Scientists gathering at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Dallas, Texas are exploring a quantum physics theory of explaining how smell works. Current theories of human smell hold that molecules have certain shapes. When they enter our noses, they fit like a "key in a lock" with certain receptors in our sinus cavities.

However, new research from Dr. Luca Turin of MIT has suggested instead that the "vibrational" state of the molecule might have a bearing on smell. In experiments, flies were able to distinguish between similar molecules that had differing frequencies.

The BBC article above is very general, but if you'd like to read more specifically how quantum physics might intersect with smell, you can check out this paper in the Journal of Applied Physics by Dr. Andrew Horsfield of Imperial College London. Access will require a subscription.

Japanese researchers have succeeded in creating sperm from mice tissue samples. Takehiko Ogawa then used the sperm to fertilize eggs using IVF techniques, which produced 12 pups who went on to have mice families of their own. 

The research promises to open up the possibility of fatherhood for infertile men. In particular, when pre-pubescent men are treated for cancer (radiation or chemotherapy), they often lose the ability to have children when they grow up. Older men don't suffer this problem because they can freeze their sperm for later use.  

Dr. Ogawa stresses that his research is still in its early stages:

"[He] cautioned that the research is still at an early stage – and while it is clear the baby mice produced from the test-tube sperm were fertile, it is unclear if they were healthy in other ways."

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have proposed a novel treatment for people infected with the AIDS virus. Rather than attempt to destroy the virus itself, they've instead suggested patients be injected with a stripped-down, harmless version of HIV. By placing HIV in competition with another virus for the same resources, they hope to slow the onset of AIDS by another 5-10 years.

The treatment isn't without risks, as it ultimately relies upon a rapidly evolving virus to fight another rapidly evolving virus. Animal trials will have to follow.

“The concept and computational model are intriguing, but I’d like to see a clear demonstration of this in animal models,” said computational biologist Allen Rodrigo of Duke University, who wasn’t involved in the study. “So far, it has been almost impossible to design a strategy that HIV can’t escape from.”

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered that the human body contains two avenues by which it replicates cellular DNA. Just like reaching a fork in the road, one path is considered "elite" where the body slowly and carefully copies crucial DNA during cell division, and the other path is more standard and swift. 

The elite path consumes more resources from the body, but these DNA copies tend to govern extremely important functions in the body.  

Led by Dr. Robert Bambara, the next step is to figure out how to trigger the elite process for more of the DNA. If successful, this research will not only length the average life span, but also make it more disease-free. Bambara estimates his research will lead to some kind of therapy within 25 years.

In a bid to allow parents some control over whether a baby inherits an incurable disease or not, Britain is assessing the feasibility of fetuses born from the DNA of 3 parents, after British scientists declared the ability to do so using cloning technology.

The process includes removing defective genes and replacing them with healthy ones.

It involves intervening in the fertilisation process to remove malfunctioning mitochondrial DNA, which can lead to a range of conditions including fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular weakness...

Within a day of uniting egg and sperm using IVF, nuclear DNA is removed from the embryo and implanted into a donor egg, whose own nucleus has been removed and discarded.

The resulting embryo inherits nuclear DNA, or genes, from both its parents, but mitochondrial DNA from a second "mother" who donated the healthy egg.

Researchers at the University of Manchester discovered that nano-scale hairs off tunicates, also known as sea squirts, can be used to create "cell alignment" which allows for artificial muscle growth. When placed in parallel, muscle tissue rapidly grows and fuses along the hairs as a guiding structure. 

This announcement is actually pretty huge news despite the brevity of the linked press release above. The ability to create artificial muscle tissue will revolutionize many areas of healthcare. Even better, the same technique can be used to regrow other critical human tissue such ligaments and even nerves.

These are tunicates. They grow on rocks and even artificial man-made structures. Lovely, yes?

Today, Google rolled out another change to their search engine many might not notice. Accompanying all your searches, you will now see an option to block particular websites from your search results.  You will need to be logged into Google, of course, since the blocked list only applies to your account.

Previous, this ability was limited to those who downloaded and installed a Chrome extension, but now Google has applied the change to the engine itself, in essence forcing all web browsers to carry it.

