A technique to improve machine learning inspired by the behavior of human infants

From their first years of life, human beings have the innate ability to learn continuously and build mental models of the world, simply by observing and interacting with things or people in their surroundings. Cognitive psychology studies suggest that humans make extensive use of this previously acquired knowledge, particularly when they encounter new situations or when making decisions.

* This article was originally published here

Powering the future with lunar soil

Building a lunar base would be one of the next logical steps in our exploration of the solar system, but the survival of a future crew depends on access to a reliable source of energy. An ESA Discovery & Preparation study explored how lunar regolith—the dust, soil and rock on the moon's surface—could be used to store heat and provide electricity for future astronauts, rovers and landers.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/powering-the-future-with-lunar-soil

Helping robots to build new antibiotics

A team from The University of Manchester have engineered a common gut bacterium to produce a new class of antibiotics by using robotics. These antibiotics, known as class II polyketides, are also naturally produced by soil bacteria and have antimicrobial properties which are vital in the modern pharmaceutical industry to combat infectious diseases and cancer.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/helping-robots-to-build-new-antibiotics

New measurements imply dramatically higher abundance of helium hydride ions in the early universe

Physicists report the first laboratory measurements of electron reactions with helium hydride ions in the cryogenic storage ring CSR at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. At temperatures down to 6 K, the reaction rates destroying the molecule were found to be significantly lower compared to previous measurements at room temperature. This translates into a strongly enhanced abundance of this primordial molecule acting as a coolant for first star and galaxy formation in the early universe.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-measurements-imply-dramatically-higher-abundance-of-helium-hydride-ions-in-the-early-universe

Researchers determine epigenetic origin of docetaxel-resistant breast cancer

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have published a study in Molecular Cancer Research in which they identify methylation patterns associated with different subtypes of breast cancer, and a subclassification of the group of "triple negatives," a breast cancer type typically associated with poor prognosis. In addition, they identified changes in DNA methylation associated with the response to docetaxel, a common therapy. The research was led by Dr. Eva González-Suárez, head of the IDIBELL Transformation and Metastasis research group.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-determine-epigenetic-origin-of-docetaxel-resistant-breast-cancer

Scientists discover group of genes connected to longer life in fruit flies

Alexey Moskalev, Ph.D., Head of the Laboratory of Geroprotective and Radioprotective technologies and co-authors from the Institute of biology of Komi Science Center of RAS, the Engelgard's Institute of molecular biology of RAS and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology published an article titled "Transcriptome Analysis of Long-lived Drosophila melanogaster E(z) Mutants Sheds Light on the Molecular Mechanisms of Longevity" in Nature Scientific Reports.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/scientists-discover-group-of-genes-connected-to-longer-life-in-fruit-flies

Adding a polymer stabilizes collapsing metal-organic frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a special class of sponge-like materials with nano-sized pores. The nanopores lead to record-breaking internal surface areas, up to 7800 m2 in a single gram. This feature makes MOFs extremely versatile materials with multiple uses, such as separating petrochemicals and gases, mimicking DNA, hydrogen production and removing heavy metals, fluoride anions, and even gold from water—to name a few.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/adding-a-polymer-stabilizes-collapsing-metal-organic-frameworks

Researchers report the function of reverse-twisting DNA

Normally, the two strands of the DNA double helix wind around each other in a right-handed spiral. However, there is another conformation called Z-DNA in which the strands twist to the left. The function of Z-DNA has remained a mystery since its discovery. A newly published paper unambiguously establishes that the Z-conformation is key to regulating interferon responses involved in fighting viruses and cancer. The researchers analyzed families with variants in the Z-binding domain of the ADAR gene.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-report-the-function-of-reverse-twisting-dna

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

Music may offer alternative to preoperative drug routinely used to calm nerves

Music may offer an alternative to the use of a drug routinely used to calm the nerves before the use of regional anaesthesia (peripheral nerve block), suggest the results of a clinical trial, published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/music-may-offer-alternative-to-preoperative-drug-routinely-used-to-calm-nerves

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

Salt regulations linked to 9,900 cases of cardiovascular disease and 1,500 cancer cases

A relaxation of UK industry regulation of salt content in food has been linked with 9,900 additional cases of cardiovascular disease, and 1,500 cases of stomach cancer.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/salt-regulations-linked-to-9-900-cases-of-cardiovascular-disease-and-1-500-cancer-cases

Hypertension poorly managed in low- and middle-income countries

Health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are poorly prepared for the increasing number of people with high blood pressure, with more than two-thirds of people affected going without treatment, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in collaboration with colleagues from more than 40 institutions around the world, including several ministries of health.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/hypertension-poorly-managed-in-low-and-middle-income-countries

Study examines differences over time in home dialysis initiation by race and ethnicity

A recent analysis reveals that as home dialysis increased from 2005 to 2013 among U.S. patients with kidney failure, racial/ethnic differences in initiating home dialysis narrowed. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of CJASN, indicate that all racial/ethnic groups are increasingly using this form of dialysis.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/study-examines-differences-over-time-in-home-dialysis-initiation-by-race-and-ethnicity

Diabetes increases the risk of heart failure more in women than men

Diabetes confers a greater excess risk of heart failure in women than men, according to new research in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes). Type 1 diabetes is associated with a 47% excess risk of heart failure in women compared to men, whilst type 2 diabetes has a 9% excess risk of heart failure for women than men.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/diabetes-increases-the-risk-of-heart-failure-more-in-women-than-men

Alzheimer's gene may impact cognitive health before adulthood

A gene linked to Alzheimer's Disease may impact cognitive health much sooner than previously realized.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/alzheimers-gene-may-impact-cognitive-health-before-adulthood

Researchers use Twitter and AI to see who is hitting the gym

Social media data can provide a population-level view of physical activity, from bowling to Crossfit, and inform future efforts to tackle health disparities.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-use-twitter-and-ai-to-see-who-is-hitting-the-gym

Ivacaftor may reduce common infections in patients with CF

Patients with cystic fibrosis who take ivacaftor appear to have fewer respiratory infections over time than those not taking the drug, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/ivacaftor-may-reduce-common-infections-in-patients-with-cf

Many of the deadliest cancers receive the least amount of research funding

Many of the deadliest or most common cancers get the least amount of nonprofit research funding, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study that examined the distribution of nonprofit research funding in 2015 across cancer types.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/many-of-the-deadliest-cancers-receive-the-least-amount-of-research-funding