Harvard Medical School
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The mRNA tech we used against COVID could help us finally beat malaria
As vaccination rates for the current pandemic continue to climb, the medical community is looking ahead to turn this powerful genomic weapon against myriad other deadly diseases.
Scientists fully decode a pair of mammoth DNA genomes
A team of Harvard Medical School geneticists have deciphered the complete genomes of not one but two individual woolly mammoths. The results, recently published in the journal Current Biology, are already providing valuable insights into how the species initially died out.
Harvard Medical School content to be part of HeartDecide
Orca Health's HeartDecide app is now powered by data from Harvard Medical School, thanks to a newly formed partnership. As AllThingsD reports, the new union has already yielded a wealth of new content for iOS devices. The app, which is designed to help educate users, is offered free of charge. A litany of heart ailments can be simulated using the app's 3D heart model, including rheumatic heart disease, atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. You can also use the app's directory to find heart specialists and browse tips on staying healthy. The partnership between Orca and Harvard doesn't end there; A total of four iBooks from the pair are also now available covering various topics -- angina, angioplasty, atherosclerosis and cardiac catheterization -- in greater depth. However, unlike the free app, these interactive tomes will set you back US$4.99 each.
Harvard scientists reverse aging in mice, laugh maniacally at human possibilities
The reversal of aging has been one of the great dreams of humanity, but it seems like our rodent overlords have beat us to it. The Harvard Medical School has demonstrated "a dramatic reversal" in the aging process when reintroducing the enzyme telomerase into old and feeble mice. What happened was that their naturally worn out organs started to regenerate, instead of degenerating further, bringing them back to a youthful state of health. Sadly, while the results of this study are hugely important, there are a couple of caveats to make: firstly, the mice in question were genetically modified to suffer from a lack of telomerase, which might have inflated the results of the tests relative to regular mice, but more importantly, an increase in telomerase in humans is "a hallmark of most human cancers." So, if you want a shot of Benjamin Button brew, you'll have to be very patient indeed. For now, let's just be happy that Algernon and his buddies have found their fountain of youth. [Thanks, Vygantas]
Self-assembling nanodevices could advance medicine one tiny leap at a time
Seems like Harvard wasn't content with making robotic bees, and has taken its quest for miniaturization right down to the nanoscale level. One nanometer-wide, single-stranded DNA molecules are the topic of the university's latest research, which sets out a way they can be used to create "3D prestressed tensegrity structures." Should these theoretical scribblings ever pan out in the real world, we could see the resulting self-assembled nanodevices facilitating drug delivery targeted directly at the diseased cells, and even the reprogramming of human stem cells. Infusing a nanodevice with the relevant DNA data passes instructions on to your stem cells, which consequently turn into, for example, new bone tissue or neurons to augment your fleshy CPU. Yes, we're kinda freaked out, but what's cooler than being able to say you're going to the doctor for a shot of nanotransformers?
Augmented vision device may aid tunnel vision sufferers
As people age and develop ocular diseases such as glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa, an unfortunate side effect is the gradual inability to locate and recognize objects not directly in front of them -- a condition more commonly known as tunnel vision. Previous gadgets designed to combat this problem, such as so-called reverse binocular glasses, have indeed been successful in providing patients with additional visual data; however, their miniaturizing effect took much of the detail away from peripheral objects, making them uncomfortable and ultimately ineffective for everyday use. Fortunately for tunnel vision sufferers, a new, higher-tech option may soon be available to aid them in their plight, in the form of an innovative device designed by a team at Harvard Medical School affiliate Schepens Eye Research Institute. Developed in conjunction with MyVu HMD manufacturer MicroOptical Corp., the augmented vision device consists of a video camera and transparent display attached to a pair of glasses and tethered by wire to a small computer. The computer processes the incoming visual data from the camera and projects a real-time outline of the wearer's surroundings right onto the center of the glasses, effectively "filling in the blanks" for the peripheral objects that would not normally be viewable. In tests conducted by the team, affected patients with only an hour of training were able to significantly increase the directness of their searches, while at the same time reducing the amount of time necessary to locate an object by about 22%. Further long term studies are necessary to determine how effective the device would be with more training and regular usage, but with such promising initial results, tunnel vision sufferers may finally be able to step out of the shadows and literally see the light.[Via Medgadget]
Protein-coated discs could enable 50TB capacities
We know that it shouldn't come as a shock anymore when researchers announce new storage technologies that promise to hold tantalizingly large amounts of data, but we were still pretty stoked to learn that a recent breakthrough at Harvard Medical School may eventually lead to DVD-size discs whose capacities approach an eye-popping 50TB. Unlike traditional optical or magnetic solutions, the disc developed by Professor V Renugopalakrishnan and his colleagues is coated with thousands of light-activated proteins called bacteriorhodopsin which are found in the membrane of a particular salt marsh microbe -- and which temporarily convert to a series of intermediate molecules when exposed to sunlight. That property allows the proteins to act as individual bits in a binary system, but since they have a tendency to return to their grounded state after mere hours or days, Renugopalakrishnan and his team modified the requisite microbes' DNA to produce proteins capable of maintaining that intermediary state for several years. Unfortunately we won't see this technology come to market anytime soon, and even when it does, 50TB capacities will still be a ways off, so it looks like we'll have to settle for those disappointing 200GB Blu-ray discs for the foreseeable future.[Via Gotakon]
