Scientists grow the world’s first human pig chimera
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Over the next few decades self-driving cars could cause a shortage of donor organs, Chimera’s could provide doctors and patients with alternatives. Sometimes it’s hard to help but wonder what scientists would do with their time if they didn’t have stem cells to experiment...
Scientists might have found a way to turn Parkinsons on and off
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF From Parkinsons to Alzheimers, there are millions of people suffering from brain related disorders, now a new field of medicine, called Neuromodulation might let doctors turn these conditions on and off, for good. Dr. Andres Lozano at the University of Toronto is one of...
World first as scientists use synthetic stem cells to repair a damaged heart
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Traditional stem cell therapies can often lead to cancer down the line, but NC State’s new “generic” synthetic stem cells eliminate that risk and will bring stem cell therapy to millions more people who need it. Hearts are having a busy time in the...
Researchers discover the brain helps kill bacteria and boost antibiotics
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It’s a well known fact that bacterial resistance to antibiotics has reached crisis levels, now a new breakthrough could give antibiotics a well needed boost. It turns out that our brain might control much more than just our thoughts and physical actions. Announced this week...
Soldiers digital twins let US Army 3D print replacement body parts in battle
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Thousands of soldiers are injured in battle every year, now the US Army is scanning, digitising and creating digital twins of its soldiers that will let field medics 3D print new body parts in the field that could save their lives. The US military...
In a world first scientists have reversed ageing in mice
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As more scientists treat age as a disease, not as an inevitability, we are discovering more ways to turn back the biological clock, one day these treatments might be applied to humans. Scientists in America have used cellular reprogramming to reverse the ageing process...
New gene editing technique switches off cells ability to repair themselves
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When scientists edit DNA sometimes the cells natural repair mechanism undoes the modification, this new technique prevents that from happening and reduces the side effects of genetic modification CRISPR, the revolutionary gene editing tool that’s also been dubbed the “Genesis Engine” because of its...
Scientists are starting to classify ageing as a disease
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF By treating age as a disease, not as an inevitable condition, it forces researchers to look at the problem differently and come up with new, unexpected solutions Many diseases come with old age but the idea of pathologizing ageing itself has been gaining attention...
Accidental discovery pauses life and puts embryos into suspended animation
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to put embryos, cells, organisms and people into suspended animation could have a significant impact on anti-ageing, cancer treatments, IVF and space travel. A new study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco published in Nature this week has shown, for...
Scientists may have discovered the algorithm for Human intelligence
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It seems algorithms rule the world, now scientists think they have identified the algorithm responsible for human intelligence, if true then it could revolutionise artificial intelligence. Little might you realise but as you read this article there’s a good chance your brain is running...
Chinese researchers trial the worlds first cancer vaccine on humans
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The CRISPR gene editing technique is being used to create everything from new forms of life that are resistant to every known virus on Earth to vaccines for cancer, it will, and is already, revolutionising life and wellbeing In July this year a team...
Scientists have found a way to turn your body into a computer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A chemical computer, one that doesn’t use electrical signals to communicate, means that we now, potentially, have a way to send computer instructions around the human body that won’t interfere with our nervous system. You probably take it for granted that the devices that...
Second Sight’s bionic eye helps restore a woman’s sight
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Neuroprosthetics provides individuals with crippling or debilitating conditions, whatever their origin, with the opportunity to regain sensations and capabilities, such as sight and hearing, that would otherwise be impossible. Over the past several years, people with degenerative eye diseases could recover some their vision...
Scientists lay out plans to build an artificial human genome by 2036
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When scientists can create artificial genomes they will be able to create new designer organisms, and humans, with entirely new, engineered properties and abilities. Scientists have put forward plans for a follow up to the Human Genome Project (HGP) with a proposal to create...
Harvard puts a 3D printed Heart on a Chip to make drug testing safer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Organs-on-chips pave the way for faster, safer, animal free drug testing and will contribute to a healthcare revolution. Harvard University researchers have made the first entirely 3D printed organ-on-a-chip with integrated sensing. Built by a fully automated, digital manufacturing procedure, the 3D printed “Heart on a...
Top scientists met in secret to discuss creating the first artificial humans
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Synthetic biology opens the door for custom designed humans whose only parents are a computer. Scientists can already produce viable artificial human eggs and sperm but earlier this month they took everything one step further when an invite only group of about 150 experts convened...
An AI upgrade for your brain, Elon Musk teases the Neural Lace
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Worried that AI’s one day could make us their pets Elon Musk is teasing a new brain-hacking tech. There’s no doubting that Elon Musk is one busy guy. Whether he’s trying to land on Mars with SpaceX, running Tesla, buying SolarCity, investing in the future of...
3D printed ovaries help infertile mice give birth
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 3D printing could give infertile couples new hope. Northwestern University scientists have created a prosthetic ovary using a 3D printer – an implant that allowed mice that had their ovaries surgically removed to bear live young and the results will be presented at the Endocrine Society’s...
Geneticists are creating a new form of life that is resistant to all known viruses
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Geneticists are now capable of creating new forms of life that are completely resistant to all known viruses. Geneticists have made a step forward in ‘recoding’ the genome as we know it, replacing 62,214 DNA base pairs in a synthetic E. coli genome and...
The world’s first telepathic interface is getting better
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Imagine a new form of communication, one that transcends phones and virtual reality. Imagine telepathy. I know what you’re thinking… literally. Only kidding – for now anyway. Imagine being able to read another persons mind then imagine a question and answer game played by two people...
