And to preserve their (people’s) independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.“ Thomas Jefferson ~ July 12, 1816 “I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to …
"Researchers in the United States on Sunday said they had bio-engineered a kidney and transplanted it into rats, marking a step forward in a quest to help patients suffering from kidney failure. The prototype proves that a 'bio-kidney' can work, emulating breakthroughs elsewhere to build replacement structures for livers, hearts and lungs, they said. The team transplanted the organ into living rats from which a kidney had been removed. The new kidney started filtering blood and producing urine through the ureter as soon as the bloody supply was restored, and there was no evidence of bleeding or clots." Continue reading →
"Researchers explained that a new process allows them to take common skin cells and engineer them to morph into myelinating brain cells that help protect the nervous system and keep it function properly. In diseases like multiple sclerosis, the myelin layer of cells that coat nerves gets destroyed, and scientists have worked for years trying to figure out how to make it regenerate. Now, it looks like researchers at Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University have figured out how to do just that in rats, and they’re aiming to replicate their results with human cells next." Continue reading →
"A parasitic worm that latches onto the intestines of fish by inflating its head has led to a remarkable invention for keeping skin grafts in place, even when the surface of the wound is wet. US researchers devised a patch studded with tiny cone-shaped needles as a replacement for surgical staples, a potential source of tissue damage and infection. The needles are made of a stiff core made of plastic and a tip that is rigid when dry but swells up on contact with water in surface tissue. Within 10 minutes, the tips are plumped up and secure the patch firmly on the skin, clamping grafts on burns and other injuries." Continue reading →
"The Food and Drug Administration left medicines on the market for years after discovering they were approved based on fraudulent studies by Cetero Research, which did testing for drug companies worldwide. Turns out that wasn’t an anomaly: The agency’s slow, secretive response in the Cetero case mirrors how it handled an earlier instance of scientific misconduct at another contract research organization, MDS Pharma Services. Just as in the Cetero case, the agency declined to make public a list of the 217 generic drugs, both on the shelves and awaiting approval, that it said could be affected by MDS’ potentially faulty research." Continue reading →
"Pamidi bluntly acknowledged that much of the lab’s work was fraudulent, Stone said. 'You got us,' Stone recalled him saying. Based partly on records in the file boxes, the FDA eventually concluded that the lab’s violations were so 'egregious' and of such a 'pervasive nature' that studies conducted there between April 2005 and August 2009 might be worthless. The health threat was potentially serious: About 100 drugs, including sophisticated chemotherapy compounds and addictive prescription painkillers, had been approved for sale in the United States at least in part on the strength of Cetero Houston’s tainted tests." Continue reading →
"Scientists said Tuesday they had managed to kill lab-grown tuberculosis (TB) bacteria with good old Vitamin C — an 'unexpected' discovery they hope will lead to better, cheaper drugs. A team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made the accidental find while researching how TB bacteria become resistant to the TB drug isoniazid. The researchers added isoniazid and a 'reducing agent' known as cysteine to the TB in a test tube, expecting the bacteria to develop drug resistance. Instead, the team 'ended up killing off the culture'. In the lab tests, the bacteria never developed resistance to Vitamin C — 'almost like the dream drug', Jacobs said." Continue reading →
"Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) have spent billions of dollars on ineffective therapies in a so-far fruitless effort to come up with a treatment for dementia and Alzheimer’s. Now, in the latest of a steady drumbeat of research that suggests diet, exercise and socializing remain patients’ best hope, a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that vitamins B6 and B12 combined with folic acid slowed atrophy of gray matter in brain areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease." Continue reading →
"U.S. space agency NASA has tapped 3-D printer firm Systems & Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) to create the first-ever 'Star Trek'-style food replicator using 3-D printing technology. According to Quartz, NASA gave the company a six month, $125,000 grant contract to focus on developing 3-D printers that use cartridges full of carbohydrates, protein powders and oils that can be combined in layers to produce food. Grocery stores could be gradually transformed to ultra-cheap cartridge retailers while non-nutrient edible products are phased out by market forces." Continue reading →
"Emerging Objects has developed a wealth of new materials, such as paper (made from recycled newsprint) as well as a printable salt material. The company has also developed a cement polymer that can be reinforced with fiber, which means the objects can be stronger than standard concrete. Some other materials used for printing are nylon — so you can 3D-print your dog some new bones, presumably — acrylic, and wood (which is made from hard and soft recycled wood) which can also be fiber-reinforced in order to provide it with extra strength." Continue reading →