#People could use breath to'speak'LONDON: A first of its kind device that transforms paralysis victims'breath into words has been developed by researchers,
including one of Indian origin. The prototype developed by researchers from Loughborough University analyses changes in breathing patterns
and converts'breath signals'into words using pattern recognition software and an analogue-to-digital converter.
A speech synthesizer then reads the words aloud. The device learns from its user, building up its knowledge as it goes.
It allows the user to control how he or she wishes to communicate-effectively enabling them to create their own language by varying the speed of their breathing g
#Thai university develops bulletproof vest made of silk BANGKOK: A team of university researchers in Thailand has developed the world's first bulletproof vest made from natural silk,
a media report said on Tuesday. The vest can withstand. 38 and. 22 calibre bullets fired from a distance of three metres, Panomkorn Khwakhong,
a researcher at Khon Kaen University's chemical engineering department, said. The armour, made from silkworm cocoons mixed with a special resin
and then hydraulically compressed, is durable and lightweight, the Bangkok Post quoted Panomkorn, a chemical engineering lecturer as saying.
The vests are 14-20 millimetres thick, weigh 2. 5-4kg, and cost only one-third the price of conventional bullet proof vests, he said.
He said silkworm cocoons were used because silkworms are raised and farmed in many areas of Khon Kaen,
which has a reputation for quality silk clothing. Panomkorn said the silk vest is also able to take repeated hits without deteriorating.
His team planned to continue developing the vest and make a version that can withstand automatic weapons fire,
such as the M16 assault rifles s
#Scientists identify protein that will help treatment of arthritis Scientists have identified a protein that regulates the severity of tissue damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers have found that the protein, C5orf30, regulates the severity of tissue damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease that causes pain, inflammation, stiffness and damage to the joints of the feet, hips, knees, and hands.
Following the discovery, rheumatoid arthritis patients most likely to suffer the severest effects of the condition can now be identified early and fast-tracked to the more aggressive treatments available,
researchers said. Although there is no cure for RA new effective drugs are increasingly available to treat the disease
and prevent deformed joints. To conduct the research, scientists from University college Dublin and the University of Sheffield,
analyzed DNA samples and biopsy samples from joints of over 1, 000 Rheumatoid arthritis patients in the UK and Ireland."
"Our findings provide a genetic marker that could be used to identify those RA patients who require more aggressive treatments
or personalised medicine,"said Gerry Wilson from the University college Dublin's School of medicine and Medical science in Ireland,
who led the research.""They also point to the possibility that increasing the levels of C5orf30 in the joints might be a novel method of reducing tissue damage caused by RA,
"Wilson said.""These exciting findings will prompt us to further explore the role of this highly conserved protein that we know so little about,
and its significance in human health and disease,"said co-author Munitta Muthana from the University of Sheffield.
One of the biggest difficulties with treating rheumatoid arthritis is early diagnosis. With early diagnosis and aggressive treatment,
it is possible to reduce the damage to the joints caused by RA. Deciding the most appropriate treatment for each patient at the earliest possible stage is central to effectively tackling the condition,
researchers said. The study was published in the journal PNAS S
#Scientists map all genes behind embryo development LONDON: An international team of scientists has mapped for the first time all the genes that are activated in the first few days of a fertilised human egg.
Led by Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, the researchers showed that the newly identified genes can interact with the"junk DNA"--essential to the start of development.
There are approximately 23,000 human genes in total. In the current study, scientists found that only 32 of these genes are switched on two days after fertilisation
"said principal investigator Juha Kere, professor at the Karolinska Institutet. The researchers had to develop a new way of analysing the results
"but are, in fact, important in regulating gene expression.""Our results provide novel insights into the regulation of early embryonic development in human,"added Outi Hovatta, professor at Karolinska Institutet's department of clinical science, intervention and technology.
The team identified novel factors that might be used in reprogramming cells into so-called pluripotent stem cells for possible treatment of a range of diseases including infertility.
