Here's another reason never to go swimming:
This rare form of parasitic meningitis—primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)—is caused by an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. That microscopic amoeba—part of the class of life called protozoans—is a naturally occurring organism that normally feeds on bacteria and tends to live in the sedimentary layer of warm lakes and ponds.
...researchers from the historically Transylvanian city of Romania, called Cluj-Napoca, announced the first-ever artificial blood that could be used without fearing life-threatening side effects of prior models. The new artificial blood relies not on hemoglobin, like typical artificial bloods, but hemerythrin — a protein extracted from sea worms that is then mixed with water and salts.
One million dollar Rex – short for robotic exoskeletons – was built using the most advanced artificial limbs and organs from across the world. And he shows that from bionic arms and legs to artificial organs, science is beginning to catch up with science fiction in the race to replace body parts with man-made alternatives.
Now a study shows that shocking blood cells with acid could also trigger the transformation into stem cells - this time termed STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cells.
Dr Haruko Obokata, from the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Japan, said she was "really surprised" that cells could respond to their environment in this way.
A new study, published in Nature Communications, highlights the role of a protein called PCAF, which seems to successfully trigger a series of chemical and genetic events that allow nerves to regenerate. When we injected PCAF into mice with damage to their central nervous system, this significantly increased the number of nerve fibres that grew back, indicating that it may be possible to chemically control the regeneration of nerves in the central nervous systems.
How the treatment worked:
1) One of the patient's two olfactory bulbs was removed and the olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) were grown in culture
2) 100 micro injections of OECs were made above and below the damaged area of the spinal cord
3) Four strips of nerve tissue were placed across an 8mm gap in the spinal cord. The scientists believe the OECs acted as a pathway to stimulate the spinal cord cells to regenerate, using the nerve grafts as a bridge to cross the severed cord
Via BBC:
Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.
The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.
Details of the research are published in the journal Cell Transplantation.
