Man uses bionic leg to control movements with thoughts
A man, who lost his leg below the knee after a motorcycle accident four years ago, now has a robotic prosthesis which he can control with his mind. While similar technology has allowed amputees to control bionic arms with their thoughts, 32-year-old Zac Vawter is the first amputee with a thought-controlled bionic leg, the researchers said.
The robotic leg — which decodes the electrical signals traveling through Vawter’s remaining leg muscle — not only interprets the patient’s intended movements, but also has a motor in the knee and ankle, which helps him push himself up stairs and perform other activities, Discovery News reported.
Using his robotic leg, Vawter can seamlessly transition between sitting, walking and ascending and descending stairs and ramps. When a person thinks about moving their lower limb, a signal from the brain is sent down the spinal cord and through nerves to muscles in the leg. But when an amputation occurs, nerve signals that would have gone to the knee or ankle, for instance, aren’t able to deliver their message to muscle. To overcome this problem, the researchers first performed a surgery on Vawter to redirect his nerve signals, so that signals that would have gone to the lower leg instead go to the healthy hamstring muscle, in the top part of his leg. Then, electrodes were placed on his leg to detect electrical signals from the muscle contractions. A computer program decodes the signals to interpret the patient’s movement. Mechanical sensors on the robotic leg (including an accelerometer and a gyroscope) also collect data to help with control. While more needs to be done to improve the technology, the researchers hope to have it available in clinics within five years. (ANI)
Shark’s blood may harbour human breast cancer cure
Researchers have claimed that a type of antibody found only in the blood of sharks could help tackle breast cancer. It is thought that the unique IgNAR antibodies could be used to prevent the growth of cancer cells and research into them could lead to the development of new drugs to fight one of the most common form of the disease, News.com.au reported. Biologists from the University of Aberdeen have been awarded 345,660 Australian dollars by Scottish cancer research charity the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) to carry out a three-year study.
Their work will focus on two molecules, HER2 and HER3, found on the surface of cancer cells which, when they pair-up, are responsible for signalling cancer cells to grow and divide. Potentially, IgNAR antibodies could be used to stop these molecules from working and sending the signal. Dr Helen Dooley who is from the university’s School of Biological Sciences and will lead the study sais that IgNAR antibodies are interesting because they bind to targets, such as viruses or parasites, in a very different way to the antibodies found in humans. (ANI)
Brain ‘lights up’ when we receive expected rewards
A new study has revealed that expecting a reward or punishment can affect brain activity in areas responsible for processing different senses, including sight or touch. For example, research shows that these brain regions light up on brain scans when humans are expecting a treat. However, researchers know less about what happens when the reward is actually received-or an expected reward is denied. To get a better grasp on how the brain behaves when people who are expecting a reward actually receive it, or conversely, are denied it, Tina Weis of Carl-von-Ossietzky University and her colleagues monitored the auditory cortex—the part of the brain that processes and interprets sounds- while volunteers solved a task in which they had a chance of winning 50 Euro cents with each round, signalled by a specific sound. The study authors found that when the volunteers were expecting and finally received a reward, then their auditory cortex was activated. Similarly, there was an increase in brain activity in this area when the subjects weren’t expecting a reward and didn’t get one. There was no additional activity when they were expecting a reward and didn”t get one. These findings add to accumulating evidence that the auditory cortex performs a role beyond just processing sound. Rather, this area of the brain appears to be activated during other activities that require learning and thought, such as confirming expectations of receiving a reward. The study is published in Journal of Neurophysiology. (ANI)
`Sugar gel` helps protect premature babies against risk of brain damage
Researchers have suggested that a dose of ‘sugar gel’- which means rubbing sugar into the inside of the baby’s cheek in the form of gel-is a cheap and effective way to protect premature babies against brain damage. According to the scientists, who tested the gel therapy in 242 babies under their care, it should now be a first-line treatment, the BBC reported. Current treatment typically involves extra feeding and repeated blood tests to measure blood sugar levels. Prof Jane Harding and her team at the University of Auckland Dextrose said that gel treatment costs just over 1 pound per baby and is simpler to administer than glucose via a drip. The study is published in The Lancet. (ANI)