NationalResearchCouncil
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Doctors find a way to deliver drugs straight to your brain
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a marvelous piece of evolutionary engineering designed to keep the inside of your skull pristinely clean by segregating the nervous and circulatory systems. The downside to this nearly impermeable membrane is that it is as adept at blocking therapeutic molecules as it is against harmful chemicals and microbes. However, a team from Canada's National Research Council (NRC) believe they've finally found the key that unlocks the body's Fort Knox. They're called "single domain antibodies" (SDA) -- molecular fragments capable of binding to larger molecules -- and they reportedly trick the BBB into thinking that most any molecule they're attached to is copacetic. So instead of having to wrap disease fighting medicines in carrier molecules like microscopic Trojan Horses, as has been the preferred method for the past two decades, these single domain antibodies act more like molecular security badges instead.
Study: NASA can't afford a trip to Mars, but deserves the cash to do it
It's no secret that NASA's long-term goal is to get people to Mars. But how realistic is that objective, really? Unfortunately, the prospects aren't looking good right now. The National Research Council has conducted a review of NASA's space program that suggests its budget isn't practical for anything more than trips to lunar space, and might not even stretch that far. So long as the administration's finances aren't keeping up with inflation, any attempt to push past low Earth orbit would "invite failure" and "disillusionment," the Council says.
