News
Researchers in the US have moved one step closer to restoring partial vision in individuals who have lost their sight. The scientists successfully implanted Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP), which bypasses the retina and optic nerves to connect to the brain’s visual cortex. Many people with total blindness do not have intact retina or optic nerves [...]
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched a new service that aims to make it easier for people with sight loss to take rapid flow tests at home. The Be My Eyes app connects people with low to moderate vision with agents from 119 via video call. NHS Test and Trace staff can help [...]
A Northumbria University researcher is to investigate the impact of pain in people with Parkinson’s disease with a view to improving how this pain is managed. Dr Jenni Naisby, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, will receive around £300,000 in fellowship funding from the Medical Research Foundation. Pain affects around [...]
A groundbreaking project involving artificial fish and cells from a human heart could advance heart treatments such as pacemakers. Researchers at Harvard University and Emory University built ‘biohybrid fish’ using paper, plastic, gelatin and two strips of heart muscle cells. When the cells contracted, the tails flapped from side to side, powering the fish through [...]
Prostate Cancer UK and NHS England have launched a ’30-second checker’ aimed at identifying men who may be at risk of prostate cancer. The new campaign aims to find more than 14,000 men across the country who have not sought treatment since the pandemic began. The risk-checking tool will help men learn more about their [...]
Research in the US has revealed how the brain organises memories into sequences and how this can be used to plan future behaviour. The findings, from a team at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) could lead to understanding memory failures in cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s. The researchers combined electrophysiological recording techniques in rodents [...]
Researchers from Singapore and the UK have successfully engineered common baker's yeast to produce D-lysergic acid (DLA), an ingredient used in medicine for dementia and Parkinson's Disease, as Agetech World reports. A class of medicine used in the treatment of neurocognitive diseases and other neurological ailments are currently obtained from extracts of the ergot fungus. [...]
A UK project aimed at enabling longer, happier lives through innovation has received £5.6m in funding. The joint investment brings together the National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) with the North of Tyne Combined Authority covering Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. It will see cutting-edge research being translated into new jobs, skills and tech start-ups [...]
Less than half of adults aged 50 to 80 have ever used a health-related app on their smartphone, tablet or wearable device, according to US research. The National Poll on Healthy Aging found that just 44 per cent of older adults had ever used the technology. Respondents who said they were in poor health, as [...]
A compound found in cannabis plants could help prevent Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s by protecting the brain from the effects of ageing. Cannabinol or CBN is just the latest cannabis compound to have shown medical potential, though CBD and THC are much better understood. Senior author Professor Pamela Maher said: “We’ve found cannabinol protects neurons from [...]
