Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/AkpQ47lvXPg

Clothing with AI-controlled and air-driven actuators will help kids coping with cerebral palsy fine-tune their arm and leg motions.  Bioengineers at UC-Riverside working with clinicians at California’s Children’s Hospital of Orange County, better known at CHOC, are developing shirts and pants with air bladders and control sensors.  Then a child intends to, for example, move the arm, sensors record arm muscle activation, a signal travels to a wearable microcomputer, and micropumps inflate the air motors in the shirt to initiate and fine tune the intended motion.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220923/Low-cost-robotic-clothing-for-children-with-cerebral-palsy.aspx

 #cerebralpalsy #choc #airmotors #wearables #robots

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zoUGgY0ZH44

Canadian bioengineers have developed the technology for diagnosing and analyzing cancers in the brain using a 3D printed ultrasensitive nanosensor capable of detecting tumor-specific proteins in at little as 5 ul of blood using surface-enhanced Raman scattering methodology.  

This liquid biopsy system can detect a primary or secondary tumor with nearly 100% accuracy and the intracranial location of that tumor with 96% accuracy.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.2c04187?goto=supporting-info

#braincancer #liquidbiopsy #nanosensor #sers

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Ejhc3gnADLc

Stem cells are the precursors for all cells in our bodies.  Australian researchers announce the development of a microfluidic blood stem cell incubator.  The system on a plexiglass block mimics the pulsatile circulation of the embryo that is a key factor in driving the generation of blood stem cells.  It seems that general stem cells recognize pulsing and shear forces as signals that they should differentiate into blood cells.   The plan is to upscale this microfluidic system to generate large supplies of hematologist stem cells needed by those on chemotherapy whose own populations  of red and white cells have been depleted.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(22)01167-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124722011676%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

#stemcells #microfluidics #chemotherapy

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/8qyNd-Is8Ts

Those wearing reusable contact lenses were nearly 4 times more likely to develop microbial keratitis, a corneal infection, in comparison to those using disposable lenses.  Ophthalmologists at University College London reviewed the cases of 205 contact lens wearers.

Compared with those using disposable lenses, the risk of amoeba-driven keratitis was 3.8 fold higher for those using reusable soft lenses and 4.6 fold higher for those using rigid reusables.  Other factors that drove increased keratititis rates included showering or swimming wearing lenses (3.3 fold increase), overnight lens wearing (3.9 fold increase, and infrequent professional eye exams (10 fold increase).

Amoebic keratitis is rare affecting only 1 in every 20,000 contact lens wearers.  Even so, it accounts for about 50% of eyesight loss, and 25% of those infected require corneal transplants to restore vision.  The sad fact: about 90% of these cases are avoidable. 

https://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(22)00594-2/fulltext

#keratitis #contactlenses #reusables #disposables #blindness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/qyWOT6uIGsU

This graph says it all. The pediatric deaths due to CoVid are nearly 5-fold higher than those due to influenza during a typical winter respiratory disease season. The numbers were tabulated by Boston’s Brigham snd Women’s ER Dr. Jeremy Faust from CDC data.  

The kids reflected in these statistics are your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and, yes, younger sisters and brothers.  If nothing has so far, these sickening statistics should drive all parents who truly love their children to get them vaccinated and, when available, boosted against CoVid and the latest Omicron variants.  

The fact is that way too few children HAVE been vaccinated.  As of last week, the CDC reports that only 8% of the 6 month to 4 year olds have received even one vaccine dose, only 31% of the 5-11 year olds have received the 2 dose immunization series, and only 57% of 12 to 17 years olds are fully vaccinated.  C’mon parents: we can do so much better for our children.  They depend on us to keep them safe and  healthy.  Get your entire family vaccinated and boosted.

https://insidemedicine.bulletin.com/delta-and-omicron-killed-far-more-children-than-flu-ever-does

https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-vaccination-trends/

#CoVid #children #vaccination #boosters #influenza 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/vbnUSpg07wc

Complete CoVid vaccination plus a booster reduces the chance that a pregnant woman will develop a moderate to severe Omicron infection 3.5-fold.  This study by the UK’s National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit reviewed the cases of 3699 women admitted to 94 British hospitals with test positive Omicron.

