Mar 5, 2021 11:00am In a new study, engineering cells to overproduce Sox2 in the brains of mice generated tens of thousands of new neurons that formed connections key to restoring motor functioning after spinal cord injury.(Pixabay)
Sox2 is a stem cell protein that’s known to proliferate after a spinal cord injury. Now researchers at UT Southwestern and Indiana University are proposing a method for harnessing the protein to promote healing.
The researchers used genetic engineering to reprogram specific cells called NG2 glia to overproduce Sox2 in mouse models of spinal cord injury. Within weeks, the reengineered cells produced mature neurons that contributed to improved motor skills in the animals, the researchers reported in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The study was led by Chun-Li Zhang, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology at UT Southwestern.
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Another phase 3 clinical trial of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide in Type 2 diabetics has met its primary endpoint. The dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist beat Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide against multiple measures, although recent data on another dose of the rival drug suggest Lilly has a fight on its hands.
Mar 3, 2021 3:05am Bionaut Labs small, remote-controlled devices can overcome the obvious constraint that holds back surgical drills, probes and needles: once they’re in the body, they can’t turn. (Getty Images)
The robots are coming: After working under the radar for four years, Bionaut Labs is raising the curtain on its tiny, remote-controlled devices, built to travel through the human body and deliver a dose of medicine where it’s needed the most.
Smaller than a millimeter and with a few moving parts, the tiny voyagers are designed to navigate through tissues and go where today’s surgeons cannot, such as when dealing with hard-to-reach cancers.
By studying the simple nematode worm C. elegans, a team led by scientists at the University of Kent discovered a transcription factor that seems to act as a master controller of the sense of hunger and related eating or resting behaviors in humans. The finding could inspire new approaches to treating obesity.