At the start of an individual's life, there is a single fertilised egg cell. One day after fertilisation there are two cells, after two days four, after three days eight and so on,
#More effective drugs for diabetes in the offing Scientists have found a new way to lower blood sugar levels by reducing glucose production in the liver,
paving the way for more effective drugs for type 2 diabetes. Some treatments for type 2 diabetes make the body more sensitive to insulin,
the hormone that lowers blood sugar. But new research at Washington University School of medicine in St louis suggests a different strategy:
slowing the production of glucose in the liver. Working on mice, the researchers showed they could reduce glucose production in the liver and lower blood sugar levels.
They did so by shutting down a liver protein involved in making glucose, an approach that may work in patients with type 2 diabetes."
"We think this strategy could lead to more effective drugs for type 2 diabetes, "said principal investigator Brian N Finck, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science."
"A drug that shuts down glucose production has the potential to help millions of people affected by the most common form of diabetes,
"said Finck. Finck worked with researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical centre and the biopharmaceutical company Metabolic Solutions Development Co. The company is involved in clinical trials that are evaluating the drug compound MSDC-0602 as a treatment for diabetes.
The new study demonstrates that the compound works, at least in part, by inhibiting a protein that's key to glucose production in the liver.
The research team, led by first author Kyle S Mccommis a postdoctoral research scholar, cut sugar production in liver cells by inhibiting a key protein involved in transporting pyruvate, a building block of glucose, from the bloodstream into the energy factories of liver cells, called mitochondria.
Previous research had suggested interfering with pyruvate may limit glucose production in the liver, but this study is the first to demonstrate the critical role played by the pyruvate transport protein.
In addition to diabetes, the researchers also think that interfering with pyruvate transport may help patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition common in people with obesity y
#Now,'gene signature'to predict onset of Alzheimer's A team of researchers has developed a'gene signature'that can be used to predict the onset of Alzheimer's years in advance.
The study aimed to define a set of genes associated with'healthy ageing'in 65 year olds.
Such a molecular profile could be useful for distinguishing people at earlier risk of age-related diseases.
This could improve upon the use of chronological age and complement traditional indicators of disease, such as blood pressure.
Lead author James Timmons, from King's college London, UK, said that the discovery provides the first robust molecular'signature'of biological age in humans
and should be able to transform the way that'age'is used to make medical decisions.
The researchers demonstrated that patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease had altered an'healthy ageing'RNA signature in their blood,
and therefore a lower healthy age gene score, suggesting significant association with the disease. Timmons added that this is the first blood test of its kind that has shown that the same set of molecules are regulated in both the blood
and the brain regions associated with dementia and it can help contribute to a dementia diagnosis. He noted that this also provides strong evidence that dementia in humans could be called a type of'accelerated ageing
'or'failure to activate the healthy ageing program.''The authors say that their'healthy age gene score'could be integrated to help decide which middle-aged subjects could be offered entry into a preventative clinical trial many years before the clinical expression of Alzheimer's.
The study is published in the open-access journal Genome Biology y
#Researchers identify many molecular machines critical for species development A new study shows a common molecular tool kit shared by organisms across the tree of life
and reveals their evolutionary relationships. The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Toronto researchers discovered the assembly instructions for nearly 1,
000 protein complexes shared by most kinds of animals. The authors of the study identified nearly 1, 000 molecular machines critical for the development and survival of species as diverse as sea anemones, worms, mice and humans.
and eye across the different species. Lead author Edward Marcotte of The University of Texas said that they were able to construct a sort of assembly diagram of how thousands of different proteins come together to carry out their proper roles inside the cells of most kinds of animals,
In the study, researchers collected data on the cellular proteins of nine species representing a broad cross-section of the animal kingdom.
"said senior researcher Peter Ford Dominey. Nao plays the role of the scientist's assistant by following his directions, bringing or holding parts of the card during repair.
and show that such humanoid robots represent a potential solution for the accumulation and transfer of knowledge.
It was designed to assist the work of astronauts in complicated situations, especially during extra-vehicular outings s
#Now, a car powered by whisky residue Scientists in Scotland have become the first in the world to produce biofuel capable of powering cars from residues of the whisky industry.
Edinburgh-based Celtic Renewables plans to build a production facility in central Scotland after manufacturing the first samples of biobutanol from by-products of whisky fermentation.
Transport minister Andrew Jones says advanced biofuels have the potential to save at least 60%of the greenhouse gas emissions from equivalent fossil fuel.
and will help power modes of transport that cannot be electrified in the future such as heavy trucks or even aircraft.
