Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTduuSIDpnJ/

Once joint cartilage is damaged or simply wears away it doesn’t heal. Patients are offered pain relief and, eventually if necessary, joint replacement.

Stanford orthopedic surgery researchers now report in the journal Science a breakthrough that leads to cartilage regeneration. They find that blocking an protein called 15-PGDH, short for 15-hydroxy prostaglandin dehydrogenase, that increases with aging, permits cartilage regrowth in older mice and in those with knee injuries. The blocking drug also triggers cartilage regeneration in mice and in human knee cartilage samples obtained from patients undergoing knee replacement surgery.

An oral version of this 15-PGDH blocking drug is now available for clinical trials. Hopefully, this agent may reduce the need for joint replacements…..someday soon,

https://scitechdaily.com/anti-aging-injection-regrows-knee-cartilage-and-prevents-arthritis/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx6649

#cartilage #joints #pain #jointreplacement

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTduDYIjG7f/

Scientists at Canada’s McGill University have developed a novel injectable gel that could one day help people recover their voices after vocal cord injury and avoid repeated restorative procedures.

Our voices are normal when vocal cords meet and produce vibrations that are modified by ours lips and tongues. Voice loss often becomes persistent when injured vocal cords fail to meet and produce the necessary vibrations.

Current injectable treatments move the cords together but break down quickly necessitating multiple injections. Each additional injection can increase the risk of further damage to the delicate vocal cords.

In a preclinical study published in the journal Biomaterials, McGill researchers show that their newly developed hydrogel, made from natural tissue proteins, stays intact for weeks. This is far longer than existing materials and gives injured vocal cords sufficient time to heal properly.

The gel has not yet been tested in humans. Once clinical trials are complete, the gel could lead to longer-lasting, minimally invasive therapy for vocal inadequacy…..someday soon,

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251227082720.htm

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961225005095?via=ihub

#hydrogel #voice #vocal cord

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdtOIHDkW5/

Genetic engineering might someday improve your powers of attention and focus by up to 20%. This from neuroscientists at New York’s Rockefeller University following their preclinical study published in the journal Nature.

Using a mouse model, the researchers discovered that, by reducing versions of the Homer1 gene in adolescent mice, the animals’ concentration improves. Most interestingly, that benefit occurs by slowing rather than revving up brain activity. Reducing the brain activity suppresses electric background neural noise, the manifestation of distraction. This intervention failed to produce this beneficial effect in adult mice.

Reducing the Homer1 gene turns off GABA receptors which facilitate brain activity inhibition. This permits the processing of stronger, more critical signals and enhanced attention.

This finding suggests possible genetic management for those children with ADHD. Many more pre-clinical studies and subsequent clinical trials are needed. It is fascination to think about the possibility of fine tuning and focusing the human brain…someday soon.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225035342.htm

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02155-2

#attention #genetics #adhd #homer1

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdsdqLjmIp/

Breast cancer screening may be on the verge of a major shift—from one-size-fits-all mammograms to personalized screening based on individual risk. The best news is that a custom program led to fewer tests, less radiation exposure, but no increased risk of missing a treatable cancer.

UC San Francisco surgical oncologists led a multicenter collaborative study of 46,000 women 40 to 74 years of age and report their results in the journal JAMA Network. Half that number received personalized screening while the other half, the control group, received annual screening mammography.

The custom treatment cohort was divided to 4 groups based on their risk of developing breast cancer as assessed by genetic screening, family history, and other factors. The highest risk women received 6 monthly screening with alternating conventional mammography and MR imaging as well as risk reduction counseling. The elevated risk group received annual mammography and counseling. The average risk group received mammography every 2 years. The low risk group, the youngest women with minimal risk factors, received no screening until age 50 or the advent of a risk increase.

