is spearheading a campaign against the greatest killer on the planet. She stands, unvexed by criticism and convention, in the vanguard of bringing tomorrow’s treatments to those who need them today.

Her journey began when her son was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes.

Using nanoparticles featuring anisotropic characteristics is a promising approach to developing multifunctional platforms for drug delivery and theranostics. This Review discusses methods to generate anisotropy in nanosystems and strategies to control particle transport, targeting and interaction with cells to overcome biological barriers.

The same geometric quirk that lets visitors murmur messages around the circular dome of the whispering gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London or across St. Louis Union Station’s whispering arch also enables the construction of high-resolution optical sensors. Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators have been used for decades to detect chemical signatures, DNA strands and even single molecules.

In the same way that the architecture of a whispering gallery bends and focuses sound waves, WGM microresonators confine and concentrate light in a tiny circular path. This enables WGM resonators to detect and quantify physical and biochemical characteristics, making them ideal for high-resolution sensing applications in fields such as biomedical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.

However, the broad use of WGM resonators has been limited by their narrow dynamic range as well as their limited resolution and accuracy.

Through years of engineering gene-editing systems, researchers have developed a suite of tools that enable the modification of genomes in living cells, akin to “genome surgery.” These tools, including ones based on a natural system known as CRISPR/Cas9, offer enormous potential for addressing unmet clinical needs, underscored by the recent FDA approval of the first CRISPR/Cas9-based therapy.

A relatively new approach called “prime editing” enables gene-editing with exceptional accuracy and high versatility, but has a critical tradeoff: variable and often low efficiency of edit installation. In other words, while prime edits can be made with high precision and few unwanted byproducts, the approach also often fails to make those edits at reasonable frequencies.

In a paper that appeared in print in the journal Nature on April 18, 2024, Princeton scientists Jun Yan and Britt Adamson, along with several colleagues, describe a more efficient prime editor.

Instead of creating materials that are made to last, Freeman says their materials are made to task — perform a specific function and then modify themselves to serve a new function.

This achievement holds significant promise for advancements in regenerative medicine, drug delivery methods, and diagnostic technologies.

“With this discovery, we can think of engineering fabrics or tissues that can be sensitive to changes in their environment and behave in dynamic ways,” states Freeman.