A bacterial fermentation process known as Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) produces acetone, n-Butanol, and ethanol from starch.
ABE fermentation was developed first in the UK a century ago, but died out in competition with the petrochemical industry.
"The construction of our demonstration facility will herald the reintroduction of ABE fermentation to UK for the first time since the 1960s,
"The production of biobutanol from draff and pot ale is another example of the industry putting its by-products to a good use to promote sustainability and jobs."
The biofuel is produced from draff the sugar rich kernels of barley soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process necessary for whisky production and pot ale,
the copper-containing yeasty liquid that is left over following distillation. Scotland's distilleries currently produce around 750,000 tons of draff and 2 billion litres of pot ale annually
#Now, a car powered by whisky residue Scientists in Scotland have become the first in the world to produce biofuel capable of powering cars from residues of the whisky industry.
Edinburgh-based Celtic Renewables plans to build a production facility in central Scotland after manufacturing the first samples of biobutanol from by-products of whisky fermentation.
The company has been awarded £11 million to fund a new plant to make the biofuels. Transport minister Andrew Jones says advanced biofuels have the potential to save at least 60%of the greenhouse gas emissions from equivalent fossil fuel.
He said""The technique could transform the Scottish whisky industry and generate up to £100 million of transport fuel a year."
and will help power modes of transport that cannot be electrified in the future such as heavy trucks or even aircraft.
A bacterial fermentation process known as Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) produces acetone, n-Butanol, and ethanol from starch.
ABE fermentation was developed first in the UK a century ago, but died out in competition with the petrochemical industry.
"The construction of our demonstration facility will herald the reintroduction of ABE fermentation to UK for the first time since the 1960s,
"The production of biobutanol from draff and pot ale is another example of the industry putting its by-products to a good use to promote sustainability and jobs."
The biofuel is produced from draff the sugar rich kernels of barley soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process necessary for whisky production and pot ale,
the copper-containing yeasty liquid that is left over following distillation. Scotland's distilleries currently produce around 750,000 tons of draff and 2 billion litres of pot ale annually
#Artificial'plants'could fuel future cars Scientists have taken a big step towards creating artificial'plants'that can use only sunlight to make gasoline
and natural gas to run future cars without polluting the environment. A research team has created an artificial leaf that produces methane,
the primary component of natural gas, using a combination of semiconducting nanowires and bacteria. The research builds on a similar hybrid system that yielded butanol, a component in gasoline,
and a variety of biochemical building blocks. It is a major advance towards synthetic photosynthesis, a type of solar power based on the ability of plants to transform sunlight,
carbon dioxide and water into sugars. Instead of sugars, however, synthetic photosynthesis seeks to produce liquid fuels that can be stored for months
or years and distributed through existing energy infrastructure. In a roundtable discussion on his recent breakthroughs and the future of synthetic photosynthesis, Peidong Yang, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley said his hybrid inorganic/biological systems give researchers new tools
to study photosynthesis -and learn its secrets.""We're good at generating electrons from light efficiently,
"said Yang, also a co-director of the Kavli Energy Nanosciences Institute.""One purpose of this experiment was to show we could integrate bacterial catalysts with semiconductor technology.
This lets us understand and optimise a truly synthetic photosynthesis system,"said Yang.""Burning fossil fuels is putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than natural photosynthesis can take it out.
"said Thomas moore, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Arizona State university. Ultimately, researchers hope to create an entirely synthetic system that is more robust and efficient than its natural counterpart.
To do that, they need model systems to study nature's best designs, especially the catalysts that convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars at room temperatures."
or literally,"said Ted Sargent, the vice-dean of research for the Faculty of Applied science and Engineering at University of Toronto."
"Instead, it is about learning nature's guidelines, its rules on how to make a compellingly efficient and selective catalyst,
some experts called it"bizarre''and"weird.''''And the discovery presents some key mysteries: How old are the bones?
reachable only by a complicated pathway that includes squeezing through passages as narrow as about 7 inches (17.8 centimeters)?
The site, about 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg, has yielded some 1, 550 specimens since its discovery in 2013.
Lee Berger, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg who led the work,
The researchers announced the discovery Thursday in the journal elife and at a news conference in the Cradle of Humankind, a site near the village of Magaliesburg.
