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New machine and deep learning method identifies Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers and potential targets

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia and impaired cognitive function, still has no effective treatment, according to researchers. So research is centered on identifying AD biomarkers and targets.

Now, scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have created a computational method that identifies AD biomarkers and targets. It combines multiple “hub gene” ranking methods and “feature selection” methods with machine learning and deep learning to identify hub genes and gene subsets, the researchers used three AD gene expression datasets using six ranking algorithms and two feature-selection methods.

The researchers then created machine learning and deep learning models to identify the gene subset that best distinguished Alzheimer’s disease samples from healthy controls. They found that feature selection methods outperformed hub gene sets in terms of prediction performance and that the five genes identified by both feature selection methods had an “AUC” of 0.979.

Based on a literature review, the researchers further showed that 70% of the upregulated hub genes (among the 28 overlapping hub genes) were AD targets, with six miRNA and one transcription factor associated with the upregulated hub genes. According to the researchers, overlapping upregulated hub genes can narrow the search space for potential novel targets.

Source: Nature Scientific Reports (open-access)
Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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How energy-generating synthetic organelles could sustain artificial cells — a powerhouse of the future

Energy production in nature is the responsibility of mitochondria and chloroplasts, and is crucial for fabricating sustainable, synthetic cells in the lab. Mitochondria are “the powerhouses of the cell,” but are also one of the most complex intracellular components to replicate artificially.

In Biophysics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Sogang University in South Korea and the Harbin Institute of Technology in China identified the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts.

“If scientists can create artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts, we could potentially develop synthetic cells that can generate energy and synthesize molecules autonomously. This would pave the way for the creation of entirely new organisms or biomaterials,” author Kwanwoo Shin said.

Key roles of chloroplasts, mitochondria and ATP

In plants, chloroplasts use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose. Mitochondria, found in plants and animals alike, produce energy by breaking down glucose. Once a cell produces energy, it often uses a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to store and transfer that energy. When the cell breaks down the ATP, it releases energy that powers the cell’s functions.

“In other words, ATP acts as the main energy currency of the cell, and it is vital for the cell to perform most of the cellular functions,” said author Kwanwoo Shin.

One of the most significant challenges remaining in trying to reconstruct the energy production organelles is enabling self-adaptation in changing environments to maintain a stable supply of ATP. Future studies must investigate how to improve upon this limiting feature before synthetic cells are self-sustainable, the researchers say.

Energy efficiency

The team also described the components required to construct synthetic mitochondria and chloroplasts and they identified proteins as the most important aspects for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport and ATP production.

Previous studies have replicated components that make up energy-producing organelles. Some of the most promising work investigates the intermediate operations involved in the complex energy-generating process. By connecting the sequence of proteins and enzymes, researchers have improved energy efficiency.

The origin of life and cells

The researchers believe its important to create artificial cells with biologically realistic energy-generation methods that mimic natural processes. Replicating the entire cell could also lead to future biomaterials and lend insight into the past.

“This could be an important milestone in understanding the origin of life and the origin of cells,” Shin said.

The article, “Artificial organelles for sustainable chemical energy conversion and production: Artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts,” is authored by Hyun Park, Weichen Wang, Seo Hyeon Min, Yongshuo Ren, Xiaojun Han, and Kwanwoo Shin and is published in Biophysics Reviews on March 28, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0131071.

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New Biohybrid Implant Could Restore Function in Paralyzed Limbs

The University of Cambridge has developed a new biohybrid neural implant that may be able to restore limb function in paralyzed limbs. To “better integrate” with the nerve and drive limb function, the implant combines flexible electronics and human stem cells.


Scar tissue enveloping the electrodes over time has been a significant challenge in previous attempts to restore limb function using neural implants. A layer of muscle cells reprogrammed from stem cells was sandwiched between the electrodes and the living tissue in this case. The implant was then implanted into the paralyzed arm of rats, with promising results. Although the rats did not move their forearms, the device detected brain signals that controlled movement.


This breakthrough is significant because it is easier to integrate, ensures long-term stability, and is small enough to require only keyhole surgery. The implant has the potential to change the way we interact with technology, opening up new avenues for prosthetics, brain-machine interfaces, and even cognitive enhancement.

