To return to the Moon, astronauts need new spacesuits

Space engineer Pablo de Leon has designed two spacesuit prototypes for the Moon and for Mars, and knows how long development takes.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/to-return-to-the-moon-astronauts-need-new-spacesuits

One-stop clinics, a rare lifesaver for Zimbabwe's sick

Blessing Chingwaru could barely walk without support when he arrived at the specialist Rutsanana clinic in Harare complaining of chest pains and fatigue.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/one-stop-clinics-a-rare-lifesaver-for-zimbabwes-sick

Thai farmers on the cash trail with snail slime

Giant snails inch across a plate of pumpkin and cucumber in central Thailand, an "organic" diet to tease the prized collagen-rich mucus from the molluscs, which to some cosmetic firms are now more valuable than gold.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/thai-farmers-on-the-cash-trail-with-snail-slime

Technology, temporary help keeps farmers on job longer

At 79 years old, Art McManus says he's still able to hop on the tractor and maintain the 160 acres of cherry trees at his orchard in Traverse City, Michigan.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/technology-temporary-help-keeps-farmers-on-job-longer

The exploration of space in 10 key dates

From the Soviet Union's pioneering satellite to the first man on the Moon 50 years ago, here are 10 key dates in space exploration.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/the-exploration-of-space-in-10-key-dates

Physicist studying how extreme weather in space affects satellites

A physicist at The University of Texas at Arlington is developing a new scale to measure weather storms in space that could lead to a better understanding of how those storms impact Earth.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/physicist-studying-how-extreme-weather-in-space-affects-satellites

Take a bath 90 minutes before bedtime to get better sleep

Biomedical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin may have found a way for people to get better shuteye. Systematic review protocols—a method used to search for and analyze relevant data—allowed researchers to analyze thousands of studies linking water-based passive body heating, or bathing and showering with warm/hot water, with improved sleep quality. Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering found that bathing 1-2 hours before bedtime in water of about 104-109 degrees Fahrenheit can significantly improve your sleep.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/take-a-bath-90-minutes-before-bedtime-to-get-better-sleep

Discovering how diabetes leads to vascular disease

A team of UC Davis Health scientists and physicians has identified a cellular connection between diabetes and one of its major complications—blood vessel narrowing that increases risks of several serious health conditions, including heart disease and stroke.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/discovering-how-diabetes-leads-to-vascular-disease

Biologist leads pioneering study on stress

A biologist at Louisiana State University conducted a pioneering research study that could help us to better understand the role of dopamine in stress resilience in humans through analyzing wild songbirds. This study could lead to increased prevention and treatment of stress-related disorders.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/biologist-leads-pioneering-study-on-stress

New research finds private practice physicians less likely to maintain electronic records

Modernizing health records by making them electronic has gained momentum as technology evolves and policies push health care toward digital solutions. But the same trend has not been evident for physicians who remain in private practice, new research finds.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-research-finds-private-practice-physicians-less-likely-to-maintain-electronic-records

Study sheds light on the darker parts of our genetic heritage

More than half of our genome consists of transposons,DNA sequences that are reminiscent of ancient, extinct viruses.Transposons are normally silenced by a process known as DNA methylation, but their activation can lead to serious diseases. Very little is known about transposons but researchers in an international collaboration project have now succeeded for the first time in studying what happens when DNA methylation is lost in human cells. These findings provide new insight into how changes in DNA methylation contribute to diseases.

* This article was originally published here

Powering the future with lunar soil

Building a lunar base would be one of the next logical steps in our exploration of the solar system, but the survival of a future crew depends on access to a reliable source of energy. An ESA Discovery & Preparation study explored how lunar regolith—the dust, soil and rock on the moon's surface—could be used to store heat and provide electricity for future astronauts, rovers and landers.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/powering-the-future-with-lunar-soil

Helping robots to build new antibiotics

A team from The University of Manchester have engineered a common gut bacterium to produce a new class of antibiotics by using robotics. These antibiotics, known as class II polyketides, are also naturally produced by soil bacteria and have antimicrobial properties which are vital in the modern pharmaceutical industry to combat infectious diseases and cancer.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/helping-robots-to-build-new-antibiotics

New measurements imply dramatically higher abundance of helium hydride ions in the early universe

Physicists report the first laboratory measurements of electron reactions with helium hydride ions in the cryogenic storage ring CSR at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. At temperatures down to 6 K, the reaction rates destroying the molecule were found to be significantly lower compared to previous measurements at room temperature. This translates into a strongly enhanced abundance of this primordial molecule acting as a coolant for first star and galaxy formation in the early universe.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-measurements-imply-dramatically-higher-abundance-of-helium-hydride-ions-in-the-early-universe

Researchers determine epigenetic origin of docetaxel-resistant breast cancer

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have published a study in Molecular Cancer Research in which they identify methylation patterns associated with different subtypes of breast cancer, and a subclassification of the group of "triple negatives," a breast cancer type typically associated with poor prognosis. In addition, they identified changes in DNA methylation associated with the response to docetaxel, a common therapy. The research was led by Dr. Eva González-Suárez, head of the IDIBELL Transformation and Metastasis research group.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-determine-epigenetic-origin-of-docetaxel-resistant-breast-cancer

Scientists discover group of genes connected to longer life in fruit flies

Alexey Moskalev, Ph.D., Head of the Laboratory of Geroprotective and Radioprotective technologies and co-authors from the Institute of biology of Komi Science Center of RAS, the Engelgard's Institute of molecular biology of RAS and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology published an article titled "Transcriptome Analysis of Long-lived Drosophila melanogaster E(z) Mutants Sheds Light on the Molecular Mechanisms of Longevity" in Nature Scientific Reports.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/scientists-discover-group-of-genes-connected-to-longer-life-in-fruit-flies

Adding a polymer stabilizes collapsing metal-organic frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a special class of sponge-like materials with nano-sized pores. The nanopores lead to record-breaking internal surface areas, up to 7800 m2 in a single gram. This feature makes MOFs extremely versatile materials with multiple uses, such as separating petrochemicals and gases, mimicking DNA, hydrogen production and removing heavy metals, fluoride anions, and even gold from water—to name a few.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/adding-a-polymer-stabilizes-collapsing-metal-organic-frameworks

Researchers report the function of reverse-twisting DNA

Normally, the two strands of the DNA double helix wind around each other in a right-handed spiral. However, there is another conformation called Z-DNA in which the strands twist to the left. The function of Z-DNA has remained a mystery since its discovery. A newly published paper unambiguously establishes that the Z-conformation is key to regulating interferon responses involved in fighting viruses and cancer. The researchers analyzed families with variants in the Z-binding domain of the ADAR gene.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-report-the-function-of-reverse-twisting-dna

Largest genomic study on type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan African populations

National Institute of Health researchers have reported the largest genomic study of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in sub-Saharan Africans, with data from more than 5,000 individuals from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Researchers confirmed known genomic variants and identified a novel gene ZRANB3, which may influence susceptibility to the disease in sub-Saharan African populations. The gene could also influence the development of T2D in other populations and inform further research.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/largest-genomic-study-on-type-2-diabetes-in-sub-saharan-african-populations