According to the Huffington Post article above, blocking a site will not affect its overall rankings...yet. Google wants to see what kinds of sites people are blocking first before making a decision.

Personally, I think allowing people to de-rank websites will probably result in the Mutual Assured Destruction of Left/Right political sites.

Scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina have developed a prototype replacement disc by printing an organ scaffold and seeding it with living cells.  Their new spinal implant disc closely mimics the basic structure of a real spinal disc.

Currently, the only options for someone suffering chronic back pain from damaged discs would be 1) infuse the bones, which limit movement and risk damaging other discs, or 2) implant a metal or plastic disc which risks infection and has no shock absorption.

Either way, people who suffer chronic back pain injuries may soon find permanent relief in the coming years.

“Compared to the metal and plastic implants used today, an artificial scaffold swathed in living tissue could repair itself…Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, led by Xuejun Wen, professor of bioengineering and regenerative medicine at Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina, tried to ...

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In a huge breakthrough for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease, researchers at the CU School of Medicine have found a drug that stops the disease from worsening. Current drugs only treat Parkinson symptoms.  

Led by Wenbo Zhou and Curt Freed, the team found that the drug Phenylbutyrate activates a gene called DJ-1 that protects brain neurons.

Mice with Parkinson's disease were able to move normally with no decline in mental function when Phenylbutyrate was placed in their drinking water. Human trials have already begun back in 2009 to test the drug's safety.

Their findings will be published later in 2011.

Freed and Zhou are now looking for other drugs that might turn on the DJ-1 gene. One drawback of phenylbutyrate is that patients must take very large doses, 16 grams per day or 32 large tablets taken at frequent intervals. While the drug is approved by the ...

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As readers are probably aware, researchers are currently using stem cells to create treatments for a breathtaking array of diseases. However, before scientists can be sure they're using "pluripotent" stem cells in their research, their cell lines must pass through an exhaustive quality control test that can take 6-8 weeks and involves animal testing.

No longer.

In a study published by Nature Methods, Scripps researchers have developed a way to test stem cells in 10 minutes or less, without using animals. The only task required of stem cell researchers is to upload thousands of DNA sequences from their cells online and compare them to an enormous database of genetic information compiled by Scripps.

By shaving roughly 2 months off of research time, we'll soon see even faster research breakthroughs in the use of stem cells.

In research promising major breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at Northwestern University have successfully converted stem cells into brain cells that are crucial to sustain human memory.

Led by Dr. Jack Kessler, the research team reprogrammed ordinary skin cells to create pluripotent stem cells, which in turn, were used to create fresh brain cells.

Currently, there exist no treatments or drugs that prevent Alzheimer's disease from progressing. Dr. Kessler's work promises to change that fact in the next decade.

This summer the Department of Homeland Security will receive a prototype DNA scanner from Network Biosystems, that promises to map out human DNA in one hour. The company hopes to become a leading provider of rapid DNA analysis. Once perfected, fast DNA mapping technology promises to revolutionize several law enforcement and criminal forensics fields.

Homeland Security wants to give agents these scanners to use on asylum seekers and immigrants wishing to relocate into the U.S. In the latter case, the scanners will be aimed at reducing VISA fraud by verifying genetic kinship to the immigrant's sponsor. Also, Homeland Security wants to use the devices to reduce child trafficking and illegal adoptions.

Following the public uproar over their highly invasive and demeaning airport security practices, TSA felt obligated to make a pre-emptive public announcement that they had no plans to use the DNA scanners for airport security.

Naturally, some ...

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We knew amazing things would be coming out of TED this year, the only question was "How amazing?" Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine produced a fresh kidney on stage at the TED conference.

"It's like baking a cake," Atala said.

Atala uses 3D scanners to capture an image of the kidney that needs replacing.  Then, using a tissue sample for the patient the size of a postage stamp, the organ "printer" builds a replacement kidney layer-by-layer.

A college student at TED named Luke Massella, received one of Atala's "printed" kidneys when he was only 10 years-old.

"This surgery saved my life and made me who I am today."

An overwhelming amount of tech news was released today in various media. The first that caught my eye was two independent research teams have found ways to cause cancer cells to commit suicide. 