The result. Risk-based screening is safe and effective. It diminished the numbers of mammograms performed. It did not reduce the numbers of breast biopsies. The personalized approach is popular with 89% of the participants indicating that they preferred it.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260103155036.htm

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2842903

#breast #cancer #screening #genetics #biopsy

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdsdqLjmIp/

Breast cancer screening may be on the verge of a major shift—from one-size-fits-all mammograms to personalized screening based on individual risk. The best news is that a custom program led to fewer tests, less radiation exposure, but no increased risk of missing a treatable cancer.

UC San Francisco surgical oncologists led a multicenter collaborative study of 46,000 women 40 to 74 years of age and report their results in the journal JAMA Network. Half that number received personalized screening while the other half, the control group, received annual screening mammography.

The custom treatment cohort was divided to 4 groups based on their risk of developing breast cancer as assessed by genetic screening, family history, and other factors. The highest risk women received 6 monthly screening with alternating conventional mammography and MR imaging as well as risk reduction counseling. The elevated risk group received annual mammography and counseling. The average risk group received mammography every 2 years. The low risk group, the youngest women with minimal risk factors, received no screening until age 50 or the advent of a risk increase.

The result. Risk-based screening is safe and effective. It diminished the numbers of mammograms performed. It did not reduce the numbers of breast biopsies. The personalized approach is popular with 89% of the participants indicating that they preferred it.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260103155036.htm

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2842903

#breast #cancer #screening #genetics #biopsy

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdr2qmGG27/

Dropping a well-timed swear word might do more than relieve frustration—it could actually help you push harder and perform better.

British psychologists studied the effects of swearing on 182 participants and published their results in the journal American Psychologist. Their tabulated data revealed that swearing versus uttering neutral words measurably improves performance on a chair push-up task, an accentuated sense of humor, improved social desirability, and enhanced self-confidence.

The researcher’s conclusion: swearing promotes psychological states that overcome internal constraints and enhance courage. They herald swearing as a no-cost, drug-free, calorie-neutral performance enhancer. Plans are underway to test if it confer similar benefits for those dreading public speaking and dating.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251222080123.htm#

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2027-01514-001.html

#swearing #strength #confidence #performance

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdrWwRF5Kb/

MIT and Harvard immunologists now report a method for tricking your liver into rejuvenating an aging immune system in the journal Nature. They synthesized mRNA capable of triggering the synthesis of three key immune factors: DLL1, FLT-3, and IL-7.

Working in a mouse model where, as in humans, the immunity-energizing thymus gland flags with age, they utilized their mRNA to turn liver synthesis of these critical immune components if only for a short time.

Even that limited time is sufficient for these geriatric mice to produce twice as many T cells and to respond significantly better to cancer checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. More work needs to be done to extend the effectiveness of the mRNA and the duration of immune factor production by the liver.

Even so, this technique shows promise for re-energizing the immunity of elders and extending life expectancy.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251227082718.htm#google_vignette

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09873-4

#mRNA #immunity #aging #liver #immunotherapy

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdqupiEeau/

Maternal RSV vaccination during pregnancy and the use of the RSV antibody nirsevimab for newborns reduces the incidence of RSV infections by more than two-thirds. Researchers at the CDC and leading children’s hospitals studied 5,029 babies during the 2024–2025 RSV season and published their results in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Among infants younger than six months, maternal RSV vaccination was 70% effective and nirsevimab was 81% effective. RSV hospitalization rates were reduced 41% to 51% among newborns and infants compared with previous rates. The highest reduction of 56% to 63% occurred in newborns and infants aged 0 to 2 months

When RSV vaccinations and antibody injections were rolled out nationally, RSV hospitalizations among infants under one year fell by up to half. The largest reduction was seen in newborns and babies under two months, the group at highest risk for severe RSV.

Bottom line: mothers….protect your babies with these safe and very effective interventions.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/maternal-rsv-vaccine-and-nirsevimab-show-effectiveness-us-2026a10000ah

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2843213

#rsv #newborns #vaccine #nirsevimab #hospitalization