Researchers find proteins that might restore damaged sound-detecting cells in the ear

Using genetic tools in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have identified a pair of proteins that precisely control when sound-detecting cells, known as hair cells, are born in the mammalian inner ear. The proteins, described in a report published June 12 in eLife, may hold a key to future therapies to restore hearing in people with irreversible deafness.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-find-proteins-that-might-restore-damaged-sound-detecting-cells-in-the-ear

Power generation achieved by a self-assembled biofuel cell

Researchers have developed the first fully functional biofuel cell whose biocatalysts (enzymes that play a critical role in power generation) directly self-assemble onto the electrodes. In about 5 minutes, enzyme-nanoparticle hybrids added to a biofuel cell solution selectively bind to either the anode or the cathode, and in doing so form the key components of the biofuel cell.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/power-generation-achieved-by-a-self-assembled-biofuel-cell

4 personal items you probably should replace today

Is your toothbrush more than four months old? And how about your contact lens case? These and other everyday essentials need regular replacing, no matter how comfortable you are with them.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/4-personal-items-you-probably-should-replace-today

4 tips for a healthier home

Simple steps can help you protect your home from health dangers big and small.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/4-tips-for-a-healthier-home

Daily aspirin reduces bowel cancer risk in people with Lynch syndrome

Taking a daily aspirin for more than two years could reduce the risk of bowel cancer in people with Lynch syndrome, according to new draft guidance from National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/daily-aspirin-reduces-bowel-cancer-risk-in-people-with-lynch-syndrome

Researchers publish novel study of gratitude in online communities

Published in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction, Dr. Stephann Makri and his colleague Sophie Turner, offer a model of gratitude in online communities—the gratitude cycle—which has the potential to transform the design of online community platforms by encouraging acknowledgment of kind acts and expression of gratitude.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-publish-novel-study-of-gratitude-in-online-communities

Nordic researchers: A quarter of the world's population at risk of developing tuberculosis

A new study from Aarhus University Hospital and Aarhus University, Denmark, has shown that probably 1 in 4 people in the world carry the tuberculosis bacterium in the body. The disease tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which affects more than 10 million people every year, and kills up to 2 million, making it the most deadly of the infectious diseases.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/nordic-researchers-a-quarter-of-the-worlds-population-at-risk-of-developing-tuberculosis

Seabirds are threatened by hazardous chemicals in plastics

An international collaboration led by scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) , Japan, has found that hazardous chemicals were detected in plastics eaten by seabirds. This suggests that the seabird has been threatened by these chemicals once they eat plastics.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/seabirds-are-threatened-by-hazardous-chemicals-in-plastics

Making a case for returning airships to the skies

Reintroducing airships into the world's transportation-mix could contribute to lowering the transport sector's carbon emissions and can play a role in establishing a sustainable hydrogen based economy. According to the authors of an IIASA-led study, these lighter-than-air aircraft could ultimately increase the feasibility of a 100 percent sustainable world.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/making-a-case-for-returning-airships-to-the-skies

July 2019 hottest month globally ever recorded: EU

July 2019 was the hottest month across the globe ever recorded, according to data released Monday by the European Union's satellite-based Earth observation network.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/july-2019-hottest-month-globally-ever-recorded-eu

Four new 'hot Jupiters' discovered

Astronomers report the detection of four new "hot Jupiter" exoplanets as part of the WASP-south survey. The newfound alien worlds received designations: WASP-178b, WASP-184b, WASP-185b and WASP-192b. The discovery is detailed in a paper published July 26 on arXiv.org.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/four-new-hot-jupiters-discovered

Experiments suggest macaques are capable of making decisions based on inference

A team of researchers at Columbia University has carried out experiments with macaques and in so doing has found evidence that suggests they are capable of inference-based thinking. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes the experiments they carried out and what they learned from them.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/experiments-suggest-macaques-are-capable-of-making-decisions-based-on-inference

Australia cancer sufferer first to use new assisted dying law

A 61-year-old cancer patient has become the first person in over two decades to die under controversial assisted dying laws in Australia, a charity said.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/australia-cancer-sufferer-first-to-use-new-assisted-dying-law

New Zealand government plans to ease abortion restrictions

New Zealand's government announced Monday that it plans changes to the country's abortion laws that would treat the procedure as a health issue rather than a crime.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-zealand-government-plans-to-ease-abortion-restrictions

Long-term declines in heart disease and stroke deaths are stalling, research finds

Heart disease and stroke mortality rates have almost stopped declining in many high-income countries, including Australia, and are even increasing in some countries, according to new research.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/long-term-declines-in-heart-disease-and-stroke-deaths-are-stalling-research-finds

MSI detection via liquid biopsy shows high concordance with results from tissue samples

Bottom Line: Incorporation of pan-cancer microsatellite instability (MSI) detection into the 74-gene panel Guardant360 liquid biopsy assay showed high concordance with matched tissue samples in nearly 1,000 patients.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/msi-detection-via-liquid-biopsy-shows-high-concordance-with-results-from-tissue-samples

Transgender women case study shows sperm production is possible but not certain

Scientists at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI), collaborating with clinicians at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh report two cases in which young transgender women attempted to recover their fertility after starting and stopping gender-affirming medications.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/transgender-women-case-study-shows-sperm-production-is-possible-but-not-certain

Whole body vibration shakes up microbiome, reduces inflammation in diabetes

In the face of diabetes, a common condition in which glucose and levels of destructive inflammation soar, whole body vibration appears to improve how well our body uses glucose as an energy source and adjust our microbiome and immune cells to deter inflammation, investigators report.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/whole-body-vibration-shakes-up-microbiome-reduces-inflammation-in-diabetes

500 years on, how Magellan's voyage changed the world

Ferdinand Magellan set off from Spain 500 years ago on an epoch-making voyage to sail all the way around the globe for the first time.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/500-years-on-how-magellans-voyage-changed-the-world

In French mountains, bear attacks leave shepherds skittish

As day breaks over the Pyrenees mountains, hundreds of sheep scuttle up a valley, the clanging of their neck bells echoing around the hills that fringe the French-Spanish border.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/in-french-mountains-bear-attacks-leave-shepherds-skittish

Ecological land grab: food vs fuel vs forests

The overlapping crises of climate change, mass species extinction, and an unsustainable global food system are on a collision course towards what might best be called an ecological land grab.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/ecological-land-grab-food-vs-fuel-vs-forests

Recursive language and modern imagination were acquired simultaneously 70,000 years ago

A genetic mutation that slowed down the development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in two or more children may have triggered a cascade of events leading to acquisition of recursive language and modern imagination 70,000 years ago.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/recursive-language-and-modern-imagination-were-acquired-simultaneously-70-000-years-ago

TV crews capture first evidence of leopard seals sharing food

Drone footage captured by crews filming the Netflix series Our Planet—narrated by Sir David Attenborough—has shown never-before seen behaviour of two leopard seals sharing food.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/tv-crews-capture-first-evidence-of-leopard-seals-sharing-food