Even more striking was the fact that 76.7% of symptomatic women admitted to the ICU for respiratory care including ventilator therapy were unvaccinated.  In contrast, NONE of the CoVid ICU patients had received 3 doses of the vaccine.

If you’re pregnant or planning to be, better get vaccinated and keep your booster status up to date.  That means, if its more than 5 months since your last booster or if you are immunosuppressed, diabetic, or fighting disease such as cancer, immediately get your Omicron booster.

https://bmjmedicine.bmj.com/content/bmjmed/1/1/e000190.full.pdf

#CoVid #pregnancy #vaccination #hospitalization #icu

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/uBnr6Gi4saA

A purple tomato containing 10 fold more antioxidants could someday be sitting on your grocery store shelves.  These tomatoes appear like giant blueberries and, in many ways, are just that.  Using bioengineering, genes from the antioxidant rich purple snapdragon plant are added to the tomato’s own genetic complement to increase its production of anthocyanin.  As a side effect, the entire tomato, not just its skin, becomes purple.

Yes, the purple tomato is a GMO, a genetically modified organism, but this so-called super tomato has passed the US Department of Agriculture’s first test showing that it may be safely cultivated without pest damage.  Don’t look for the Purple Tomato yet as it must first pass other hurdles at the USDA, the FDA, and the EPA.

https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20220923/modified-purple-tomato-coming-to-your-grocery-store

#tomato #purpletomato #gmo #antioxidants #anthocyanin #usda #fda

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/IK711__1grk

The general intravenous anesthetic ketamine quickly induces a reversal of depression in even the most medication-resistant persons.  Problem is that the relief can be fleeting.  

Pittsburgh psychiatrists now show that pairing the single ketamine injection with a 4 day digital positivity training program extends the drug’s positive effects for more than a month.  The automated program helps the participants see themselves in a more positive light with happy imagery and suggestions.

The ketamine has a two-fold effect on the subjects.  It elevates their mood but also makes them more receptive to the positive suggestions.

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220216

#depression #ketamine #asat #positivitytraining 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/IOHSxlBSvMM

The vaccines against CoVid have prevented 8 million cases of the disease in the US, prevented at least 120 thousand American deaths, and kept 700 thousand of our friends and relatives out of the hospital.  These statistics come from the Columbia School of Public Health.

The CoVid vaccines received emergency use authorizations in December of 2020 for first line healthcare workers and those in long-term care facilities.  Within months, the vaccines were made available to seniors 65 years and up and then those 16-64 with high-risk medical issues. By May 2021, all those 12 years and older were eligible, and, by November 2021 the 5 to 11 year olds were included.

Despite the availability, only 68% of Americans have been fully vaccinated and only 40% have received any of the recommended boosters.  As of the 3rd week of September, only about 4% have received the latest Omicron boosters.

Just think about how many of the 1 million plus who have died from CoVid could have been saved by universal vaccination.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.23.22280281v1.full.pdf+html

https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-US&mid=%2Fm%2F09c7w0&state=7&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

#CoVid #vaccine #boosters #hospitalization #death 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Av2ePEF8L3w

For the first time, a biologic drug relieved the nagging itch of moderate-to-severe eczema for babies and preschoolers.  The monoclonal antibody dupilumab, better known to TV audiences as Dupixent, drives a 75%+ reduction in eczematoid itch and better sleeping in at least half the children 6 months through 5 years who took it for 4 months.

These findings come from a Northwestern University-led Phase 3 study of the drug in 162 kids 6 months to 6 years of age at 31 sites across North America and Europe.  The drug has already been approved for older children, teens, and adults with eczema.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01539-2/fulltext

#eczema #dupixent #itch #sleep #infants #toddlers