Friday 19 July 2019

To return to the Moon, astronauts need new spacesuits

Space engineer Pablo de Leon has designed two spacesuit prototypes for the Moon and for Mars, and knows how long development takes.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/to-return-to-the-moon-astronauts-need-new-spacesuits

Thai farmers on the cash trail with snail slime

Giant snails inch across a plate of pumpkin and cucumber in central Thailand, an "organic" diet to tease the prized collagen-rich mucus from the molluscs, which to some cosmetic firms are now more valuable than gold.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/thai-farmers-on-the-cash-trail-with-snail-slime

Technology, temporary help keeps farmers on job longer

At 79 years old, Art McManus says he's still able to hop on the tractor and maintain the 160 acres of cherry trees at his orchard in Traverse City, Michigan.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/technology-temporary-help-keeps-farmers-on-job-longer

The exploration of space in 10 key dates

From the Soviet Union's pioneering satellite to the first man on the Moon 50 years ago, here are 10 key dates in space exploration.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/the-exploration-of-space-in-10-key-dates

Physicist studying how extreme weather in space affects satellites

A physicist at The University of Texas at Arlington is developing a new scale to measure weather storms in space that could lead to a better understanding of how those storms impact Earth.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/physicist-studying-how-extreme-weather-in-space-affects-satellites

Discovering how diabetes leads to vascular disease

A team of UC Davis Health scientists and physicians has identified a cellular connection between diabetes and one of its major complications—blood vessel narrowing that increases risks of several serious health conditions, including heart disease and stroke.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/discovering-how-diabetes-leads-to-vascular-disease

Biologist leads pioneering study on stress

A biologist at Louisiana State University conducted a pioneering research study that could help us to better understand the role of dopamine in stress resilience in humans through analyzing wild songbirds. This study could lead to increased prevention and treatment of stress-related disorders.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/biologist-leads-pioneering-study-on-stress

New research finds private practice physicians less likely to maintain electronic records

Modernizing health records by making them electronic has gained momentum as technology evolves and policies push health care toward digital solutions. But the same trend has not been evident for physicians who remain in private practice, new research finds.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-research-finds-private-practice-physicians-less-likely-to-maintain-electronic-records

Astronauts less likely to faint on Earth if they exercise in space

Nearly 50 years after man's first steps on the moon, researchers have discovered a way that may help astronauts spending prolonged time in space come back to Earth on more stable footing, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/astronauts-less-likely-to-faint-on-earth-if-they-exercise-in-space

Economic, fast and efficient cell-type targeting

It is a remarkable proof for the concept of IOB: working closely hand in hand, our molecular and clinical researchers have developed a library of 230 adeno associated viral vectors (AAVs), each with a different synthetic promoter. A number of these AAVs specifically target expression to neuronal and glial cell types in the mouse and non-human primate retina in vivo, and in the human retina in vitro.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/economic-fast-and-efficient-cell-type-targeting

Novel mechanism of inheritance detected

Non-Mendelian, oligogenic inheritance could be an unrecognized and important element for occurrence of hereditary retinal degenerations (HRDs, comprising retinitis pigmentosa) which are caused by ultra-rare mutations and cause progressive blindness.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/novel-mechanism-of-inheritance-detected

Do plant cells hold the roadmap for surviving climate change?

Do plant scientists hold the key to saving vulnerable populations in a changing climate? How should plant researchers prepare to deploy their knowledge to maintain food security in the future—as well as to promote renewable energy, sequester carbon pollution from the atmosphere, and even synthesize medicine?

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/do-plant-cells-hold-the-roadmap-for-surviving-climate-change

Betting on speculative geoengineering may risk an escalating 'climate debt crisis'

The opening of the Oscar-winning film The Big Short, a comedy-drama on the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, begins with a famous quote: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/betting-on-speculative-geoengineering-may-risk-an-escalating-climate-debt-crisis

More cancer patients get help to quit smoking

When patients who smoke begin cancer treatment at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis—or at any of Siteman's satellite locations—they also now receive advice about quitting smoking, referrals to easy-access smoking-cessation services and, if suitable, prescriptions for medications that aid in kicking the habit.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/more-cancer-patients-get-help-to-quit-smoking

Hand-held robot points to less invasive prostate surgery

Vanderbilt collaborators focused on minimally invasive prostate surgery are developing an endoscopic robotic system with two-handed dexterity at a much smaller scale than existing options.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/hand-held-robot-points-to-less-invasive-prostate-surgery

Largest genomic study on type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan African populations

National Institute of Health researchers have reported the largest genomic study of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in sub-Saharan Africans, with data from more than 5,000 individuals from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Researchers confirmed known genomic variants and identified a novel gene ZRANB3, which may influence susceptibility to the disease in sub-Saharan African populations. The gene could also influence the development of T2D in other populations and inform further research.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/largest-genomic-study-on-type-2-diabetes-in-sub-saharan-african-populations

Hawaii telescope protesters don't back down after arrests

Protesters didn't back down from their long-running effort to stop construction of a $1.4 billion telescope, blocking a road Thursday to the top of a mountain sacred to some Native Hawaiians a day after authorities arrested nearly three dozen people.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/hawaii-telescope-protesters-dont-back-down-after-arrests

Canadian platform spills 3,200 gallons of oil-mix into Atlantic

An oil platform off the Canadian island of Newfoundland spilled nearly 3,200 gallons of an oil-water mix into the Atlantic Ocean, and efforts were underway to minimize the environmental impact, ExxonMobil said Thursday.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/canadian-platform-spills-3-200-gallons-of-oil-mix-into-atlantic

Great Barrier Reef agency breaks with Australia gvt in climate warning

The agency that manages the Great Barrier Reef broke ranks with Australia's conservative government to call for the "strongest and fastest possible action" against climate change to save the world heritage marine wonder.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/great-barrier-reef-agency-breaks-with-australia-gvt-in-climate-warning

Swine fever sends China's pork prices, imports soaring

Pork prices have been sent soaring and herds devastated as African swine fever tears through China's massive pig-farming industry, forcing the country to ramp up imports to satisfy demand—but analysts warn worse is yet to come.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/swine-fever-sends-chinas-pork-prices-imports-soaring

Big Sugar and neglect by global health community fuel oral health crisis

Oral health has been isolated from traditional healthcare and health policy for too long, despite the major global public health burden of oral diseases, according to a Lancet Series on Oral Health, published today in The Lancet. Failure of the global health community to prioritise the global burden of oral health has led to calls from Lancet Series authors for the radical reform of dental care, tightened regulation of the sugar industry, and greater transparency around conflict of interests in dental research.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/big-sugar-and-neglect-by-global-health-community-fuel-oral-health-crisis

Nations with strong women's rights likely to have better population health and faster growth

Nations with strong women's rights are more likely to have better health and faster growth than those who don't promote and protect these values, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/nations-with-strong-womens-rights-likely-to-have-better-population-health-and-faster-growth