Source: Science Advances (link)
Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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The AI Health Monitoring Tool that Doesn’t Require Wearables or Cameras is Fundamentally changing Elder Care

Revolutionary AI-powered health monitoring tool for the elderly that doesn’t require wearables or cameras. An innovative solution for detecting emerging health problems through low-power waveforms and AI technology. This new technology from the University of Waterloo offers an unobtrusive way to monitor elderly people and alert healthcare workers to sudden falls and other medical conditions. Unlike wearables, it doesn’t require constant battery charging or intrude on privacy.

The wireless system uses low-power radar technology to monitor activities such as sleeping, eating, and bathroom use. By bouncing waveforms off different objects, the system captures vital information about the person being monitored, which goes into an AI engine for processing and detection. The system’s accuracy and reliability make it suitable for use in homes, hospitals, and long-term care facilities.

This technology represents a significant advancement in healthcare, especially in the face of the growing elderly population and overburdened public healthcare systems. The system has already been installed in several long-term care homes and is being commercialized by Gold Sentinel, a Canadian company partnering with Waterloo researchers.

Source: IEEE (link)
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Biodegradable Artificial Muscles: The Future of Sustainable Robotics

A group of international researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Johannes Kepler University, and the University of Colorado created a fully biodegradable, high-performance artificial muscle out of gelatin, oil, and bioplastics. The scientists demonstrated the potential for this technology to be used in single-use applications such as waste collection, search-and-rescue missions, and hazardous substance manipulation by animating a robotic gripper with biodegradable technology. When the artificial muscles reach the end of their useful life, they can be disposed of in municipal compost bins, where they will biodegrade completely within six months.

The primary requirement for these electrically driven artificial muscles is that the materials used to construct the plastic pouch and oil be electrical insulators capable of withstanding the high electrical stresses generated by the charged electrodes. One of the project’s challenges was to create a conductive, soft, and completely biodegradable electrode. Researchers at Johannes Kepler University developed a recipe based on a biopolymer gelatin and salt mixture that can be directly cast onto the artificial muscles.

This project is a significant step forward in soft robotics, promoting sustainability and paving the way for a future of sustainable robotic technology. The team’s research project encourages the robotics community to consider biodegradable materials as a viable option for robot construction. The researchers’ success with bio-plastics inspires other material scientists to develop new materials with optimized electrical performance in mind. The potential of these biodegradable artificial muscles is exciting because they can have a significant societal impact while not having a significant environmental impact after use.

Source: Science.org (link)
Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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Protect Yourself from Scammers Who are Using Voice-Cloning Technology

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a warning that voice-cloning technology is the latest tool used by criminals to dupe people into handing over money. Scammers can impersonate loved ones on the phone by using a voice-cloning program and a short audio clip of their voice. They can then ask for money via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift card. If you receive a call from someone who sounds like a friend or relative asking for money, the FTC advises you to hang up and call the person directly to verify their story.

The FTC cannot estimate how many people have been duped by voice-cloning technology, but the danger is real. Scammers impersonated the CEO of a U.K.-based energy firm in 2019, demanding $243,000, and a bank manager in Hong Kong was duped into making large transfers in 2020. Eight senior citizens in Canada recently lost a total of $200,000 to a voice-cloning scam.

Experts predict that as the cost of voice cloning technology falls and it becomes more accessible to small-time crooks, this type of scam will become more common. Be vigilant and verify the identity of callers who ask for money to protect yourself. Don’t let scammers take advantage of you or your family.

Source: WPR (link)
Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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Revolutionary Bandage: New Electrotherapy Treatment for Diabetic Ulcers Speeds Up Healing by 30%

Northwestern University researchers created a bandage that delivers electrotherapy directly to the wound site, speeding up the healing of diabetic ulcers by 30%. The flexible and stretchable bandage actively monitors the healing process and then dissolves into the body, electrodes and all, when no longer required. The new device could be a powerful tool for diabetic patients whose ulcers can lead to a variety of complications, including amputation of limbs or even death.