They said they were unable to determine an age for the fossils because of unusual characteristics of the site,
and experts unconnected to the project said they believed it was not. Rick Potts director of the human origins program at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural history Museum,
Eric Delson of Lehman College in New york, who also wasn't involved with the work, said his guess is that naledi fits within a known group of early Homo creatures from around 2 million year ago.
"This stuff is like a Sherlock holmes mystery,''declared Bernard Wood of George washington University in Washington, D c,
Not everybody agreed that the discovery revealed a new species. Tim White of the University of California,
''he said in an email l
#Editing our genes In April this year, a team of Chinese researchers created a global uproar
when they published a paper describing attempts to edit the genomes of human embryos. Led by Junjiu Huang of Sun yat-sen University, Guangzhou,
they used a new technology called CRISPR to try and edit 86 nonviable, single-cell embryos obtained from fertility clinics.
They wanted to edit the gene responsible for B-thalassemia, a fatal blood disorder. CRISPR (pronounced like`crisper')has swept through the scientific world in the last few years
and is poised now for commercial use. It is thought to be revolutionary because it gives humankind a powerful tool to edit,
The discovery has led to a dramatic rise in funding for research based on CRISPR and a patent war between various scientific institutions.
when scientists found a strange thing in bacteria genomes. There were these repeating sequences with no known use.
Genetics was still developing and the scientists thought no more of this. Sometime later it was found that these CRISPR sequences were used by bacteria to ward off predatory viruses. The mechanism was unravelled
and manipulated for performing cut-andpaste functions on genomes. And the control was fantastic. You could precisely snip off a bit of DNA from a gene
Jennifer Doudna, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, led one of the research groups.
She told TOI the technology is a"site-specific DNA`scissors, 'allowing researchers to cut
or replace genetic material in a cell or organism.""What this means is: first, a piece of RNA is created for unzipping a DNA strand at the target site;
then it is lodged in a protein called Cas9 which is the scissors part of the machinery;
Another pioneer is Prashant Mali, professor at University of California, San diego. Born in Rajasthan and educated at IIT-B, John Hopkins and Harvard,
"The remarkable aspect is that the ability to target a new genomic site simply requires one to alter the sequence on the GUIDE-RNA-this makes the technique really democratic in its ease of use.
and change targeted genes in human cells, mice, rats, zebrafish, bacteria, fruit flies, yeast, worms and even crops.
Doudna says it"can be undertaken in a basic lab environment at remarkably low cost"."Mali confirms that it is"very easy to use
"Another pioneer, Feng Zhang of Broad Institute, has founded a company called Editas Medicine for using CRISPR in therapeutics.
Its CEO Katrine Bosley said they are working to translate the promise of CRISPRCAS9 genome editing technology into a new class of medicines to treat serious, genetically driven diseases."
and we are working to apply it to treat a broad range of diseases at the genetic level where patients don't have good therapeutic options."
#New lab-on-chip device to cut health test costs WASHINGTON: Scientists have developed a breakthrough lab-on-chip device that can substantially reduce the cost of sophisticated lab tests for medical disorders and diseases such as HIV,
Lyme disease and syphilis. The new device uses miniaturised channels and valves to replace"benchtop"assays-tests that require large samples of blood
or other fluids and expensive chemicals that lab technicians manually mix in trays of tubes or plastic plates with cup-like depressions."
and clinics everywhere,"said Mehdi Ghodbane, who earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering at Rutgers University.
The lab-on-chip device, which employs microfluidics technology, along with making tests more affordable for patients
and researchers, opens doors for new research because of its capability to perform complex analyses using 90 per cent less sample fluid than needed in conventional tests."
"said Ghodbane, who now works in biopharmaceutical research and development at Glaxosmithkline. The breakthrough also requires one-tenth of the chemicals used in a conventional multiplex immunoassay,
Additionally, the device automates much of the skilled labour involved in performing tests.""The results are as sensitive and accurate as the standard bench-top assay,
"said Martin Yarmush, professor of biomedical engineering at Rutgers University. Until now, animal research on central nervous system disorders, such as spinal cord injury and Parkinson's disease, has been limited
because researchers could not extract sufficient cerebrospinal fluid to perform conventional assays.""With our technology, researchers will be able to perform large-scale controlled studies with comparable accuracy to conventional assays,
The discovery could also lead to more comprehensive research on autoimmune joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis through animal studies.