At Queen's University in Belfast, Dr. Helen McCarthy successfully packaged genes into nano-particles, which then directly transported the gene into breast cancer cells. The gene is iNOS and forces cancer cells to produce toxic nitric oxide which accumulate and self-destruct the breast cancer. Her technique leaves no negative side effects. Dr. McCarthy expects to begin human trials within 5 years. Her next step will be figuring out how to turn the nano-particles into a dried powder that can easily be transported through the health industry and then reconstituted for treatment in patients. 

And then, halfway around the world, a team of researchers at Wayne University in Michigan have developed a "personalized" therapy by which naturally occurring ...

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Microscopic robotic assembly and rearrangement of DNA just took a great leap forward.  Oxford physicists have successfully created a molecular robot (also called a nanobot or nanite) that can move in any direction along a branched track. Previously, control of such small machines had been impossible. 

The Oxford team built a molecule-sized "motor" with legs that allows it to walk instead of wander about randomly.  The next step involves the researchers teaching the nanobots to move between locations and pick up ingredients.

(h/t Instapundit)

A team of researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that hearts in newborn mice can regenerate major injuries within 3 weeks of birth. Researchers led by Drs. Eric Olson, Hesham Sedak and Enzo Porrello believe they can eventually use this information to remind adult human hearts how to regenerate as well.

“The inability of the adult heart to regenerate following injury represents a major barrier in cardiovascular medicine...This work demonstrates that cardiac regeneration is possible in the mammalian heart during a window of time after birth, but this regenerative ability is then lost. Armed with this knowledge, we can next work to discover methods to reawaken cardiac regeneration in adulthood.”

On a quest to prove that the human mind isn't limited to its bodily structure, Swedish scientists created an experiment involving 154 volunteers where participants' brains were made to believe and react as though a prosthetic arm existed as part of their bodies. Their research opens up the possibility in the future that the brain will readily accept alterations to the actual human body itself.

In the near future, this new research means that perfectly healthy workers can add a third prosthetic arm in order expand their professional capabilities. Such people might be firemen, construction workers, emergency workers, paramedics and others professionals who could use a third prosthetic arm, in addition to their two healthy arms, to perform work more effectively.

"It may be possible in the future to offer a stroke patient, who has become paralysed on one side of the body, a prosthetic arm that can be ...

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British and German researchers have published their findings that positive expectations are critical for pain drugs to have effectiveness. When primed to expect failure, test subjects reported little effect for any pain medication given to them. In fact, their study found that negative expectations canceled almost all of a pain killer's benefit. 

Their experiments used the potent drug remifentanil along with MRI scans of volunteers. The researchers were able to detect patients turning on or shutting down parts of the brain purely through the mechanism of positive or negative expectation.

The full study text was published Wednesday in the Science Translational Medicine journal.

So my curious question is this: If turning on certain parts of the brain through positive expectations is mandatory for reducing pain...why do we need the drug?  Where does all the "expecting" stop?  Doctors might say, "You still need the drug" along with positive belief ...

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In an amazing breakthrough, brain researchers at Lund University led by Tadeuz Wieloch have discovered a substance that reverses at least some brain damage caused by strokes. Previously, only 10% of stroke victims are able to receive anti-clotting medication in time to prevent permanent brain damage. This new research has opened up the possibility for treating stroke victims two whole days after the attack. Their new substance stimulates the brain's own ability to regenerate.

This project reflects the most recent culmination of 15 years of research and has already found its way into clinical human trials in Japan.

 

  

USC cell biologist Valter Longo believes a small Ecuadorian village contains the genetic key to resisting chronic disease. In a study released by the journal Science Translational Medicine, Long claims that none of the 100 villagers ever develop any illnesses associated with aging.

There's one catch. All the villagers share a gene mutation that suppresses a critical growth hormone. They're all dwarves. Any relatives of the villagers who grow to normal heights are all susceptible to normal human diseases. Just how healthy are these little people?

"Their obesity prevalence is higher. . . and yet in 23 years of direct monitoring, not a single one of them ever developed diabetes..One of them got cancer, that we know of, in the last 100 years...They opened her up and decided to give her chemo thinking she was going to die of this. Three years later there was no evidence of ...

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