The study was published in the journal Science Advances, and it is the first example of a smart regenerative system as well as the first bioresorbable bandage capable of delivering electrotherapy. Diabetes affects nearly 30 million people in the United States, with 15 to 25% developing a diabetic foot ulcer at some point in their lives.

Diabetes can cause nerve damage, resulting in numbness, so diabetics may experience a simple blister or small scratch that goes unnoticed and untreated. The bandage could be a cost-effective solution for diabetic patients who need long-term care for chronic wounds.

Source: Northwestern University (link)
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Bite-Size Wearable Technology: Tooth-Mounted Sensor Uses Tiny Chip to Read Saliva

Silicon Labs has created a small and energy-efficient xG27 chipset that is ideal for medical wearables. Medical and wearable devices that use the xG27 chipset, such as the tooth-mounted wearable sensor developed by Lura Health, can be as small as a tooth.

The sensor is small enough to be glued to a molar or placed inside a “smart retainer” and is capable of continually monitoring a patient’s saliva, allowing clinicians to potentially test for more than 1,000 health conditions. According to Silicon Labs, the xG27 chips are also suitable for medical patches, continuous glucose monitors, and wearable EKGs.

One of the biggest challenges for wearable makers is miniaturizing technology to improve wearability, but this usually comes at the expense of battery life. The xG27 chipset addresses this issue by operating on as little as 0.8 volts and switching to “shelf mode,” which reduces energy consumption during transportation and storage on shelves.

As a result, the xG27 chipset is well-suited for increased wearable use in hospitals and clinical settings. If everything goes as planned, the tooth-mounted wearable sensor could hit the market in 12-18 months, ushering in a new era of medical and wearable devices.

Source: Silicon Labs (link)
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Revolutionizing Microscopy: MCAM Captures Life in Unprecedented Detail with 24 Smartphones

The Multi Camera Array Microscope (MCAM), a revolutionary Gigapixel 3D microscope, captures life in unprecedented detail. Duke University researchers fused 24 smartphone cameras into a single platform and stitched their images together to create a camera capable of taking gigapixel images. Six years later, they’ve discovered that perfecting the process of connecting dozens of individual cameras allows them to see the height of objects as well.

The researchers demonstrated the capabilities of the MCAM, a high-speed, 3D, gigapixel microscope, in a paper published online March 20 in Nature Photonics. The device provides new opportunities for researchers all over the world. The MCAM employs 54 lenses with greater speed and resolution than the prototype that discovered Waldo. The MCAM’s highly parallelized design creates its own data processing challenges, as a few minutes of recording can generate over a terabyte of data.

The researchers, on the other hand, have created new algorithms that can efficiently handle these extremely large video datasets. The sheer volume of data generated by this microscope can be used to flag any results of interest, allowing the modern laboratory to become more automated by the day.

Source: National Library of Medicine (link)
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AI Unveils Montane Forest’s Birdsongs for Climate Change Research

In Taiwan, researchers from National Sun Yat-Sen University, the Endemic Species Research Institute, and the Yushan National Park Headquarters created an AI tool for identifying bird species based on their sounds. The SILIC tool analyzes data collected from automatic recorders in the montane forests of Yushan National Park, which are threatened by climate change. Researchers can analyze the status and trends in animal activity in the area using the acoustic data collected by the recorders.

Passive acoustic monitoring via automatic recorders is a cost-effective, long-term, and systematic alternative to traditional observation-based methods for long-term biodiversity monitoring. SILIC, which can recognize 169 species of wildlife native to Taiwan, including 137 bird species, was developed by the authors using deep learning technology.

The study describes how 6,243,820 vocalizations from seven montane forest bird species were extracted, resulting in the first open-access AI-analyzed species occurrence dataset available on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The dataset contains detailed acoustic activity patterns of wildlife at both short and long temporal scales, which can aid in understanding changes and trends in animal behavior and population over time in a cost-effective and automated manner.

The authors hope that this large wildlife vocalization dataset will help fill data gaps of fine-scale avian temporal activity patterns in montane forests and contribute to studies on the effects of climate change on montane forest ecosystems.

Source: Biodiversity Data Journal (link)
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