The researchers combined several capabilities for the first time in the device they have dubbed"ELISA-on-a-chip"(for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
The research was published in the journal Lab on a Chip p
#Robot journalist introduced in China A Chinese internet company has developed a robot journalist, who has written its first news story.
The company, Tencent, claims that the robot named"Dreamwriter"can write a 1, 000 word news story in one minute.
A Chinese company has introduced also a robot banker, which can handle some routine chores, provide banking information and guide customers.
The first news item by the"robot journalist"used data from the National Statistics Bureau and quoted the bureau's officials.
For instance, a journalist can explain intricate issues like the effect of an increase in inflation on the lives of people which the robot cannot.
and leave them free for more challenging and intelligent works. But observers said this task in itself can help employers reduce the number of journalists on hire.
An interesting use of robots was demonstrated by the Israeli army recently when it tested a four-wheeled robot called Eyedrive at a crossing point between Israel
and the northern West bank to inspect the flow of Palestinian cars and trucks s
#New antibody may fight HIV better Scientists have identified a novel antibody that could more effectively detect and neutralise HIV virus in an infected patient.
Proteins called broadly neutralising antibodies (bnabs) are a promising key to the prevention of infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The bnabs have been found in blood samples from some HIV patients whose immune systems can naturally control the infection.
These antibodies may protect a patient's healthy cells by recognising a protein called the envelope spike, present on the surface of all HIV strains and inhibiting, or neutralising
the effects of the virus. Researchers at the California Institute of technology have discovered that one particular bnab may be able to recognise this signature protein,
even as it takes on different conformations during infection-making it easier to detect and neutralise the viruses in an infected patient.
The study was published in the journal Cell l
#New drug approach could overcome antibiotic resistance WASHINGTON: Researchers have discovered a new group of antibiotics that may provide relief to those affected by antibiotic resistance.
In 2013, invasive MRSA infections were estimated responsible for an 9, 937 deaths in the US, researchers said.
Although current infection rates are declining, the majority of these deaths, about 8, 150, were associated with inpatient stays in health care facilities, according to the Active Bacterial Core surveillance report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in US.
The discovery shows that the potential new antibiotics are unlike contemporary antibiotics because they contain iridium,
a silvery-white transition metal. New transition metal complexes do not easily breakdown, which is important for delivery of antibiotics to where they are needed to fight infections in the body.
Even though these compounds contain iridium, further testing by the researchers shows that they are nontoxic to animals and animal cells."
"So far our findings show that these compounds are safer than other compounds made from transition metals,
"said corresponding author Joseph Merola, a professor at the Virginia Institute of technology.""One of the reasons for this is that the compounds in this paper that target MRSA are very specific,
meaning that a specific structure-function relationship must be met in order to kill the bacteria, "Merola said.
A version of the antibiotic was tested for toxicity in mice with no ill effects.""Within the next few years, we hope to identify various characteristics of these antibiotics,
and their metabolism in animals,"said Joseph Falkinham, a professor of microbiology in the College of Science and an affiliate of the Virginia Tech Centre for Drug Discovery.
The study was published in the journal Medicinal Chemistry Communications s
#A super computer that knows if you're going to die NEW YORK: A super computer developed in the US can predict the likelihood of a person's death with almost 100 per cent accuracy,
a media report said. The machine, installed at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical centre, draws on the data of more than 250,000 people collected over a period of 30 years to make speedy diagnoses,
The Mirror reported on Monday. The machine's ability to speedy disease recognition could potentially save lives as well as predict patients'imminent demise, the report added."
"Our goal is not to replace the clinician...This artificial intelligence is really about the augmenting of doctors'ability to take care of patients,"Steve Horng,
a doctor at the hospital, was quoted as telling BBC. Patients at the hospital are linked up to the super computer
which collects and analyses data about their condition every three minutes, measuring everything from oxygen levels to blood pressure to give doctors"everything we need to know about a patient".
"When the computer says no, doctors can"predict with 96 per cent confidence "when patients may die."
"If the computer says you're going to die, you probably will die in the next 30 days,
"Horng said d
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