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The Lizard Poop Of Madagascar

Some 88 million years ago, Madagascar broke off from India.Isolated from all other landmasses,...

Chinese Researchers Are Rewiring Brains Using Interfaces

Human evolution and culture have been shaped by our increasing ability to communicate. A new review...

Soft Robot With Inflatable Actuators And Kirigami Skin Debuts

University of Southern Denmark recently demonstrated a soft robot capable of navigating complex...

Hurricanes: Water, Not Wind, Is Deadliest

When most people think of hurricanes, they imagine winds gusting over 100 miler per hour, but water...

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Sickle Cell Disease: A Pill Cure In Mice And Monkeys

Sickle Cell Disease: A Pill Cure In Mice And Monkeys

Jul 05 2024 | comment(s)

Scientists led by Dr. Pamela Ting have reported the discovery and characterization of the first molecular glue degraders of the WIZ transcription factor for fetal hemoglobin derepression in Sickle Cell Disease, which means a pill-based therapy for humans could begin development.

Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic life-threatening condition caused by mutation in β-hemoglobin. Inducing fetal hemoglobin safely has been the goal for years but has remained out-of-reach. The discovery of dWIZ-1 and dWIZ-2 molecular glue degraders of the WIZ transcription factor that induce HbF in erythroblasts is a milestone toward a pill for therapy. The authors say WIZ is a previously unknown repressor of HbF.
The Oldest Profession May Be Fashion Design

The Oldest Profession May Be Fashion Design

Jul 01 2024 | comment(s)

There are five professions(1) but lots of occupations and trades lay claim to being the oldest one despite predating the concept by millennia.

Farming is around 14,000 years old but a new study reveals one less-considered trade predates it by tens of thousands of years: fashion.

Humans wore clothing prior to that, but fashion is a different animal skin. It is clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking the major shift from clothes as protection to clothes as an expression of identity. Paleolithic eyed needles are now known to be as old as 40,000 years, and with it came the evolution of dressing. 
At 3 Cases In 6 Months, Monkeypox In The US Is Effectively Contained

At 3 Cases In 6 Months, Monkeypox In The US Is Effectively Contained

Jun 06 2024 | comment(s)

Monkeypox (Mpox) is an infection transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and causes fever and painful skin blisters. It is in the Orthopoxvirus genus of viruses, which includes smallpox, so those vaccinated against it have cross-protection, smallpox vaccines also work for monkeypox.
Brown Fat’s “Off-Switch” Isn't A New Ozempic Diet Exploit

Brown Fat’s “Off-Switch” Isn't A New Ozempic Diet Exploit

May 23 2024 | comment(s)

Brown adipose tissue is different from the white fat around human belly and thighs. Brown fat helps to turn calories into heat and it was once thought that only small animals like mice and newborns had brown fat but some adults retain it.

If some people have it, perhaps others can activate it also, and a study found a previously unknown built-in mechanism that switches it off shortly after being activated.  Which means it doesn't help against obesity. A group discovered a protein responsible for this switching-off process called AC3-AT. Mice that genetically didn't have AC3-AT were protected from becoming obese, partly because their bodies were simply better at burning off calories and were able to increase their metabolic rates through activating brown fat.
Opioid Addicts Are Less Likely To Use Legal Opioids At The End Of Their Lives

Opioid Addicts Are Less Likely To Use Legal Opioids At The End Of Their Lives

Apr 29 2024 | comment(s)

With a porous southern border, street fentanyl continues to enter the United States and be purchased by recreational drug users, all while the U.S. government continues to treat suffering cancer patients like criminals when it comes to legitimate pain medication access. It isn't much better in Canada, according to a new study.
More Like Lizards: Claim That T. Rex Was As Smart As Monkeys Refuted

More Like Lizards: Claim That T. Rex Was As Smart As Monkeys Refuted

Apr 29 2024 | comment(s)

A year ago, corporate media promoted the provocative claim that dinosaurs like Tyrannorsaurus rex had so many neurons they had to be substantially more intelligent than assumed, since these high neuron counts could directly inform on intelligence, metabolism and life history.

They even added that T. rex was monkey-like in some of its habits and may even have used cultural transmission of knowledge as tools. Corporate media sells ads so they love such 'scientists are baffled by' narratives and a scenario where dinosaurs could be ruling on other planets. Other scientists were instead baffled that it got by peer-review.